Kosovan Parents’ and Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding the English Language Teaching and Learning in the First Grade
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1402.03Keywords:
parents, teachers, perceptions, English, first gradeAbstract
The importance attributed to English as the lingua franca of our days has influenced the decisions of the education authorities in many countries to change their language learning policies and introduce English in very early stages of formal education. The present study aimed at unfolding the Kosovan parents’ and teachers’ perceptions regarding the English language teaching and learning in the first grade. This quantitative research included 400 participants, 200 parents and 200 class teachers randomly selected from 56 elementary schools of the country. The research instruments were two structured questionnaires, one for the parents and the other for the teachers, each containing 15 questions related to the topic, whereas the research data were analyzed via the SPSS program. The research results indicate that a considerable percentage of Kosovan parents and teachers do not support the inclusion of English as an obligatory subject in the first grade, mainly because they fear it may interfere negatively with the learning of their mother tongue.
References
Atkinson, D. (Ed.). (2011). Alternative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition. Routledge.
Alshahrani, M. (2016). A Brief Historical Perspective of English in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 26, 43-47.
Al-Yaseen, W. S. (2021). Teaching English to young children as an innovative practice: Kuwaiti public kindergarten teachers’ beliefs. Cogent Education, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.1930492
Bavin, Edith, L. (2009). (Ed.). The Cambridge Book of Child Language. Cambridge University Press.
Brumen, M., Cagran, B., & Rixon, Sh. (2009). Comparative assessment of young learners' foreign language competence in three Eastern European countries. Educational Studies, 35(3), 269-295. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055690802648531
Butler, Y. G. (2013). Parental factors and early English education as a foreign language: a case study in Mainland China. Research Papers in Education, 29(4), 410-437. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2013.776625
Çakici, D. (2016). Parents’ and English Language Teachers' Views about Early Foreign Language Education in Turkey. Participatory Educational Research (PER), Special Issue 2016-I, 33-42. http://dx.doi.org/10.17275/per.16.spi.1.4
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching English to Young Learners. Cambridge University Press.
Canto, D. (2019). The Importance of Foreign Language Education at the Elementary Level. Northwestern College.
Chang, F.Y. (2008). Parents’ Attitudes toward the English Education Policy in Taiwan. Asia Pacific Education Review, 9(4), 423-435. http://doi.org/10.1007/BF03025660
Chen, S., Zhao, J., de Ruiter, L., Zhou, J., & Huang, J. (2020). A burden or a boost: The impact of early childhood English learning experience on lower elementary English and Chinese achievement. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 1-18 https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1749230
Ching-Ying, L. (2016). Parental Perceptions of Early Childhood English Education. International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL), 4(11), 62-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2347-3134.0411011
Clarke, P. (2009). Supporting Children Learning English as a Second Language in the Early Years (birth to six years). Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority.
Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
de Boot, K. (2014). The effectiveness of early foreign language learning in the Netherlands. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(3), 409-418. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.3.2
EF EPI (2021). The world’s largest ranking of countries and regions by English skills. Retrieved April 25, 2022, from https://www.ef.co.uk/epi/
Ferati, F., Grover, C., Nikolova, Y., Tyrer, C., Taylor, Sh., Bird, S., Simmons. R., Ellenburg, G., Dunn, G., Link, Ch., Vasilokonstantakis, A., Megyesi, G., Törö k, A., Hartle, Sh., Augustane, I., Oceretnaja, J., Shashko, A., Koteska, G., Xerri, D., … Yuksel, D. (2019). Learning English in European countries. NATECLA. Retrieved April 27, 2022, from https://blogs.ua.pt/cidtff/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Learning-English-in-European-Countries-Language-Issues.pdf
Garton, S. & Copland, F. (2019). The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners. Routledge.
Graddol, D. (1997). The Future of English. The British Council.
Harmer, J. (2007). The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th ed.). Pearson Longman ELT.
Hopping, C. (2014, June 4). At What Age Should You Start Learning a Second Language? Language Trainers. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://www.languagetrainers.com/blog/what-age-should-you-start-learning-a-second-language/
Jaekel, N., Schurig, M., Florian, M., & Ritter, M. (2017). From Early Starters to Late Finishers? A Longitudinal Study of Early Foreign Language Learning in School. Language Learning, 67(3), 631-664. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12242
Järvinen-Taubert, J. (2020, March 25). Finland is changing the teaching of languages 1/2. Learning Scoop. Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://learningscoop.fi/finland-is-changing-the-teaching-of-languages-1-2/
Johnstone, R. (2002). Addressing the “Age Factor”: Some Implications for Languages Policy. Council of Europe: Directorate of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education.
Kormos, J. (2006). Speech Production and Second Language Acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Lourenço, M., & Mourão, S. (2019). Learning English in European countries: Albania, Belgium, Norway, Portugal and Turkey. Language Issues: The ESOL Journal, 28(2), 47-56.
Lee, H., & Chou, M. (2014). A study of attitudes toward learning English at an early age by Taiwanese parents with young children. Journal of Social Sciences, 10(1), 7-14. https://doi.org/10.3844/jssp.2014.7.14
Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2013). How Languages Are Learned (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Long, M. (2015). Second Language Acquisition and Task-Based Language Teaching. Wiley Blackwell.
Meisel, J. M. (2011). First and Second Language Acquisition: Parallels and Differences. Cambridge University Press.
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. (2016). Core Curriculum for Pre-primary Grade and Primary Education in Kosovo (Grades 0, I, II, III, IV and V).
Moon, P. J. (2000). Children Learning English. Macmillan Education
Moore, K. (2021, September 13). Foreign Language Education Statistics: 70% of American regret letting their foreign language skills slip. Preply. Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://preply.com/en/blog/americans-foreign-language-survey/
Munoz, C. (Ed.). (2009). Age and the rate of foreign language learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31(3), 512-513. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263109090457
Myles, F. (2017). Learning foreign languages in primary schools: is younger better? Languages, Society & Policy. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.9806
Ortega, L. (2013). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Routledge.
Saxton, M. (2017). Child Language: Acquisition and Development (2nd Edition). SAGE.
Scott, W. A., & Ytreberg, L. H. (1995). Teaching English to children. Longman.
Shin, J., & Crandall, J. (2014). Teaching young learners English: From theory to practice. National Geo-graphic Learning.
Sergon, V. (2022, March 16). Primary education in Austria. Expatica. Retrieved May 4, 2022, from https://www.expatica.com/at/education/children-education/education-in-austria-87120/#primary
Tabors, P. O. (2008.). One Child, Two Languages (2nd ed.). Paul. H. Brookes Publishing Co.
VanPatten, B., & Williams, J. (Eds.). (2015). Theories in Second Language Acquisition: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Routledge.
