Accreditation TESOL TESOL

Teaching EFL in KindergartenIt might be well-known that good knowledge of the native language has a positive influence on learning a second language, but what is known about the effects of learning a second language on the mother tongue? Vygotsky wrote the following: “…a foreign language facilitates mastering the higher forms of the native tongue” What follows is a brief discussion of the importance of foreign languages learning at an early stage, the positive influence it has on the mother tongue, and the significance of english as an international language. The term second language (L2) refers to a language which is learned after the first language (L1) has been relatively well-established. L2 learning is most beneficial when started as early as pre-school or Kindergarten; research has shown that children are more likely to acquire L2 than adults due to physical capabilities as well as the quantity of the L2 which can be offered to them . There has been a rapid expansion of L2 teaching at an early age in Europe and other parts of the world. In 2008 the Barcelona European Council recommended for two foreign languages to be taught at early ages. Several projects are being funded by the European Commission, like Piccolingo , established to promote early language learning. Reasons often mentioned for the benefits of L2 learning are the current globalization with all its consequences and for it to serve as a bridge or means of understanding in today’s multicultural environment. There is also frequently spoken about children’s enthusiasm and their improved ability to learn other languages in the future. Recent researches however, show that early L2 learning improves the use of the native language, while this could convince the few remaining opponents of early L2 learning who fear for weak language skills when children are exposed to more than one language. The European Commission simply stated the improvement of L1 to be one of the reasons for promoting early languages learning. One study gives a more detailed description by stating that ‘the level of understanding of the mother tongue of multilingual persons is better than that of monolingual people.’ Other research concluded that early L2 learning does not only improve the skills in that language at an earlier stage, it also positively influences the skills in the mother tongue, an improvement which is especially noticed with children who are considered to be ‘weak’ in the native language. Other research pointed out that there is a noticeable improvement in the written L1 language and a better insight in the grammar of both languages. L2, the language different from L1, does not necessarily have to be english. Other languages commonly taught as L2 are french and spanish. However, ‘english has been widely dispersed around the world and has become the leading language in international discourse’ . Worldwide 1.8 billion people are learning english as L2 and the global demand for teachers of english is enormous. The British Council states there is a growing number of reasons for the interest in this language in particular, including study at universities in english-speaking countries and for career purposes. It has become clear that L2 learning has a ‘window of opportunity’ at an early age, before children hit puberty. This early languages learning is not only beneficial to the skills in this language, it also clearly improves the use of the mother tongue. While any foreign language can be learned as L2, english has been proven to be one of the most beneficial languages to be learned. These are important reasons for the implementation of learning L2 at an early age. The above researches prove the fears of a so-called negative effect of an L2 on the native tongue to be wrong. However, I must stress here that it is of a high importance to have professional teachers who are trained to teach young learners, and should be native or near-native in the language they are teaching. Their training will equip them with the techniques and methods required for teaching young learners, a challenging but rewarding group of students.