Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education (Second Language Learning and Teaching) 3030660214, 9783030660215

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Second Language Learning and Teaching

Joanna Rokita-Jaśkow Agata Wolanin   Editors

Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education

Second Language Learning and Teaching Series Editor Mirosław Pawlak, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz, Poland

The series brings together volumes dealing with different aspects of learning and teaching second and foreign languages. The titles included are both monographs and edited collections focusing on a variety of topics ranging from the processes underlying second language acquisition, through various aspects of language learning in instructed and non-instructed settings, to different facets of the teaching process, including syllabus choice, materials design, classroom practices and evaluation. The publications reflect state-of-the-art developments in those areas, they adopt a wide range of theoretical perspectives and follow diverse research paradigms. The intended audience are all those who are interested in naturalistic and classroom second language acquisition, including researchers, methodologists, curriculum and materials designers, teachers and undergraduate and graduate students undertaking empirical investigations of how second languages are learnt and taught.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10129

Joanna Rokita-Ja´skow · Agata Wolanin Editors

Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education

Editors Joanna Rokita-Ja´skow Institute of English Philology Pedagogical University of Kraków Kraków, Poland

Agata Wolanin Institute of English Philology Pedagogical University of Kraków Kraków, Poland

ISSN 2193-7648 ISSN 2193-7656 (electronic) Second Language Learning and Teaching ISBN 978-3-030-66021-5 ISBN 978-3-030-66022-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

The editors would like to express their gratitude to prof. Ewa Piechurska-Kuciel (University of Opole, Poland) for reviewing this work, insightful comments and suggestions, which helped to improve the final outcome.

Contents

What Makes the Difference in Early Foreign Language Education? Learner-Internal vs Learner-External Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joanna Rokita-Ja´skow

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The Young Learner and Individual Differences Cognition and Second Language Experience: How Are Executive Function and Second Language Acquisition Related? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorota E. Campfield Trainability of Foreign Language Aptitudes in Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adriana Biedro´n and Mauricio Véliz-Campos Teaching Foreign Language Grammar to Children: The Role of Individual Differences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mirosław Pawlak

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Studies in Heterogeneous Classes Diversity in EELL: Matters of Context and Contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mirna Erk Reading Accuracy Measure in Screening for Dyslexia in the EFL Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monika Łodej

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Learning Preferences of SEN Children in an Inclusive English Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Werona Król-Gierat Is Strategy Training Necessary in L3 Learning? The Study of Communication Strategies Used by Upper-Primary School Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Dominika Dzik

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Contents

Assessment for Learning, Learning for All: A Case Study in the Foreign Language Classroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Julie Waddington Literacy and Diversity A Multimodal Analysis of ELT Materials for Young Learners . . . . . . . . . . 181 Maria Stec “Picture This!”: The Educational Value of Illustrations in the Process of Teaching L2 to Young Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Agata Wolanin Corpus-Based Evaluation of Textbook Content: A Case of Russian Language Primary School Textbooks for Migrants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Maria Lebedeva, Tatyana Veselovskaya, Olga Kupreshchenko, and Antonina Laposhina Teacher Education in Service of Heterogeneity A Literature Review on Preparing Preservice Primary Foreign Language Teachers for Diversity via the Practicum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 ´ Anna B˛ak-Srednicka Teachers’ Opinions on Heterogeneous Classes: Insights for EFL Teacher Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Zeynep Çamlıbel-Acar Supporting Teachers of Multilingual Young Learners: Multilingual Approach to Diversity in Education (MADE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 MaryAnn Christison, Anna Krulatz, and Ye¸sim Sevinç A Note on the Influence of Topic Prominence in Japanese on Japanese Beginner-Level EFL Learners’ Interlanguage: An Empirical Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Shimpei Hashio and Nobuyuki Yamauchi EFL Reading with Young Learners: The Teacher’s Perspective . . . . . . . . 313 Renata Šamo and Marija Smuda Ðuri´c

Editors and Contributors

About the Editors Joanna Rokita-Ja´skow is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland, where she is head of the ELT section. Her main research interests concern child foreign and second language acquisition and foreign language teacher education. She initiated a postgraduate programme in TEYL for pre-primary and lower primary educators. She is also convener of an international triennial conference on child foreign/second language acquisition held in Cracow. She is author of over 50 papers and author/editor of 6 books, the most recent one, co-edited, titled: Early Instructed Second Language Acquisition. Pathways to Competence (2019, Multilingual Matters). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6272-9548. Agata Wolanin received her PhD degree in Applied Linguistics from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland. She is employed at the Pedagogical University of Kraków where she teaches Practical English and TEFL courses. Being a member of the International Association for Intercultural Education, her research interests revolve around global citizenship issues and transformative pedagogy. Her recent publications touch upon both theoretical and practical perspectives of raising critical cultural awareness in an L2 classroom. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8513-2154.

Contributors ´ Anna B˛ak-Srednicka Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland Adriana Biedron´ Philology Department, Pomeranian Academy, Słupsk, Poland Zeynep Çamlıbel-Acar Department of ELT, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey Dorota E. Campfield The Centre for Foreign Language Teacher Training and European Education, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland ix

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Editors and Contributors

MaryAnn Christison University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA Marija Smuda Ðuri´c International Research Unit for Multilingualism, Munich, Germany Dominika Dzik Pedagogical University of Cracow, Kraków, Poland Mirna Erk Faculty of Education, University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia Shimpei Hashio Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan Werona Król-Gierat Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland Anna Krulatz Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway Olga Kupreshchenko Language and Cognition Laboratory, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Moscow, Russia Antonina Laposhina Language and Cognition Laboratory, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Moscow, Russia Maria Lebedeva Language and Cognition Laboratory, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Moscow, Russia Monika Łodej Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland Mirosław Pawlak Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts in Kalisz, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz, Poland; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, State University of Applied Sciences, Konin, Poland Joanna Rokita-Ja´skow Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland Renata Šamo Faculty of Humanities, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Pula, Croatia Ye¸sim Sevinç Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan (MultiLing), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway Maria Stec Foreign Languages Teaching Centre and Doctoral School, University of Silesia, Cieszyn and Katowice, Poland Mauricio Véliz-Campos Faculty of Education Sciences, Universidad de Talca, Maule, Chile Tatyana Veselovskaya Language and Cognition Laboratory, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Moscow, Russia Julie Waddington University of Girona (Catalonia), Girona, Spain Agata Wolanin Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland Nobuyuki Yamauchi Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

What Makes the Difference in Early Foreign Language Education? Learner-Internal vs Learner-External Factors Joanna Rokita-Ja´skow

Abstract In this introductory chapter I have decided to outline the theoretical underpinnings of this volume, which concentrate around the notion of diversity. It is argued that since a foreign language, most typically English, is taught globally to an increasing number of children, the variability in the process and varied learning outcomes are inescapable phenomena. Additionally, the chapter provides the theoretical framework for many of the studies in this volume. First the notion of diversity/heterogeneity is explained, then its causes are laid down. Heterogeneity is ascribed to learner—internal as well as learner—external variables. The former are described by biological (e.g., gender, age), cognitive and affective propensities for learning. They are mainly inborn, and can be influenced by the environment only to a certain extent. The latter refer to a diversity of contexts in which learning takes place. The contexts can be understood on a macroscale, as countries and their supportive language policies or lack thereof, or an ethnolinguistic community of users of a particular language. On the mesoscale the contexts can denote different types of educational institutions, such as private and public ones, the teacher and his/her teaching competencies, etc. On a microscale the contexts are characterized by family environment, availability and access to learning resources. In the latter two cases socioeconomic status of the learners appears to be an important mediating variable. Keywords Heterogeneity · Diversity · Young learner · Globalization · Individual differences

1 Introduction Early foreign language learning and teaching, particularly of English, which has gained the status of an international language, is becoming a global phenomenon, thus encompassing children of various starting age, ability, socio-economic and J. Rokita-Ja´skow (B) Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_1

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cultural backgrounds. The situation is partly the result of active language policy measures taken to promote ‘an early start’ in a foreign language, initiated in the EU ca. the year 2000, which led to the gradual implementation of obligatory FL instruction from the onset of schooling via school reform in a majority of EU member states. Early Language learning has been promoted as a child’s right as it can increase vocational opportunities in the future, as well as, contribute to a child’s growth in terms of emotional and cognitive development. This means that the very process of language learning can enhance a child’s openness and curiosity to other cultures, and consequently ‘build the society of greater social cohesion’, as is stated in the language policy document advocating language learning at the preprimary level (European Commission, 2011). For this reason, it is argued that early language learning should by no means be elitist. Conversely, it should encompass all children, irrespective of background or ability, and include children of Special Educational Needs, thus fulfilling the criterion of equity. This was the goal of the second action plan of the European Commission for the years 2004—2006 and was titled Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity (Commission of the European Communities, 2003). Additionally, it must be noted that the European language education policy serves as a model for non-European countries. Referred to as ‘policy borrowing’ (Enever, 2018; Ricento, 2000), we can observe the growing popularity of early language teaching policies implemented outside European contexts, despite lack of linguistic evidence for the necessity of such an early start. The result of these measures is an unprecedented popularity of teaching foreign languages to young learners in public and private sectors globally (cf. Rokita-Ja´skow & Ellis, 2019). In contexts where there are no governmental regulations as to the starting age and form/quality of early FL teaching, the process usually takes place in the private sector. As a result, the most troubling difference leading to heterogeneity at the onset of obligatory school instruction is connected with different starting ages of the learners. Additionally, since early foreign language teaching has become so popular in a variety of contexts, the issue of classroom heterogeneity has gained a new dimension. The goal of this chapter is to characterize early foreign language education as a dynamic and heterogeneous process, which encompasses both learner characteristics and the varied learning contexts. The chapter also aims to serve as an introduction to the volume, highlighting key directions in TEYL with reference to diversity and outlining state-of-the art research directions, including contributions in the volume.

2 Faces of Classroom Heterogeneity: Learner-Internal vs Learner-External Research on a learner’s individual differences has had a long tradition in applied linguistics and dates back to the 1970s (Arabski & Wojtaszek, 2011; Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, 2009; Robinson, 2002; Skehan, 1991) when it was instigated by the

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need to identify good language learners, as well as, determine variables that distinguish them from the failing students. The research on learner individual differences continued for the next few decades, eventually evolving to include novel features and methods of inquiry. Presently, we can witness a revival in interest partly because of the adoption of a new perspective which posits that language learning outcomes are an interplay of intra-learner variables and the social context in which s/he functions, a tenet of the widely acknowledged theory in applied linguistics of Complex Dynamic Systems (Dörnyei, 2014; Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2007; Toffoli, 2020). The theory places importance both “on the objects of SLA research (language, learners and teachers) and the process of language acquisition (…) the emphasis complex dynamic systems theory puts on initial conditions, non-linearity, dynamism, attractors, emergence and coadaptation” (Toffoli, 2020, p. 5). As regards young language learners, much less research has been conducted on their individual propensities for two major reasons. Firstly, the period of childhood (i.e., from birth till ca. 11/12 years of age) signifies tremendous changes in the biological, cognitive and psycho-social development of a child, which naturally impacts their learning abilities. Older children may learn faster due to well-developed learning strategies, yet some other children may develop more slowly, finally attaining similar levels, yet struggling with difficulties on the way to reaching that goal. Secondly, it is only within the last decade that early language learning has become a global phenomenon, thus embracing more children, which may precipitate further research. The major variable that has been long researched is the biological one, i.e., the age of starting L2 instruction. Age was believed to impact the development of other variables such as the use of learning strategies (Muñoz, 2006; Tragant & Victori, 2006), or even aptitude (Kiss, 2009; Kiss & Nikolov, 2005). Motivation and attitude to learning were discovered to be mainly intrinsic, yet associated with the enjoyment of the lesson, the environment, the person of the teacher and activities (Nikolov, 1999; Wu, 2003). A call for closer interest in young learner variables was made by Jelena Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c and Marianne Nikolov, who have long been involved in the research of young learners in Croatia and Hungary respectively, and who in their seminal article All shades of every colour (2011), argued that it is a popular misconception to treat young learners as a whole and homogenous group. They called for more research on the individual differences of the learners, additionally arguing that it is important to investigate the mutual interaction of these variables. In their studies, the affective variables were observed to fluctuate over time and were dependent on circumstances, such as attitude, motivation, learner anxiety or learner self-concept. The precipitation of research on child individual differences must also be attributed to the wide-scale ELLIE (Early Language Learning in Europe) study (Enever, 2011), which provided data from various country contexts, thus indicating inter-individual differences. Coincidentally, the growth of interest in early child FL education coincided with the revival of interest in individual differences in SLA and the proposal of seeing the process of language learning as a Complex Dynamic System, where different factors, i.e., cognitive, affective and social, not only come into play, but fluctuate in time. As Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c (2015, p. 34) put it, the process of early FLL is

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“multilayered, cyclical, and dynamic”. The process is not linear, and follows phases of progression, stagnation and regression, which often are caused by the affective state of the learner, and which are aroused by the socio-educational contexts at micro, meso and macro levels. They are related to the immediate environment of the learner e.g., family, social groups one belongs to and interacts with e.g., peers and school, and political and social contexts of living respectively. Models of such development (e.g., Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, 2015, p. 216; RokitaJa´skow, 2013, p. 96) are often based on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) model and can be presented in the form of concentric circles, placing the young learner in the center, showing the ecology of young learner language development. The learning process takes place first of all in the learner, whose learning propensities depend on inborn cognitive predispositions, such as intelligence or aptitude, as well as affective states, such as attitude, interest, motivation, anxiety. The affective states, and to a certain extent the cognitive predispositions, can be influenced by the child’s immediate environments, i.e., microsystems, such as the child’s family and its cultural capital, which can mediate e.g., access to linguistic resources or quality of education (cf. RokitaJa´skow, 2015a, 2015b). On the mesoscale it is the school context which may also have a favourable or inhibiting impact, depending on the facilities provided, qualifications and motivation of the teachers employed, and peers. Finally, the family and the school are embedded in a wider socio-educational context (i.e., a macrosystem), which is shaped by the language education policies. These, in turn, are inadvertently marked by the process of globalization. In line with the above sources, classroom heterogeneity can be traced back both to learner-internal characteristics (biological, cognitive, affective) as well as to the learner-external, i.e., contextual factors (at the three levels stated above). These two aspects are addressed in the book. Varied language learning contexts denote that we can refer not only to foreign language learning, but also to second or additional languages, particularly in multilingual settings.

3 Diversity and Globalization When considering learning contexts on a macroscale, one has to mention globalization which has had an impact on early language learning in a few domains. First of all, it has led to an unprecedented popularity of teaching young learners a foreign language, which in essence, concerns a global language, i.e., English. Policies to introduce it in early school instruction are gradually introduced in non-European settings, such as East Asia, thus posing challenges for teachers and teacher educators on how to prepare young learners for a language which has a different grammatical system, phonology or orthography (cf. Macrory, 2019, but also Hashio and Yamauchi, this volume). Many parents wish that their children learn the language as it may be useful in the child’s vocational future while local government policies may wish to implement early language learning in order to emphasize the need for equity, i.e., equal opportunities for all. Therefore, if a country implements an early start policy, it

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is often an outcome of top-down (i.e., policy) and bottom-up (i.e., parental) influences (Rokita-Ja´skow & Pamuła-Behrens, 2019). Another consequence of globalization is human mobility and migration, which in consequence leads to linguistically and culturally diverse classes. Children who come from multilingual families, or have immigrated to a host country, may find learning English as a foreign language to be a platform for mutual understanding. Yet, even in this case it should be borne in mind that children originating from different home countries may bring with themselves not only different identities, but also different knowledge of other languages, sometimes characterized by a different grammar or writing system. Naturally this will pose a challenge for a language teacher. Secondly, the same children will be learning languages of the host countries, which should be treated as a second or additional language rather than a foreign one. These languages can be acquired both informally through play and interaction with peers, as well as, formally by attending specially designed classes aiming to improve the learners’ Cognitive Academic Proficiency Skills (cf. Cummins, 1979), thus enabling education and academic achievement in the target language. Yet another impact of globalization might be varied out-of-school exposure to languages, and particularly of English in the public space. It is now well recognized that children do not only learn English in class, but a lot of it is picked up incidentally through play activities such as watching TV, playing computer games, browsing the Internet, reading books, etc. English is also present in the surroundings, in the names of shops, product logos, advertising, etc. In this context it has to be emphasized that the omnipresence of English as a lingua franca in media and in the public space, not only facilitates language acquisition, but also mediates the construction of a certain type of identity which is a mixture of global and local identities. It is promoted through coursebooks published for a global market, as well as, products of pop culture (books, films, computer games, Internet resources, social media sites). Thus, material design should also meet the needs of learners coming from various settings and of various ability. Secondly, learners need to learn to understand these texts along with their extralinguistic features (text organization, images), which stands for multimodal literacy. Globalization is associated with neoliberalism, individualization, and competitiveness on the global job market. Early language learning in this context can be seen as parental investment towards their children’s better future. It is assumed that the earlier the children start learning the language, the longer the overall period of learning will be, which allows time to gain proficiency in an L2 and/or time to learn additional languages. In countries where there are supportive policies of an early start, these measures are often taken to manifest response to the aspirations of the (often growing) middle class. In countries where no such policies exist, or where language learning in the public sector is perceived as insufficient, a growth in the private educational sector can be observed. Parents are willing to pay for their children’s education in order to compete with other parents in offering them more, earlier. This dream is realized in, for example, fostering plurilingualism, that is, learning not only one foreign language, usually English, but a few, usually those which have the status or potential of international languages, such as Spanish, Russian or Chinese. Thus,

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parents aim for individual plurilingualism which is elitist. Such strive for potential plurilingualism starts already in kindergarten (Rokita-Ja´skow, 2013). Consequently, if such early starters find themselves in the public education system, they can gather fruits from early education and, being more proficient than other children, they can be treated as more talented. This observation shows what really makes the difference in early foreign language education is the unequal access to high quality classroom instruction, characterized by class frequency, teacher didactic, linguistic and interpersonal competencies, availability of teaching resources, including the ICT tools. As the report of Murphy and Evangelou (2016) shows, despite being widely practiced, English language classes can vary in size, teaching methodology, materials used, especially when we take a global perspective: European classes in an elite fee-paying school are not similar to those in Africa. Thus, the socio-economic status of young learner families can play an important role in providing a continuous access to effective and quality FL education. Too often, young learners attend classes which neither provide rich and meaningful language input, nor build interest and openness to other cultures and languages. Thus, it can be argued that social inequalities are a sign of neoliberal trends pervading into education (Sayer, 2018). As Murphy (2018, p. 92) concludes in her foreword to the special issue of System journal on this issue, “SES is no doubt a correlated variable with L2 outcomes but not likely to be a causal one”. Finally, it should be noted that one possible way to counterbalance the social inequalities is through literacy, as access to texts and other resources on the Internet has become widely democratic. For this reason, teachers need to be prepared and willing to teach various types of literacy skills to their (young) learners, which go beyond mere reading comprehension skills. What’s more, reading activities can serve as a prompt to formative assessment, which allows for tracking learner individual development rather than meeting benchmarks of standardized exams. A call for a more individualized approach in teaching and assessment of early foreign language learning is what should come out from readings of the papers in the volume. Despite globalization and apparent homogenization of the process, it must not be forgotten that in the center of attention is the learner, with his/her varied abilities, varied learning opportunities and varied backgrounds.

4 The Structure of the Volume The goal of this volume is to focus on the notion of diversity/heterogeneity in the young learner classroom in today’s globalized world. The two terms will be used interchangeably. It is argued that the sources of heterogeneity can be twofold: firstly, they can originate from the learner’s inner characteristics, and thus reflect the learner’s cognitive ability or lack thereof, as well as, affective propensities, such as attitude and motivation towards learning a language. Secondly, diversity is brought about by the socio-educational and cultural background of the learners, the environments they come from, both on the micro- and on

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the macro-levels. On the micro-level it may denote a different socio-economic level of families, and on the macro level a different ethnolinguistic background. Children, particularly of migration experience, may learn second or additional languages of a considerable linguistic distance from their heritage family languages. Accordingly, the book consists of four thematic strands: in Part I the learnerinternal causes of heterogeneity of young language learners are clarified. The authors of individual chapters present an up-to-date discussion of research that may have an impact on a language learner’s foreign language achievement in school contexts. The variables discussed are executive function (discussed by Campfield in chapter “Cognition and Second Language Experience: Broader Considerations in Bilingualism”) and working memory (discussed by Biedro´n and Véliz-Campos in chapter “Trainability of Foreign Language Aptitudes in Children”). The two concepts, though discussed separately, are interrelated. Working memory is often defined to be a part of executive functions (EF) and may account for schooling success, or even be perceived as components of linguistic giftedness as well as difficulties, an issue discussed further by Biedro´n and Véliz-Campos in chapter “Trainability of Foreign Language Aptitudes in Children”. Both variables play a prominent role in the explicit learning of language subsystems, particularly of grammar, the teaching of which is discussed at length by Pawlak in chapter “Teaching Foreign Language Grammar to Children: The Role of Individual Differences”. He emphasizes that in learning grammar by young learners both explicit and implicit processes take place depending on the age of the learner. He argues that the instructional approach should also take into account a whole spectrum of individual learner variables ranging from age and learning styles to affective variables such as willingness to communicate or enjoyment and boredom. Yet, he recognizes that the link between learner individual differences (IDs) and effectiveness of grammar instruction is still a gap to be filled in child second language acquisition (SLA) research. This part may be treated as a theoretical background for the empirical studies presented in Part II, as these are cognitive factors that may account both for attentiveness, and subsequently, for incidental learning. Mirna Erk presents an interesting study of implicit vocabulary learning by young language learners in outof-school contexts in chapter “Diversity in EELL: Matters of Context and Contact”. She observed that already at the start of formal instruction children varied in the amount of vocabulary which they brought to class, having acquired it beforehand, and so leading to heterogeneity in learning levels. Gender also played a role as boys appeared to pick up a lot of vocabulary from computer games, while girls engaged more in reading tasks. Cognitive processing, and particularly working memory, also play an important role in developing literacy and account for impairments in learning to read. Monika Łodej (chapter “Reading Accuracy Measure in Screening for Dyslexia in the EFL Classroom”) presents a study on a reading accuracy task which can serve as a potential tool for screening for dyslexia. She observes that highly frequent words, even if they had irregular spelling, were recognized correctly even by dyslexic learners. This shows that the frequency factor plays a role not only in incidental vocabulary acquisition, but also in facilitating reading in EFL.

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Dyslexic learners are only one type of learners of specific learning difficulties. Werona Król-Gierat (chapter “Learning Preferences of SEN Children in an Inclusive English Classroom”) looks at an inclusive classroom and learners of Special Educational Needs (SEN). While in such a class the special needs can be of various difficulty, it is important to develop pedagogical solutions that work with all children. She also The author observes that taxation of working memory may be too strenuous for SEN learners, hence a shown preference for shorter and multisensory tasks rather than, e.g., listening to a picturebook reading, which demands focusing attention for a longer period of time. Dominika Dzik focuses on the development of child plurilingualism (chapter “Is Strategy Training Necessary in L3 Learning? The Study of Communication Strategies Used by Upper-Primary School Learners”). She conducted a study in a private primary school, where children have a chance to learn a second foreign language, here Spanish, from the age of 12 (grade 5). Since this is a fee-paying institution, we can observe a parental strive to equip children with the knowledge of not just one language (English), but also another language of potential global reach, thus treating plurilingual development as an investment. Dzik postulates that having the experience of learning and communicating in one foreign language (English), the children are confident enough to avoid communication breakdowns by using certain communication strategies. Yet, the use of the strategies would be much more effective if a more explicit training of communication and learning strategies was used, she posits. Part II finishes with a chapter by Julie Waddington, who makes an important point that if we treat early language learning as the children’s right which should encompass all children irrespective of their ability, then assessment of their progress should motivate children towards this goal rather than be a benchmark that is unrealistic to achieve for some learners. Thus, assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning is more likely to meet the diverse needs of learners. She claims that children are “capable of reflecting on their own performance in a constructive manner, (…) they need to be supported in this process using age-appropriate strategies” (Waddington, chapter “Assessment for Learning, Learning for All: A Case Study in the Foreign Language Classroom”). Consequently, she proposes a strategic approach to successful peer-assessment and reflective learning using the ‘Two stars and a wish’ task. The recognition of the varied needs of the learners calls for an individual approach in teaching and assessment, so that early language learning is marked with gradual improvement, a lifetime journey, and not with failure. Part III looks at the links between literacy and diversity. Reading is a source of linguistic input which nowadays is easily available e.g., through the Internet. Engagement in literacy practices out of school may add to school instruction, thus liquidating the differences between learners from varied socio-economic backgrounds. For this reason, it is important to start reading in a FL early, which is argued later on by Šamo and Duri´c in chapter “EFL Reading with Young Learners: The Teacher’s Perspective”. Here it should be noted that since a considerable number of English language learning materials, whether coursebooks or picturebooks, have been produced for

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the global market, they should also meet the needs of the local learner and their cultural background. Stec in chapter “A Multimodal Analysis of ELT Materials for Young Learners” argues that “the issue is particularly important for Young Learners, who learn holistically and develop their understanding of diversity within their own and others’ culture, also during English classes” (chapter “A Multimodal Analysis of ELT Materials for Young Learners”). Thus, material designers have to strike a balance between the needs of the global market and the needs/interests of the children in local settings. Conversely, young learners, while learning English, need to develop multimodal literacy, i.e., understand the relationships between text and picture. Stec discusses how these principles are realized in ELT textbooks published for the global market, while Wolanin in chapter ““Picture This!”: The Educational Value of Illustrations in the Process of Teaching L2 to Young Learners”, focuses on popular authentic picturebooks, the use of which is currently recommended in TEYL. She particularly focuses on the role of images and how they can potentially be used not as a mere addition to the text, but for language development. They can also act as a trigger to conveying educational values and cultural content. She argues that exposing young learners to picturebooks in the L2 classroom additionally prepares them to understand the intricate and dynamic relationships between text and image. From this perspective it seems developing literacy in a foreign language, and particularly in English, quite paradoxically, can lead to homogenization in language skills, learning opportunity and development of ‘global’ identity. Not only English coursebooks have the potential of teaching text–image relationships while catering for the diversity of their users. The design of coursebooks for migrant learners of Russian, which also has the status of local lingua franca as it is taught to many immigrants from former Soviet Republics, holds the same potential. Lebedeva et al. in chapter “Corpus-based Evaluation of Textbook Content: A Case of Russian Language Primary School Textbooks for Migrants” “show how cultural and pragmatic components are revealed in Russian-language textbooks for migrants”. They argue that the purpose of a good coursebook is not only to guarantee the effectiveness of the course, but also to convey cultural elements in such a way that they help learners adjust to the host community. Thus, the coursebook analysis they performed follows the criteria of text diversity (prose vs. poetry), frequency of vocabulary, readability, cultural and pragmatic components, and the visual component. The juxtaposition of the analysis of the two types of coursebooks (i.e., English and Russian) shows how slightly different values and identity options can be promoted depending on which language and associated cultural identity is targeted. Part IV looks at the notion of heterogeneity from the pedagogical perspective, analyzing teacher opinions and preferences of teachers, teacher educators and teacher trainees. Today’s classes are probably even more heterogeneous than before, as early language learning embraces a growing number of children. Having acknowledged the pervasiveness of this phenomenon, teachers need to be prepared to face heterogeneity in their classrooms already in teacher preparation programmes. Yet, an investigation ´ of available research studies carried out by B˛ak-Srednicka (chapter “A Literature Review on Preparing Preservice Primary Foreign Language Teachers for Diversity via the Practicum)”, and a survey investigation carried out by Çamlıbel-Acar (chapter

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“Teachers’ Opinions on Heterogeneous Classes: Insights for EFL Teacher Education”), show there is still low awareness of this emerging issue among teachers or ´ teacher trainees. As B˛ak-Srednicka observes, diversity in research studies is mainly associated with learners of different ethnolinguistic backgrounds. Worthwhile to note is that most of the studies were conducted in the USA, a multicultural society. This shows that the varying abilities of children, and the difficulties of SEN children, are definitely under researched. By contrast, Çamlıbel-Acar observes that unlike the practicing teachers, the teacher trainees have little awareness of the rapidly changing socio-political situation, such as the migration crisis, which often results in having foreign children in the regular classes. It should be recognized that if globalization brings about rapid changes and instability, teachers need to be prepared for these changes already in advance of their teaching careers, e.g., via the school ´ practicum (B˛ak-Srednicka, chapter “A Literature Review on Preparing Preservice Primary Foreign Language Teachers for Diversity via the Practicum”). The chapter of MaryAnn Christison, Anna Krulatz and Yesim Sevinç (chapter “Supporting Teachers of Multilingual Young Learners: Multilingual Approach to Diversity in Education (MADE)”) marks a shift to a different facet of diversity, i.e., marked by the multilingual and multicultural background of the learners. Norway exemplifies a country welcoming a considerable number of migrants, which leads to a growth of multilingual classrooms. The authors observe that while Norwegian and English are in daily use in classroom communication, it is difficult to develop a pedagogy in which children’s diverse heritage languages are appreciated and used considering the fact that they are not known by the teachers. The authors propose an innovative solution called the Multilingual Approach to Diversity in Education (MADE) and put it under scrutiny while conducting classroom observation research. The model is bound to become an inspiration to many other settings. One more aspect to which teachers need to be prepared when teaching young learners, whether of migrant background or not, is the realization that target languages taught may have different grammar and different writing systems from the mother tongues of the learners. This is an issue in Japan, which has recently introduced an early English learning policy. Hashio and Yamauchi (chapter “A Note on the Influence of Topic Prominence in Japanese on Japanese Beginner-level EFL Learners’ Interlanguage: An Empirical Study”) posit that English teacher education in their country must entail contrastive analysis of the structures of two languages, i.e., Japanese and English, as syntax of the two languages is completely different. Not only should future teachers be aware of the differences, but they should also be sensitive to these difficulties in their learners in order to help them avoid errors in the early stages of their interlanguage. This also makes us aware of the fact that despite the global reach of English, local specificity has to be taken into account. Though opportunities for mobility exist, an English teacher educated in one setting may not necessarily adapt to teaching conditions in a new situation. Finally, Šamo and Duri´c (chapter “EFL Reading with Young Learners: The Teacher’s Perspective”) observe a link between EFL teachers’ reading habits and their practices in the classroom aimed at developing the reading habits of their learners. They posit that teachers who read a lot for their ongoing professional development

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are more likely to develop both effective reading comprehension skills, as well as, interest and motivation for reading in a foreign language. This is because they do not only teach effective strategies for coping with the text, but also organize various educational initiatives in order to raise interest in reading. Thus, there appears to be one more role of effective teacher education programmes, i.e., raising interest in reading by teacher candidates as the relationship between teacher and learner reading interests and skills seems to be reciprocal.

5 Summary To summarise, the selection of papers in the volume show the major issues posed for TEYL (Teaching English to Young Learners) methodology, which has to cope with the issue of heterogeneity. While it is mainly English that is the major language taught to young learners, and consequently finds reflection in the market for material publications, there is a potential for teaching other languages to young learners as well, be it second or additional languages. An important asset of the book is a variety of country contexts presented (i.e., Croatia, Japan, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey), which points to the fact that early language learning becomes a widespread phenomenon and that the problems presented are universal. Heterogeneity/diversity of the young learner classroom is the main organizing theme of the book. The reason for choosing this notion as the leitmotif of the book is the fact that young learner FL classrooms become more and more diverse, thus posing challenges for teachers who teach them. Besides, as more and more children are involved in the process globally, more research is done on learner individual characteristics and we learn more on why some children progress with relative ease, while others struggle and give up. This knowledge should be communicated widely, particularly towards various stakeholders, such as teachers, parents and also policy makers to help them understand children’s difficulties and tailor the teaching in accordance with learners’ needs. The call for a more individualized approach should be the outcome of these readings. Consequently, we hope the book will be of interest to practitioners, who will become more sensitive to various learners’ abilities and needs, and researchers, who would like to scrutinize the topic of young learner individual differences and their impact on the teaching-learning process further.

References Arabski, J., & Wojtaszek, A. (Eds.). (2011). Individual learner differences in SLA. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Commission of the European Communities. (2003). Communication from the Commision to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social committee and the Committee of

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the Regions. Promoting language learning and linguistic diversity: An action plan 2004–2006. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2003:0449:FIN:EN:PDF. Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 198–203. Dörnyei, Z. (2014). Researching complex dynamic systems: ‘Retrodictive qualitative modelling’ in the language classroom. Language Teaching, 47(1), 80–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S02614448 11000516. Enever, J. (Ed.). (2011). ELLiE. Early language learning in Europe. London: British Council. Enever, J. (2018). Policy and politics in global primary English. Oxford: Oxford University Press. European Commission. (2011). Language learning at pre-primary school level: Making it efficient and sustainable. Policy Handbook. http://ec.europa.eu/languages/pdf/ellpwp_en.pdf. Kiss, C. (2009). The role of aptitude in young learners’ foreign language learning. In M. Nikolov (Ed.), The age factor and early language learning (pp. 253–276). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Kiss, C., & Nikolov, M. (2005). Developing, piloting and validating an instrument to measure young learners’ aptitude. Language Learning, 55(1), 99–150. Larsen-Freeman, D., & Cameron, L. (2007). Complex systems and applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Macrory, G. (2019). New orthographies in the primary languages classroom: A challenge for teacher education. In S. Zein & S. Garton (Eds.), Early language learning and teacher education: International research and practice (pp. 98–118). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, J. (2009). Individual differences in early language programmes. In M. Nikolov (Ed.), The age factor and early language learning (pp. 199–226). Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter. Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, J. (2015). Individual differences among young EFL learners: Age- or proficiency-related? A look from the affective learner factors perspective. In J. Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c & M. Medved Krajnovi´c (Eds.), Early learning and teaching of English: New dynamics of primary English (pp. 10–36). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. Muñoz, C. (Ed.). (2006). Age and the rate of foreign language acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Murphy, V. (2018). Commentary: Socio-economic status, young language learning, and the weapon to change the world. System, 73, 89–93. Murphy, V., & Evangelou, M. (2016). Early childhood education in English for speakers of other languages. London: British Council. Nikolov, M. (1999). Why do you learn English? ‘Because the teacher is short.’ A study of Hungarian children’s foreign language learning motivation. Language Teaching Research, 3(1), 33–56. Nikolov, M., & Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, J. (2011). All shades of every color: An overview of early teaching and learning of foreign languages. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 31, 95–119. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190511000183. Ricento, T. (Ed.). (2000). Ideology, politics and language policies: Focus on English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Robinson, P. (Ed.). (2002). Individual differences and instructed language learning. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Rokita-Ja´skow, J. (2013). Foreign language learning at pre-primary learning: Parental aspirations and educational practice. Kraków: Wydawnictwo UP. Rokita-Ja´skow, J. (2015a). Is foreign language knowledge a form of capital passed from one generation to the next? In E. Piechurska-Kuciel & M. Szyszka (Eds.), The ecosystem of the foreign language learner: Selected issues (pp. 153–168). Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer Verlag. Rokita-Ja´skow, J. (2015b). Parental visions of the children’s future as a motivator for an early start in a foreign language. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 5(3), 455–472. https:// doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2015.5.3.6. Rokita-Ja´skow, J., & Ellis, M. (Eds.). (2019). Early instructed second language acquisition: Pathways to competence. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

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Rokita-Ja´skow, J., & Pamuła-Behrens, M. (2019). Policy and practice in early FLL: The case of Poland. In J. Rokita-Ja´skow & M. Ellis (Eds.), Early instructed second language acquisition: Pathways to competence (pp. 11–25). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Sayer, P. (2018). Does English really open doors? Social class and English teaching in public primary schools in Mexico. System, 73, 89–93. Skehan, P. (1991). Individual differences in second language learning. SSL, 13, 275–298. https:// doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2012.00703.x. Toffoli, D. (2020). Informal learning and institution-wide language provision: New language learning and teaching environments. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. Tragant, E., & Victori, M. (2006). Reported strategy use and age. In C. Muñoz (Ed.), Age and the rate of foreign language learning (pp. 208–236). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Wu, X. (2003). Intrinsic motivation and young language learners: The impact of the classroom environment. System, 31, 501–517.

Joanna Rokita-Ja´skow is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland, where she is head of the ELT section. Her main research interests concern child foreign and second language acquisition and foreign language teacher education. She initiated a postgraduate programme in TEYL for pre-primary and lower primary educators. She is also convener of an international triennial conference on child foreign/second language acquisition held in Cracow. She is author of over 50 papers and author/editor of 6 books, the most recent one, co-edited, titled: Early Instructed Second Language Acquisition. Pathways to Competence (2019, Multilingual Matters). https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6272-9548

The Young Learner and Individual Differences

Cognition and Second Language Experience: How Are Executive Function and Second Language Acquisition Related? Dorota E. Campfield

Abstract Bilingual children’s better performance on cognitive tasks has been explained by greater proficiency in executive function (EF) compared with monolingual peers. This is postulated to stem from quality and complexity in their linguistic environment. Many international studies of executive function adopt leading indicators such as academic performance, overall well-being and happiness. This chapter takes a broader view on bilingualism, including child experience of instructed second language (L2) acquisition and research attempts to map relationships between this experience and EF. The focus is on investigations of causality and studies of the bidirectional influence between EF and L2, suggesting that individual childhood differences improve them as L2 learners and that early L2 experience, in turn, commands a lasting influence on EF. The controversy of the claimed bilingual cognitive advantage is also discussed, and methodological issues are raised. A recent call to re-examine EF to include a broader range of the skills relied upon by children to achieve specific goals is briefly introduced with implications for future studies of the EF/L2 relationship. Keywords Executive function · Bilingualism · Instructed L2 acquisition · Child L2 acquisition

1 Introduction Evidence supports the view that the quality of children’s linguistic environment is vital to their cognitive development. Clearly, acquisition of second languages is widely prevalent internationally and takes many forms. Early studies have demonstrated bilingual children’s superior performance on metalinguistic tasks, in comparison with their monolingual peers. This has aroused interest in any potential cognitive advantage in the development of bilingual children with specific focus on executive function (EF). EF is conceptualised as a set of cognitive processes comprising D. E. Campfield (B) The Centre for Foreign Language Teacher Training and European Education, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland e-mail: d.campfi[email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_2

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working memory, inhibitory control and mental flexibility and since these processes have been considered of major importance for such leading indicators in international studies as happiness and well-being, it is understandable that research now aims towards mapping relationships between EF and bilingual experience. Motivation for the illumination of these domains is plain. Can understanding in this area lead to improvement in school performance, both in terms of academic achievement and behaviour? Are there interventions that can be offered by education to narrow the educational disparity between rich and poor? Indeed, can education itself be elevated to a greater level of efficacy and the lives of children improved by school activities that they frequently enjoy? If L2 exposure could be shown to improve EF, then it might itself be viewed as an effective and palatable intervention aimed at attenuating these early disparities at individual level by timetabling sufficient L2 activities. This would then add a novel and important dimension to early introduction of children to foreign languages. The debate surrounding the relationship between bilingual experience and EF reflects a complex picture with contradictory evidence from studies on bilingual advantage with respect to cognitive measures. Research focus has ranged from identification of the aspects of bilingual experience which contribute to superior performance on EF tasks in relation to monolingual participants and which EF component is most influenced by bilingual advantage. Causality has also been investigated, focussing on its direction—does bilingualism drive cognitive function or is it the other way round?—a debate complicated by often hindered access to variables prior to L2 acquisition. Different types of bilingual experience have been examined, from pre-verbal infants through simultaneous to sequential bilinguals and adults who no longer use their second language. Differences in the quantity and intensity of bilingual experience as well as in language balance have been investigated with reference to research into sequential bilingualism. The present chapter aims to present some key issues in the debate on the interaction between different types of bilingual experience and exposure and executive function. Particular attention is given to studies focussing on learners acquiring a second language in instructional settings.

2 Executive Function Ability to self-regulate behaviour is a complex skill underlined by basic skills which include executive function (EF) and involve its integration with other skills and knowledge (Jones et al., 2016). In literature on cognitive development, EF is conceptualised as a set of related cognitive processes such as (a) working memory, (b) inhibitory control and (c) cognitive flexibility (Davidson et al., 2006; Miyake et al., 2000; Zelazo & Müller, 2002). It has been generally accepted that although related, these processes are nevertheless distinct. They were originally identified by Miyake et al. (2000) using factor analysis on the five executive functions defined by Smith and Jonides (1999). These are: (1) focusing attention on relevant information while inhibiting irrelevant information, (2) scheduling processes, including switching

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attention between tasks, (3) planning, (4) updating and checking working memory contents and (5) coding representation in working memory (but see Karr et al., 2018). In short, these functions enable human beings to gain control over information processing and behaviour, thus comprising the human ability to self-regulate. On closer inspection of each function, mental flexibility, often referred to as shifting, is defined as the ability to switch attention between tasks, between different aspects of a given task or, between different operations or properties of a stimulus. Thus defined, it enables a child to “(…) revise plans when faced with obstacles, new information, or errors and to adapt to unexpected and changing developments” (Dawson & Guare, 2004, p. 2). Inhibitory control, often simply called inhibition, is conceptualised as the ability to prevent consciously and deliberately—thus inhibit—a prepotent, automatic response. In terms of behaviour, it enables the child to override a dominant or automatic response whilst focusing on completion of a task—to think before acting, as it were, or to resist an impulse and evaluate a given situation. Working memory (WM) is for storage, retrieval and processing of information that it holds. According to Baddeley and Hitch (1974), it comprises (a) a short-term storage component—referred to as the slave system and (b) an attentional control component—the central executive. Conceptually and empirically these two WM components are correlated but distinguishable. In this model, working memory is also referred to as updating, relating to the idea that this function enables the child to keep a given amount of information in their attention and update it whilst simultaneously performing an operation on this information. Although influential, this model of working memory is one of three competing theoretical models. Rather than conceptualising WM as a separate storage mechanism, some researchers see it as long-term memory (LTM) representations that are temporarily boosted through a limited attentional resource (Cowan & Morey, 2007; Engle et al., 1999). Researchers often apply Oberauer’s model (von Bastian & Oberauer, 2013) which locates WM within a broader framework of executive function. There is, therefore, no theoretical agreement on the models of working memory and a taxonomy of tasks aimed to measure working memory is often based not on these theoretical models but on evidence-based task analyses (Gathercole et al., 2019). However, an important recent voice in the debate on the development of EF provides compelling arguments in favour of moving away from conceptualising EF as a few distinct components, separable by demands for specific tasks, and viewing it instead as the development of many skills honing in on achievement of specific goals (Doebel, 2020). How children apply control to achieve each specific goal will depend on the level of ‘mental content’ such as “(…) relevant knowledge, beliefs, values, norms, interests, and preferences that children acquire with development in a specific sociocultural context (…)” (Doebel, 2020, p. 5).

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3 Why Interest in EF? Researchers generally assert that EF indicators offer clear insights into child intellectual potential and reliably explain variability in academic attainment (Cowan, 2014), therefore, studies investigating factors underlying school achievement adopt EF indicators as more reliable measures of cognitive function than intelligence (Ardila, 1999; Nisbett, 2010). This is due to the fact that the latter relies on tasks demanding abilities usually acquired by children through schooling. Since EF is repeatedly shown as a reliable and important predictor of school success which, in turn is a major predictor of general wellbeing (Best et al., 2011; Duncan et al., 2010) it prevails as a research emphasis. Individual differences in the development of EF that manifest in early childhood have been shown to correlate with higher level of pro-social behaviour, lower levels of disruptive behaviour and higher academic achievement (Bierman et al., 2009; Blair, 2002; Blair et al., 2005; Hughes, 1998; Hughes et al., 1998; Riggs et al., 2004; Smith-Donald et al., 2007; Thorell & Wahlstedt, 2006; Welsh et al., 2010), with EF being more strongly correlated with academic achievement than with behaviour. The sensitive period for development of executive function is attributed to years 2– 5 (Zelazo & Müller, 2011), which, in many countries, falls well before the school entry age. Components of executive function follow different developmental trajectories (Anderson, 2002) maturing by the age of 12 with a critical period between age 7 and 9 for development of cognitive flexibility, goal setting and information processing. The relationship between EF and school achievement weakens, therefore, over successive stages of education (Cowan & Alloway, 2009). Strong dependency between EF and academic performance is observed with younger, primary school children (a) for mathematical ability (Reuhkala, 2001), (b) for reading ability (Christofer et al., 2012; Jacob & Parkinson, 2015; Kaczan & Sobolewski, 2015; Kibby et al., 2014) and (c) for mathematical, reading and writing ability (S˛edek et al., 2016). Lower EF performance is associated with learning difficulties, lower verbal and problem solving abilities, concentration difficulties or increased susceptibility to distraction (Alloway et al., 2010). Disparities in EF, already manifest at the pre-school stage, relate to socioeconomic factors, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds performing persistently below the more advantaged participants on EF measures (Farah et al., 2006). Of particular concern to educators are voices that claim that subsequent school experience does not appear to improve the level of EF. Rather worryingly, Hackman et al. (2014) demonstrated that differences in working memory that appear by the age of 10 are associated with parental education and are not attenuated by schooling since these differences persist into teenage years and beyond. As children from disadvantaged backgrounds perform below their peers on EF measures, home environment and parenting practices are key to cognitive development, subsequent happiness and well-being. Since these environments differ, it is not difficult to see that any improvement in EF will impact child development. Therefore, any initiatives aimed at improving executive functions for pre-school children have

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the potential to influence early learning experiences and future academic achievement, reducing the achievement gap between learners, thus equalising chances for children from disparate socioeconomic backgrounds. Improving executive functions such as working memory, mental flexibility and inhibition is considered likely to have enduring and positive effects, not only for cognitive but also for social and emotional development. Therefore, monitoring EF development from the early years in a child’s life is considered vital to the well-conceived provision of early education and care, with the OECD having just completed a study focusing on 5-year old children in a number of countries in this domain (OECD, 2020).

4 EF and Bilingual Experience There is a growing body of research attempting to map out the relationship between EF and bilingual experience. This interest is justified since, as discussed above, EF is relevant to cognitive development, child outcomes such as thinking and social behaviour, school readiness, success at school and subsequent happiness and general well-being. The nature of the interaction between different types of bilingual experience and executive function, as well as the direction of this interaction has been under some scrutiny with interest ranging from infancy experience to later acquisition of L2. Interest in the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive development originated with a study by Galambos and Hakuta (1988) in which bilingual children demonstrated better performance than their monolingual peers on tasks assessing abstract language structure. This apparent bilingual advantage could be repeatedly observed in cognitive rather than linguistic tasks. Research reported bilingual advantage for children (Bialystok, 1999; Bialystok & Martin, 2004; Carlson & Meltzoff, 2008; Yoshida et al., 2011) and for adults (Bialystok et al., 2004, 2007, 2008; Costa et al., 2008, 2009; Prior & MacWhinney, 2010). It was noted that such advantage was observed especially in tasks that demanded participants to manage conflict (Adesope et al., 2010; Barac et al., 2014; Bialystok, 1986). It suggests that having more than one language active in the brain, together with the need to constantly engage in the process of selection from this activated material, offers unique training for the executive function system. In other words, bilinguals’ constant need to control two or more languages is thought to drive practice of important domain-general EF processes. These linguistic operations are often, therefore, used to explain comparatively better bilingual performance. Joint activation of two languages in a bilingual brain is supported by behavioural (Beauvillain & Grainger, 1987; Marian & Spivey, 2009; Poulisse, 2000; Schwartz & Kroll, 2006), eye-tracking (Marian et al., 2003) and neuroimaging data (Abutalebi et al., 2007; Christoffels et al., 2007; Hoshino & Thierry, 2011; Martin et al., 2009; Misra et al., 2012; Rodriguez-Fornells et al., 2002) with the domain-general inhibitory control postulated to suppress access to non-target lexis (Meuter, 2005; Kroll et al., 2008). Additionally, it is hypothesised that depending on interlocutors’

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language, (a) attentional monitoring is needed to determine which language is to be used (Costa et al., 2009; Soveri et al., 2011) and (b) attentional shifting makes any switching between languages possible—as in the case of code or interlocutor switching (Abutalebi & Green, 2007; Costa & Santesteban, 2004; Prior & Gollan, 2011). This ability to track the environment by (a) detecting changes in demands dictated by tasks or stimuli and (b) altering responses according to such demands— although equally necessary for efficient monolingual language use (Paap & Greenberg, 2013)—is particularly well served by bilingual load, arguably offering more practice for bilingual speakers, thus resulting in their advantage on non-linguistic tasks (Green, 1998). Although results from neuroimaging studies indicate differences in brain activation and behavioural studies show better bilingual performance, there are also studies that do not confirm differences between mono and bilingual participants (Paap & Greenberg, 2013). Some researchers are more cautious or even sceptical about attributing cognitive advantages to bilingual speakers. Arguments are made pointing to the fact that differences in the level of EF exist not only between bilingual and monolingual speakers but also within (a) bilingual and (b) monolingual speakers and (c) L2 learners. When controlling their two languages, bilingual speakers with better EF abilities demonstrate less difficulty and are better able to avoid interference from their non-target language during a bilingual picture naming task (Festman et al., 2010). In a neuroimaging picture-naming study, Meschyan and Hernandez (2006) demonstrated that during production in their weaker language, bilingual speakers were likely to engage in similar EF processes. fMRI evidence pointed to significant increase in activation in brain regions shown to be activated during task-switching and inhibition tasks. Individual differences in EF are also seen between monolingual speakers, as those with better cognitive control are more successful at processing ambiguous sentences (Novick et al., 2005). Following a training programme aimed at improving task performance in conflict resolution, monolingual speakers were better able to avoid misinterpretation of garden-path sentences (Novick et al., 2014), suggesting that better non-linguistic cognitive control results in more efficient linguistic processing. Similar individual differences in EF abilities are observed and appear to be important for L2 learning. Linck et al. (2009) looked at adult learners’ access to their L1 after 3 months of an L2 immersion experience and found that those with better EF ability demonstrated reduced access to their L1. Specifically, for learners with better EF abilities, a significantly smaller interference from L1 translation was observed in a judgement task that required participants to decide whether a pair of L1 and L2 words were translation equivalents. Also, the L2 immersion experience resulted in reduced performance on an L1 fluency task. These results enabled Linck et al. (2009) to conclude that L2 learners with better EF skills were able to inhibit access to their L1—leading to a reduced access to L1 during a judgement and fluency task—in order to acquire the L2 more efficiently and successfully. The need to inhibit L1 during L2 learner production was also emphasised by Wang et al. (2007), who observed increased activation in the regions associated with EF processing (bilateral frontal cortices and left anterior cingulate cortex) in a study with adult Chinese learners

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of L2 English. Their fMRI study aimed to compare neural activation when learners were switching between their Chinese L1 and English L2 which they were learning during testing. It is established, therefore, that individual differences in the level of EF skills are associated with differences in language processing abilities equally for bilingual and monolingual speakers, as well as for L2 learners (Festman et al., 2010; Pivneva et al., 2012, 2014). Additionally, the impact of the explanation for bilingual advantage in cognitive tasks with reference to the complexity of their linguistic environment and the need to resolve conflict between different linguistic features was weakened when subsequent studies showed that bilingual infants were able to distinguish language change exclusively from visual cues, i.e., when shown a silent video with faces reading sentences in one language and then switching to a different language. The language change was not noticed by monolingual infants. Significantly, the language change was detected not only in relation to the languages in the bilinguals’ environment (Weikum et al., 2007) but also during the switch made between languages outside the infants’ immediate environment (Sebastian-Galles et al., 2012). The ability to detect language change on the basis of facial features, not associated with the languages in the bilingual environment, suggests that the bilingual experience of these infants cued their attentional processing to enable them to register any—even extremely subtle—changes in their environment more efficiently than monolingual infants. So, it may not be the constant switching between two languages as such but rather the processing efficiency development resulting from (a) establishing a complex representational structure servicing two languages (or more) and (b) concomitant employment of the executive function system to maintain attention to the target language that enables bilingual infants to discriminate between any subtle changes in their environment (Bialystok, 2015). There are other studies that show that very young bilingual children—2.5–5 year olds—outperform monolingual children on tasks such as a tapping or reverse categorisation (Bialystok et al., 2010), Theory of Mind or the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (DCCS) (Zelazo et al., 1996). This latter task calls both upon inhibition and monitoring, since participants are first asked to sort cards in one dimension, such as colour and then the target is switched (now requiring inhibition of the first dimension) and sorting accords to the second dimension, such as shape, which requires monitoring. However, by this age children can already communicate effectively in both languages. What is remarkable about the studies of Weikum et al. (2007) and Sebastian-Galles et al. (2012) is the fact that participants were pre-speech babies which rather suggests that EF bilingual advantage does not require an extensive and well-developed representational system to manifest itself. Other studies also show bilingual EF advantage in the first year of life with observed greater flexibility and inhibitory control over simple behaviour. Studying the eye movements of 7-month old infants, Kovacs and Mehler (2009) demonstrated that bilingual—but not monolingual—participants were able to override, that is, inhibit, the learnt response when a reward appeared in a different place following an auditory cue. Also, 6-month old infants demonstrated superior habituation and concept formation with better stimulus

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encoding and recognition performance than their monolingual peers (Singh et al., 2014).

5 EF and Learning a Second Language If, as exemplified by the above studies, extensive exposure to two languages and a solid, well-established representational system including two languages is not a prerequisite for bilingual advantage on cognitive tasks, two obvious questions arise: (a) how much exposure to another language is necessary and, importantly for L2 learners in instructional settings, (b) is it possible that even a small amount of experience with another language can improve EF? Bialystok and Barac (2013) studied children learning a second language through immersion. They were monolingual English speakers having spent varying periods in the immersion program and achieved different levels of L2 proficiency. The findings demonstrated that these children’s L2 proficiency predicted performance on metalinguistic tasks, while performance on nonverbal EF tasks was predicted by the length of time spent in the immersion programme. These results relate to children and suggest that even a little school L2 exposure results in EF improvements. A similar result was obtained with adult L2 learners. Sullivan et al. (2014) tested two groups of university-level participants on several EF tasks. One task was a nonverbal Go/No-Go task. One group was signed up for Introductory Spanish and the other for Introductory Psychology (year-long courses). After the first testing session no differences between students in the two groups were observed but after the second session, the Spanish students scored better ERP results. So, although there were no differences between learners at the behavioural level (first session) the waveforms of L2 learners were different from those of students attending a course in Psychology. Similar results were obtained in two previous studies (Fernandez et al., 2013; Moreno et al., 2014) and showed waveform differences between monolingual and bilingual participants with electrophysiology of bilinguals consistent with better performance. Indeed, some studies have reported improvement in cognitive functioning following as little as one week of an intensive language course (Bak et al., 2016). These studies affirm, therefore, that (a) even a small amount of experience in L2 learning can result in changes in cognitive processes, (b) these changes can be observed even in the absence of behavioural data (behavioural differences) and (c) they occur in both child and adult learners whose exposure is limited to instructional settings. As mentioned earlier, attributing cognitive advantage to bilingual experience is controversial. Some researchers do not support these claims, backed with evidence not showing performance differences between bilingual and monolingual participants on inhibitory control tasks (Kousaie & Phillips, 2012; Paap & Greenberg, 2013)— some used a large sample of bilingual and monolingual children (Duñabeitia et al., 2013)—on switching tasks (Hernandez et al., 2013; Paap & Greenberg, 2013), or all three components of EF including working memory (Kousaie et al., 2014).

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With reference to inhibitory control tasks, perhaps it should be expected that some studies would not identify differences between bilingual and monolingual participants since, as Bialystok (2015) argues, it is not bilinguals’ ability to inhibit attention to the non-target language that leads to the improvement in executive function but exactly the opposite. It is the ability to refrain from any inhibition of attention in order to attend to both languages in the environment. Employing executive function in the process of avoiding interference between the two languages is what favours the ability of bilingual adults and infants to perceive contrasts in their environment. In other words, it is precisely the lack of inhibition that enables (a) bilingual infants to perceive contrasts between the languages in their environment, even in the absence of any auditory support—as for the infants in Weikum et al. (2007) and SebastianGalles et al. (2012), and (b) bilingual adults to be drawn to contrasting features of jointly-activated languages. The picture of bilingual-monolingual differences in relation to EF is, therefore, rather complex with confusing contradictory evidence for bilingual advantages. Tasks focusing on specific executive functions have not revealed any single component that is uniquely responsible for bilingual advantage (Bialystok, 2015). Researchers suggest that to ensure that participant performance is not specific to a particular task, studies should include at least two measures for each EF function (Paap et al., 2015; Paap & Greenberg, 2013). It is also proposed that a ‘yes/no’ answer to the question of bilingual EF advantage is ill-conceived and overlooks the complexity of (a) processing two languages and (b) the higher order control processes of which EF is an example. Apart from the factor of the type of tasks employed in studies already mentioned, any results assessing the efficiency and quality of these complex processes will inevitably be influenced by the study population with socio-demographic variables such as immigrant status and types of bilingualism. Clearly not only the earlylate acquisition factor will result in different cognitive consequences, but quality of the bilingual linguistic environment will also be influential. The degree of regularity and consistency of the bilingual use of both languages will also have cognitive consequences. The complexity of the above debate is not exhausted by the question of whether attributing EF advantage to bilingual speakers is justified by the evidence. Questions of (a) causality and (b) a possible bidirectionality of influence additionally complicate the picture of the relationship between EF and exposure to two languages. When studies report bilingual advantages, these are often attributed to bilingual experience. Recently, however, attention has been directed to a possible reverse direction of influence, raising questions of whether better EF renders (a) bilingualism less demanding and (b) these monolingual individuals to be more likely and better L2 learners. Research reported above shows that, indeed, better EF skills lighten the ‘burden’ of bilingualism (see also Festman et al., 2010; Linck et al., 2009 for L2 learners) but, apart from being better at language processing, are such individuals also more likely to become L2 learners and are they likely to be better L2 learners? Additionally, in relation to L2 acquisition, the question is not only whether children with better EF become better learners of another language but also whether their exposure to L2

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supports their EF development and, by inference, academic performance. The question is especially important since we know that individual EF level differences are already manifest in early childhood and relate to socioeconomic factors. If L2 exposure could be shown to improve EF, then it might itself offer an effective intervention aimed to attenuate individual level early disparities. A study by Kapa and Colombo (2014) investigated whether individual EF processing differences predict individual language learning abilities by looking at adult and child artificial language learning (ALL). Although the findings from this study are inevitably restricted to laboratory conditions for ALL, they nevertheless have important implications to our understanding of the relationship between EF components and L2 learning. Participants were 87 English monolingual adults (undergraduate students) and 44 children (mean age of 4 years and 8 months). The research questions were (a) whether inhibitory control, shifting and attentional monitoring predicted ALL, over and above working memory and L1 receptive vocabulary and (b) whether this relationship applied equally to adults and pre-school children. The results of the Kapa and Colombo (2014) study confirmed EF ability as predictive for ALL for children and adults. For adults, inhibition was a significant predictor for language learning and for children it was attentional shifting. This result is explained by recourse to possible strategies employed by the participants during ALL and during subsequent performance on the AL test. If adults employed translation between English and AL as their strategy (also reported by Kroll & Tokowicz, 2001), then their ability to suppress English equivalents of AL words would be significant. Children, when learning another language, may need two labels for an object—English and AL—and those whose ability to consider multiple properties of objects and switch attention between them may have fared better at ALL and in subsequent testing. For adult learners, the analysis revealed that L1 receptive vocabulary and verbal short term were positively related to AL outcomes—consistent with earlier studies (Atkins & Baddeley, 1998; Martin & Ellis, 2012; Sparks et al., 2012), whilst of the three EF functions, after controlling for L1 vocabulary and WM, only inhibitory control predicted AL learning. Since the measure of AL outcome had real-world referents with English translations, the authors speculate that adults with better inhibitory control were better able to avoid accessing the English equivalents of AL words, thus favouring them as AL learners. A similar role for inhibition in adult L2 learning was proposed by Linck et al. (2009) and Wang et al. (2007). The authors admit, however, that without a clear control mechanism for inferences (a) within a language and (b) between languages, it is difficult to elucidate what exactly their participants were able to inhibit. In other words, was inhibition employed in the context of AL itself or between AL and English L1? Additionally, the authors stipulate that this inhibitory control effect was shown as having an independent effect of WM when a simple span measure of WM—forward and backward digit span—was used and that a more complex task, such as an operation span task, might attenuate such an effect. The child data returned a somewhat different picture. After controlling for WM span, of the EF measures, only the shifting ability, measured by the Dimensional Change Card Sort, was predictive of children’s performance on AL tasks, with a

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rather counterintuitive negative result for children’s L1 receptive vocabulary. The later was explained by reference to explicit learning mechanisms employed during ALL—and therefore unrelated to implicitly acquired L1 vocabulary—whilst faster response times on the task requiring switching between congruent and incongruent trials was interpreted as better attentional monitoring (also see Costa et al., 2009). And since during the AL training the children had to attend to multimodal AL input— to changes of stimuli—those with a better level of attentional monitoring were better able to learn the AL. The Kapa and Colombo (2014) study concluded that both inhibition and shifting are necessary for ALL but the employment of these EF components is related to strategies used (a) in the acquisition of L2 and/or (b) during task performance. So, whilst previous research established a link between L2 acquisition and EF such that proficient and balanced bilinguals demonstrated superior performance over monolinguals on EF measures, Kapa and Colombo study (2014) showed that both children and adults use EF in the process of acquiring a novel AL. If, reflecting on the above result with ALL, it is possible to show that EF is predictive also of natural L2 learning, then the possibility of integrating EF training into language instruction to improve people’s language learning outcomes becomes an important possibility. Indeed, EF training for academic success is becoming increasingly popular (Diamon & Lee, 2011; Hussey & Novick, 2012; Posner & Rothbart, 2005; Tang & Posner, 2009). Results from previous research with bilingual children showing them as outperforming monolinguals both on the DCCS (Bialystok, 1999; Bialystok & Martin, 2004) and on the Attention Network Test (Kapa & Colombo, 2013; Yoshida et al., 2011) were interpreted in terms of bilingual experience enhancing executive function skills. The results obtained by Kapa and Colombo (2013) with very young monolingual children enabled the authors to suggest that the relationship between EF and language learning may be bidirectional, in that children with better EF skills may not only become better language learners but that also the experience of having to control more than one language improves their domain-general EF abilities. Specifically with reference to research with bilingual participants, the authors suggest that “by selecting highly proficient bilinguals to include in their samples, researchers may also be selecting individuals who had relatively strong EF abilities before they began speaking an L2” (Kapa & Colombo, 2014, p. 249). In the context of a possible bidirectional nature of EF and language learning, a study within the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 by Cox et al. (2016) is revealing. The authors aimed to assess the influence of bilingualism on cognitive skills whilst controlling for early childhood intelligence and social class. Not only did they want to assess the extent to which different executive and social-emotional abilities may be influenced by bilingualism, defined as participants’ reported ability to communicate in L2, but also argued that adjusting for cognitive abilities and social class in childhood would allow them to tap into the possible bidirectional relationship between cognition and bilingualism. In other words, rather than bilingualism causing better performance on cognitive tasks, better cognitive performance and bilingualism in adulthood—or rather old age in the case of this study—both might arise from having

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higher childhood intelligence and/or social class. Instead of assuming that participants are better at executive function tasks because of bilingual experience, the authors wanted to discover whether perhaps people had become bilingual because they were from socially more advantaged backgrounds or were more intelligent as children. To that effect, Cox et al. (2016) focused on 90 adult participants born in the same year, 1936, in the same place in Scotland, who in 1947, at the age of 11, underwent an intelligence test. At the time of the study they were aged 74. In addition to several EF tasks they were also tested on tasks intended to assess social skills such as Faux Pas and Moral Dilemma tests. Earlier studies showing superior bilingual performance on Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks (Goetz, 2003; Rubio-Fernandez & Gluksberg, 2012) involved child participants and here for the first time Cox et al. (2016) investigated adults in their old age. The 74-year old participants were all English speaking, 26 were classified as bilingual (reported as being able to communicate in L2) and 64 were monolingual. Better performance of bilingual children on ToM tasks was interpreted in terms of bilingual experience conferring better perspective-taking, false belief and appearance-reality perception and, therefore, greater sensitivity to sociolinguistic interactions with interlocutors. The results showed that only the switching function (the Simon effect1 ) was part of the bilingual advantage, with the earlier Faux Pas effect disappearing after taking childhood intelligence—measured at the age of 11—and social class into account. Learning L2 before the age of 11 did not influence the Simon effect result. This result of a significant effect of the cost of switching between incongruent and congruent trials as benefiting from bilingual experience is consistent with previous studies (Kroll & Bialystok, 2013) but contrary to Paap et al.’s (2015) suggestion that individual differences in raw reaction times may be a confounding factor for the bilingual advantage on the Simon effect. So, although bilingualism did influence participant EF, it alone—without childhood intelligence and social class—did not benefit their ToM abilities, as measured by the Faux Pas test. This result enabled the authors to suggest that perhaps ‘children with better social cognition are more likely to learn a second language and tend to grow up to perform better on tests of complex ToM’ (p. 303). Importantly to the context of L2 learning in instructional settings, Cox et al.’s (2016) participants were not classical simultaneous bilinguals but started L2 learning later in life. Some researchers suggested that although earlier acquisition may lead to ‘native-like’ command of the language, cognitive advantages may be more a domain of late acquisition (Dunabeitia & Carreiras, 2015) with requirements for stronger inhibition mechanisms than in the case of simultaneous or early acquisition (Bak et al., 2014; Tao et al., 2011)—an effect that Cox et al. (2016) say may contribute 1 During the Simon task, participants are asked to respond as quickly and as accurately as possible to

a stimulus, e.g.,: a red or green square, by pressing a key or a button. In congruent trials a response is required with the same laterality as the stimulus presentation and in incongruent trials the response and the stimulus are presented at opposite sides. The Simon Effect is the proportion of incongruent to congruent trials with lower scores indicating a lower switching cost and it is therefore used as an indicator for individual, simple processing speed differences.

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to better performance on the Simon task. Another noteworthy aspect of Cox et al.’s (2016) study is that their participants were no longer active bilinguals—i.e., not using a language other than English in their daily life—and yet their bilingual experience seemed to have a lasting effect on their EF—an effect also reported by Bak et al. (2014). The studies of Kapa and Colombo (2013) and Cox et al. (2016) seem to suggest that certain individual childhood differences may make people more likely to become L2 learners—and better L2 learners—providing the potential for them to become more proficient and more balanced bilinguals—and, in turn, the bilingual experience may have a lasting effect on their EF, benefiting especially, as also suggested by Kroll and Bialystok (2013) the ‘relative cost of resolving cognitive conflict’. As already mentioned, if EF is part of L2 aptitude then any EF interventions, by inference, have the potential to assist L2 learning. As Kapa and Colombo (2013), Goriot et al. (2018) also speculate whether bilingual advantage may be seen because by selecting these participants researchers may already be selecting people with better EF skills. Their study is important for its focus on (a) the relationship between language balance and level of EF (switching, inhibitory control and working memory) and (b) instructional settings and relative low exposure to L2. Three different age groups: (a) 4–5 year olds, (b) 8–9 year olds and (c) 11–12 year olds were investigated to see whether older pupils who had enrolled on early start English programmes developed better EF than their peers as a result. Findings demonstrated language balance as related to EF. Children, who were more balanced in language proficiency, performed better in switching than the inhibition measuring task. So, rather than differences between L1 and L2, individual differences between learners in lexical L1/L2 balance – even when those differences are minor – explain variation in switching outcomes. This result is in line with earlier studies. Bloom et al. (2014) demonstrated a significant relationship between language balance (Dutch and Turkish) and working memory2 and Thomas-Sunesson et al. (2018) between Spanish-English balance and executive control and working memory. However, the effect of language balance on switching outcomes found by Goriot et al. (2018) contrasts with Paap et al. (2014, 2017) and Gathercole et al. (2014) who found no relation between balanced bilingualism and switching RTs in card sorting tasks. Goriot et al’s explanation for this dissonance is a case in point in discussion of the importance of context and task characteristics when drawing conclusions about the relationship between bilingual experience and EF. In contrast to Paap et al. (2014, 2017) and Gathercole et al.’s (2014) early bilinguals, the participants in the Goriot et al. (2018) study were late bilinguals, still in the process of L2 learning and at a stage when the two languages are not yet automatized—the fact, the authors point out, which may account for the significance between L1/L2 2 Goriot et al (2018) showed no relationship between L1/L2 balance and working memory (WM)—

contrary to Bloom et al. (2014) for Dutch-Turkish bilinguals—and there is some speculation that if such a relationship between working memory does exist it might exist in more advanced L2 learners. Bilingual advantage in working memory (WM) was not shown by Barac et al. (2014).

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balance and switching. A possible bidirectional relationship between bilingual experience and EF skills was also speculated on by Goriot et al. (2018) in the context of L1/L2 balance, suggesting not only that the balance has the potential to drive the level of switching ability but that the reverse might also be true – children with better switching abilities might be better at mastering L2. As already mentioned, the importance of this study lies in instructional, rather than naturalistic settings and, as in the case of adult participants in the Cox et al. study (2016), with relatively minimal exposure to L2. When comparing participants enrolled on early English programmes with peer controls, Goriot et al. (2018) found no significant differences between these two groups on EF measures, concluding that 60 minutes per week of L2 instruction—and even less actual language, by teachers’ admissions—may not be enough to foster EF. A question about a possible critical exposure time threshold arises with the need for future research to look at similar age groups but with greater exposure to L2. In this context Puri´c et al. (2017) found that pupils enrolled on a foreign language programme for 5 hrs per day showed advantages in working memory (WM)—and that the group that received only 1,5 hrs did not perform differently on WM than the monolingual group.

6 Conclusions Overall, therefore, research on bilingual advantages in EF remains controversial. Some researchers claim no convincing evidence for such an advantage or concede that it may appear only under specific conditions (de Bruin et al., 2015; Paap & Greenberg, 2013; Paap et al., 2015). Studies call for measures of potential advantage without restriction to specific tasks and advocate inclusion of at least two measures to (a) ensure that performance is not task-specific and (b) enable suitable generalisations. Also, the appropriateness of some commonly used tasks has been called into question. For example, with reference to the Simon task, Paap and Greenberg (2013) and later Linck and Weiss (2015) point to its low reliability thus limiting the magnitude of the relationship between inhibition and language proficiency whilst Blumenfeld and Marian (2013) question its use altogether, suggesting that bilinguals’ management of potential conflict among competing representations within the lexicon is far more complex than managing the conflict between representation and response required in the Simon task. Therefore, a Stroop-like inhibition task with the stimulus-stimulus conflict is proposed as more relevant for investigating any bilingual advantage (Poarch, 2018). Additionally, when making claims about EF and language learning, it is necessary to manipulate interference between languages. Especially in the case of inhibitory control, there needs to be clarity about the context in which inhibition operates. In other words, what is it exactly that learners are inhibiting? Are they inhibiting alternative answers within a given language on a target task or are they working across languages and utilising inhibitory control between different languages? Studies like those of Goriot et al. (2018) demonstrate not only that as little as 60 minutes a week L2 exposure is beneficial for L1/L2 balance in lexical

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proficiency and, in turn, to switching ability but also that cognitive functions may be independently influenced by different aspects of bilingual experience such as (a) age of acquisition, (b) level of proficiency attained and (c) context in which L2 is used. Future studies should also examine longitudinal data from learners at different levels of L2 proficiency to determine whether the cognitive abilities associated with positive L2 learning outcomes remain stable over time. Linck et al. (2013) indicate that WM is, indeed, related to success at higher proficiency levels. The predictive nature of EF should also be investigated in the context of other variables such as frequency of L2 use and prior language learning. Above all, perhaps, within the context of the call to reconceptualise EF as development of domain-general components (Doebel, 2020), studies of the relationship between EF and L2 should reflect interaction of factors such as motivation (see Munoz, 2014), values and beliefs that, beyond cognitive factors, are postulated to be involved with control towards achieving specific goals. This type of investigation could provide evidence for Doebel’s (2020) claim that values-based training may be more effective than targeting specific EF tasks to improve EF.

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Dorota Campfield entered research having gained broad experience in English teaching and teacher education in the UK, Poland and Finland. Her work and personal experience stimulated her interest in child foreign language (FL) acquisition with particular reference to prosody and methods for evaluation. She has engaged in large-scale investigations of effectiveness of FL education in schools and executive function in pre-school children. Her work is published in books and applied linguistics journals focussing on language education with contributions to national reports. She teaches at Warsaw University and is a Senior Researcher at The Educational Research Institute in Warsaw. She is also active in local education-related initiatives. https://orcid.org/00000002-3555-3540

Trainability of Foreign Language Aptitudes in Children Adriana Biedron´

and Mauricio Véliz-Campos

Abstract Foreign language (FL) aptitude is a complex theoretical construct that encompasses a number of factors contributing to foreign language learning success, namely cognitive abilities, personality, motivation, learning experience, and learning environment. Thus, the purpose of this chapter is to critically examine various research related issues dealing with FL aptitude(s) changeability in children. Language aptitude is most often defined in terms of a purely cognitive factor, which constitutes a ceiling on ultimate attainment (Doughty, 2018). FL aptitude, conceived as comprising other cognitive abilities, has been traditionally presented as a stable, and, consequently, as an untrainable inborn capacity. Nevertheless, the discussion of trainability and instability of FL aptitude(s) has been recently high on the agenda of second language acquisition (SLA) research (Biedro´n & Birdsong, 2019; Doughty, 2018; Rogers et al., 2017). A major concern is, then, whether the learning of languages contributes to a possible increase in FL aptitude. Unfortunately, research into children’s FL aptitude is scarce and, consequently, our understanding of this problem is rather limited. For one thing, linguistic abilities in children have to be approached differently from the way it is done in adults largely due to the cognitive differences between these groups. One of those differences, for instance, deals with cognitive aptitudes for explicit versus implicit learning. Aptitude for explicit learning predicts ultimate attainment for adults, yet not for children, whereas aptitude for implicit learning predicts learning for both children and adults (DeKeyser, 2019; Granena, 2015). Another factor is developmental dynamics: aptitude in young children cannot be thought of as a fixed quality as it changes over time as children grow older and develop cognitively (Suárez & Muñoz, 2011). Moreover, early bilingualism enhances cognitive abilities and the resulting benefits persist throughout the individual’s lifespan. This chapter focuses on the following problems related to language aptitude pliability in children: definitional issues of FL aptitude, FL aptitude dynamics, differences in cognitive abilities between children and adults, the A. Biedro´n (B) Philology Department, Pomeranian Academy, Słupsk, Poland e-mail: [email protected] M. Véliz-Campos Faculty of Education Sciences, Universidad de Talca, Maule, Chile © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_3

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effects of the critical period on language aptitude, the relationship between cognitive abilities and bilingualism in children, trainability of language aptitude, the role of working memory and intelligence in language aptitude, and research into cognitive factors in immigrant children. Keywords Children · Foreign language aptitude trainability · Cognitive factors

1 Introduction For the most part, it is taken for granted that children learn languages effortlessly and that they will inevitably attain high levels of proficiency. Indeed, a widely-held belief among parents, teachers, and educational authorities is not only children’s evident ease in second/foreign language (L2) learning, but also the degree of uniformity of children’s capability to learn a language. Commonplace popular phrases such as “the sooner the better” or “kids soak a language like sponges” pervade across cultures worldwide. And it needs to be said: not without justification. On the one hand, we can observe bilingual children who codeswitch effortlessly between their parents’ languages or that translate for their immigrant parents as well as those that outperform adults when imitating a foreign accent. On the other hand, teachers often report that not all children in the classroom learn quickly and effortlessly. In fact, differences in language learning abilities tend to increase with age and seem to affect both the native language (L1) and L2. Consequently, several questions arise: is it possible, then, that different levels of FL aptitude may have an effect on children’s learning? Or, can it be argued that perhaps lower attainment results from age-related cognitive limitations, and not deficits in aptitude? Or, can language progress variability and ultimate attainment be ascribed to different chances created by the environment or motivation? As pointed out earlier, this chapter critically discusses FL aptitude trainability in children and various other related issues. FL aptitude is a factor in the domain of human cognitive abilities and behaves as does the psychological construct of intelligence in that it covers a wide range of cognitive learner differences and in that predicts success in SLA effectively. Aptitude, a complex construct in its own right, has come to be conceived of language aptitudes, as it encompasses a number of factors contributing to foreign language learning success, namely various cognitive abilities, personality traits, motivation, learning experience, and even conducive learning environments (Biedro´n, 2012). Language aptitude is often defined in terms of cognitive factors alone, which constitute a ceiling on ultimate attainment (Doughty, 2018). In the words of Wen et al. (2019, p. 1), “in its broadest sense, the concept of FL aptitude refers to the special talent that allows one to learn a foreign language (L2) faster and more effectively than others”, which goes counter the well-established belief that FL aptitude is relevant only in the case of post-pubertal L2 learners as children also exhibit a differentiated array of cognitive abilities, amongst which are verbal intelligence, memory, and FL

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aptitude. Thus, this chapter surveys the relevant research in FL aptitudes in children with greater emphasis on their developmental flexibility. After introducing the construct, we discuss the dynamics of FL aptitude from different perspectives, such as aptitude instruction, the effects of bilingualism and critical periods constraints. Some controversies resulting from recent studies, both behavioral and neurological, are also foregrounded. Other cognitive factors, viz. intelligence and working memory, and how they affect aptitude dynamics are also examined. Finally, we propose some pedagogical recommendations as well as suggestions for further research.

2 Foreign Language Aptitude Following Granena et al. (2016), SLA is greatly affected by individual variation, which involves L2 learning outcomes, learning rate, and processing. This variability has been ascribed to a wide array of individual differences in terms of cognitive abilities, amongst which FL aptitude stands out; indeed, as Li and Luo (2019) argue, “of the various individual factors in FL learning, FL aptitude is considered one of the most important individual differences” (p. 33). This factor has recently witnessed a renewed surge of interest across various disciplines of educational psychology, SLA, and cognitive neuroscience (Ellis, 2019; Wen et al., 2017, 2019). The construct of aptitude, first formally proposed by Carroll (1959), has undergone a strong conceptual evolution over the past 20 years, which has given rise to a hybrid composite construct comprising a number of cognitive factors regarded as the general capacity to master a foreign language (cf. DeKeyser & Koeth, 2011; Dörnyei, 2005). Hence, FL aptitude is now conceived of as an amalgamation of cognitive and perceptual abilities (i.e., aptitudes) (Robinson, 2007; Skehan, 1998; Yilmaz & Granena, 2016); consequently, a particularly high level of such amalgamation is indicative of linguistic giftedness/talent (Biedro´n, 2012; Biedro´n & Pawlak, 2016; Hyltenstam, 2016a, 2016b; Wen et al., 2019). Among the various theories of FL aptitude, both the Processing Stage Model by Skehan (1998, 2016, 2019) and the Aptitude Complex Model by Robinson (2002) are widely considered the most influential ones. Both models incorporate several different cognitive abilities, such as working memory and noticing, which contribute differently to learning outcomes at different processing stages and in different learning conditions. Over the past decade, particular attention has been paid to different types of memory, including working memory and procedural and declarative memory, regarded as new FL aptitudes (Wen, 2016, 2019), present in aptitude testing (Hi-Lab; Doughty et al., 2010, Linck et al., 2014), since working memory has proven to be an effective predictor of proficiency in foreign language learning. Notwithstanding the increased attention paid to FL aptitude in SLA research, FL aptitude research in children continues to be scarce, fragmentary, and inconsistent (Kiss, 2009; Kiss & Nikolov, 2005; Lambelet & Berthele, 2019; Milton & Alexiou,

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2006; Tellier & Roehr-Brackin, 2013). In particular, scant literature is available about the trainability of language aptitude in children.

3 FL Aptitude: A Stable or a Dynamic Factor? FL aptitude was traditionally conceived of as a stable factor and as an untrainable inborn capacity as a result (Carroll, 1981). However, this belief has come in for some criticism (Rogers et al., 2016, 2017; Sáfar & Kormos, 2008; Singleton, 2017), despite the conflicting results emerging from the relevant studies (Ameringer, 2018; Turker et al., 2018). It has been suggested, for example, that the most significant factor potentially capable of modifying the magnitude of FL aptitude is the L2 learning experience, which is particularly susceptible to have a training effect on FL aptitude test scores (Ganschow & Sparks, 1995; Sáfár & Kormos, 2008; Sparks et al., 1997). Accordingly, several studies have concluded that learners with previous language learning experience outperform inexperienced learners (Grigorenko et al., 2000; cf. Harley & Hart, 1997; Planchón & Ellis, 2014; Thompson, 2013). Similarly, it has been found that instruction significantly increases learners’ scores on the MLAT and other FL aptitude tests (Ganschow & Sparks, 1995; Sáfár & Kormos, 2008; Sparks et al., 1997). An increased body of knowledge suggesting that FL aptitude may be modified by instruction has accrued over the last 25 years. In this respect, a seminal investigation dealing with FL aptitude trainability was conducted by Sparks and Ganschow (Ganschow & Sparks, 1995; Sparks & Ganschow, 1993; Sparks et al., 1997). Interestingly, they concluded that instruction brought about a long-term increase in not only FL aptitude scores but also L1 skills. Likewise, a study conducted by Grigorenko et al. (2000), which correlated the number of languages spoken with aptitude test scores (the CANAL FT), concluded that there is a correlation between these factors, which attests to the trainability effect of instruction. In the same vein, Sáfár and Kormos (2008) evaluated the effect of intensive L2 English instruction on L2 aptitude measures in a bilingual Hungarian high school and compared them with those of a monolingual school. It was found that the bilingual school students’ L2 aptitude measures were significantly higher than those of the monolingual high school students, a finding that the authors attributed to intensive instructed language learning. This leads us to believe that the learning of subsequent languages increases metalinguistic awareness, yet Singleton’s (2017) theory is that, to a large extent, the instruments used to measure FL aptitude and language awareness tap into the same constructs. Consequently, there seems to be a blurry distinction between the two constructs; hence, it can be argued that FL aptitude is somewhat flexible. Conflicting results have emerged from neurological studies on aptitude development. On the one hand, various studies have accounted for variation in FL aptitude by means of complementary influences of inborn predispositions and experience– dependent brain flexibility (Golestani et al., 2011; Reiterer et al., 2011a, 2011b; see Biedro´n, 2015, for a review), which suggests that although cognitive abilities are

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most probably inborn, expertise in learning languages affects the efficiency of the neural organization, which, in turn, enhances the learning potential. On the other hand, more recent studies by Reiterer and her team have yielded mixed results, thus undermining the case for FL aptitude dynamics. As a way of illustration, Turker et al. (2018) examined morphological scans of 30 German monolingual native speakers with a view to comparing the auditory cortex anatomy in extremely high- and lowaptitude participants. The variables tested in the study were speech imitation aptitude, English pronunciation skills, language aptitude in the form of MLAT scores, and musical ability. The study confirmed that the high-aptitude L2 learners outperformed the less gifted ones in all the tests, played more musical instruments, and had more complete posterior duplications of the Heschl’s gyrus, the region responsible for auditory processing in the right hemisphere and, consequently, developed primary auditory cortex differently. The Heschl’s gyrus, which exhibits great anatomical variation from individual to individual, is responsible for both linguistic and music processing. Consequently, based upon the stability of the auditory cortex over time and its strong genetic component, the authors suggest that FL aptitude should be defined as rather an innate capacity that develops over time but that remains quite stable in the long term. Another finding of the study appears to challenge the potential for FL aptitude to be modified. This is the lack of a correlation between the number of languages spoken and any of the scores. As a result, FL aptitude may not be such a highly dynamic construct as posited alternatively.

4 Foreign Language Aptitude in Children Research done thus far does not support the popular commonplace ‘the sooner the better’ belief when applied to children in instructed language learning settings; on the contrary, empirical evidence suggests that later starters consistently achieve higher levels of success than younger starters (Larson-Hall, 2008; Muñoz, 2006, 2009). Thus, language learning success at early stages is greatly determined by input quantity and quality, which comes across as compensation for their lack of ability for explicit learning in the case of cognitively immature learners. Conversely, older learners have been found to be successful language learners even in a limited exposure condition thanks to their explicit learning abilities and abstract thinking skills (Tellier & RoehrBrackin, 2013). As far as FL aptitude testing in children is concerned, it must be pointed out that because most FL aptitude tests have been specially designed for adults, FL aptitude testing in children is uncommon. Some of the few studies conducted in this area have been done by Kiss and Nikolov (2005) and Kiss (2009). In their studies FL aptitude was tested in 8 and 12-year-olds using tests that largely relied on the MLAT-E for children (Modern Language Aptitude Test-Elementary; Carroll & Sapon 2002). It was found that children’s aptitude and final achievement in L2 learning correlated significantly. Similarly, Milton and Alexiou (2006) tested 5, 6 and

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7-year-olds using a test of four cognitive abilities that tapped into general skills— and not language-specific skills—a choice predicated on the principle that children have not fully developed their linguistic skills. Despite the fact that the test was informed by different test-construction principles, the results corroborated earlier findings according to which older children outperformed the younger ones. Also, the authors concluded that pinpointing FL aptitude in children proves challenging due to their ongoing development in all cognitive domains, a finding that is in agreement with Suárez and Muñoz’s (2011) claims based on the developmental dynamics in children, which suggests that aptitude in young children cannot be regarded as a fixed quality simply because it changes over time as children grow older and develop cognitively.

5 Cognitive Differences Between Children and Adults The scarcity of language aptitude tests for children results from the very nature of the construct embedded in most language aptitude tests: the learner’s capacity for explicit learning. Following Bley-Vroman’s (1988) and DeKeyser’s (2000) theory, children rely more heavily on their ability for implicit learning, while adults draw on their explicit knowledge (DeKeyser, 2019) or capacity for explicit learning, which to a large extent accounts for the scant research in children’s FL aptitude. Implicit learning capacity has been recently found to predict learning success in both children and adults (DeKeyser, 2019; Granena, 2015), while explicit learning predicts adults’ (and not children’s) ultimate attainment. Nevertheless, this claim has been disputed by researchers such as Tellier and Roehr-Brackin (2013), who set out to test whether or not children benefited from explicit explanation in an instructed limited-input foreign language setting. The authors tested 28 8/9-year-olds with the English MLAT-E, a test of metalinguistic awareness, and proficiency tests in L2, French and Esperanto in an attempt to answer “whether the L2 learning of young children in a minimal-input setting can be maximized by accelerating children’s cognitive development with a view to kick-starting explicit learning processes” (2013, p. 7). It was found that both aptitude and metalinguistic awareness were, in effect, dynamic, yet capable of predicting children’s language achievement in L2. Also, it was found that instruction in either Esperanto or French over a school year resulted in significant gains on measures of aptitude, metalinguistic awareness, and L2 proficiency. In particular, children’s language-analytical ability stood out as the strongest predictor, which suggests that it may not be the level of cognitive maturity alone that determines children’s approach to L2 learning, but L2 learning success may also be determined by explicit, form-focused instruction.

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6 The Effects of the Critical Period Empirical evidence suggests that the critical period, i.e., a period of heightened sensitivity during which one can gain a nativelike level of proficiency in a language, is perhaps one of the major differentiating factors when comparing children with adults. Indeed, it has been observed that there exists a negative correlation between age of onset of language acquisition and ultimate attainment of L2 proficiency (Abrahamsson & Hyltenstam, 2009; DeKeyser, 2000), which evidences the constraints imposed by the critical period. FL aptitude is one of the variables potentially responsible for near native-like proficiency, yet in some cases age of onset clearly appears to play a more pivotal role. In 2000, DeKeyser set out to confirm the impact of the critical period as mediated by age of onset. He concluded that early acquirers attained native or near-native language proficiency, while only adults who exhibited above-average FL aptitude achieved language proficiency levels comparable to that of native speakers, which proved the immaterial nature of FL aptitude when examined in the light of age of onset. A groundbreaking study was conducted by Abrahamsson and Hyltenstam (2008, 2009), where they sought to establish whether native-like proficiency could be achieved by learners with different ages of onset. The study employed a sample made up of 31 speakers of Swedish with the age of onset that ranged between 1–11, and 11 speakers with the age of onset between 12–23, regarded as native speakers by at least 6 out of 10 judges. The mean length of residence of the subjects in Sweden was 25 years. A complex test battery comprising 20 different instruments aimed at measuring the participants’ pronunciation, speech perception abilities, grammatical intuition, grammatical and semantic inferencing, formulaic language, and FL aptitude were used. The overall aim of the test administration process was to uncover the learners’ language weaknesses rather than strengths. Somewhat expectedly, it was found that late starters did not evidence native-speaker proficiency and that speakers loosely regarded as native in everyday communicative contexts exhibited lower than native-like proficiency across the various linguistic aspects, which applied to both late and—rather surprisingly—early language starters. This finding led the authors to conclude that “when faced with a rather demanding linguistic task, nearly half of those who began to acquire the L2 between ages 1-11 exhibited less than native-like grammatical intuition” (2008, p. 496). In their study, as can be inferred, FL aptitude was found to be related to high proficiency. In sum, those few late starters with an age of onset commencing at 12, whose language proficiency was overall native-like, exhibited a high level of FL aptitude (cf. DeKeyser, 2000).

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7 The Effects of Bilingualism Hyltenstam and Abrahamsson’s study challenged the well-established belief that early starters were destined to nativelikeness and fueled a heated debate over the criteria for selection and evaluation of near-native participants as well as the interpretation of results. In a similar vein, the effects of bilingualism have been proposed as a factor responsible for the apparent lack of native-like speakers (Birdsong, 2018; Biedro´n & Birdsong, 2019). Ultimate L2 attainment does not seem to be solely affected by age of onset in active bilinguals as the two languages operate in a two-way direction, which yields, more often than not, differentiated levels of language proficiency in both languages. Other factors present in bilinguals such as language activation, attrition or L1/L2 dominance are also responsible for the observed variability in ultimate L2 attainment. As pointed out earlier, language learning abilities are enhanced by bi/multilingual experience. Several studies have shown that polyglots and hyperpolyglots exhibit above-average language talent (Biedro´n, 2019; Erard, 2019; Hyltenstam et al., 2018; see also Biedro´n & Pawlak, 2016, for a review). For instance, Planchón and Ellis (2014) found that bilinguals and learners with previous formal training outperformed monolinguals in a FL aptitude test (DLAB, Petersen & Al Haik, 1976), which can be attributed to their higher metalinguistic awareness. Similarly, Thompson (2013) examined the relationship between multilingualism and FL aptitude test scores and confirmed the above claim; the investigation also found that multilingual experience—however intensive in a language other than English—is more effective than bilingual experience in increasing FL aptitude (the CANAL FT, Grigorenko et al. 2000). Also, Rogers et al. (2017) examined the relationship between bilingualism, multilingualism, and instructed foreign language learning and LLAMA (Meara, 2005) test scores. It was found, as expected, that significant amounts of the variance (LLAMA_B, 6% and LLAMA_F, 2.6%) were explained by previous language learning experience. Lastly, Cox et al. (2019) study showed that there is a correlation between FL aptitude—operationalized as non-verbal IQ, grammatical inferencing skills, and sound-to-symbol relations, and balanced proficiency in Spanish-English bilinguals. Immigration contexts have served as sources of interesting evidence suggesting that young L2 users who serve the purpose of liaison interpreters for their family members typically develop a degree of language talent. Valdés’s (2002) study indicated that such impromptu young interpreters develop online memory skills, analytical ability, speed of comprehension and production, as well as stress tolerance and higher intellectual abilities such as long-term memory, abstract word knowledge, and abstract reasoning. Although not empirically confirmed, Angelelli (2016) suggested that impromptu young interpreters tend to develop higher cognitive skills and language aptitude resulting from early interaction in complex adult communication. An interesting ongoing study is aimed at examining the effect of age and aptitude on language learning in an immigration context (Lambelet, LAOC Project, personal communication, May 04, 2020). In this respect, the relevant literature has

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indicated that younger immigrants tend to achieve higher proficiency levels in the long term, while older immigrants tend to learn more efficiently during the first stages of their stay. Lambelet’s study consists in examining lexical diversity in oral narratives produced by newly arrived Spanish-speaking parent-child immigrant pairs in the US (n = 102) over a one-year period. The study incorporates two variables, viz. (i) cognitive abilities in the form of explicit and implicit aptitude, working memory and (ii) contextual-affective factors, operationalized as length of stay, self-reported exposure, and anxiety to speak in English. The preliminary findings indicate that while parents tend to develop higher proficiency levels during the first stages of their stay, usually the first 12 months, children outperform them after such a timeframe. Additionally, it has been found that children report lower anxiety levels than their parents to speak English and higher exposure to the L2, with no major differences in aptitude and working memory.

8 Foreign Language Aptitude, Working Memory and Intelligence Working memory (WM) (Baddeley, 2003, 2015) has increasingly come to be viewed as a new candidate for FL aptitude. WM is a cognitive individual difference variable that plays a pivotal role in all L2 learning processes. A remarkable aspect associated with WM is its potential susceptibility to modification, unlike other cognitive factors (Alloway, 2021; Gathercole et al., 2019; Klingberg, 2010; Söderqvist & Nutley, 2015). In Wen’s (2019) view, WM is a primary memory system, made up of multiple components and executive functions, followed by long-term memory. Schwieter and Wen (2021) argue that WM deals with the individual’s cognitive capacity that allows us to maintain and manipulate a limited amount of task-relevant information in our immediate consciousness in order to complete cognitive tasks in everyday life. WM is made up of several components, two of which play a significant role in L2 learning: the phonological loop and the central executive, where the former is a temporary verbal-acoustic storage system, whereas the latter is a system responsible for attentional control of WM. Indeed, it has been found that learners who exhibit greater WM capacity tend to perform better than those with lower WM capacity on a number of language learning tasks and language skills development, namely vocabulary learning and grammar. Whether WM can actually be trained is still open to question. Even though there was some evident suggesting that WM could be trained to enable more and higher quality information processing, particularly in children whose academic performance was affected precisely by poor WM (see Söderqvist & Nutley, 2015, for a review), the notion has been hotly disputed as several studies have yielded either no or conflicting results on far-transfer effects of WM training, as demonstrated by Melby-Lervåg et al. (2016). The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 87 publications and concluded that WM training programs appear to produce short-term, specific training effects that

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do not generalize to measures of “real-world” cognitive skills, which casts doubts on the effectiveness of current computerized WM programmes aimed at training WM. As has been recently suggested by Gathercole et al. (2019), WM depends on tasks and the degree of commonality among them. Additionally, because transfer reveals cognitive routines developed during the training process (see also Rowe et al., 2019), any claims suggesting possible changes must be treated with utmost caution. Following Li (2015, 2019), FL aptitude appears to correlate with intelligence more than it does with WM; intelligence remains relatively unchanged over an individual’s lifetime (Haier, 2014) and is at least 50% heritable (Plomin, 2018), which indicates that FL aptitude is not susceptible to training. In Li’s (2015, 2019) meta-analyses, significant correlations between FL aptitude measures and intelligence were found: .64 for the MLAT and .50 for hybrid aptitude measures. Through factor analysis, it was found that the two variables can hardly be separated, which is indicative of a major overlap between them. Similarly, Lambelet and Berthele (2019) investigated FL aptitude and general cognitive ability (crystallized intelligence and WM) and found that both variables load on the same factor using a sample of 174 children living in the German-speaking part of Switzerland attending grade 4 or 5.

9 Conclusions and Suggestion for Further Research The literature surveyed paints rather a gloomy picture in that there is still a very limited understanding of the FL aptitude dynamics in children and in that FL aptitude is not affected by training, but by bilingualism and the cumulative effect of learning languages. L2 ultimate attainment is largely affected by the amount of input, the degree of L2 immersion, and high levels of motivation. Consequently, instructed L2 learning in young learners will most likely produce very modest results. Phonological talent, on the other hand, appears to be an innate characteristic, although the potential effect of practice cannot be ruled out altogether. On this rather pessimistic tone, chances of increasing cognitive factors intertwined with FL aptitude such as WM and intelligence are slim; indeed, WM, which has been thought of as a more trainable ability, has produced short-time effects not transferrable to real life activities. Thus, in instructed L2 learning and teaching contexts, teachers are left with the task of adapting activities to their students’ strengths and weaknesses, an approach termed aptitudetreatment-interaction. The literature offers a wide array of didactic activities suitable for mixed-ability classes (see, for example, Biedro´n & Pawlak, 2016; Gregersen & MacIntyre, 2014), where a reasonable proficiency level enough to engage in effective communication can be achieved as a result of high learner motivation and the use of the most suitable teaching techniques. In such contexts, as can be inferred, language talent seems immaterial and so does native-likeness. It must be pointed out that FL aptitude in children remains terra incognita in SLA. Thus, the directions that research into children’s FL aptitude can take are varied: for instance, there is an evident need for longitudinal studies on the effects of different sorts of instruction on different groups of young learners; the design of implicit

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aptitude tests as this seems to be the preferred—if not only—learning mode used by children; neurological tests of FL aptitude development in children, however complicated that can be for ethical reasons; and also the changing relationship between FL aptitude and different kinds of child bilingualism. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Chilean National Research Agency Fondecyt, Project number 11170031.

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Robinson, P. (2002). Learning conditions, aptitude complexes and SLA: A framework for research and pedagogy. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning (pp. 113–133). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins. Robinson, P. (2007). Aptitudes, abilities, contexts, and practice. In R. M. DeKeyser (Ed.), Practice in second language (pp. 256–286). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rogers, V. E., Meara, P., Aspinall, R., Fallon, L., Goss, T., Keey, E., & Thomas, R. (2016). Testing aptitude. EUROSLA Yearbook, 16(1), 179–210. Rogers, V., Meara, P., Barnett-Legh, T., Curry, C., & Davie, E. (2017). Examining the LLAMA aptitude tests. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 1(1), 49–60. Rowe, A., Titterington, J., Holmes, J., Henry, L., & Taggart, L. (2019). Interventions targeting working memory in 4–11 year olds within their everyday contexts: A systematic review. Developmental Review, 52, 1–23. Sáfár, A., & Kormos, J. (2008). Revisiting problems with foreign language aptitude. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 46(2), 113–136. Schwieter, J. W., & Wen, E. Z. (to appear 2021). Working memory in monolinguals and bilinguals. In J. W. Schwieter, & E. Z. Wen (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of working memory and language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Singleton, D. (2017). Language aptitude: Desirable trait or acquirable attribute? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 89–103. Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Skehan, P. (2016). Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes. In G. Granena, D. O. Jackson, & Y. Yilmaz (Eds.), Cognitive individual differences in L2 processing and acquisition (pp. 17–40). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Skehan, P. (2019). Language aptitude implicates language and cognition skills. In Z. E. Wen, P. Skehan, A. Biedro´n, S. Li, & R. Sparks (Eds.), Language aptitude: Advancing theory, testing, research and practice (pp. 56–78). New York and London: Routledge. Söderqvist, S., & Nutley, S. (2015). Cogmed working memory training. Claims & evidence, Complete Version. Pearson Clinical Assessment. Retrieved from http://www.cogmed.com/wpcontent/uploads/CogmedClaimsEvidence.pdf. Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L. (1993). The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at risk high school foreign language learners: A replication and follow up study. Annals of Dyslexia, 43, 194–216. Sparks, R. L., Ganschow, L., Artzer, M., & Patton, J. (1997). Foreign language proficiency of at risk and not at risk learners over 2 years of foreign language instruction: A follow up study. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30(1), 92–98. Suárez, M. d. M., & Muñoz, C. (2011). Aptitude, age and cognitive development: The MLAT-E in Spanish and Catalan. In L. Roberts, G. Pallotti & C. Bettoni (Eds.), EuroSLA Yearbook (Vol. 11, pp. 5–29). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Tellier, A., & Roehr-Brackin, K. (2013). The development of language learning aptitude and metalinguistic awareness in primary-school children: A classroom study. Essex Research Reports in Linguistics, 62(1), 1–28. Thompson, A. S. (2013). The interface of language aptitude and multilingualism: Reconsidering the bilingual/multilingual dichotomy. Modern Language Journal, 97, 685–701. Turker, S., Reiterer, S., Schneider, P., & Seither-Preisler, A. (2018). The neuroanatomical correlates of foreign language aptitude. In S. M. Reiterer (Ed.), Exploring language aptitude: Views from psychology, the language sciences, and cognitive neuroscience (pp. 119–149). Springer. Valdés, G. (Ed.). (2002). Expanding definitions of giftedness: The case of young interpreters from immigrant communities. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Wen, Z. E. (2016). Working memory and second language learning: Towards an integrated approach. Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Wen, Z. E. (2019). Working memory as language aptitude. In Z. E. Wen, P. Skehan, A. Biedro´n, S. Li, & R. Sparks (Eds.), Language aptitude: Advancing theory, testing, research and practice (pp. 187–214). New York and London: Routledge.

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Wen, Z. E., Biedro´n, A., & Skehan, P. (2017). Foreign language aptitude theory: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. Language Teaching, 50(1), 1–31. Wen, Z. E., Skehan, P., Biedro´n, A., Li, S., & Sparks, R. (Eds.). (2019). Language aptitude: Advancing theory, testing, research and practice. London and New York: Routledge. Yilmaz, Y., & Granena, G. (2016). The role of cognitive aptitudes for explicit language learning in the relative effects of explicit and implicit feedback. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(1), 147–161.

Adriana Biedron´ received her doctoral and postdoctoral degrees in applied linguistics from Adam Mickiewicz University in Pozna´n, Poland. She is Professor in English Philology Department at the Pomeranian Academy in Słupsk. Her research focuses on individual differences in SLA, in particular, foreign language aptitude and cognitive and personality factors in gifted L2 learners. Mauricio Véliz-Campos earned his doctoral degree in TESOL and Education at Exeter University. His research interests include the study of the various factors affecting English pronunciation learning at teacher education level, namely, language learning strategies, language motivation, and foreign language aptitude.

Teaching Foreign Language Grammar to Children: The Role of Individual Differences Mirosław Pawlak

Abstract While the need for grammar instruction has always been a highly controversial issue, there is currently broad consensus that such pedagogical intervention is facilitative and may even be indispensable in some contexts (e.g., Loewen, 2020; Nassaji, 2017; Larsen-Freeman, 2014; Pawlak, 2014, 2017, 2020a). However, there is still little agreement on the extent to which grammar structures should be taught and the ways in which such instruction should be most beneficially conducted. There is also scarce empirical evidence on the degree to which learner individual differences (ID) mediate the effects of different instructional options, with the bulk of existing research focusing on variables that may be of little relevance to practitioners, such as aptitude or working memory. These issues seem to be of vital importance in teaching foreign language grammar to children where the instructional approach to be adopted should be informed by individual learner profiles to produce tangible learning outcomes (DeKeyser, 2017a). The paper provides an overview of the available research on the role of individual variation in teaching grammar to children, discusses empirically-based and potential contributions of different ID factors in this respect, and points to the lines of inquiry that future empirical investigations should follow. Keywords Teaching foreign languages to children · Grammar instruction · Individual differences

M. Pawlak (B) Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts in Kalisz, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, State University of Applied Sciences, Konin, Poland

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_4

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1 Introduction Writing a chapter on teaching second or foreign language (L2) grammar to children, whatever its focus, poses a daunting challenge from the get-go. The main reason for this is that there exists a widespread belief that children should not be taught grammar structures in the target language (TL) or at the very least such practices are frowned upon, a stance that finds support in coursebooks for pre-service and practicing teachers (e.g., Brown, 2015; Harmer, 2015; Pinter, 2017). This conviction is mainly grounded in Piaget’s (1963) theory of cognitive development, according to which only after the age of 11 are children capable of performing formal operations which involve going beyond the immediate context, engaging in abstract thinking and using deductive reasoning (cf. Pinter, 2017). Although this approach is justified to some extent, it misses a very important point, namely, the fact that grammar instruction (GI) can take on very different guises and is by no means confined to explicit introduction of rules. This brings us to several caveats that need to be addressed from the outset. First, in light of the fact that the whole edited collection is dedicated to different aspects of teaching an L2 to children and that information about the specificity of this age group can be found in a number of publications, no attempt is made to regurgitate this information. Second, the present chapter does not seek to make a distinction between different age groups of children and focuses on those who are eight years or older, such who have at least reached the stage of concrete operations, where logical thinking can be applied in some contexts (Pinter, 2017). Third, as signaled above, teaching grammar is understood much more broadly than just providing rules and asking learners to use them in controlled exercises, which might make little sense in teaching children, especially those who are seven years of age or younger. Fourth, the discussion is based on the assumption that corrective feedback (CF) and the negotiation of TL forms (i.e., situations in which learners, children in this case, try to correct themselves or their peers) it might instigate is an integral part of GI (Pawlak, 2014). Fifth, the overview of individual differences (IDs) and the ways in which they can mediate the effects of GI is selective due to the fact that space limitations preclude elaboration of all relevant variables (see Pawlak, 2020b). Sixth, it must be stressed that some of the assumptions and suggestions are speculative in nature for the simple reason that no empirical studies have addressed many of the issues that are touched upon. Seventh, the discussion focuses on considerations that are grounded in empirical evidence as well as such that are directly pertinent to everyday practices in teaching L2 grammar to children. Keeping all of this in mind, the chapter will first focus on what it means to know TL grammar, emphasizing the distinction between explicit and implicit knowledge. This will be followed by a succinct presentation of the current views regarding GI as well as the techniques and procedures that can be employed for that purpose. The specificity of teaching L2 grammar to children will also be addressed. Subsequently, the role of variables mediating the effects of GI will be considered, with a focus on the role of ID factors and the empirical evidence that has been accumulated in this

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respect. This will be followed by the consideration of how selected IDs can facilitate or hinder the acquisition of grammar structures by children. Finally, the conclusion will focus on future research directions, highlighting the need to examine IDs that are most relevant for practitioners.

2 The Nature of TL Grammar Knowledge As pointed out above, one of the reasons why the consideration of GI in the case of children is often met with surprise or even disapproval is that the knowledge of grammar is still in most cases viewed as the mastery of rules and the ability to use those rules in traditional exercises (e.g., putting words in parentheses in correct form). However, although such a conviction has been perpetuated for decades, particularly in foreign language contexts, it could not be further from the truth. As superbly shown by Larsen-Freeman (2003), grammar knowledge comprises three interdependent elements, that is, form, meaning and use. Form has to do with how a particular L2 feature is constructed, as illustrated by the fact that the English passive is composed of the verbs to be or to get, used with different tenses and aspects, as well as the past participle of action verbs. Meaning is related to the semantic dimension and allows us to communicate a particular message, in the case of the passive, that the focus is on the activity that was done with respect to a person or thing. Finally, use is concerned with the conditions under which the structure should be employed, such as the need to deemphasize or conceal the agent when the passive is opted for. Larsen-Freeman (2003) also makes the point that grammar should be regarded as a skill and hence she proposed the concept of grammaring, which refers to the ability to use grammar structures accurately, meaningfully and appropriately. This makes it clear that grammar is not a set of static rules but a powerful tool that aids language users in attaining their communicative goals in specific situations. She also emphasizes the importance of identifying the learning challenge for a particular group of learners. However, the issue is more complicated because conscious awareness of the three dimensions by no means guarantees that grammar will be successfully used in spontaneous communication. This brings us to the key distinction between explicit knowledge, also referred to as declarative, and implicit knowledge, often described as procedural (Ellis, 2009; DeKeyser, 2017a). Explicit knowledge consists of facts about the TL, such as rules or lexical items, including multi-word units, it is conscious and can be verbalized. It can be mastered at any age and it is not constrained by the ability to perform requisite syntactic operations (Pienemann & Lenzing, 2015). The drawbacks of this type of representation are that it is frequently imprecise or inaccurate and it can only be accessed in controlled processing when learners have ample time to draw on the relevant rules or retrieve the needed prefabricated patterns. While implicit knowledge can also comprise rules and lexical items, it is intuitive and unconscious, with the effect that it does not lend itself to description, it is subject

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to maturational constraints and requires access to the necessary processing mechanisms. Such knowledge may also be inaccurate and it is prone to undergo constant modifications, but it is available in automatic processing, which enables its use in real-time communication. This said, DeKeyser (2017a) makes the crucial point that the development of implicit knowledge may be unattainable in context where access to the TL is scant, in particular for learners who are past the critical period, that is adults, teenagers, but perhaps older children as well. Therefore, he argues that it is better to talk about highly automatized knowledge, which is based on consciously known rules but can be easily accessed despite the time pressure of communication that happens in real time. It should also be emphasized that even though there are disagreements about the relationship between explicit and implicit knowledge, the current discussion is predicated on the strong-interface position, according to which the former can be automatized to such a degree that it becomes functionally indistinguishable from the latter (DeKeyser, 2010, 2015). Both the non-interface position, which denies any value of explicit knowledge for fluent performance (Krashen, 1981), and the weakinterface position, which stipulates that learners need to be psycholinguistically ready to acquire the targeted TL form (Ellis, 1997), are seen as untenable because in most educational settings GI has been an integral part of L2 pedagogy for decades (Pawlak, 2019). Some comments are in order at this juncture concerning how these issues relate to learning an L2 by children, although it should be kept in mind that this hinges upon the specific age group considered. For example, when it comes to the knowledge of TL grammar by younger children, those under seven, the focus should be on the semantic and perhaps to some extent also the pragmatic dimension rather than the structural component. In this case, there is also a possibility, when copious opportunities for contact with the TL are forthcoming, that implicit learning mechanisms can be set in motion, leading to the development of implicit knowledge. As indicated in the introduction, however, the focus here is on children eight years of age or older. For them, although a very delicate balance needs to be struck between the three dimensions of grammar knowledge described by Larsen-Freeman (2003), there is also certainly room for focusing on the structural component as well as the relationships among form, meaning and use. Even though the development of implicit representation cannot be entirely ruled out in this case, inadequate TL exposure makes it difficult, and more fully developed cognitive abilities warrant the use of activities that contribute to metalinguistic awareness and explicit knowledge which later needs to be automatized (DeKeyser, 2017b). However, when grammar is taught to children, the fundamental question is how this is done, an issue that will be one of the foci of the following section.

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3 Teaching and Learning Grammar Although the place of grammar instruction in L2 pedagogy has always aroused much controversy, with scholars such as Krashen (1981) calling for its abandonment, there is now consensus that the teaching of this TL subsystem is beneficial and perhaps necessary in some contexts, even in the case of children (cf. Ellis, 2016, 2018; Ellis & Shintani, 2014; Larsen-Freeman, 2009, 2014; Loewen, 2020; Nassaji, 2017; Nassaji & Fotos, 2011; Pawlak, 2006, 2013a, 2014, 2020a). For one thing, the positive contribution of teaching grammar, either in general or with the help of specific techniques, is recognized by a number of theoretical positions, a detailed discussion of which is beyond the scope of this chapter. Suffice it to mention at this point, the noticing hypothesis (Schmidt, 1990), which stresses the role of attention at the level of noticing, the revised interaction hypothesis (Long, 1996) and the output hypothesis (Swain, 1995), which highlight the benefits of corrective feedback (CF), skill-learning theory (DeKeyser, 2010), which posits that initial declarative knowledge of rules can be automatized by means of the right kind of practice, or input processing theory (VanPatten, 1996), according to which instruction is necessary to change the default processing strategies based on the mother tongue. A crucial caveat, though, is that those theories and hypotheses seldom take into account age-related differences. There also exists abundant empirical evidence that GI is efficacious for the development of both explicit and implicit knowledge, in the short and long run, although this efficacy might vary depending on the instructional options (see Nassaji, 2017; Loewen, 2020; Pawlak, 2006, 2014). Once again, however, the distinction between different age groups is seldom taken into account as a mediator of the effects of GI (e.g., Norris & Ortega, 2000; Spada & Tomita, 2010; Kang et al., 2019). All of this theoretical and empirical support notwithstanding, a number of contentious issues remain with respect to when and how grammar teaching should be implemented. For example, specialists still find it difficult to agree what TL features should be taught, when instruction should begin, how intensive it should be, what kind of syllabus should be used, how language lessons should be designed, as well as what techniques and procedures should be employed (e.g., Ellis, 2006; Pawlak, 2013a, 2014). Since it is not possible to address all of these controversies here, the discussion will be confined to the last point, namely, the instructional options that can be used for introducing and practicing grammar structures. Figure 1 presents broad options in GI with respect to the introduction of grammar structures, the different ways in which those structures can be practiced, and choices in the provision of CF (cf. Ellis, 1997; Loewen, 2020; Nassaji & Fotos, 2011; Pawlak, 2006, 2013a, 2014). As regards the first issue, the teacher can opt either for direct provision of rules (i.e., deduction) or ask learners to discover such rules on their own (i.e., induction). What needs to be emphasized is that both deduction and induction can be implemented in a variety of ways. With respect to the former, a decision has to be made, for instance, whether learners’ mother tongue should be employed to ensure understanding or whether it is justified to use grammatical terminology. When it comes to the latter, rule discovery can be based on different types of input

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Introducing grammar

Practicing grammar

Corrective feedback

deduction

reception vs. production

output-prompting vs. input-providing

induction

communicative vs. controlled

explicit vs. implicit

Fig. 1 Options in teaching grammar

(e.g., example sentences, written or spoken texts seeded with the targeted feature or data extracted from corpora). It can also be undertaken in different ways (e.g., individually, in small groups or as a whole class), with the help of various activities or tasks (e.g., consciousness-raising, where learners communicate to identify rules, or corpora searches). As regards practicing grammar, two important distinctions can be made. The first is related to whether learners are expected to learn the targeted feature receptively by noticing and understanding form-meaning mappings, or, which is typically the case in the vast majority of L2 classrooms, to actually produce this feature in different activities and tasks. Receptive grammar teaching can be implemented, for example, by means of input enhancement, where the instances of the structure are highlighted in the text in some way (e.g., through color or bolding), or processing instruction, intended to bring about a change in how the meaning of a structure is mapped onto form (see Doughty & Williams, 1998). The requirement to produce the TL form is tied to the second fundamental distinction between controlled and communicative practice. The former involves the use of drills and traditional exercises (e.g., gapfilling, paraphrasing, translation), which aid learners in using the structure taught more accurately and precisely when sufficient time is available but have a marginal impact on its application in spontaneous interaction. The latter is designed in such a way that the targeted feature is employed for conveying messages in real time and thus can contribute to the automatization of explicit knowledge (cf. Pawlak, 2014). Such practice can take the form of text-creation activities (Ellis, 1997), in which learners come up with their own sentences with the help of the structure (e.g., a narrative that calls for the use of the past tense) or focused communication tasks (Ellis, 2003), where the attainment of the communicative goal requires the deployment of a particular TL form (e.g., a discussion about the best university to choose on the basis of clues prompting learners to use the passive). An important option in GI is also the provision of CF on errors in the use of structures that have been introduced and practiced. Such feedback can differ along two dimensions. First, it can be output-prompting, whereby learners are expected to engage in self-correction, and input-providing, in which case no requirement of this kind is present (Ellis, 2017; Pawlak, 2014; Sheen & Ellis, 2011). The former can

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involve different types of prompts, such as clarification requests or metalinguistic cues (e.g., What did you say?, But this is the past tense …), whereas the latter is usually associated with recasts, or corrective reformulations of erroneous utterances that preserve their intended meaning (e.g., L: I go to Paris last week and had fun T: Ok you went to Paris and what did you do exactly?). With respect to the latter distinction, it concerns learners’ awareness of the fact that they are being corrected. To be more precise, CF can be explicit, such as direct correction (e.g., L: He is more tall than me. T: He is taller than you. Repeat), or implicit, as when a recast is used which can be interpreted as a comment on what has been said rather than negative evidence. It should be emphasized, though, that explicitness is a matter of degree since, for example, a clarification request is surely less explicit than direct correction but more so than a recast which in itself can be more or less transparent as a CF move (e.g., depending on whether the corrected part is highlighted by added stress) (Ellis, 2017; Nassaji, 2015; Pawlak, 2014). A vital question that arises at this juncture concerns the role of these instructional options in teaching grammar to children. In the first place, the utility of the different techniques is bound to vary considerably as a function of age. This is because, while largely implicit instruction might be somewhat of a default choice for very young learners, gradually, as they grow older, approach Piaget’s (1963) stage of formal operations and move beyond, it can be complemented by more explicit instruction. In effect, when we talk about children who are eight years of age or older, it is surely possible to sensitize them to some basic rules (e.g., third person -s, -ed ending), ask them to identify patterns that will make them aware of the existence of such regularities in the input, or assign cloze activities that will promote their metalinguistic awareness (Cameron, 2001; Muñoz, 2014). Obviously, this should not be interpreted as meaning that lists of structures to be covered can be supplied at the beginning of a course or that metalanguage should routinely be used when introducing them. Also, teachers should always be prepared to fall back on learners’ first language to help them understand how the targeted form works, and how the forms they observe are related to meaning and use. With respect to practice, extreme caution must without doubt be exercised about the use of controlled exercises, not only because the focus should be on how TL features are used to convey meaning, but also because the inclusion of too many of such activities is bound to have a deleterious effect on children’s motivation and engagement (cf. Mercer & Dörnyei, 2020). On the other hand, contextualized receptive and productive practice is recommended so that children are provided with multiple exposures to the targeted feature or the multi-word units of which it is an integral part and also have the opportunity to engage in frequent repetition of these items (Gatbonton & Segalowitz, 1988). There is also a place for different types of communicative tasks which can trigger attention to the TL feature taught or a wider spectrum of structures (e.g., Basterrechea & Gallardo-del-Puerto, 2020; García Mayo & Imaz Aguirre, 2019). The performance of such tasks also creates opportunities for the provision of CF, which should perhaps be more implicit than explicit, but still encourage learners to try to modify their erroneous utterances and, should this not be

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possible, expose them to versions of those utterances that are accurate, appropriate and precise. It should also be stressed that, regardless of learners’ age, classroom GI is likely to draw on combinations of different options with the aim of helping students grasp the targeted structure and ultimately ensure its use in spontaneous communication. Also, such instruction should ideally be attuned to moderating variables, in particular ID factors, an issue that will be the focus of the following section.

4 Individual Differences as Mediating Variables in Teaching Grammar What should be kept in mind is that, irrespective of the age group, the effects of different instructional options in teaching grammar are mediated by at least three sets of variables, that is, linguistic factors, contextual factors and individual difference factors (cf. Ellis, 2010; Pawlak, 2014, 2017). When it comes to linguistic considerations, they are related to the difficulty that learning a particular structure poses, which can be understood in different ways. Spada and Tomita (2010), for example, showed in their meta-analysis that explicit instruction had a more beneficial effect on learning both simple and complex features on different types of outcomes measures. It is also possible to determine learning difficulty with reference to explicit and implicit knowledge, a good case in point being the third person -s which is an easy rule to understand but much more difficult to apply in spontaneous communication due to the necessity of accessing requisite processing operations (Pienemann & Lenzing, 2015). Moving on to contextual factors, they can be considered on three levels. We can distinguish between macro-contexts (e.g., second vs. foreign, study abroad), mezzocontexts (e.g., the educational level which is inextricably linked to age, syllabus choice, the type of program such as content and language integrated learning), as well as micro-contexts (e.g., type of class such as speaking, grammar or writing, previous instruction involving the TL feature, the goals of a particular class, the aims of the activities performed). It can be argued, for example, that more implicit instructional options might work better in educational settings which are on the whole more form-focused, whereas more explicit ones could prove more beneficial when the overall focus is on meaning (Lyster & Mori, 2006). By the same token, controlled exercises are more justified in classes where a new structure has just been introduced rather than in lessons which aim to provide learners with opportunities to use them communicatively. Although the linguistic and contextual factors are clearly important, the effects of instruction are likely to hinge even more upon ID variables because the individual profiles of learners are likely to make them more or less receptive to the techniques and procedures employed by teachers. To quote Ellis (2008, p. 895), “(…) it would seem likely that learners differ in the kind of instruction they are best equipped

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to benefit from”. Larsen-Freeman (2014, p. 271) comments that “(…) there are differences between students, too. In fact, the efficacy of certain practices may be determined by a host of factors (…)”. Unfortunately, the mediating effects of ID factors are still seldom taken into account in studies investigating the effectiveness of instructional options used to teach TL forms, including grammar. The situation is aptly summarized by Spada (2011, p. 232), who points out that “(…) while there has been extensive research on individual differences and SLA (…), and considerable research on the effects of instruction on SLA (…), there has been little research on the interaction between individual and instructional variables and their combined effects on learning”. What could be added to this statement is that when researchers do set their sights on the mediating role of ID factors, they tend to focus on those that might be of limited relevance to everyday teaching practice. As Biedro´n and Pawlak (2016, p. 413) remark, “(…) irrespective of what the research findings reveal, a question arises as to the extent to which teachers can capitalize on such insights with respect to intelligence, FL aptitude, WM or personality, for the simple reason that they lack the necessary expertise and tools to tap these IDs, their judgments are bound to be intuitive and thus often inaccurate, and these constructs as such may seem far removed from the realities of the classroom”. Due to space limitations, a detailed synthesis of studies that have looked into the moderating effects of ID factors falls outside the scope of this chapter. Suffice it to say at this point that research has tapped into such variables as age (e.g., Lyster & Saito, 2010), aptitude (e.g., Sheen, 2007; Stefanou & Révész, 2015), working memory (e.g., Indrarathne & Kormos, 2018; Mackey et al., 2010), learning styles (e.g., Kim 7 Nassaji, 2018; Ressaei, 2015), learning strategies (e.g., Pawlak & MystkowskaWiertelak, 2019), developmental readiness (e.g., Ammar, 2008), proficiency (e.g., Li, 2014), attitudes (e.g., Sheen, 2007), beliefs (e.g., Bao, 2019; Pawlak, 2011, 2013b), anxiety (e.g., Sheen, 2008), learner investment (e.g., Tomita & Spada, 2013) and willingness to communicate (e.g., Tavakoli & Zarrinabadi, 2016). It should be noted that some factors have been targeted in single studies, diverse tools have been used to collect data on specific ID variables, and research designs have varied widely, which makes it difficult to arrive at valid generalizations. When we zoom in on studies involving children, the empirical evidence is even more scarce, not only in regard to grammar instruction, but to teaching other TL subsystems as well. This is made quite evident, for example, by the fact that a recent overview of research into child instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) by Oliver, Nguyen and Sato (2017) does not even single out the mediating effect of ID factors as a separate strand. What is far more surprising, this line of inquiry is not even mentioned in the discussion of future directions of empirical investigations of child ISLA. Nevertheless, there are studies that have taken into account the role of individual variation, most often with respect to dyadic interaction during the performance of different types of communicative tasks. The ID factors that have been the focus of research include age (e.g., García Mayo & Lázaro-Ibarrola, 2015; Oliver, 2009), aptitude (e.g., Kourtali & Révész, 2020), working memory (e.g., Verhagen & Leseman, 2016), proficiency (e.g., Lázaro-Ibarrola & Azpilicueta-Martínez, 2015), task enjoyment (Shak & Gardner, 2008), personality (e.g., Tõugu & Tulviste, 2017),

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or willingness to communicate (Ghahari & Piruznejad, 2016). Two caveats are in order here. First, such studies represent a very mixed bag following different research designs, employing various data collection tools, and opting for diverse outcome measures. Second, while there are surely more studies of IDs among child L2 learners (e.g., Król-Gierat, 2019; Oga-Baldwin & Nakata, 2017), they do not link them to the effectiveness of instruction, or the mastery of specific TL forms or subsystems.

5 Selected ID Factors and Teaching L2 Grammar to Children In view of the paucity of empirical evidence, the present section is somewhat speculative in nature as it considers the potential role of ID factors in teaching TL grammar to children. Three qualifications are necessary at this point. For one thing, the discussion that follows is necessarily selective, reflecting to some extent the research interests of the present author. Second, no attempt is made to systematically distinguish between specific types of GI, although references to concrete instructional options might appear. Third, whenever deemed warranted, comments on the feasibility of investigating the ID in question or its utility in classroom practice are included. Two ID variables that have been given considerable attention in the literature on L2 instruction and GI in particular, not in the case of children though, are aptitude and working memory (WM). The former is a special gift for language learning, the conceptualization of which has changed considerably over the years, and can very broadly be defined as “the ability to successfully adapt to and profit from instructed, or naturalistic exposure to the L2” (Robinson, 2013, p. 57). The latter involves “the limited memory capacity that allows us to hold a very small amount of information (…) in our mind and to simultaneously manipulate this information for completing some cognitive tasks in our daily life” (Wen & Li, 2019, p. 365). Without going into further detail, differences with respect to these two factors may determine performance in task-based interaction in the case of children as well as the way in which they handle CF. For example, low WM capacity may prevent the noticing of clarification requests or confirmation checks or their proper interpretation, with consequences for the quantity and quality of interaction. There might also be important ramifications for the provision and processing of CF. This is because insufficient attentional resources may not only hinder noticing the corrective function of less explicit CF types such as recasts, but also considerably decrease learners’ ability to notice errors in the speech of their peers. In light of this, lower WM capacity might call for more explicit CF moves or such that include a requirement for output production (e.g., different types of prompts). Even if we assume that giving feedback is not something that children willingly do in peer interactions and its occurrence may be conditioned by attitudes (Basterrechea & Gallardo-del-Puerto, 2020), CF is also provided by teachers and its identification is of vital importance. This indicates that more intervention studies are necessary that would tap into the role of aptitude

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and WM as mediators of the effects of GI directed at children, not only with respect to CF but also different types of practice, including such enabled by communicative tasks. Obviously, as signaled above, a question remains as to how information about aptitude- or WM-related differences can later be harnessed in teaching practice, given problems with measurement, classroom applications or trainability. Another important ID factor that has received scant attention in GI research irrespective of the age group is learning style, which is closely linked to the notion of cognitive style and to some extent related to personality. Dörnyei and Ryan (2015, p. 108) explain that “the concept represents a profile of the individual’s approach to learning, a blueprint of the habitual or preferred way the individual perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment”. Griffiths (2012) has referred to the study of learning styles as a “traversing a quagmire”, which reflects problems with the construct, its relationship to other ID factors, and the difficulty in choosing the most suitable data collection tools. However, the concept continues to appeal to practitioners since it is easy to understand and concrete steps can be taken to address learning style preferences. To give an example, the extent of extraversion or introversion (i.e., sociability and talkativeness vs. passivity and quietness) may determine the quantity and quality of children’s participation in task-based interactions. The dimension of field-dependence and field-independence (i.e., being able to focus on some aspect of an experience vs. perceiving the experience as a whole), in turn, might have a bearing on child learners’ ability to notice new language forms and, more importantly, perceive form-meaning mapping when instruction is predominantly implicit. This learning style could also mediate the effectiveness of deduction and induction in introducing grammar. As regards the Big Five model of personality (McCrea & Costa, 2003), it could be argued that children who are more open to experience and thus more imaginative, curious, flexible, creative and novelty-seeking may be more willing to look for rules or patterns or experiment with new TL features when interacting in different types of communicative tasks. Theoretical and empirical issues aside, learning styles as well as some aspects of personality may be relatively easy to identify and capitalize on, which is clearly important from teachers’ perspective (Gregersen & MacIntyre, 2014). Yet another blatantly neglected ID factor that might have a major impact on the effectiveness of different options in GI is adept use of grammar learning strategies (GLS), or actions and thoughts used to help learners better understand and use grammar structures (Pawlak, 2020c). While these strategies can be metacognitive, social, affective and cognitive in nature, it is the last category that is instrumental to getting to know TL features and automatizing their use. Strategies of this kind can be divided into four categories depending on whether: (1) they aid production and comprehension of grammar in communicative tasks (e.g., comparing one’s own written or spoken TL output with that of more proficient users), (2) they contribute to the development of explicit knowledge (e.g., trying to discover rules on the basis of examples), (3) they support the development of implicit knowledge (e.g., using specific TL features to create new sentences), or (4) they help learners identify and process CF on errors in the use of grammar (e.g., trying to notice and self-correct

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errors) (cf. Pawlak, 2018, 2020c). It should be emphasized, of course, that the usefulness of specific GLS is a function of children’s age and some of the strategic devices may be more suitable for some age groups than others. For example, while promoting noticing might be relatively straightforward even with younger children (e.g., through the use of color), adept use of resources might require greater cognitive maturity. Also, if instruction in this area is to be undertaken, it must also be adjusted to children’s level of cognitive development. Also worth mentioning are such ID factors as willingness to communicate, curiosity, enjoyment and boredom, not least because the last three are relative newcomers to empirical investigations of individual variation in L2 learning. As regards willingness to communicate (WTC), MacIntyre (2007, p. 567) defines it as “the probability of initiating communication, given choice and opportunity”. Leaving aside the multitude of influences shaping WTC, this attribute plays an important role in mediating GI as it can determine the extent to which children benefit from interactive activities, also such designed with the aim of automatizing explicit knowledge, as well as their readiness to modify their erroneous utterances in response to different types of CF. Curiosity (Mahmoodzadeh & Khajavy, 2019), in turn, is bound to mediate the contribution of any instructional option, especially in the case of children, but it might play a particularly important role in activities requiring noticing patterns and regularities in the input. The same could be said about enjoyment which can trump the detrimental influence of anxiety (cf. Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), and, somewhat despite the inherent characteristics of young learners (e.g., limited attention span), translate into engagement in activities intended to highlight grammatical features. By contrast, the feeling of boredom, which is a negative academic emotion (Pawlak et al., 2020) can surely get in the way of the reception and production of grammar rules but also the multi-word units in which such rules appear. What is important, all of these four variables can be tapped into, managed and manipulated in the classroom.

6 Conclusion Commenting on our current understanding of the interface between individual learner variation and teaching TL forms, Pawlak (2017, p. 87) writes that “(…) researchers have only begun to scratch the surface when it comes to the mediating role of ID factors in form-focused instruction, with the available empirical evidence being scarce, patchy and inconclusive”. This statement certainly applies as well to GI in the case of children, with the caveat that relevant studies are even more scant in this area. Thus, there is an urgent need to examine the ways in which the effects of different instructional options in teaching TL grammar in this age group are a function of the myriad of ID variables and constellations thereof. It must be admitted that the challenge facing researchers is much more complex than in the case of adults because the very implementation of various techniques and

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procedures is bound to be problematic, it is necessary to develop age-suitable inventories offering insights into IDs in question, and the design of outcome measures tapping into explicit and implicit (automatized) knowledge also poses major problems. Particularly illuminating would be longitudinal studies involving multiple datacollection points as they would show how ID factors moderate FI over time, but these are clearly difficult to conduct for practical reasons. Insights gleaned through such research would without doubt contribute to more effective grammar teaching to children, all the more so that in this age group GI has to be very carefully premeditated, taking into account learners’ characteristics. At the same time, researchers should keep in mind that while studies of aptitude or working memory might be insightful, the relevance of such ID factors to everyday teaching practices, whether in regard to grammar or other subsystems, is limited. Thus, it would make more sense to focus on variables that can be more easily capitalized upon in the classroom, such as learning styles, grammar learning strategies, willingness to communicate, enjoyment or boredom. This seems to be particularly relevant for teaching L2 grammar to children, where identification of their individual profiles may be key to ensuring that such instruction is beneficial.

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Mirosław Pawlak is Professor at the Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Kalisz, Adam Mickiewicz University, Kalisz, Poland and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, State University of Applied Sciences, Konin, Poland. His main areas of interest are SLA theory and research, form-focused instruction, corrective feedback, classroom discourse, learner autonomy, learning strategies, motivation, willingness to communicate and pronunciation teaching. Mirosław Pawlak is Editor-in-Chief of the journals Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching and Konin Language Studies, as well as the book series Second Language Learning and Teaching (Springer).

Studies in Heterogeneous Classes

Diversity in EELL: Matters of Context and Contact Mirna Erk

Abstract A context-sensitive approach to SLA research acknowledges the interrelatedness of linguistic development and situational/cultural context. Over the years, many studies looked into the formal context of early English language learning (EELL) but the informal realms of learner experience are still largely unknown. Hence, context matters related to out-of-school availability of English and its relevance for EFL classrooms are in focus of this contribution. Sources of informal contact and linguistic gains arising from young learners’ informal experiences with English are believed to contribute to heterogeneity found in English language learning outcomes, and to point at important interactions between local learning context, age and early formal instruction. Sources of out-of-school contact with English and a corpus of self-reported informally acquired English vocabulary by learners aged 8.5–10.5 are presented. Additionally, the influence of gender as a background variable was explored. Findings are discussed against a growing awareness of heterogeneity embedded in sociocultural contexts of early EFL instruction. Finally, challenges faced by teachers of young learners and researchers of early English language development are addressed along with pedagogical implications of the study outcomes. Keywords Early English language learning · Informal contact with English · Local learning context · Gender

1 Introduction Sociocultural environments are characterized by different learning affordances exploited by L2 learners to various degrees and in various ways. Hence, their potential to contribute to the process of SLA is variable. Thanks to technological advances in media and communication, there is unlimited availability of English through numerous online courses and mobile applications for language learning ‘on M. Erk (B) Faculty of Education, University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_5

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the go’. Consequently, learning English outside of the walls of the traditional classroom is becoming increasingly attractive. On the other hand, classroom study of English as a foreign language (EFL) has been on the rise due to the lowering of age at which it formally begins. The phenomenon of early English language learning (EELL), variable presence of English in different sociocultural learning contexts, and an interest in the informal acquisition of English by young learners (YLs) motivated the study presented in this contribution. It is grounded on the assumption that the nature and outcome of the out-of-class contact with English have important implications for heterogeneity found in processes and outcomes of early English language learning in school contexts. In the remainder of this contribution, the acquisition of English emerging as a secondary effect of an activity which is not English language learning-oriented is referred to as English acquired informally, extramurally (Sundqvist, 2011), in the wild (Wagner, 2015), or as contextual language learning (Elgort et al., 2017). First, matters of context and contact are addressed on the assumption that the local learning contexts shape YLs’ experience with the target language (TL) input and provide affordances for engagements with English that, in turn, have the capacity to influence classroom-based learning. Next, a review of relevant research on YLs’ engagements with English outside the classroom is provided. The relationship between gender and informal acquisition of English is addressed due to inconsistency in available research findings relating to the relationship between informal access to authentic English input and male advantage in foreign language (FL) performance. A wider sociocultural environment of the EFL study in Croatia is described to ensure an accurate interpretation of the scope of findings. In the research part, a study on the outcomes of Croatian YLs’ contextualized and extensive informal contact with English is presented. Self-reported sources of informal engagements are complemented by a corpus of informally acquired English vocabulary. In the final part, the nature and outcomes of young boys’ and girls’ early informal engagements with English are discussed. Furthermore, significance of children’s behaviour in the wild is addressed with reference to the outcomes of early EFL learning programmes. The contribution ends with pedagogical implications arising from the findings.

2 Matters of Local Learning Context, Contact and EELL In a dynamic and individual process of L2 development, learners’ engagement with the environment and its affordances plays a significant role (e.g., Atkinson, 2014; Beckner et al., 2009; De Bot et al., 2007; Larsen-Freeman & Cameron, 2008; Tarone, 2007; van Lier, 2000). In their discussion on the learning contexts and SLA, Collentine and Freed (2004) distinguish between formal language classroom (at home, AH context), intensive domestic immersion context (IM context) and/or study abroad contexts (SA context). However, the problem arises when there is an assumption that all AH, SB or IM contexts are the same (e.g., Ushioda, 2013; Sayer & Ban, 2018). FL/AH context interpreted as learning limited to the formal language classroom and

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an institutional setting (Collentine & Freed 2004) is found inadequate because it lacks further qualification of the context of community in which the FL is learned, and fails to address the potential significance of opportunities for engagement with it outside the institutional study (Paviˇci´c Takaˇc & Bagari´c, 2011). Instead, concepts like local learning context (Ushioda, 2013) or local language learning environment (Benson, 2017) have become increasingly used. The wider geopolitical context has important ramifications for language contact (Linse & Gamboa, 2014). In the case of smaller language communities (d’Ydewalle & Van de Poel, 1999), or societies that speak languages with low international recognition, knowledge of FLs, especially English, is of key importance for political and economic interests. Development of FL knowledge can be supported by countryspecific policies on English in the public media. According to the EF English Proficiency Index report (2019) on English skills in 100 countries, very high levels of receptive proficiency in English are achieved in Europe, most notably in the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. It seems that the success of L2 users in these countries relates well to local circumstances of EFL learning where countries’ internal linguistic landscapes and their policy on English in the media enable exposure to such a degree that English becomes integral to and unavoidable in everyday lives of its citizens (e.g., De Bot, 2014). Substantially different patterns of availability of English in local EFL learning contexts have been claimed to explain at least some of the effectiveness of local EFL programmes (Berns et al., 2007; Bonnet, 2004; Murphy, 2014; Verspoor et al., 2011). The European Survey on Language Competences carried out in 2011 confirmed a wide range of English competence and a wide range of achievement at the educational system level (European Commission, 2012). FL users from countries that provide consistent, continuous and rich out-ofschool exposure to English through traditional media (television/cinema and radio) performed best. Furthermore, significance of media exposure within a local learning context was evident in Verspoor et al.’s (2011) comparison of students (aged 13 and 15) with regular and limited access to English in popular media in the Netherlands. They found that lack of exposure to input from the media had a negative long-term effect on developing proficiency. Technological advances, globalisation and digitalisation have dramatically changed the opportunities FL learners have for contact with the TL. What used to be restricted to listening to English music and TV watching with subtitles (at least in some countries) has been expanded to internet-related types of contact with English, mobile technologies, increased travel opportunities and a growth of international education, all of which lead to even more English exposure and use. In FL contexts where media policy on English has been more restrictive, the Internet may present the most important supply of opportunities for informal English acquisition (Muñoz, 2020). In 2018, the Internet was available in 83% of EU-28 households (European Commission, 2019). Obviously, it expands the opportunities for audio, audio-visual, and multimodal input in English (written, auditory and pictorial) on different devices. The influence of increasing opportunities for informal input in English on early English instruction has been largely underresearched. Meanwhile, EELL outcomes

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are often described as modest, and Singleton and Pfenninger (2018) insist that starting the instruction at primary school level fails to lead to superior L2 proficiency at the end of secondary schooling. However, significance of opportunities for contact with the TL outside of the school has been overlooked in the process of implementation of early FL programmes, and, all too often, from EELL research. The assumed successfulness of EELL relied on early rather than on local contextual input-related variables (Muñoz & Singleton, 2011), which is in itself an interesting phenomenon, as low intensity ‘drip-feed’ courses have been recognized as unable to ensure high levels of learner proficiency (e.g., Collins et al., 1999; Piske, 2007; Spada & Lightbown, 1989). Obviously, the explanation for the unsatisfactory outcomes of such programmes has been found in limited exposure to the TL and scant opportunities for interaction (e.g., Lightbown, 2000; Llanes & Muñoz, 2013; Webb & Nation, 2017), which resonate well with comparative studies mentioned earlier that stress the crucial importance of language input for FL development. Besides, Moyer (2005) argued that knowledge about the range of contexts of TL contact outside the classroom and their implied interactivity are essential for understanding the quality of learner experience and related outcomes. Only a small number of research studies compare YLs from different countries and point at a symbiotic relationship between the local learning context and language contact. Italian and Croatian children score significantly different on aural comprehension measures and their ability to interact in a FL simulated conversation, which makes the unsheltered informal English input extremely relevant for the study outcomes (Lopriore & Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, 2010, 2011; Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c & Lopriore, 2012). Likewise, Croatian learners outperformed Hungarian learners of English despite the fact that they tended to start English later, in larger groups, and for fewer hours (Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c et al., 2008). In the Early Language Learning in Europe (ELLiE) study with YLs from seven European countries, exposure to the TL through watching movies and films was a significant predictor of receptive language skills development (Lindgren & Muñoz, 2013). The best achievers, Dutch, Swedish and Croatian children, came from countries with a long tradition of English presence in the media. Furthermore, out-of-school exposure of Croatian children seemed to cancel out an otherwise significant effect of linguistic distance. A recent study by Muñoz et al. (2018) clearly demonstrates that the audio-visual contact with English outside of the classroom (from television, cinema and the Internet) has important consequences for classroom instruction. Evidently, Dutch and Spanish YLs embark on the process of English language study from very different starting points. Consequently, comparisons of findings of early FL programmes from different local learning environments are problematic (e.g., De Bot, 2014; Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, 2016). If local learning contexts contribute to the variability of conditions, they also contribute to the variability in outcomes. In the case of EELL, local learning contexts and English language affordances may be crucial for long-term success in the same way in which younger learners in L2 contexts profit from various input and interactional opportunities, formal and informal, in the long run. In a local FLL context very early exposure to English in the media means that children accumulate experience with informal English. Previous and current research has been able to

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report incidental FL vocabulary learning of Dutch children by watching subtitled television programmes in English (e.g., De Wilde et al., 2019; d’Ydewalle & Van de Poel, 1999; Koolstra & Beentjes, 1999). English vocabulary and conversational skills were also acquired from informal exposure to English input by 7–8 year old children in Iceland (Lefever, 2010). Positive effects of watching subtitled English television programmes and movies on oral translation skills of 12 year olds was also found in Belgium (Kuppens, 2010). The language thus acquired, receptively or productively, can set the ball rolling in favourable ways, i.e., lead to faster progress once (early) instruction is launched. Longitudinally, this accelerated language growth would lead to more learning since existing knowledge affects both rate and trajectory of new knowledge acquisition (Elgort et al., 2017). With increased proficiency, learners might be more inclined to seek out more contact with English out-of-school (e.g., Barbee, 2013; Unsworth et al., 2015). At the same time, formal and informal input the learners receive may become more effective (Verspoor et al., 2011). Based on this, local learning contexts, through opportunities for accumulation of vocabulary knowledge in-class and/or out-of-class, become crucial for understanding variability in outcomes and the ways in which input provision and language gains interact in EELL.

2.1 Young Learners’ Extramural English Activities and Gender Following the increased opportunities for informal contact with English, the number of studies concerned with their EFL learning benefits is growing. Researchers have been using language diaries and questionnaires for parents and/or children to identify types of extramural activities of English YLs (De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017; De Wilde et al., 2019, Hannibal Jensen, 2017; Sayer & Ban, 2014; Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2012; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2014). As a rule, the most popular activities have been listening to music, playing games and watching TV and films. However, gender of FL learners seems to be a factor that influences choices of activities they informally engage in more or less readily. Lefever (2010) conducted a study in Iceland with 7–8 year olds (N = 182) which demonstrated clear gender-related differences for oral production in English. Girls did not do as well as boys despite the fact that no gender differences were found in the amount and type of exposure to English. According to the author, other studies in the same local learning context found more Internet use and gaming activities in boys than girls, which might explain the results. Likewise, gender played a significant role in the choice of out-of-school activities with English in a study with children (N = 361, 11 years old on average) in Belgium (Kuppens, 2010). Boys were into gaming and visiting English websites significantly more than girls. In addition, they assessed their speaking and comprehension skills higher than girls and did better on a vocabulary test. A study by Sylvén and Sundqvist (2012) with 86 Swedish children (aged 11–12)

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showed that boys and girls were alike when it came to types of extramural English activities, but the amount and type of games preferred were different. Boys preferred multiplayer online role-playing games that require active engagement and productive English language use, whereas girls were more likely to enjoy single offline games with optional interactive aspects. Besides, boys played games significantly more, and outperformed girls on L2 vocabulary test. The same was true of 76 Swedish children (aged 10–11) with boys investing more time in gaming and watching films, and girls investing more in pastime language-related activities in Swedish, especially facebooking (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2014). Boys preferred gaming, followed by watching television and listening to music, girls preferred listening to music, followed by watching television and gaming in a study with learners aged 8 and 10 (N = 107) in Denmark (Hannibal Jensen, 2017). More specifically, boys played games significantly more than girls, and listened to music significantly less. However, boys’ and girls’ vocabulary scores were alike. Likewise, no gender differences were found in another recent study with 11-year olds (N = 30) in incidental language acquisition from informal contact with English in Belgium (De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017). Apparently, certain activities are more likely than others to lead to FLL gains. Earlier studies pointed to significance of TV watching and films for vocabulary acquisition in the wild, whereas more recent studies point to the potential of new media to do the same. Hence, De Wilde et al. (2019) found that use of social media, gaming and speaking (in that order) were the best predictors of overall language proficiency of 780 Dutch-speaking children (aged 10–12) prior to English classroom instruction. In summary, available research shows different preferences for types of informal contact with English in young boys and girls, and variable effects of informal contact with English on different components of language performance. Contextual language learning takes place, but there are considerable individual differences, i.e., a large range in results. The scope of this influence on classroom learning needs further exploration.

3 The Current Study Thanks to liberal policies on English in the media, FL learners in many local learning contexts have always had opportunities for extensive contact with English, whether they looked for it or not. Vocabulary gains from informal contact with English found in the studies reviewed earlier substantiate importance of vocabulary in YLs’ experience with English out-of-school. The relevance of this common finding might be considerable if much of L2 vocabulary is acquired incidentally beyond the first one thousand words (Hirata, 2018), especially for FL instruction with two lessons per week over the course of one school year. The positive relationship between children’s vocabulary development and informal engagements with English was obtained by relying on data from questionnaires, language diaries and proficiency tests. The study that follows takes a different approach. As informal exposure of Croatian children

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to English has been established as a factor influencing YLs’ EFL development, the present study aimed to elicit sources available in the local language learning environment and vocabulary acquired informally from these sources by relying on learner’s ability to self-report about their FL learning experiences.

3.1 Aims and Research Questions The aim of the present study is to explore Croatian young learners’ contact with English outside the classroom and gains that result from this contact. The following research questions are addressed: 1. What are the self-reported sources of Croatian young learners’ informally acquired English? Are there any significant differences between boys and girls in the variety of sources they informally engage with? 2. Which sources emerge as most helpful for informal acquisition of vocabulary by the participating EFL learners? Are there any differences between young boys and girls in the types of sources that lead to more vocabulary retrieval? 3. What vocabulary do the YLs report as informally acquired through different outof-school sources of contact with English? Are there significant differences in vocabulary levels reported by boys and girls? The corpus of English vocabulary obtained in this manner is believed to illustrate various effectiveness of sources for YL’s language acquisition in the wild. Additionally, the corpus is interpreted as evidence of important interactions between formal and informal experiences with English that contribute to diversity in processes and outcomes of early English language programmes.

3.2 Sociocultural and Educational Context of the Current Study The Croatian EFL learning environment is characterised by numerous opportunities to hear and experience English. TV programmes are, as a rule, subtitled. TV broadcasts for small children are dubbed, but there is quite extensive exposure to TV in original language (English) on a range of different TV channels for children of all ages.1 Even if children are not deliberately looking for opportunities to listen to English music, it is all around them as the radio quota policy for local performers is 20% and many radio stations decide to broadcast local music later in the evening or after midnight. English is used in commercials and advertisements and words 1 E.g., Baby TV, Boomerang TV, Cartoon Network/TCM, Orlando, Nickelodeon English, Nick Junior

English, Vavoom, Mini TV, Ki.Ka, Disney Channel/XD/Junior, Bambino/Pickaboo, Jim Jam, Tiji, Duck TV, Smile of a Child, etc.

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such as hello, please, cool, game, play, share, like, thank you/thanks are commonly used between children and parents. The linguistic landscape is rich in English. For example, push and pull, exchange office, pharmacy, bank, parking, online, store, Croatia and the like are found in public spaces and easily spotted everywhere. In addition, half of the Croatian children aged 8.5-10.5 can access the Internet at all times on mobile phones, computers, laptops and/or tablets (Ciboci et al., 2020). Karlak and Šimi´c (2016) found that Croatian pupils in Grade 4 (N = 100) were exposed to English language 2.5 h daily through different media. Although exposure to the English input in EFL environments can depend on individual interests of learners, young Croats cannot avoid unintentional exposure to English in a society that places a great value on English language proficiency. Therefore, a certain amount of acquisition through media exposure is expected. Primary education in Croatia spans eight years and starts at the age of 6–7 for all children with one foreign language taught as a core subject from Grade 1. For a great majority of children the first FL is English. Lower primary grades (Grades 1 through 4) are treated as early FL learning. All learners of English as the first FL receive the same amount of instruction in formal education, more precisely, two 45min lessons per week (70 lessons per school year) over the period of four years. The syllabus is prescribed by ministerial policy and official documents. Consequently, textbooks closely meet the requirements set up through the official syllabus and offer almost identical content. There is heavy emphasis on the development of listening skills, good pronunciation and vocabulary. Additional focus is placed on developing positive attitudes to and motivation for studying English, which seems to fend for itself in the Croatian context of EELL. YLs are expected to reach level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001) at the end of Grade 4.

3.3 Participants The sample of participants (N = 103) in this study came from a state-funded school in a medium-sized Croatian town. It included children in grades 3 and 4 (ages 8.5–10.5). The selection of this particular age group was motivated by their emerging ability in English reading and writing skills. Because they are treated as secondary to listening and speaking in the first two years of primary education, i.e., with younger children, elicitation of data of interest would be difficult and require a different research design. Children aged 9 and more are believed to have the cognitive capacity to benefit from oral and written input (Cameron, 2001), hence, they were invited to report about their experiences with informal English. The number of young girls (N = 52) and boys (N = 51) was balanced.

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3.4 Instruments and Procedure An important difference between this study and a number of other studies on YL’s outof-school contact with English is that neither fixed categories related to extramural English were used, nor were the participants’ parents asked about their children’s pastime activities. Instead, the participants reported about their informal experiences with English themselves. In line with the study aims, a recall task was administered. First, in their regular English language lessons, the participants discussed the topic entitled ‘English all around us’ with their English teachers. They were challenged to think of English available to them outside the classroom. The words and phrases that emerged in these short (10–15 min) discussions were BFF, city, cool, fire in the hall, game over, happy meal, loading, popcorn, powering off, push, ring, the end, village, and, thus, removed from the subsequent analysis. Then, the children were given copies of a table that consisted of three columns, for informal sources of English, for English words/phrases the children could recall from these sources, and for Croatian equivalents of the English supplied. The learners were asked to complete the recall task individually as homework assignment. Also, the children were invited to try to be as specific as possible about sources of English and avoid writing, for example, the Internet, as it can represent many different types of English contact (listening to music, watching films, interacting on social networks, etc.). The English teacher reminded them of the assignment several times before the due date, which was exactly a week after the introduction of the topic. After the children had submitted their assignments, the researcher visited the classes and talked to them about sources the children listed in their work. Barbee (2013) warned that classification of sources and types of input may become impossible due to diversification of various forms of exposure available today. Because children sometimes listed the Internet, YouTube, home or mobile phone as sources of informal English, they were encouraged to try to provide more specific information. Some were unable to do so for all of their listed vocabulary, which is likely to be caused by very early acquisition and as a result, declarative knowledge of these items. In an effort to accurately present children’s contributions and avoid losing what was believed to be valuable data, it was decided to keep these sources and associated vocabulary. Moreover, the same or similarly formulated sources of informal learning were found in other relevant studies. Self-reported sources of informal English and informally acquired vocabulary were included into the analysis as long as matching data in the three columns were supplied. If information was missing from any of the columns, it led to the exclusion of the source or vocabulary. This was the case with, for example, one appearance of barbie, OMG and LOL. Regularity of spelling was irrelevant. Meaning variation was allowed due to contextual circumstances (e.g., sister can be acquired from a song and carry a different meaning from the meaning it usually carries in family settings). At times, Croatian equivalents provided were inadequate, which also led to exclusion from analysis. As an illustration, cowboy/cowgirl (in Croatian) was offered for calamity, which is inacceptable interpretation of meaning for the context from

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which it was reported to originate. Rarely, identical vocabulary units were listed for different sources, and therefore show up in the vocabulary corpus more than once. One such extreme example is Christmas, which was reported as acquired from the film Home alone, a Christmas card, TV, and a family member. Data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively with the SPSS 20. An independent samples t-test was used for comparisons of results reported by boys and girls. The CEFR vocabulary level was determined with the help of The English Vocabulary Profile (English Profile, 2015).

4 Results and Discussion 4.1 Young Learners’ Self-Reported Sources of Informal Contact with English Clearly, Croatian YLs of EFL have extensive contact with English outside of class (see Table 1). A variety of different sources of YLs’ informal contact with English supports the view that being authentic and genuine, as well as providing opportunities for creativity are attributes that make informal English appealing (Henry et al., 2017). On average, the participants reported three different informal sources of English, but the range of sources is quite wide, from one to nine. Although the variety of Table 1 Sources of YLs’ self-reported informally acquired English

Rank

Young learners N = 103

%

1

Games

65.0

2

TV

49.5

3

Family members

38.8

4

Films

37.9

5

Cartoons

31.1

6

Mobile phone

27.2 22.3

7

Home

8

Music

9

YouTube

10

Linguistic landscape

16.5

11

Shops and products

15.5

12

Friends

11.7 8.7

13

Internet

14

Social networks

15

Sports

6.8

16

Books

4.9

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sources truly reflects availability of English in the local learning context, individual engagements and interests come into play, too (Benson & Reinders, 2011). However, it is quite possible that having to remember vocabulary acquired from informal English sources presented a challenge for our young participants and that, in reality, many participants are able to acquire English informally from more sources than originally supplied. This particular issue is investigated through a more extensive research design the current study originates from and will be addressed in the future. The two most frequently listed sources of informal engagements with English (Table 1), games and TV, match findings of previous research on extramural activities of YLs in different local contexts characterised by similarly extensive contact with English (e.g., De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017; De Wilde et al., 2019; Kuppens, 2010; Lindgren & Muñoz, 2013; Sayer & Ban, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2014; Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2012). The sources reported in the upper part of the table include popular media that provide multimodal input in the form of audio-visual and/or interactive content (games, TV, films, cartoons, mobile phones). They are also likely to be providers of most popular pastime activities. The only exception are family members who emerge as highly significant sources. Moreover, they are probably implied in another frequent source, home (Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, 2009). Other frequently reported sources of informal English input are music and YouTube. They are followed by linguistic landscape and shops and products, attesting to the abundance of opportunities for exposure to English in the local learning environment. Thus, angel, cheeseburger, home, llama, pancake, pet, restaurant, and town exemplify such vocabulary. Sports, social networks, the Internet and friends are least frequently reported sources of informal English. Possibly, they include socialisation activities that YLs of this age prefer to conduct in their first language. The same seems to be true of books. Previous research has shown that YLs are unlikely to engage in reading in English informally, probably on account of limitations in their emerging FL literacy skills and overall proficiency (e.g., De Wilde et al., 2019; Hannibal Jensen, 2017; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2014; Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2012). Both gender groups provided 16 sources of informal English acquisition. On average, the young girls (N = 52) reported four different sources of informal contact with English (M = 4.12, SD = 2.15) and the young boys (N = 51) reported three (M = 3.22, SD = 1.60), which resulted in a statistical effect for gender (t(103) = 2.412, p =0.018). More specifically, games were invoked as significant sources of informal contact more often by the young boys (78.4%) than the girls (51.9%), and films were recalled more often by the young girls (51.9%) than the boys (23.5%), probably a reflection of the boys’ and girls’ most popular English-mediated pastime activities. The boys’ preference for gaming matches findings by Hannibal Jensen (2017), Kuppens (2010), Sundqvist and Sylvén (2014), and Sylvén and Sundqvist (2012). Contrary to the results based on a diary study when boys reported more film watching than girls (Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2014), the young girls in this study listed films more often than the boys, a finding identical to the results obtained with older learners (e.g., Muñoz, 2020).

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4.2 Informal Sources of English for YLs and Vocabulary Retrieval Previous research has shown that multimodal input contributes to incidental acquisition of FL vocabulary (e.g., Bisson et al., 2014; De Wilde et al., 2019). Likewise, the young participants in the current study were most successful in producing vocabulary from TV/films/cartoons (26.9%) and games (23.8%) (see Table 2). Interestingly, TV/films/cartoons, which share the feature of providing audio-visual and passive input, resulted in more vocabulary retrieval than engagement in multimodal and, presumably, interactive gaming. It seems that YLs are very skilful when it comes to vocabulary acquisition from watching TV/films/cartoons. Their tendency to recycle many frequent words is clearly beneficial for word learning (Horst, 2019). The percentage of the retrieved vocabulary connected to family members as sources of informal English was markedly lower (14.8%). Apparently, many Croatian parents and siblings possess English language competence that enables them to assist YLs in their acquisition of English, formally and informally (Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c, 2009, 2015). Indeed, for more than half a century generations of Croatian citizens have been receiving ear training along with exposure to authentic English input from an early age and daily. Therefore, the emergence of family members as the third highly ranked source of informal English was predictable. Besides, the importance of parents’ knowledge and use of the FL for early EFL outcomes has already been reported in the relevant research (e.g., European Commission, 2012; Hannibal Jensen, 2019; Lindgren & Muñoz, 2013; Rokita-Ja´skow, 2015). As family members Table 2 Distribution of self-reported informally acquired vocabulary from sources of informal contact with English

Rank

Young learners (ages 8.5–10.5) N = 103 Source

No. of units

1

TV/films/cartoons

294

% 26.9

2

Games

260

23.8

3

Family members

162

14.8

4

Home

79

7.2

5

Mobile phone

65

5.9

6

YouTube

53

4.8

7

Music

46

4.2

8

Shops and products

36

3.3

9

Linguistic landscape

34

3.1

10

Sports

14

1.2

11

Friends

14

1.2

12

Internet

12

1.1

13

Social networks

12

1.1

14

Books

9

0.8

Total

1090

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are likely to be implied in the source home, taken together, these two sources account for 22% of the informally retrieved vocabulary. Other sources yielded values that signal a much lesser potential to contribute to informal learning of English vocabulary at the productive level. For example, music took the seventh position in this rank order and led to 4.2% of the total number of units retrieved. Usually, music is reported as a hugely popular source of informal contact with English (De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017; De Wilde et al., 2019; Hannibal Jensen, 2017; Kuppens, 2010; Lindgren & Muñoz, 2013; Sayer & Ban, 2014; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2014). Nonetheless, in available research on extramural English and language proficiency, the relationship between music and language gains is generally weak (e.g., Lindgren & Muñoz, 2013) or missing (e.g., De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017). The finding of this study supports Bisson et al. (2014) who proposed that music is a less important predictor of incidental acquisition of FL vocabulary because it is a unimodal source of auditory information. Interestingly, mobile phones were mentioned as a source of contact leading to informal English vocabulary learning by almost a third of the participants, but yielded only 5.9% of the vocabulary participants produced. This may well be a consequence of an overlap. Mobile phones provide opportunities for a variety of informal English-mediated activities (through games, music, social networks, etc.). Consequently, other vocabulary acquired through mobile phone use may have been assigned to these different sources. Although some of the sources of informal contact with English offer multimodal input (e.g., YouTube, mobile phone, Internet, social networks), their contribution to the acquisition of English vocabulary by the YLs is low, probably due to the young participants’ emerging literacy skills in English and increasing readiness to engage with new media in English. Self-reported informally acquired units acquired from friends, sports, shops & products and the linguistic landscape provide evidence that English has become part of people’s private and public discourse in the country (Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c & Geld, 2003). Books as a source of informal contact with English are speculated to be read in the YLs’ first language, thus, the number of retrieved units is negligible. Low amounts of extramural reading in English were reported in other studies, too (e.g., De Wilde et al., 2019; De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017; Hannibal Jensen, 2017). Figure 1 shows that the girls were able to recall more vocabulary acquired from sources that involve audio-visual and passive input (TV, film, cartoons), as well as from personal contacts (family members, friends, mobile phones, sports, social networks), from the linguistic landscape of their town and from their involvement in extracurricular sports. The boys benefited more from computer-related sources (games, the Internet, YouTube). Although the girls’ engagements tend to be more dispersed, they result in the same payoffs overall, as will be shown in Sect. 4.3. Young boys probably invest more time in playing games, as suggested by previous research (e.g., Hannibal Jensen, 2017; Kuppens, 2010; Sylvén & Sundqvist, 2012; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2014). Despite the fact that all are multimodal input modes, games may have an interactive advantage and lead to better language production (De Wilde et al., 2019). Moreover, the audio-visual landscape of a concrete game (such as frequently reported Minecraft and Fortnite) may have made the retrieval of

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Fig. 1 Self-reported informally acquired vocabulary units by source and gender

vocabulary easier than the retrieval from a vast amount of TV broadcasts children had been experiencing from early childhood. In other words, vocabulary units from games may be closely related to game design and not so common elsewhere (e.g., pickaxe, survival, warrior), similar to technical words (Nation, 2001). Interestingly, the boys recalled less from the games than the girls did from films and TV (162 vs. 202 vocabulary units). It seems that the proposed interactivity of the games had no role at this stage of YLs’ English development, since the girls were able to retrieve more from the audio-visual and passive input alone. The majority of Croatian young participants in this study might still be incapable of reaping the benefits of interactivity offered through games due to their emerging language proficiency. Insights into the intensity of use of the three sources and the assumed interactivity of the games played by the participants could help further qualify their role in informal acquisition.

4.3 Vocabulary Acquired Informally by YLs of EFL Young participants in this study managed to successfully recall 1090 informally acquired vocabulary units (M = 10.58, SD = 7.94) from 16 self-reported sources of English available in their local learning environment. By far, one-word units (92.7%) dominated the vocabulary corpus obtained from the participants (see Table 3), probably due to the task design, learners’ language learning (in)experience and beginner’s level of proficiency. Occasionally, the participants included titles of films (e.g., Star

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Table 3 Types of retrieved vocabulary units from informal sources of English Types of units

Language samples

N %

One-word units

Conscious, dusk, fight, light, llama, melon, pumpkin, selfie, shopping, sword, shotgun, pickaxe, unicorn, voice, wine

1010 92.7

Multi-word units Credit card, date of birth, horror movie, log out, poached egg, you’re 80 dead, Santa Clause, Angry Birds, Sleeping Beauty 7.3 Total

1090

Wars) and names (e.g., Kid’s Town is the name of a birthday party venue and Champions League is the name of a video game) into their lists. These were treated as multi-word units. The range of vocabulary recalled was extremely wide, from one to 33, which reveals that there is a lot of variation between the participants. Despite the fact that the young girls produced more units (N = 52, M = 12, SD = 9.05) than the boys (N = 51, M = 9.14, SD = 6.39), statistically significant differences were not found between the total number of the units supplied by the two groups (t(103) = 1.86, p = 0.06). Regarding the number of units across the CEFR levels (Council of Europe, 2001) provided in Table 4 below, the differences between the boys and girls were also statistically non-significant (t(103) = 0.95, p =0.337 for A1, t(103) = 0.46, p = 0.651 for A2, t(103) = 1.49, p = 0.140 for B1, t(103) = 0.86, p = 0.393 for B2, t(103) = 0.85, p = 0.399 for C1, t(103) = 0.36, p = 0.971 for C2). The corpus of vocabulary acquired through the out-of-school activities of YLs (see Appendix) was dominated by units at level A1, in line with their formally expected language competence. The A1 level units accounted for 40.7% of the corpus and might have been encountered or explicitly taught in school. However, when the students were asked about this speculation, they were either unsure or they were adamant that they had acquired much of the listed vocabulary (i.e., many words for colours, numbers, family members, animals) before starting formal English. Following Webb and Nation (2017) and on account of extensive out-of-school contact with English, it can be argued that our YLs made links between vocabulary taught in school and encountered informally (either before their formal instruction started and/or parallel to it). It stands to reason to assume that interaction of both formal and informal contact with English would consolidate and facilitate acquisition, resulting, in this case, in large retrieval of units at A1 level. Obviously, informal learning has advantages over formal learning in Croatia, where two hours of English in school can hardly compare to a rich diet of informal English-mediated engagements available daily. If there is enhanced frequency of engagement with these opportunities, they may be capable of contributing to deeper processing and better retention (Sayer & Ban, 2018). Greater portion of the vocabulary the participants supplied (59.3%) was of higher level or unlisted (as much as 20.8%). Specifically, the young learners managed to produce many units at levels A2 and B1 (16.6 and 13.6% respectively), some at B2 (6.6%), and a few at levels C1 and C2 (1.1%). A closer look at these units clearly

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Table 4 Distribution of self-reported informally acquired vocabulary units across the CEFR levels CEFR level

Young learners (ages 8.5–10.5) N = 103

Girls N = 52

No. of counts

No. of counts

%

Boys N = 51 %

No. of counts

%

A1

444

40.7

256

40.8

188

40.5

A2

171

15.6

98

15.6

73

15.7 15.9

B1

149

13.6

75

11.9

74

B2

73

6.6

40

6.3

33

7.1

C1

13

1.1

7

1.1

6

1.2

13

1.1

7

1.1

6

1.2

Other

227

20.8

142

22.6

84

18.1

Total

1090

C2

626

464

shows that many were indeed acquired through informal contact with English and verify acquisition that happens outside the formal realms of FL learning. Distribution of the sources of the retrieved vocabulary units across levels provides further support of the findings thus far. Table 5 displays the frequency of vocabulary units across CEFR levels from the three most relevant sources to the corpus of informally acquired English. Other sources are aggregated into a separate category due to their low(er) contributions. Unfortunately, unlisted and multi-word units had to be excluded from this analysis. Most self-reported informally acquired vocabulary at level A1 came from the YLs’ experiences related to their family members and home, which parallels previous findings that stress the significance of home/family environment for YLs’ English skills in the Croatian learning context. Gradually, they appear to lose in importance for acquisition of vocabulary at higher levels of CEFR scale. Contribution of the source TV/films/cartoons seems significant for vocabulary at levels A1, A2 and B1, but decreases at levels B2, C1 and C2. Contrary to these two sources, games seem to be steadily contributing to acquisition of vocabulary at all levels. Nevertheless, interpretations offered here can only point at tendencies that need to be further explored since Table 5 Frequency of self-reported informally acquired vocabulary units by sources and CEFR levels Sources of informal English

A1

A2

B2

C1

C2

Total

1

TV/films/cartoons

119

44

44

12

2

1

222

2

Family members/home

141

38

18

5

2

204

3

Games

52

36

49

37

5

188

4

B1

– 9

Other sources

132

53

38

19

1

5

248

Total

444

171

149

73

12

13

862

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many vocabulary units recalled by the learners remained unlisted and triangulation of data was not ensured.

4.4 The Interplay of the Main Findings The Croatian learning context is rich in potential for informal contact with English, which was documented through the young participants’ provision of many different sources of English in the wild. Also, the learners were able to recall much vocabulary from these informal sources and provided evidence of acquisition outside of the formal context of EFL study. However, wide ranges of self-reported sources (from one to nine different sources) and informal vocabulary acquisition (from one to 33 different vocabulary units) undoubtedly arise from significant individual differences between learners. More specifically, learning gains are variable across learners despite highly favourable learning conditions in the local environment. Truthfully, young learners’ efforts are limited by their developing proficiency and unfolding autonomy, but a range of their individual affinities (cognitive, affective and social) seem to come into play at this age already to affect current and future processes and outcomes of EFL development. By extension, the reported informal learning emerging through interplay of contextually available opportunities and individual factors may contribute to classroom EFL instruction in important ways. As children develop different degrees of vocabulary knowledge in English, their language learning rates and needs will diversify. It is plausible that very soon many learners will acquire more from informal resources than at school. Moreover, there is a danger of a gap between informal experience with English and English in school (Mihaljevi´c Djigunovi´c & Nikolov, 2019), and of a strict separation of the two (Verspoor et al., 2011). Nonetheless, informal experiences with English have been claimed to have consequences for motivation and involvement in English language classes (Henry, 2013; Henry et al., 2017; Sundqvist & Sylvén, 2016). Ideally, in-class and out-ofclass learning should serve as extensions and verifications of each other (Reinders & Benson, 2017). This has been also suggested by the findings of this study where YLs supplied much informally acquired vocabulary from relevant sources at their current (expected) level of competence but also (well) beyond it. English vocabulary acquisition at the productive level of vocabulary knowledge reported here strongly implies that receptive vocabulary knowledge of these learners may be quite extensive. Undoubtedly, this would be another result of the favourable circumstances in the Croatian/local EFL learning context.

4.5 Limitations There is inherent difficulty in collecting data in the (unstructured) wild and documenting (unstructured) informal language learning with a young population of

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learners. Clearly, it is not an easy task to recall sources of informal contact with English or vocabulary acquired from these sources, but our young participants were surprisingly successful in provision of all of the sources usually covered in relevant literature, as well as in the provision of abundant vocabulary thus acquired. However, obtaining reliable records of contact with English presents a challenge as the effects of language input on EFL development cannot be directly observed or measured, and it is often confounded with other factors (e.g., Flege, 2009; Moyer, 2009; Muñoz, 2014). The present study relies on self-reports and, therefore, has its limitations regarding reliability. A larger sample, application of different instruments for data triangulation and measures of language proficiency would improve interpretation of the reported findings and their reliability. Moreover, mutual interaction of the YL’s (very) early and ongoing contacts with English and development of English skills in formal and informal domains needs to be addressed in the future in a longitudinal research design.

4.6 Implications Sources of informal contact and samples of language that the participants were able to supply at the productive level of vocabulary knowledge can be of interest to curriculum planners and materials designers, but most of all to EFL teachers who wish to acknowledge their learners’ language experiences outside the classroom and explore opportunities for blending out-of-class projects and in-class instruction (Benson, 2017; Reinders & Benson, 2017). Linse and Gomboa (2014) suggest that teachers use a language contact survey in order to develop awareness of the popularity of informal and specific sources of English that are available to their learners. Such insights have the capacity to inform teaching that builds upon pupils’ out-of-school experiences and tailors instruction for the particular child. Popular informal activities can be brought into the EFL classroom, at least to some extent. Fortunately, game playing and digital technologies are already introduced into EFL classrooms (Goto Butler, 2018). Reinders and Benson (2017) believe that the way to bridge the gap between formal and informal English experiences goes through the teacher. Raising teacher awareness of learner informal English learning and introducing learner interests and experience into the classroom will be useful for maintaining motivation in the long run and will make teaching relevant.

5 Conclusions The study presented in this chapter aims to demonstrate that the informal acquisition of English is possible from a range of sources outside FL classrooms in Croatia. Hence, recognition of the significant role of the affordances in local language learning environments when comparing outcomes of early English language learning

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programmes on a global scale is required. More specifically, in contrast to local learning contexts where English is moving towards a bilingual status, there are many local contexts where EELL unfolds in very different beyond-the-language-classroom conditions, thus making comparisons of research findings and their relevance problematic. On the other hand, language learning histories are extremely individual and there are ways to compensate for a lack of very early contact with English later, at least for some learners. Still, it seems that TL input provided through a combination of formal and informal contact has established itself as a decisive factor for successful FL learning, never ceasing to have significant effect (Muñoz, 2011, 2014). The findings suggest a mutually supportive relationship between (passive and active) knowledge accumulated prior to the formal study, but also a cumulative effect for simultaneous in-class and out-of-class contacts with English. Very early experiences with informal English in the local English-friendly environment can speed up classroom-based learning processes and lead to faster progress and overall better proficiency in the long run. Hence, the volume of experience with English in and out of the classroom is found significant for diversity found in EELL classrooms worldwide. By extension, (degrees of) interaction of early age, (very) early informal contact with English and early formal instruction may be most likely to explain much of the variable outcomes of EELL.

Appendix Corpus of self-reported informally acquired vocabulary by learners (N = 103) aged 8.5–10.5 in the Croatian context of EELL A1

Animal(s), apple, arms, baby, back, bag, ball, banana, basketball, bed, before, best, bird, birthday, black, blue, board, book(s), box, brother, brown, but, cake, car(s), cat, chair, cheese, clock, close, closed, clothes, coffee, cold, colour(s), cow, credit card, dad, dance, dark, day, desk, dinosaur, dog, doll, door, down, draw, dress, easy, egg, eight, email, eye(s), family, feeling, film, fish, five, flowers, fly, food, football, four, friends, fruit, game(s), girl(s), glass, glasses, good, grass, green, grey, guitar, happier, happy, happy birthday, hat, hello, help, help me, hi, holiday, home, horse, hospital, hot dog, house, ice-cream, invite, invites, jacket, January, jeans, key, language, later, left, letter, light, like, listen, love, man, me, message, mobile phone, money, month, movie, mum, music, name, night, nose, numbers, on, one, orange, paint, party, pen, pencil(s), person, pet(s), phone, photos, picture(s), pig, pizza, plane, plant, plate, play, play again, please, rain, reading, ready, red, restaurant, ride, right, river, road, room, running, sad, school bag, sea, send, seven, shirt, shoe(s), shop(s), shopping, sister, six, smoking, snow, sorry, start, start game, sugar, sun, swimming, table, tea, three, ticket, toilet paper, tooth, town, train, tree, T-shirt, TV, two, up, watch, water, window, wine, world cup, year(s), yellow, you (continued)

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(continued) A2

Cartoon, airport, alone, balloon, battery, bean, bear, bike, blanket, bowl, boyfriend, building, burger, calling, cap, carrot, cash, castle, circle, cloud, coach, cream, crossing, cry, curtain, dentist, dishes, downloading, dream, duck, earrings, email, empty, fire, fishing, folder, free, goal, god, gold, heart, helicopter, hill, honey, ice, island, join, king, kite, lamp, laptop, lemon, line, lion, list, lovely, low, low battery, lucky, magic, mail, map, maths, maybe, melon, mice, middle, million, mine, mirror, monkey, monkey, mouse, move, mushroom, notebook, online, opposite, peppers, pick, pillow, pink, playground, police, poster, print, printer, purple, queen, quickly, receive, ruler, salad, sale, shame, shut, snake, soap, sock, sofa, song, soul, space, speaker, star, star wars, storm, story, strong, surname, thousand, toy, toy story, turn on, wallet, wars, win, wish, wood, wow

B1

Account, angel, application, attack, battle, bee, bite, block(s), bone, brake, breathing, burn, bury, candle, captain, challenge, champions league, coach, coconut, court, dirt, display, dolphin, enemy, fight, firework, flag(s), forever, frog, get in, ghost, giraffe, gun(s), hammer, handball, heart attack, hero, hiding, hug, human, hunt, ink, jail, kangaroo, kids, kitten, monster, murder, nightmare, ocean, pan, parrot, peace, peach, peanut, pineapple, planet Earth, post, power, prince, princess, puppy, remote control, robot, rock, rose, rule, scary, score, search, security, sharp, shine, skin, smile, spice, spider, statue, stone, stone, store, strawberry, stupid, thunder, touch, tower, underpants, universe, update, vase, voice, wasted, waterfall, wave, wedding, wings

B2

Arrow, bow, bracket, building, categories, chest, code(s), conscious, craft, crocodile, diamond, faded, feedback, fence, glue, gum, justice, kingdom, log in, log out, medal, microphone, mine, monitor, owl, pancake, penalty, privacy, rainbow, remote, rocket, scar, settings, shots, signals, skeleton, survival, survive, survivor, swan, sword, trap, treasure, trophy, unconscious, victory, weapon, weird, wheat, wolf, yell

C1

Crystal, fake, glory, invite, mining, negotiate, shield, speechless, warriors

C2

Barn, chill, cookie, glue, saddle, slender, squad, villager

Other Academy, alien, almond, angry birds, apple pie, armour, axe, baby sitter, balloon, bar stool, Barbie, batgirl, batman, black knight, blackberries, blueberry, bobcat, bolt, bubble gum, candy, celery, cell phone, charger, cheeseburger, chick, china, choco cookies, Christmas, Christmas tree, claw, clay, controller, cornflakes, cranberries, Croatia, crystal ball, Dalmatians, date of birth, donuts, dragon, dusk, dwarf, earphones, eggplant, elevator, elite agent, e-mail, emoji, ender dragon, enderman, eternity, fair play, fingerprint, firecracker, fireman, football boots, gamer, glider, glitter, gold fish, golden buzzer, hairbands, Halloween, hashtag, hat-trick, heart of the sea, hedgehog, horror movie, hush, iceberg, I’m ready, inbox, iPhone, ironing board, jail break, jelly bean, kale, kid’s town, knight, ladybird, ladybug, lipstick, llama, login, lollipop, loudspeaker, mail box, makeup, markers, maroon, marshmallow, Merry Christmas, metro, motorboat, mystery book, mystery box, new rules, ninja, no guilt, not ready, notification, nougat, offside, Olympiad, peanut butter, pencil case, phone case, pickaxe, pickles, pineapple, pistachio, pistol, plum, poached egg, powering on, prank, pumpkin, pumpkin seeds, quartz, ref, refrigerator, reload, Santa Claus, save me, saw, scarecrow, selfie, shark, sharpener, shotgun, shovel, sign in, sky whale, sleeping beauty, slug, snail, snowman, sparkly, spiderman, sponge, spooky, sprint, star power, sticker, subscribe, subway station, superhero, superwoman, swimming cap, synthesizer, tangerine, tar, teammate, ticket card, timeout, tools, trident, turtle, unicorn, wall panels, wall tiles, walnuts, watermelon, wipe out, without me, wizard, X-mas, you’re dead, zombie

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Reading Accuracy Measure in Screening for Dyslexia in the EFL Classroom Monika Łodej

Abstract Teaching English as a foreign language to dyslexic learners is perceived by teachers as a didactic challenge. This seems to be owed mainly to insufficient teacher training on the manifestations of dyslexia in bilingual learners. Secondly, it is attributed to the unavailability of easy to use screening tests and corresponding classroom intervention plans. The present inquiry aims to fulfil this gap by evaluating the discriminative power of reading accuracy measures in screening for reading difficulties in dyslexic students of English as a foreign language. The study investigated reading accuracy of twelve year old Polish dyslexic (N = 15) and non-dyslexic (N = 15) EFL learners. The two cohorts were tested on reading real words which were manipulated for regularity and frequency of usage in four experimental conditions: high-frequency regular words, high-frequency exception words, low-frequency regular, and low-frequency exception words. The results revealed that in the dyslexia group it was the factor of frequency that affected reading accuracy while in the nondyslexia group it was the regularity of words. When the groups were compared on accuracy of reading exception words, the results showed that the dyslexia group read low frequency exception words more accurately than the non-dyslexia group. Strong correlations observed between the measures might indicate that the reading accuracy test under discussion has a potential to serve as an initial screening tool which might allow classroom teachers to trace patterns of reading accuracy of EFL students with dyslexia. Keywords Dyslexia · Screening · EFL classroom · Reading accuracy measure

1 Introduction Eurostat (2019) points to an increase in the number of students learning English in the EU member states. In primary education, the percentage share of English language learners extends between 60 and 100% in the majority of the EU countries. This M. Łodej (B) Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_6

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number has reached the level of 94.7% across the EU-28 in upper secondary general education. At the same time, the EU Dyslexia Charter (Broadbent, 2018) provides an estimate of 50–100 million people struggling with dyslexia in Europe. Counting the diversity of first languages across Europe and the demands for bilingualism, the English language education poses challenges for dyslexic learners, their teachers and education authorities (EDA, 2020). The major obstacles in a successful identification and provision for EFL learners with dyslexia stem from the lack of consistency in defining, diagnosing, and providing for students with dyslexia. Following the reports collected for the EU Dyslexia Charter (Broadbent, 2018), the number of dyslexic students varies greatly between European countries and ranges between 5% in Luxemburg, 8% in France, 10% in Hungary, and up to 15% in Sweden. The reports included in the EU Dyslexia Charter (Broadbent, 2018, pp. 7–9) also stress that there are countries such as Croatia and Bulgaria which have not adopted a national definition of dyslexia yet, and thus do not have a binding policy referring to dyslexia. Eventually this leads to pitfalls in teacher training which are evidenced in a lack of accurate training on dyslexia in first and foreign languages. In consequence, it results in frequent incidents of undiagnosed, wrongly diagnosed or over diagnosed cases of dyslexic foreign language learners. Until recently, authors have focused their attention on studies on reading difficulties in monolingual learners in the regard that the majority of research in this strand was conducted in English-speaking countries. As observed by Ziegler et al. (2003, p. 170), the Medline database shows that about two-thirds of all publications on dyslexia since 1998 come from English-speaking sources. It was not until 2003 (Seymour et al., 2003) when the first large scale study on European languages was undertaken to compare letter knowledge, familiar word reading, and simple non-word reading after the first year of reading instruction in twelve L2 orthographies, including English. The two main conclusions that derived from the collected data referred to the impact of transparency of the given orthographic system and the method used for teaching reading on the development of reading skills in various languages. In consequence, the study offered a valuable insight into the trajectory of development of reading skills in opaque English and other transparent and non-transparent European scripts. The existing body of research on manifestations of dyslexia in speakers of two languages clearly points to the asymmetrical distribution of reading difficulties between the language systems. This asymmetry was well reported in the case of study of a Turkish-English speaker who, due to the acquired dyslexia in Turkish which caused damage to phonological representations, showed signs of surface dyslexia in English (Raman & Weekes, 2005). Thus, this student struggled to read transparent Turkish whilst his reading performance in opaque English was much higher. The lack of bi-directional transfer of reading difficulties in a bilingual dyslexic learner was also evidenced in the study by Ho and Fong (2005). The report offered a description of a case study of a Chinese dyslexic child who did not exhibit problems when reading in English. The current research aimed to trace difficulties in accurate reading of English words in a group of Polish dyslexic and non-dyslexic learners of English as a foreign language. In addition, it sought to validate the discriminative power of the measure

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of reading accuracy in English and its potential for use as a screening tool for signs of dyslexia in a student’s foreign language reading. The investigation aimed to test the claim that Polish students with dyslexia read English words less accurately than non-dyslexic students. The collected data, in turn, offered an insight into reading preferences of dyslexic and non-dyslexic Polish learners of English, and thus contributed to a validation of the reading accuracy measure in screening for dyslexia in English as a foreign language.

2 First and Foreign Language Reading To begin a discussion on reading problems in bilingual readers two main concepts that relate to the nature of reading should not be overlooked, namely whether reading is a divisible or indivisible skill and to what extent reading is universal in nature and to what extent it is language specific. A much debated question whether reading is a unitary, indivisible or multi-divisible process which consists of a number of skill competences remains unresolved to this day. Since the 1970s the concept that language ability is unitary has been discussed in reference to language teaching and testing. The famous Unitary Competence Hypothesis (UCH) stemmed from the presupposition that “the construct of language proficiency may be more like a viscous substance than like a machine that can readily be broken down into component parts” (Oller, 1979, p. 424). The main argument supporting the hypothesis drew from the observations in language testing that grammar knowledge cannot be assessed without concurrent testing of a vocabulary. This view was supported by results from a follow up-study (Oller & Hinofotis, 1980) on the relevance of the UCH that focused on the learners of English as a foreign language. It included three sets of data obtained from 159 Iranians who took the Test of English as a Foreign Language (ETS), 106 foreign students at Southern Illinois University who took a placement test, and 51 students from the same university who took the TOEFL test. The data from these consecutive studies did not provide support for the notion of separate components of a language. Instead it suggested the possibility that “second language ability may be a more unitary factor such that once the common variance on a variety of language tasks is explained, essentially no meaningful unique variance attributable to separate components will remain” (Oller & Hinofotis, 1980, p. 13). In the same vein, the study on reading skills of German-speaking primary school students (Rost, 1993, p. 79) yielded one broad factor of general reading competence that accounted for 85% of a nonchance variance. It also flagged up the possibility of the existence of, at most, two factors of inferential reading comprehension and vocabulary. Thus, both valid and reliable assessment of reading profiles of L1 learners in reference to sub-skills have proven to be impossible (Alderson, 2000). In another major study, Alderson (1990a, b) investigated the notion of reading by collecting judgements of testing experts on what reading test items really measure. The respondents were unable to match a particular test item with a relevant reading skill or strategy, thus providing support for a unitary notion of reading.

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In opposition to a holistic view of reading (see Alderson & Lukmani, 1989; Carver, 1992; Rosenshine, 1980), a substantial number of studies provide evidence in support for a multi-divisible notion of reading (Lumley, 1993; Weakly, 1993; Weir et al., 1990), as cited by Weir and Porter (1994). This hypothesis proposes that a reading skill is composed of sub-skills which can be best illustrated by the following equation: Reading = Skill1 + Skill2 + Skill3 + … Skilln . As observed by Oller and Hinofotis (1980, p. 13) the separate components of a general language skill relate to a linguistically defined category (e.g., phonology or lexicon) as well as to a language skill (i.e., reading or writing). In relation to reading, Urquhart and Weir (1998, p. 91 in Pan, 2009, p. 113) put forward the argument that since reading itself is a skill it “must be possible to break this down into different levels of component skills categories”. Several experts have made attempts to divide reading skills into a set of component skills. However, there is still little agreement on the definite number of language sub-skills as well as potential mappings between them (Duke, 2005, p. 96). These sub-skills and their hierarchical model are well evidenced in research on reading comprehension which looks at both low-level (e.g., decoding, word recognition) and high-level reading skills (e.g., making inferences, comprehension monitoring). Further supportive data come from a line of studies on students with a specific reading comprehension deficit (SCD) who have poor reading comprehension despite adequate decoding skills (Nation & Snowling, 1997; Stothard & Hulme, 1996). Research estimates that between 10 and 15% of 7- to 8-year-old students experience difficulties in reading comprehension even though their decoding skills do not deviate from the norm. Deficits in comprehension are also linked to factors such as syntactic processing, verbal working memory, comprehension monitoring, inference making, and oral language skills (see Spencer & Wagner, 2018). Additional evidence of a divisible nature of reading comes from brain studies on higher order reading skills such as inferential processes suggesting their neural underpinnings. A detailed neuroimaging examination by Prat et al. (2011) provided additional evidence that the role of the right hemisphere in discourse processes is regulated by a linguistic skill. In addition, it revealed that during reading comprehension tasks less-skilled readers utilise the right hemisphere more than skilled readers and show higher activation in brain regions “including right hemisphere homologues of left hemisphere language regions and left posterior temporal/parietal regions, than skilled readers, even when reading the relatively undemanding context sentences” (p. 11). The second question that seems to be of importance when discussing strengths and weaknesses in reading in bilingual learners is to what extent reading is universal in nature and to what extent it is language specific. On the one hand, reading competence is seen as a unitary skill whose nature “is understood as linguistic knowledge, processing skills, and cognitive abilities” (Koda, 2004, p. 4). The cognitive perspective proposes that successful reading results from the integration of three operations i.e., decoding, text-information building, and situation-model construction (Perfetti, 1994). These operations are dependent upon each other in a twofold way: via phonetic representations to decoding, and then via working memory to decoding (Liberman & Shankweiler, 1985). The first proposition associates reading difficulties with inaccurate and slow recognition of individual words which leads

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to a shift from higher-level processes of comprehension to lower-level processing, i.e., decoding. The second assertion points to the dysfunctional working memory as a source affecting short term encoding, sequencing and integration of information. Furthermore, the developmental perspective recognises that there are two basic reading operations: decoding and comprehension. However these two do not develop simultaneously. This interdependency is seen in dyslexic students who due to the insufficiently developed decoding skills lack the ability to construct text meaning. As Gough and Tunmer (1986, p. 7) observe “reading disability could result in three different ways: from an inability to decode, an inability to comprehend, or both … the first is what is usually called dyslexia, the second hyperlexia, and the third we call garden variety disability”. In a similar vein, Grabe (2009, p. 124) in an overview of universals of reading posits that these are both higher- and lower- level processes i.e., cognition, relation between print and speech, reading transfer, metalinguistic awareness and text-interpretation that are utilised irrespective of the language learnt. Further, Grabe enumerates general reading abilities shared by all readers which refer to cognition (i.e., recognition of patterns, working and long-term memory, inferring meaning, and coherence of interpretation), symbol-to-sound matching (i.e., phonological decoding and the feature that as all orthographies activate spoken language processing), transfer of reading skills and general metalinguistic awareness. The universal nature of reading has been supported by Nakamura et al. (2012) who investigated a neural circuit in reading in Chinese and French. They used functional magnetic resonance imaging to trace activation of brain regions in a semantic task. The results demonstrated that “two universal circuits, a shape recognition system (reading by eye) and a gesture recognition system (reading by hand), are similarly activated and show identical patterns of activation and repetition priming in the two language groups” (p. 20762). The research concluded with providing support for the suggestion that in both logographic and alphabetic scripts the same two decoding systems are utilised in fluent reading. On the other hand, research on L2 reading points to non-symmetrical transfer of reading skills between the languages learnt. This, in turn, supports the view that employing language specific-processing competences is essential to constructing L2 text meaning. As Koda (2004, p. 15) maintains “learners with different L1 backgrounds deploy different cognitive tactics during L2 reading”. The variations are modulated by unique properties of language systems and orthographies, such as consistency or depth (Koda, 2007; Perfetti & Harris, 2013). It has been observed that techniques used for reading in L1 may not be fully functional in a foreign language; specifically, if the languages differ at the level of transparency and granularity. Natalicio (1979) demonstrated that Spanish learners of English had to learn new sounds to symbol correspondences in order to be able to read in English. This was due to the fact that the techniques of reading used in a transparent Spanish, where the correspondence between a letter and a sound is almost 1:1, when applied to opaque English did not promote fluent and accurate reading. Instead, this transfer results in a phonetic reading in L2 English. The strongest cross-language comparison which supports the notion of language specificity in reading comes from the study on German and English, as both languages

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have a shared Germanic origin. Ziegler et al. (2003, p. 171), pointing to a number of shared linguistic features between these two languages, notice that “both have a very similar orthography and phonology but they differ with respect to how consistently units of spelling map onto units of sound”. Studies routinely show that students learning to read a regular orthography, such as German exhibit a strong reliance on phoneme to grapheme correspondence. Conversely, readers of a non-transparent orthography, such as English tend to rely on rhymes and apply global reading strategies to reading (Frith et al., 1998; Goswami et al., 2001, 2003; Wimmer & Goswami, 1994; Ziegler et al., 2001). Along the same lines, research on L1 English and L1 Punjabi (Geva, 2000) found that children may be able to read words in an L2 more accurately than in their L1, depending on the complexity of the L2 orthography. Nonsymmetrical development of decoding skills was also reported in studies on EnglishHebrew bilinguals (Geva et al., 1997). The study revealed that a higher accuracy in decoding was achieved in the L2 (Hebrew) earlier than in the L1 (English). The supportive data come from the brain study by Paulesu et al. (2001) which compared reading performance of regular achievers and dyslexics in three languages. Two of them, that is English and French represented a deep orthography, while Italian was a representative of a shallow script. The research revealed that reading disabled students of Italian L1 performed better on reading tasks than their French and English counterparts. Positron emission tomography scans of the activation of the brain while reading in these languages showed that regular achievers of Italian had greater activation in left superior temporal regions while English and French had greater activations in the left posterior inferior temporal gyms and anterior inferior frontal gyrus. Interestingly, the comparison between regular achievers and dyslexic readers revealed a greater activation of a large region in the left hemisphere for regular achievers than for dyslexics.

3 Dyslexia in Bilingual and Multilingual Learners In order to account for cross-linguistic differences in the prevalence of dyslexia in bilingual learners, researchers draw from the findings of the Hypothesis of Granularity and Transparency and the corresponding Coltheart’s Dual Route Model of Reading. The Hypothesis of Granularity and Transparency (Wydell & Butterworth, 1999; Wydell & Kondo, 2003) postulates that languages with a transparent grapheme to sound correspondence, where the unit of granularity is coarse at a whole character or word level, would not produce a high incidence of phonological dyslexia. In order to demonstrate this assumption Wydell and Butterworth (1999) provided a case-study description of a 16-year-old bilingual boy, designated as AS, who showed symptoms of dyslexia in English and performed at a superior level in Japanese. The difference in language performance was linked to the distance between the languages. According to the hypothesis alphabetic English is a non-transparent orthography with a fine granularity size, while logographic-syllabic Japanese represents the system which

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Fig. 1 Hypothesis of granularity and transparency and orthography to phonology correspondence (in Wydell and Butterworth 1999, p. 280)

consists of transparent Kana and opaque Kanji with a granular size at a syllable or mora level for Kana and a whole word level for Kanji (Fig. 1). The authors concluded that any orthography with a transparent sound to symbol mapping, irrespective of the level of translation that is phoneme or syllable, will not produce a high incidence of phonological dyslexia. Similarly, any orthography, including these non-transparent ones, whose smallest orthographic unit that represents sound is coarse, will not produce a high incidence of phonological dyslexia (Wydell & Butterworth, 1999, p. 280). Therefore, “it should be possible to find a bilingual individual with monolingual dyslexia” (Wydell, 2012, p. 8). In their 2018 study, Ijuin and Wydell supported the previous findings of the role of the granularity dimension by looking at a computer simulation model of reading in Japanese Kana and Kanji. The results revealed that Kanji with a larger granularity size was read faster than Kana with a smaller granularity. Consequently, reading in orthographies that vary in terms of granularity and transparency requires a reader to activate different reading strategies. Access to a language specific reading strategy is, however, impeded by dyslexia. The model that best explains the difference in reading between regular achievers and students with dyslexia is offered by Coltheart’s Dual-Route Model of Reading (Coltheart et al., 2001; Coltheart, 2005). The dual approach (see Fig. 2) to reading out aloud assumes that reading is operated by lexical and non-lexical routes. Reading via the lexical route necessitates looking up a real word in a mental lexicon where spelling

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Fig. 2 Dual route model of reading (Colheart, 2006, in Wang & Young, 2014, p. 2704)

and pronunciation of letter strings is stored. Whereas reading via the non lexical route involves reading by applying grapheme to phoneme correspondence rules with exclusion of the reference to mental lexicon. This model serves to explain reading pathways in regular achievers but also in students having developmental and acquired dyslexia. The two factors of regularity and frequency of words are observed to impact the reading process. Longer reaction times for reading aloud irregular words than regular words have been attributed to the conflicting information at a phoneme level. This, in turn, accounts for the additional processing time needed to form a graphemeto-phoneme correspondence. As a result, the reading speed slows down. In the case of regular words, decoding at a phoneme level progresses without disruption and thus no decline in reading speed has been observed. Similarly, the frequency factor contributes to the variance in reading aloud. The model proposes that the access to mental lexicon for high frequency words is faster than for low frequency words. Following the dual-route model “low-frequency words will show a larger regularity effect, since lexical processing will be relatively slow for such words and there will be more time for the conflicting information from the nonlexical route to affect reading” (Coltheart, 2005, p. 10). The model also served to explain reading difficulties characteristic for subtypes of dyslexia (Castles & Coltheart, 1993; Castles et al., 1999). The 1993 study that aimed to distil categories of dyslexic readers revealed that 18 out of 53 poor readers fulfilled criteria that would place them in a surface phonological dyslexia category. Specifically, 10 subjects fit the pattern of surface dyslexia, while 8 subjects fit the pattern of phonological dyslexia (Stanovich et al., 1997). Phonological readers read real words of high frequency accurately while at the same time they struggled to decode novel letter strings. These students were observed to read mildly irregular words if they were of high frequency and thus familiar to them. This pattern of reading evidenced that when the sub-lexical route is impaired, mapping from whole words

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may remain intact. Conversely, students identified as having surface dyslexia were able to read both real and pseudo words with regular spelling but had problems with reading irregular words. Irregular words were the hardest to read as reading accuracy was dependent on the degree of regularity. This pattern of reading was associated with a deficit in the lexical route which involves mapping whole words onto their pronunciation. The sub-lexical route remained intact. Interestingly, the majority of cases represented a mixed pattern with low scores on both lexical and sub-lexical reading (Genard et al., 1998). Screening for dyslexia in bilingual and multilingual speakers poses an additional challenge for teachers and educators. Firstly, screening procedures vary between countries as different entities are made responsible for the identification of learning difficulties in students. Thus, the diagnosis of dyslexia may result from either an internal screening procedure (at class/school level) or external consultancies outside the school (e.g., dyslexia specialist or diagnostic centre). This is well illustrated when the UK and Polish screening policies are compared. In the UK, screening is conducted at the school level. A class teacher collects information on the student and implements a remedial plan. If needed, the teacher consults the remedial plan with a school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO). However, if additional referral is required a student is put in contact with a specialist outside the school. This approach is known as the Response-to-Intervention Model (RTI) (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006; Fletcher & Vaughn, 2009). In Poland, on the contrary, if a student is observed to have learning issues a class or subject teacher is not expected to screen them. Instead, the student is referred to a diagnostic centre where he/she undergoes a diagnostic protocol to assess their learning profile. A statement which lists the student’s strengths and weaknesses with some generic teaching suggestions is issued to the student. If the student or their parents/guardians share the statement with the school, class teachers are required to follow the recommendations by the diagnostic centre. If the student’s parents/guardians prefer to keep the statement private, the school is not obliged by law to make accommodations for the student. This external screening and diagnostic procedure is based on the IQ-achievement discrepancy model in which a set of standardised tests is applied and then computed to determine whether a student has a learning disability and needs special education services (see Łodej, 2018). The lack of a unitary model of screening for dyslexia is experienced by students who migrate and change the educational context. Country specific screening procedures cause the diagnostic statements also to be confined to a specific educational context, therefore not easily transferable, and rarely considered a legitimate data in a new setting. Secondly, screening for dyslexia is conducted in an official language of the country it takes place. The diagnostic tool is designed to assess the development of the target language as this conditions student’s access to the National Curriculum. It has been observed that “teachers and psychologists have tended to misdiagnose or ignore dyslexia especially by multilingual students because of the multiplicity of factors that seem to be causes for failure” (Peer & Reid, 2000, p. 2). The key difficulty in screening for reading difficulties in bilingual students results from the lack of bilingual specialists who have a good understanding of both language systems. In the absence of bilingual staff, the screening relies on the data that comes from one of

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the languages. Since language is perceived by many as a universal skill thus the set of didactic recommendations tends to be extended to didactic work in all language classes a student is enrolled in. The evidential data from the US and the UK on the number of reported cases of dyslexia in multilingual communities reveals that these communities are under-represented in the dyslexia category. Lindsay et al. (2006, p. 4) observe that, this could be because of difficulties in disentangling learning difficulties from issues associated with English as an Additional Language (EAL) and therefore work is needed to assess whether these children’s needs are being met appropriately or whether their EAL status is leading to an under-estimation of the nature and severity of cognition and learning needs. In the same vein, Martin (2013, p. 8) points to the fact that EAL learners are observed to be placed in literacy support classes with other special educational needs (SEN) students due to the quoted ‘lack of resources’ that would allow to discriminate between and address properly their educational needs. In sum, this data supports the view that special educational support offered to SEN students results from the diverse cultural practices of education professionals more than students’ cognitive needs.

4 Research 4.1 Method The aforementioned data led to the twofold purpose of the present study, that is (a) to determine the level of reading accuracy of English words in the groups of Polish EFL learners with dyslexia and without learning difficulties and (b) to validate the discriminative power of the reading accuracy measure in screening for dyslexia in the EFL classroom. The investigation addressed the research hypothesis that Polish dyslexic (RD) students will perform significantly more poorly than non-dyslexic (NRD) students in reading accuracy in English. It is to be noticed that the spoken and written vocabularies of Polish EFL learners are generally restricted to the vocabulary presented in EFL course-books. Consequently, written words which are of high frequency for skilled native readers are less frequent for ESL learners. EFL students simultaneously learn how to write and speak without prior listening practice or phonics instruction. The learners are expected to “infer these relationships naturally and spontaneously from the input they receive in the language classroom” (Nijakowska, 2008, p. 135). It is expected that “therefore, regularity of spelling-sound relationships might not have as dramatic effect on their reading performance as it does for native English readers” (Wang & Koda, 2007, p. 204). Polish speakers are, due to L1 properties, trained in one-to-one soundsymbol mapping at the phonemic level. Learning English requires more grain size mapping at the onset and rime level due to inconsistency in spelling. Additionally, different writing systems select different units of spoken language for mapping. Polish reading activates reliance on a single grapheme-phoneme relation

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with the exception of the diagraphs , , , , , , which due to transfer of reading skills is often transferred to reading in English and results in interference from spelling (Sobkowiak, 2001, p. 25). A further restraint is expected to arise from the fact that in some cases students first learn the pronunciation of words via the visual channel, not the auditory channel. While encountering a new word, not heard before, they may apply L1 decoding strategies as they lack the English pronunciation rules that they could refer to. If we assume that a word is encountered only visually several times and enters the sight word lexicon at both the semantic and the phonemic level, then this may result in its entering the sight word lexicon but with phonetically distorted pronunciation. Once the word enters the lexicon it requires explicit and timely correction to substitute its incorrect phonological form for the correct one. It is therefore plausible to ask whether the deficits in reading which result from affected sound-symbol association at the single phoneme level and limit over-reliance on letter-sound level might have a positive effect on reading in EFL at larger grain-size level.

4.2 Participants The participants were 30 Polish learners of English as a foreign language, 15 students holding a dyslexia statement and 15 students without confirmed learning difficulties. At the time of the data collection they were year 6 primary school students (13 years of age), in their sixth year of regular instruction in English. The participants spoke Polish as a first language and English as a foreign language. The estimated level of their proficiency in English was between A1 and A2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (2001). The informants were chosen randomly from the year six students who attended three different primary schools in the south of Poland, the two of which were suburban public primary schools in medium-sized towns and one was located in the capital city of the province. There were 10 males and 5 females in the dyslexia group and 4 males and 11 females in the non-dyslexia group. The students who formed the dyslexia group were randomly selected by the researcher from the pool of students with dyslexia statements shared by the head teachers of the schools. Whereas, the non dyslexia group was made up of students who volunteered to participate in the study. This distribution shows that there were more boys than girls in the dyslexia (RD) group. These results are in agreement with the report of the U.S. Department of Education from 2007 on the issue of gender in school students identified with reading disability. The report revealed that 67% of 6–12 year-olds and 66% of 13–17 years old were boys (U.S. Department of Education, in Christo et al., 2009). Similar results were found in research (Miles et al., 1998) on 11,804 ten-year old British underachievers. The data ratio revealed that the group referred to as underachievers contained many more boys than girls, with a ratio of 4.51:1.

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4.3 Instruments The design of the reading accuracy measure was replicated from the studies by Glushko (1979), Plaut et al. (1996), and Wang and Koda (2007). The word reading list used for the data collection (see Appendix A) comprised four sets of real words, 60 words in total. There were 20 items in each of the four sets. Two features of the real words were manipulated for regularity and frequency. As a result, there were four experimental conditions: high-frequency regular words HFR (e.g., get, dark), highfrequency exception words HFE (e.g., are, break), low-frequency regular LFR (e.g., choose, soon), and low-frequency exception words LFE (e.g., said, broad). The words selected for each category were adapted from the list used in the research by Glushko (1979), Plaut et al. (1996), and Wang and Koda (2007). However, modifications were introduced to recognise the proficiency level in English and the age of the participants. The phonetic pronunciation of words followed Wells (2008) and served as a model for classification of the words as either correct or incorrect (see Appendix B). The rationale for introduction of this change stemmed from the fact that in Polish schools students are trained to speak standard British English. Furthermore, phonetic properties, such as the distinction between long and short vowels and contrasts in quality between front vowels were not analysed. Therefore, the change in the length of the vowel and merging the quality of front vowels in certain words were not considered as a pronunciation mistake. For example the values of /A:/, /2/ and /æ/ when pronounced as /a/ were scored as correct. The values of sounds which are not present in Polish and were substituted by the Polish sound with the sound closest to the English sound, (e.g., /8/ or /ð/ with /f/ or /v/; /Z/ with /z/ and /ŋ/ with /ŋg/) were scored as correct as well. The /r/ sound was also accepted due to its correlation with the value of preceding vowels, which were replaced by Polish values. This decision was motivated by the fact that the /r/ sound at the end of a word is widespread in Polish English. Final devoicing was ignored and attributed to the influence of Polish on English. Additionally, familiarity ratings of the words with reference to their frequency were collected from three experienced EFL teachers who taught the classes from which the participants in this study were recruited. A 5-point Likert scale was used to rate the familiarity of the words. Words in the frequency range between 4.0 and 5.0 formed the high frequency group, while words between 1.9 and 3.9 constituted the low frequency group.

4.4 Procedure Data were collected during individual sessions with students. The list of words for the accuracy measure was presented to the participants on printed test sheets. Crème background and black non-serif font of Tahoma lowercase were used. If required, the researcher pointed to words so as to avoid them being omitted. The participants

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were asked to read the words out clearly and distinctly. Their responses were voice recorded for further analysis.

4.5 Results Descriptive statistics, t-test and multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to determine if there were significant differences among dyslexic and non-dyslexic students on the testing measures used in this study, that is, reading accuracy of high frequency regular words, high frequency exception words, low frequency regular words and low frequency exception words. The data obtained from the descriptive statistics showed that reading accuracy in EFL in the two cohorts was not greatly deviant from the norm. Table 1 reports the scores with reference to mean, standard deviation, range of scores and standard normal distribution thus, allowing an insight into a general profile of the population and each of the groups under investigation. The data showed greater accuracy for high frequency regular words (MA = 11.37, SD = 4.11) than for low frequency regular words (MA = 8.47, SD = 5.01). The same pattern is mirrored in the relationship between high frequency exception words (MA = 7.50, SD = 3.78) and low frequency exception words (MA = 3.40, SD = 3.30). The regularity factor yields a similar response, that is, a positive effect of the regularity of words on accuracy in reading. Accuracy of reading high frequency regular words (MA = 11.37, SD = 4.11) is higher than high frequency exception words (MA = 7.50, SD = 3.78). Consequently, reading accuracy of low frequency regular words (MA = 8.47, SD = 5.01) is higher than low frequency exception words (MA = 3.40, SD = 3.30). However, the low frequency regular word category (MA = 8.47, SD Table 1 Means, standard deviations, ranges of scores and standard normal distributions of the total population (two cohorts) RA HFR

RA HFE

RA LFR

RA LFE

Total population (N = 30) MA

11.37

7.50

8.47

3.40

SD

4.11

3.78

5.01

3.30

MIN

4

1

0

0

MAX

19

16

17

13

Between group comparison MA RD

10.00

7.00

6.40

Z1

−0.33

−0.13

−0.41

0.14

MA NRD

12.73

8.00

10.53

2.93

0.33

0.13

0.41

−0.14

Z2

3.87

RA HFR (reading accuracy of high-frequency regular words); RA HFE (reading accuracy of highfrequency exception words); RA LFR (reading accuracy of low-frequency regular words); RA LFE (reading accuracy of low-frequency exception words)

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= 5.01) shows higher accuracy than the high frequency exception category (MA = 7.50, SD = 3.78). Figure 3 illustrates the distribution of standardised mean scores (z-scores) in both groups. As there was an equal number of students in each group (N = 15) and the groups were measured with relation to one another, therefore the linear distribution of means resembles a mirror reflection. An additional breakdown analysis (Table 2) was conducted to determine the value of the discriminative effect of regularity and frequency for both cohorts. Table 2 records the data obtained from a one sample t-test. Next, an independent sample student’s t-test was used to determine whether the difference between two independent means of the two samples were statistically significant. Table 3 reports the scores with reference to means, standard deviations, the differences in means, student’s t values and p values for the total population. The data showed that there were significant differences in reading accuracy of low frequency regular words (t = 2.447, p = 0.021) between the dyslexia (RD) and non dyslexia (NRD) groups, whereas the remaining variables did not prove to

Fig. 3 Mean scores on reading accuracy (RA) in English in the dyslexia (RD) group and the non-dyslexia (NRD) group. HFR (high frequency regular words), HFE (high frequency exception words), LFR (low frequency regular words), and LFE (low frequency exception words)

Table 2 Difference, t value and p value for reading accuracy of high-low (H-L) frequency words and regular-exception (R-E) words

H-L

R-E

Statistics for the RD group dif

6.73

5.53

t

1.877

1.542

p

0.083

0.147

Statistics for the NRD group 12.34

dif

7.26

t

3.797

6.453

p

0.002

0.000

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Table 3 Means, standard deviations, the differences in means, student’s t values and p values for the total population (two cohorts) RA HFR

RA HFE

RA LFR

RA LFE

Statistics for the RD group MA 1

10.00

7.00

6.40

3.87

SD1

4.80

4.68

5.68

4.19

N1

15

15

15

15

Statistics for the NRD group MA2

12.73

8.00

10.53

2.93

SD2

2.84

2.67

3.25

2.12

N2

15

15

15

15

Comparison between RD and NRD groups Difference

−2.73

−1.00

−4.13

0.93

Student’s t

1.899

−0.719

−2.447

0.770

df

28

28

28

28

p

0.068

0.478

0.021

0.448

RA HFR (reading accuracy of high-frequency regular words); RA HFE (reading accuracy of highfrequency exception words); RA LFR (reading accuracy of low-frequency regular words); RA LFE (reading accuracy of low-frequency exception words)

hold a significant discriminative power. However, the data on reading accuracy of high frequency regular words (t = 1.899, p = 0.068) was approaching the level of significance. The remaining two variables discriminated the two cohorts, however, they did not have statistical significance. Further, a discriminant analysis procedure was used to investigate which testing measures hold the strongest discriminative power. The results presented in Table 4 show the four variables presented in a descending order of discriminative power. The data demonstrates that reading accuracy for low frequency exception (RA LFE) words has the strongest discrimination power (Wilk’s Lambda (0.687), F = (4.25) = 30.354, p = 0.000) along with reading accuracy for low frequency regular (RA LFR) words (Wilk’s Lambda (0.548), F = (4.25) = 19.151, p = 0.000). Reading Table 4 Discriminant analysis with Wilk’s Lambda (0.31015), F = (4.25) = 13.902, p < 0000 for variables in the model

Wilk’s Lambda

F (4.25)

P

RA LFE

0.687

30.354

0.000

RA LFR

0.548

19.151

0.000

Variable

RA HFE

0.348

3.017

0.095

RA HFR

0.338

2.279

0.144

RA LFE (reading accuracy of low-frequency exception words); RA LFR (reading accuracy of low-frequency regular words); RA HFE (reading accuracy of high-frequency exception words); RA HFR (reading accuracy of high-frequency regular words)

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M. Łodej

accuracy for high frequency exception words (Wilk’s Lambda (0.348), F = (4.25) = 3.017, p = 0.095) comes in third place and is approaching the level of significance but does not hold a discriminative power which is statistically significant. Finally, reading accuracy of high frequency regular words (Wilk’s Lambda (0.338), F = (4.25) = 2.279, p = 0.144), is the least discriminative variable and is not statistically significant. The results of the t-test and MANOVA aimed to validate the claim that Polish dyslexic (RD) students will perform significantly more poorly than non-dyslexic (NRD) students in reading accuracy in English. Thus, two hypotheses were proposed, that is the null hypothesis (H0 : RD = NRD reading rate words in English) and the alternative hypothesis (H1 : RD students < NRD reading rate words in English). The results showed that neither the group term (t = 1.286, p = 0.209) nor the interaction term (Wilk’s Lambda (0.596), F = (7.22) = 0.106, p = 0.746) were statistically significant. Therefore, there is sufficient evidence to accept the null hypothesis. There are no significant differences between the dyslexia (RD) group (MA = 27.27, SD = 18.66) and the non-dyslexia (NRD) groups (MA = 34.20, SD = 9.38) on reading accuracy in English. However, the dyslexia (RD) group reads English words less accurately than the non-dyslexia (NRD) group. The standard deviations from the norm are larger in the dyslexia (RD) than in the non dyslexia (NRD) group. This means that there is a greater individual difference between dyslexic students on reading accuracy than between non-dyslexic students.

5 Discussion The present study is in accordance with the investigations on English L2 (Wang & Koda, 2007) where the students were tested on accuracy of reading. The study showed that both groups of students from Korean L1 and Chinese L1 backgrounds learning English L2 read high frequency words more accurately than low frequency words. The same correlation was observed between regular and irregular words, in favour of regular words. In the present study, Polish non-dyslexic (NRD) students read high frequency words more accurately than low frequency words and regular words more accurately than exception words, which is in agreement with Wang and Koda (2007). The same pattern of correlations was observed in the dyslexia (RD) group, with the exception that for regularity and frequency the difference in performance was weaker for the dyslexia (RD) group than for the non-dyslexia (NRD) group. However, in the dyslexia (RD) group it was the factor of frequency more than regularity that affected reading accuracy, while in the non-dyslexia (NRD) group the factor of regularity affected reading accuracy more than the frequency effect. When the groups were compared on accuracy in reading regular words the difference was statistically significant. The non-dyslexia (NRD) group read regular words more accurately than the dyslexia (RD) group. This measure differentiated the groups to the largest extent. When the groups were compared on accuracy of reading exception words, the difference was not statistically significant, and the results almost

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115

identical. The non-dyslexia (NRD) group and the dyslexia (RD) group were equally accurate in reading exception words. As regards dyslexic students outperforming the non-dyslexic students on this measure, students with dyslexia read exception words of low frequency more accurately than their non-dyslexic counterparts. Also, frequency did not distinguish significantly between the groups. The non-dyslexia (NRD) group read low frequency words and high frequency words more accurately than the dyslexia (RD) group taking into account the fact that the difference in performance was the same for both measures. In summary, Polish non-dyslexic (NRD) and dyslexic (RD) students read high frequency words more accurately than low frequency words and regular words more accurately than exception words. In the dyslexia (RD) group it was the frequency factor more than regularity that affected reading accuracy, while in the non-dyslexia (NRD) group the factor of regularity affected reading accuracy more than the frequency effect.

6 Conclusions and Implications A key finding of the study is that dyslexic students read low frequency regular words more accurately than non-dyslexic students. This corresponds, in part, to the DPER phenomenon (Dyslexic Preference for English Reading) raised by a group of Swedish teachers. Miller-Guron and Lundberg (2000) reported on the group of dyslexic Swedish L1 learners who preferred to read in English L2 than Swedish L1 which was documented with higher scores in reading in English than Swedish. The authors observed that “(…) the sometimes high degree of variance on L2 task scores even within the dyslexic groups suggests a broad scale of L2 reading efficiency in spite of L1 deficits which has not previously been appreciated” (p. 58). Similarly, the dyslexia group in the present study showed a greater variance of scores on reading accuracy than non-dyslexic students. It is speculated that the advantage of dyslexic students over their non-dyslexic counterparts on the accuracy measure of words which are both of low frequency and exception might be due to the fact that dyslexic students primarily read words globally as it could have been the only working channel for the majority of them. This could also indicate that the non-dyslexic students while reading English L2 applied grapheme-to-phoneme matching which is the least effective in reading exception words of low frequency. At the same time, this might be a result of a negative transfer of reading strategy from Polish L1 to English L2. In regular orthographies, such as Polish, students are trained in the application of grapheme to phoneme matching to reading all words. Interestingly, dyslexic students read regular words less accurately than nondyslexic students while at the same time the scores on exception words were almost at an identical level in both groups. This allows us to hypothesise that regular achievers decode regular words by applying spelling rules and exception words by sight word reading. In contrast, students with dyslexia choose sight word reading strategy over alphabetic reading for both regular and exception words. However, these conclusions should be treated with caution, since the sample size was small (N = 30) which limits

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the power of statistical analysis. Nevertheless, some classroom implications can be drawn from this study. Firstly, additional practice in sight word reading could be expected to facilitate accuracy of reading regular words in both dyslexia and nondyslexia groups. Payne and Turner (1998, p. 37) observed that “children who are having difficulty in reading need to have the word so firmly imprinted that it will not only stay in the mind but it can be easily recalled when the word is encountered in print”. Likewise, the National Reading Panel (2000) provided that guided repeated oral reading has a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a range of grade levels. Secondly, the introduction of a synthetic phonics programme to didactic work with dyslexic students may result in no gains in reading accuracy. EFL learners lack the sufficient level of proficiency in English to benefit from a training in grapheme to phoneme matching. Their limited general knowledge of L2 which conditions a lower sensitivity to English sounds hampers the application of this reading strategy. In addition, the reported high scores of dyslexic students on reading of low frequency exception words may be correlated with their dyslexia subtype. Assuming that this group was composed mainly of students with phonological dyslexia, the greater frequency effect over the regularity effect could be expected. Finally, the reading accuracy measure tested in this study proved to have a potential to serve as an initial screening tool for reading difficulties in the EFL classroom. It allows the teachers to study the reading profile of individual students by looking at the accuracy of reading words that are high and low frequency and have either regular or irregular pronunciation. Therefore, it offers an insight into the choice of reading strategies used by students who show signs of reading difficulties in English. Working conclusions can be drawn by teachers in reference to the effect of regularity and frequency in student’s reading and the level of deviation from the norm. For this tool two factors could constitute the norm, namely English language proficiency expected in year six and/or the norm calculated for the particular class of students. Consequently, the data might inform further decisions with regard to a reading support system that is most efficient for the student.

Appendix A The list of words for reading accuracy measure High-frequency real words

Low-frequency real words

Regular

Exception

Regular

Exception

Best

Group

Choose

Both

Class

Are

Came

Done

Dark

Break

Soon

Said

Did

Come

Will

Broad (continued)

Reading Accuracy Measure in Screening for Dyslexia …

117

(continued) High-frequency real words

Low-frequency real words

Fact

Does

Beam

Deaf

Him

Foot

Broke

Flood

Page

Great

Deed

Tear

Place

Have

Float

Already

Week

Says

Peel

Breath

When

Were

Pitch

Would

With

Bowl

Trunk

Treasure

Write

Pear

Wit

Moustache

Creature

Beard

Breathe

Another

Leave

Real

Each

Once

Please

Crown

Won

Tongue

Worried

Owl

Without

Covered

Alone

Earth

Flour

Prove

Blouse

Money

Mood

Brought

Mountain

Castle

Round

Double

Famous

Blood

Asked

Enough

Appendix B Pronunciation according to Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (Wells, 2008) High-frequency real words

Low-frequency real words

Regular

Exception

Regular

Exception

Best /best/

Group /gru:p/

Choose /Ùə*z/

Both /bə*8/

Class /klA:s/

Are /A:/

Came /keIm/

Done /d2n/

Dark /dA:k/

Break /breIk/

Soon /su:n/

Said /sed/

Did /dId/

Come /k2m/

Will /wIl/

Broad /brO:d/

Fact /fækt/

Does /d2z/

Beam /bi:m/

Deaf /def/

Him /hIm/

Foot /f*t/

Broke /brə*k/

Flood /fl2d/

Page /peIÃ/

Great /greIt/

Deed /di:d/

Tear /tIə /, /teə/

Place /pleIs/

Have /hæv/

Float /flə*t/

Already /O:l’redi/

Week /wi:k/

Says /sez/

Peel /pi:l/

Breath /bre8/

When /wen/

Were /weə/

Pitch /pIÙ/

Would /w*d/

With /wIð/

Bowl /bə*l/

Trunk /tr2ŋk/

Treasure /’treZe/

Write /raIt/

Pear /peə/

Wit /wIt/

Moustache /mə(*)’stA:s / (continued)

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M. Łodej

(continued) High-frequency real words

Low-frequency real words

Regular

Exception

Regular

Exception

Creature /’kri:Ùə/

Beard /bIəd/

Breathe /bri:ð/

Another /ə’naðə/

Leave /li:v/

Real /ri: əl/

Each /i:Ù/

Once /w2ns/

Please /pli:z/

Crown /kra*n/

Won /w2n/

Tongue /t2nŋ/

Worried /’w2rId/

Owl /a*l/

Without /wIð’a*t/

Covered /’k2vəd/

Alone /ə’lə*n/

Earth /f:8/

Flour /fla*ə/

Prove /pru:v/

Blouse /bla*z/

Money /’m2ni/

Mood /mu:d/

Brought /brO:t/

Mountain /’ma*ntIn/

Castle /kA:sl/

Round /ra*nd/

Double /d2bl/

Famous /’feIməs/

Blood /bl2d/

Asked /A:skt/

Enough /I(ə)’n2f/

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Learning Preferences of SEN Children in an Inclusive English Classroom Werona Król-Gierat

Abstract While many children learn foreign languages with ease, and gain much pleasure from the experience, others struggle with frequent failures and frustrations. Learning in an inclusive classroom should mean feeling comfortable in a supportive atmosphere of peer acceptance and teacher support. However, pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) do not always receive the kind of support they really need, which might be a result of the interplay between many contributing factors, ranging from inadequate preparation by novice teachers to children’s severe cognitive and physical limitations, which can be challenging to manage. The present paper reports on a part of an action-research study, the purpose of which was to discern what types of teaching aids and techniques were the most appropriate in an inclusive educational setting. The participants were 28 lower-primary children (aged 7–10) diagnosed with SEN. By and large, the learners’ preferred techniques also proved to be the most effective in terms of their lexical development. Keywords Special Educational Needs · Inclusive education · Learning preferences

1 Introduction The concept of Special Educational Needs (SEN) is understood very broadly across countries. In Poland, learners are classified as having SEN “if their opportunities for education, development, and learning are limited to such an extent that they cannot meet the educational requirements at mainstream schools without receiving additional assistance, either throughout the entire educational process (for example, because of disability or specific learning difficulties), or during a certain period of education (e.g., showing signs of emotional problems resulting from trauma)” (The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2018a). Moreover, gifted learners are also included in the group of those with SEN. Their abilities and talents should be recognised and assisted by the school. W. Król-Gierat (B) Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_7

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For educational purposes, a child who requires special organisation of his or her education should have the appropriate document—a statement of special educational needs—issued by a public guidance and counselling centre at the request of the parents or legal guardians. This document entitles the learner to a tailored curriculum, specialist support during education, and adjusted learning conditions (The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2018a). In the Polish education system, the group of learners who need special organisation of their education includes learners with disabilities—physical disability, including aphasia, intellectual disability, blindness, impaired sight, deafness, impaired hearing, autism, including Asperger syndrome, and multiple impairments; and behavioural problems, or at risk of behavioural problems (The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2018b). The centres can also issue a psychologicalpedagogical (PP) opinion, which is a specialist assessment carried out to construct a qualitative and quantitative profile of the learner. Such a diagnosis is very helpful for teachers, since it takes into account the learner’s needs, as well as their personal abilities and interests. The diagnosis may also be of help for parents who can regulate their child’s behaviour and provide for cognitive-intellectual stimulation to facilitate learning (Rokita-Ja´skow, 2019). In Poland, learners who need special organisation of their education can attend a special school, an inclusive school (in which all classes are inclusive), or a mainstream school. The latter can involve a mainstream class, a special class only for learners with a special-education statement, or an inclusive class for both learners with a special-education statement and non-disabled peers. Inclusive classes, which are discussed in the present paper, are those in which the maximum number of learners is 20, including not more than five learners with disabilities, and have an additional teacher qualified in special pedagogy is employed (The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, 2018b). Although it is methodologically advised to adopt an individual approach to all learners in an inclusive classroom, the everyday school reality might not always make it possible to the extent teachers would aspire to. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to verify what kinds of teaching techniques should, in inclusive lower-primary English classrooms, work best with the majority of children. Undoubtedly, it would be extremely difficult to devise any universal teaching techniques and find a golden means for all SEN-related challenges in foreign language classrooms, but a tentative attempt can be made. Unquestionably, this area requires more directed and thorough research, and hence it is also intended that the present paper might provoke further studies. Even though Poland has a relatively long history of implementing inclusion in education (the right of students with disabilities to learn in mainstream schools was made law in 1991), the process of providing all learners with equal educational opportunities is still considered a challenge.

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2 Literature Review: Learning Preferences When discussing the issue of how learners prefer to process new information, usually the concepts of learning styles and sensory modalities are introduced. In the present chapter, however, I would like to look at learning preferences from a wider perspective, defining them as predilections for different types of instructional activities, especially particular types of classroom tasks. Undoubtedly, children’s preferred means of processing information from the surroundings—their dominant senses—lead to the development of specific learning styles, which in turn have an impact on pupils’ learning preferences. Learners of all ages differ in the way they prefer to learn (Ur, 2000). Various models attempt to account for these differences—for instance, the Visual–Auditory–Kinaesthetic (VAK) model focuses on senses through which people take in and analyse information. Using this categorisation, a visual learner is inclined to master new material more effectively when it is presented via pictures or graphs, rather than through audio recordings or discussions, as is the case with auditory learners. Kinaesthetic learners, in turn, are observed to learn better when they are in motion and/or manipulate objects. Fleming (1995) adds a fourth category, namely a Reading/Writing preference, referring to it as the VARK theory (Visual–Aural–Reading–Kinaesthetic). In a survey, Willing (1987) investigated the learning styles of 517 ESL learners in Australia. Based on their responses to a questionnaire, the researcher sought to identify how differences in learning styles affected learners’ learning preferences in six different aspects: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

preferences for particular kinds of classroom activities; preferences for particular types of teacher behaviour; preferences for particular grouping arrangements; preferences for particular aspects of language which need emphasis; preferences for particular sensory modes of learning, such as visual, auditory, or tactile 6) preferences for particular modes of learning on one’s own outside the class. Learning preferences can thus be considered to encompass a broader set of factors than just pedagogical activities, as they can also take into account aspects which can impact on learning, such as the environment where learning takes place, and the atmosphere. In the case of children, they might not be aware which didactic situations work best for them, but they can tell you what they like doing in the classroom. Based on this feedback one might speculate about young students’ learning preferences. Even though the theories postulate various points of view on the problem, there is a universal and true conclusion for teachers drawn by Miller (2001), which states that pupils learn better when the learning tools are adapted to their learning preferences. It is the teacher’s responsibility to be aware of these differences, and to present information in a variety of ways, appealing to all the senses, in order to accommodate all the learners’ preferences. Quoting MacKenzie (2008, p. 27), “the match between learner preferences and teaching structure, content, and processes creates a remarkable synergy among learner, teacher, task, and environment”.

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In many cases teachers of foreign languages are able to accommodate young learners’ preferences within the context of general classroom practices and activities. However, variabilities in pupils’ abilities and characteristics can raise the bar for teachers who need to become even-more flexible in their approaches to instruction. Some teaching methods might work better than others for teaching pupils with diverse abilities and needs, and we cannot always predict which methods will be the most effective for a given student (Ormrod, 2008). One of the most-frequently recommended teaching methods for language learners with Special Educational Needs, in particular those with Specific Learning Differences (SpLDs) such as dyslexia, is the so-called Multi-Sensory Structured Learning (MSL) approach, developed by Sparks et al., (1991). As the name suggests, this approach teaches the foreign language through the activation of auditory, visual, tactile, and kinaesthetic channels. The parallel use of several sensory pathways facilitates memory encoding, and simply makes the learning process enjoyable— including for learners with no apparent learning difficulties. Despite the fact that MSL shares a number of similarities with general language-teaching methods, it has several distinctive features. First of all, it teaches a foreign language as a grammatical system directly and explicitly, since learners with SEN tend to have difficulties in deducing language regularities only from communicative situations. Secondly, MSL advocates the use of drills, which have somehow fallen out of use in modern classrooms, due to the perceived lack of communicative value. Another important element of MSL is the use of dynamic assessment (Schneider & Ganschow, 2000), which is a form of continuous assessment applied by teachers in order to adjust the learning material and the pace of learning to the progress of the learners. Moreover, MSL also places emphasis on the demonstration and practice of the use of language-learning strategies, due to the fact that learners with SEN are less likely to be able to apply them deliberately. There are more chances that learners will find strategies that aid memorisation and suit their learning styles and personality with the guidance of the teacher (Kormos & Smith, 2012). The Institute for Multisensory Structured Language Education (2006–2009) maintains that all children in an inclusive classroom can benefit from MSL. However, MSL should not be treated as a pedagogy where one size fits all, but it should rather be viewed as an approach which facilitates optimum multisensory reinforcement, allowing every child to utilise his or her sensory pathway strengths, whilst building up the weaker one/s. There is substantial research evidence that supports the effectiveness of MSL instruction. In a series of studies, Sparks and his colleagues (i.a. Sparks et al., 1992, 1998) investigated the benefits of MSL in learning Spanish. They examined the linguistic results of students at risk of foreign-language-learning difficulties, as well as those not at risk. In general, they found that the participants made more-significant gains in aptitude measures if they were taught through MSL than research subjects in the traditional classroom context. Downey et al. (2000) obtained similar findings in the case of learners who studied Latin with the help of MSL. The success of this method was also proven in an experiment conducted by Nijakowska (2008), in which

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Polish dyslexic learners of English showed considerable improvements in spelling and reading skills. Kováˇciková (2015) advocates that the art of the inclusive classroom is to use teaching techniques which are applicable for almost every learner. The abovementioned MSL, accompanied by following the general rules for the inclusive classroom (e.g., regarding seating arrangement, displays, and materials), might be advantageous not only for pupils with SEN. Multisensory teaching can bring joy and fun, raise motivation, and enhance enthusiasm to learn English in each and every child. The wider the repertoire of techniques, the greater the chances that learners’ learning preferences will be satisfied.

3 The Study 3.1 The Research Questions The aim of the study was to determine the learning preferences of SEN children in an inclusive English classroom by looking at the teaching techniques which were considered by the participants as their favourites. At the same time the researcher wanted to check whether children’s choices were also the most effective in an inclusive educational setting. The primary goal was to examine whether the predominant teaching techniques used in each lesson proved universal enough so as to be potentially applied by teachers in inclusive classrooms, in case there are no conditions for designing individually tailored instruction. During the course of the action-research (AR) study, which comprised 10 thematic units, it was attempted to answer three research questions (RQs): RQ1: Which teaching techniques prove to be the children’s favourite in inclusive classrooms? RQ2: Which teaching techniques seem to be the most effective for young learners in inclusive classrooms? RQ3: Which aspect of the lessons did the children appreciate the most—the attractiveness of the topics, the content comprehensibility, or the atmosphere?

3.2 The Participants The participants in the study were 28 young learners attending one of the inclusive primary schools in Kraków, Poland. The research was conducted in four inclusive classes, two 1st Grades (pupils aged 7–8) and two 3rd Grades (pupils aged 9–10). There were 11 children with SEN in the 1st Grades and 17 in the 3rd Grades. For the purposes of the study, it is worth enumerating the types of Special Educational

128 Table 1 Research participants with Special Educational Needs

W. Król-Gierat Participants with SEN

1st Grades Age 7–8

3rd Grades Age 9–10

Grade

1

3

PP statements

8

7

3 2

– 2

Mild

1

1

Autism

2

1

Behavioural disorder

–

2

Social maladjustment (SM) At risk of SM

– –

– 1

PP opinions

3

4

SM

2

–

ADHD

1

–

Special cards

–

6

Total NO = 28

11

17

Physical disability Aphasia Other Intellectual disability

Needs encountered in order to present the wide spectrum of problems teachers can face in an inclusive-school context. Table 1 presents the SEN children taking part in the study. Grade 1 was attended by 11 young learners diagnosed with SEN. There were 8 subjects with psychopedagogical (PP) statements of the need for special education, due to physical disability—aphasia (n = 3); autism (n = 2); mild intellectual disability (n = 1); physical and other disabilities (n = 1: a flaccid muscular system, articulatory disorders, behavioural problems, learning difficulties, a low degree of emotional and social maturity); physical disability (n = 1: hyperactivity with concentration deficits, low linguistic ability on the borderline of mild mental disability, and inharmonious development); and 3 others with psycho-pedagogical opinions issued due to social maladjustment (SM, n = 2) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, n = 1). Actually, there was one more pupil with autism who did not participate in English lessons at all, so was not treated as a subject of the research. When it comes to Grade 3, there were 17 children with SEN. Two children with autism did not participate in English lessons. There were 7 subjects who had PP statements due to physical disability—(n = 2) deformation of skull bones, epilepsy, behavioural disorders; pineal-gland cyst, epilepsy, retardation of fine and gross motor functions; behavioural disorders (n = 2)—mild mental disability (n = 1), autism (n = 1), and the risk of social maladjustment (n = 1). There were also 4 subjects with psycho-pedagogical opinions due to school difficulties (n = 1), difficulties in mastering reading and writing skills (n = 1), difficulties in mastering learning strategies, and being at the risk of dysorthographia and dysgraphia (n = 2). Additionally,

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on the application of the class tutor, 6 special cards with pupils’ individual needs were issued, due to difficulties in communication with peers (n = 1), difficulties in social relations and a low degree of emotional maturity (n = 1), and difficulties in social relations and in conforming to group norms (n = 1), a speech impediment (n = 1), educational failures (n = 1), and learning difficulties in Polish-language education (n = 1). Special cards are individual documents of a learner’s needs which are issued by a school team of teachers for children who need psychological-pedagogical support, but were not necessarily diagnosed in a guidance and counselling centre.

3.3 Instruments and Procedure A special education-supportive syllabus of English for inclusive classes in the first educational phase—called the Edutaining English Experience, in short EEE (KrólGierat, 2015)—was devised by the researcher for the purpose of the study. The design of a general programme was necessary for the researcher to set basic objectives and develop a preliminary teaching strategy. The 20-lesson-long programme, covering 10 thematic units, was based on the Polish National Core Curriculum 2008 (The Regulation of the Ministry of National Education, 2008), and encompassed all general teaching and educational aims. It was specifically adapted to the inclusive-school environment in the use of teaching techniques and aids. Broadly speaking, a variety of teaching aids was used in order to engage children’s senses, and let them discover the world through the prism of the English language, such as realia, flashcards, audiovisual recordings, worksheets, and multisensory books. Young learners were mainly involved in the following activities: – – – – – – – – –

sensory stimulation (e.g., looking, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching), using realia, shared-reading and storytelling experience of multisensory books, art & craft activities, watching short videos, singing TPR songs, illustrating rhymes with gestures, acting out role-plays, engaging in drama activities, simulating life-like situations; making vocabulary associations.

Each thematic unit was planned according to the 3 × P rule—Presentation-PracticeProduction—and consisted of a warm-up activity, presenting the new material, practising the newly learnt language, giving children room for free action, and consolidating the new linguistic contents. Whenever possible, multisensory stimulation was provided, and the children were engaged in learning by doing, and through Total Physical Response (TPR) activities. In the AR study the researcher conducted 20 English lessons, each 45 min long, in each of the four inclusive classes. This amounted to 80 lessons in total. The lessons covered 10 topics, which, as well as the brief summaries of the teaching

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procedure, are listed in Appendix. It presents the thematic units, the predominant teaching techniques, and the types of test, in the most-compact form possible. The first research question aimed to find out which teaching techniques prove to be the children’s favourites. The data for answering this research question was collected by means of a child-friendly Smiley-faces evaluation instrument (Szpotowicz et al., 2009). This tool made children reflect on the foreign-language teaching/learning process. After every thematic unit, the subjects were asked to report back on each lesson in terms of their general satisfaction, taking into account three criteria: the topic, the presentation of the content, and the class atmosphere, which also lay within the scope of RQ3. More specifically, they were required to answer the following questions in Polish: • Was the topic of the lesson interesting? • Was the content presented in a comprehensible way? • How did you feel during the lesson? The participants’ impressions were recorded by putting either a tick or a cross against the appropriate face in the Smiley-faces evaluation tool. Subsequently, the children’s answers were assigned points: 3 points for a happy face representing satisfaction, 1 point for an indifferent face, and 0 points for a sad face expressing dissatisfaction. The maximum number of points to be assigned to one thematic unit in Grade 1 was 99 (11 YL’s (Young Learners) × 3 points × 3 criteria), while in Grade 3 it was 167 (18 YL’s × 3 points × 3 criteria). Figures 3 and 4 present the feedback gained from the research subjects, and should be interpreted as the higher the number of points assigned, the more favourable the overall pupils’ assessment of the intervention lessons. In order to answer the second research question about the most-effective teaching techniques for young learners in inclusive classrooms, the data from achievement tests on passive and active vocabulary knowledge was used. During the receptivelexical testing, the participants were presented with vocabulary illustrations, and asked to point to the appropriate ones when called out by the researcher. During the productive testing, the same pictures were shown to the children with instructions to name them. In the case of some of the lessons, whenever applicable, simple translation, spelling, and reading/comprehension tests were also administered. Each lesson was preceded by a pre-test, ensuring that children did not know the target vocabulary/phrases before the intervention.

3.4 Results and Discussion As far as the children’s most favourite teaching techniques are concerned (RQ1), the results for Grades 1 and 3 are presented separately, since different thematic units (topics) and slightly different teaching techniques were introduced in these groups in relation to the general curriculum. Appendix shows the predominant techniques used

POINTS

Learning Preferences of SEN Children …

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

80

86

82

76

131

80

88

82

83

88

87

Fig. 1 The children’s favourite lessons in Grade 1

in each lesson. The techniques will be, hereinafter, referred to by using the names of the topics listed in the table. When it comes to topic selection, the following lessons were the 1st-Graders’ favourites (see Fig. 1): English around us and I can (ex aeqo 88 points), Smelling bottles (87 points) and Animals (86 points). Children’s nominations indicated that they were curious about the surrounding world presented via English words, and liked discovering it through the senses. The following teaching techniques came to the fore: making vocabulary associations (88 points), singing TPR songs (88 points), providing sensory stimulation (e.g., learning through looking, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching) (87 points), multisensory shared-reading, and storytelling (86 points). The choice of the topic English around us as the favourite one might suggest that children are generally good at making associations between English names and their meanings. The learners’ enthusiasm was easily noticed when spotting how much English is actually present in our everyday lives. Children also proved to be very creative and imaginative when coming up with different associations, which later helped them remember the English words, e.g.: • Twist yoghurt—you need to twist the cap in order to open the bottle and drink the yoghurt;

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• Signal toothpaste—in the evening your mummy gives you a signal to brush your teeth; • Dove soap—there is a logo of the brand on the soap—it’s a bird, it’s like a pigeon, but it’s called a dove, the symbol of peace; • Monster Munch crisps—the shape of the crisps is similar to a monster, and when you eat the crisps you munch/crunch them; • Kubu´s Play fruit juice—Kubu´s, the teddy, wants to play with us; • Sprite fizzy drink—a sprite is a kind of a goblin/an imp, which is not so positive— drinking fizzy drinks is not so good/recommended; • Orbit chewing gum—there is a similar word in Polish—orbita, which means the same (a curved path around a celestial body); • Milky Way chocolate bar—the bar is milky and the packaging is illustrated with some stars; the original meaning of Milky Way is the galaxy which contains our Solar System, so also the stars. The 1st-Graders’ least-favourite thematic unit was Three Little Pigs, involving shared-reading and drama, which is no surprise to the researcher. Listening to stories requires the learners to stay focused, while acting out the story entails group cooperation and performance in front of an audience. These two areas, namely the ability to concentrate and effective communication with peers, are typical difficulties experienced by many SEN children. Additionally, performing in front of classmates might put SEN children at risk of losing face or being ridiculed. The second-least-liked lesson was Clothes, which might have been dictated by the fact that it was the veryfirst intervention session. Children might have needed some time to get accustomed to the new learning situation, since there was a new teacher in the classroom and a different lesson structure than usual. As for the 3rd-Graders, their choice was not so straightforward. Most of the lessons conducted were evaluated more or less on the same, relatively high, level (cf. Fig. 2). Still, the subjects’ favourite thematic units which came to the forefront were Picnic (159 points), Countries (158 points) and Cartoon characters (154 points). The top-rated Picnic lesson indicated that real-life simulations and the use of realia proved to be two of the most-preferred and appealing teaching techniques, although the target language was not individual words but complete phrases, chunks: Hurray!, Yummy!, I love sweets!, I love grapes!, I love juice!, What a great picnic!, which apparently raised the level of difficulty. This finding is especially interesting, since younger learners in Grade 1 did not appreciate the use of drama activities so much. It could be explained either by age or the particular configuration of the specific SEN cases, which can never be predicted. As can be inferred from the participants’ choice of the next-best lessons, i.e., Countries, the young learners had become interested in developing their intercultural abilities, getting to know some interesting facts about foreign countries, and listening to music. Also, 3rd-grade children seem to be able to make associations and remember vocabulary by means of connotations and video-based context. With reference to Cartoon characters, their names are usually semantically-motivated, which is often suggestive of a distinctive trait of a given character. Additionally, watching cartoons

POINTS

Learning Preferences of SEN Children …

160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

133

158 159 142 146 151 144 154 145 124

117

Fig. 2 The children’s favourite lessons in Grade 3

is part of the daily life of most children, so the context is also familiar. On the other hand, the 3rd-Graders’ least-favourite thematic unit was Summer holidays. It was the lesson relying mostly on children’s reading skills, which might be problematic in inclusive classrooms, often attended by learners with dyslexia-related difficulties. In general, making associations and multisensory teaching proved to be the children’s favourite techniques in inclusive classrooms. However, the data obtained with reference to RQ1 should be treated with some caution. Children at this age, 7–10, might not be self-assured and aware enough to be able to indicate their preferences accurately. Their evaluation might be the result of an interplay of many contributing, often individual, factors (e.g., personality traits, the attitude towards the researcher and the intervention situation, or the physical and mental state on a given day), while the learning/acquisition process can take place involuntarily and unconsciously. With the purpose of addressing research question number 2, about the mosteffective teaching techniques for young learners in inclusive classrooms, the data from lexical tests were interpreted. In Figs. 3 and 4, the 1st- and the 3rd-graders’ mean percentage scores for vocabulary comprehension and vocabulary-production tests have been calculated. The researcher’s aim was to see what types of teaching techniques seemed to be the most appropriate in an inclusive educational setting where children with deficiencies learned together with peers who did not require any special assistance. The researcher’s assumption is that what works with SEN pupils

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100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

71.5% 46,5%

58%

48%

58%

69% 52%

58%

70%

70%

Fig. 3 The effectiveness of the techniques used in the lessons in terms of lexical development— Grade 1

should also prove to be more effective with non-SEN children, or at least will bring no harm to their learning. Figure 3 presents the effectiveness of the teaching techniques used in Grade 1. The most effective are those applied in the lessons Animals (71.5%), I can (70%), Smelling bottles (70%), and English around us (69%). During the top-rated thematic unit—Animals—the children were engaged in a multisensory shared-reading experience. The main teaching aids used were the multisensory book Wielki Atut (Eng. The Great Asset by Bełtkiewicz [2013]; translated into English and adapted by Król-Gierat [2013)], with supplementary flashcards and audio files (facilitating the activation of various sensory channels—visual, auditory, tactile, and kinaesthetic). Such teaching aids enhance the memorisation and recall of new linguistic material, are child-friendly and appealing, arouse the imagination, stimulate the senses, and are conducive to a reassuring self-assessment. The latter were applied by asking learners to match the names of animals to pictures in a jigsawlike activity, which did not allow a mismatch because of the different shapes used. In addition, the suggested form of work complied with the principles of inclusive education, particularly because the plot of the story was specially constructed for this age group by a speech-and fairy-tale therapist (Bełtkiewicz, 2013), which ensured the correct construction of the text (the presentation of a reliable picture of the world, the condensation of sensory stimuli, an interesting visual form), and provided an additional educational value to the lesson. This all aided the development of children’s emotional intelligence, and increased their awareness of the differences, and of the

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fact that sometimes the apparent defects might turn out to be someone’s greatest assets. The next-most-effective thematic units in Grade 1 were those entitled I can and Smelling bottles. The former involved a typical Total Physical Response procedure and a TPR song, while the latter stimulated the children’s olfactory and visual receptors. The English around us unit (making vocabulary associations), as already described, was equally effective in terms of the subjects’ lexical development. With regard to the least-effective lessons, they were Three Little Pigs (acting out role-plays, being engaged in drama activities) and Clothes (using realia), which was in accordance with the subjects’ evaluation of the sessions discussed earlier. As can be seen from the language-test results (see Fig. 4), the majority of the teaching techniques used in this action research, as represented by topic names, could be considered very effective in Grade 3. The mean scores in lexical tests on the topics covered were in 8 out of 10 cases above 80%. The most-effective techniques proved to be those used in the presentation of the thematic units Cartoon characters (making vocabulary associations—90%) and Countries (listening to music—89%), which again was in accordance with the subjects’ preferences discussed earlier. In the main stage of the Cartoon characters lesson, pupils watched short clips from Disney and Hanna-Barbera episodes. Their attention was focused. They were asked to remember the characters’ names and pay attention to how they behaved and looked. It was expected that such a strategy 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

82.5% 82% 84% 89%

86%

90% 81%

83% 66%

72%

Fig. 4 The effectiveness of the teaching techniques used in the lessons in terms of lexical development—Grade 3

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would help children to easily interpret and fully understand the semantically-loaded message contained in the cartoonyms whose names matched and complemented the characters’ traits and/or the storyline in the selected fragments, e.g.: • • • • • • • • •

Goofy (adj., PL.: zwariowany)—behaving in a crazy and funny manner; Daisy (N, PL.: stokrotka)—a delicate flower; Tom (N, PL.: kocur)—a big, bad cat; Chip (N, PL.: frytka)—a French fry; Dale (N, PL.: dolina)—a valley; Pixie (N, PL.: skrzat)—a dwarf, a goblin; Dixie (N, PL.: mena˙zka)—a metal container for liquids; Tamp (N, PL.: włócz˛ega)—a vagrant, a vagabond; Lady (N, PL.: dama)—a maiden behaving in a dignified manner.

In this association technique, the unknown word (the name of the character) was paired with a familiar word in Polish, the children’s native language. This process was expected to be facilitated by making associations (e.g., name = personality traits) and in the context of a presentation of short video cartoons (Król-Gierat, 2016, p. 121). All in all, this technique turned out to be effective and appealing for most children. The word meaning was presented in a familiar, child-friendly context. The least-effective thematic unit in the research study was Days of the week, which involved singing a spelling song and shaping letters with plasticine. The difficulty, most probably, lay in the length of the target words, their pronunciation, and spelling. With reference to RQ’s 1 and 2, based on the results presented, it could be concluded that young learners in inclusive classes would opt for multisensory (e.g., Animals, Picnic) or at least dual-sensory, tasks, and learning based on associations (English around us, Cartoon characters). At the same time, the children’s favourite teaching techniques were also the most effective in terms of their lexical development. Children seemed to remember those lexical items best, learning of which they enjoyed most. Overall, the lessons conducted in the course of the action-research project were positively assessed by the children. With regard to RQ3 and the three criteria (topic, content, & atmosphere), most children in both groups (1st and 3rd Grades) considered the topics to be interesting (minimum score 62% in Grade 1, 64% in Grade 3), judged the content to be presented in a generally comprehensible way (minimum score 50%), and appreciated the pleasant atmosphere (minimum score 71% in Grade 1, 66% in Grade 3). The minimum score means that no child evaluated a given criterion below the percentage score indicated in Table 2. Table 2 The participants’ evaluation of the lessons Topic

Content

Atmosphere

Grade 1

Grade 3

Grade 1

Grade 3

Grade 1

Grade 3

62%

64%

50%

50%

71%

66%

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As the results from the feedback demonstrated, the most-highly appreciated aspect of the lessons conducted in both Grades 1 and 3 was the positive class atmosphere. Beyond any doubt, a positive atmosphere in the classroom is a favourable condition for effective and efficient learning. What needs to be remembered in the case of inclusive classrooms, as observed by the researcher in the course of the interventions, is that the atmosphere depends on a variety of factors, ranging from those typical for most educational settings (e.g., the teacher’s attitude, classroom-management strategies, the weather, the time of day, pupils’ mood, home-related problems), to those specific to inclusive classrooms, which usually stem from pupils’ Special Educational Needs, individual predispositions, their physical and psychological condition on a given day, and group-related issues (e.g., group integration, mutual respect, obedience to class rules).

4 Concluding Remarks The investigation into children’s learning preferences in lower-primary inclusive classrooms involved administering questionnaires to pupils, combined with achievement tests. The obtained data enabled the teacher-researcher to draw tentative conclusions about what was working well, at least for the majority of the SEN learners. The findings indicate that young learners prefer learning through making associations, taking part in real-life simulations, and using realia and hands-on experiences, while the most-effective methods in terms of their lexical development are multisensory. These findings seem to be in line with the Multi-Sensory Structured Learning method (Sparks et al., 1991), which is often recommended for inclusive classes. When it comes to children with learning disabilities, they often have difficulty focusing for long, and retaining information in the long-term memory. As Sousa (2007, p. 13) states, retention is “the process whereby long-term memory preserves learning in such a way that the memory can be located, identified, and retrieved accurately in the future”. This process can be influenced by many factors, but, in general, learning is likely to be more effective if it has meaning for the learners, and when the teaching is delivered in an appealing form which accommodates their preferences. Last but not least, extra effort should always be made to establish a warm, supportive, classroom climate when working in inclusive classrooms. As Ormrod (2008) highlights, it should go beyond teacher affection and respect. It is essential that teachers create a sense of community, so that learners share common goals, and are mutually supportive of everyone reaching those goals. Such an atmosphere can be especially important for children with Special Educational Needs who need to develop the sense of self-worth and determination.

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Appendix: Thematic Units for Grades 1 and 3

Predominant teaching techniques

Language taught

Achievement tests

1. Clothes

Using realia

7 nouns: a T-shirt, a dress, a sweater, a skirt, trousers, shoes, socks 1 phrase: I’m wearing…

2 vocabulary tests: passive (pointing) + active knowledge (naming) Oral test: What are you wearing?

2. Animals

Multisensory shared-reading and storytelling experience

7 nouns: a giraffe, a lion, a peacock, a monkey, a parrot, a hyena, an elephant

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge

3. Watch!

Watching short videos

8 adjectives: afraid, 2 vocabulary tests: hungry, cold, fast, passive + active slow, tired, sad, happy knowledge

4. Three Little Pigs

Acting out role-plays, being engaged in drama activities

9 nouns: a pig, a wolf, a house, a chimney, a pot, straw, wood, brick, fire Onomatopoeia: huff, puff

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge Oral test: jak robił wilk? (what would the wolf do?)

5. Jobs

Gesture rhymes

Phrases: Yes, I have; No, I haven’t.

Oral test: have you got a letter for me?

6. English Around Us

Making vocabulary associations

9 lexical items: sprite, ENG-PL, PL-ENG twist, Milky Way, oral-translation tests monster, munch, orbit, dove, signal, play

7. Easter

Arts & crafts activities

5 nouns (shapes): a circle, a triangle, a square, a heart, a star

2 vocabulary tests: passive (drawing according to instructions) + active knowledge

8. Senses

Sensory stimulation (e.g., looking, hearing, smelling, tasting touching)

5 verbs: to see, to hear, to smell, to taste, to touch, A rhyme: Five senses every day To learn and play See, hear, smell, touch, taste No time to waste!

2 vocabulary tests: passive (illustrating the senses with gestures) + active knowledge Oral test: rhyme recitation

Topic 1st Grades

(continued)

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(continued) Topic

Predominant teaching techniques

Language taught

Achievement tests

9. I Can

Singing TPR songs

6 verbs: to jump, to swim, to ride, to read, to play, to sing; 3 nouns: a guitar, a song, a bike

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge

10. Smelling Bottles

Dual sensory stimulation (olfactory and visual)

5 nouns: honey, tea, coffee, coconut, pepper

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge

1. Materials

Using realia

9 nouns: paper, wood, wool, metal, leather, clay, wax, plastic, glass

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge

2. Valentine’s Day

Arts & crafts activities

9 nouns: a card, a heart, a potato, a rose, a stamp, a box, an envelope, chocolate, paint

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge

3. Travel

Watching short videos

9 nouns: a train, a 2 vocabulary tests: plane, a car, a boat, a passive + active bike, a ticket, a station, knowledge a trip, an airport

4. Countries

Listening to music

8 names of countries: Poland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, the United States of America, France, Spain, Italy

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge

5. Senses

Sensory stimulation (e.g., looking, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching)

5 verbs: to see, to hear, to smell, to taste, to touch A rhyme: Five senses every day To learn and play See, hear, smell, touch, taste No time to waste!

2 vocabulary tests: passive (illustrating the senses with gestures) + active knowledge Oral test: rhyme recitation

6. Cartoon Characters

Making vocabulary associations

9 lexical items: Goofy, ENG-PL (written), Daisy, Tom, Chip, PL-ENG (oral) Dale, Pixie, Dixie, translation tests Tramp, Lady

3rd Grades

(continued)

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(continued) Topic

Predominant teaching techniques

Language taught

Achievement tests

7. Picnic

Acting out role-plays, being engaged in drama activities

7 exclamations: Hurray! Go! Yummy! I love grapes! I love sweets! I love juice! What a great picnic!

Oral role-play test + Dialogue-completion test (writing/spelling)

8. Days of the Week

Singing songs

7 nouns: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Oral vocabulary test (active knowledge) + spelling test (dictation)

9. Shopping

Simulating real life-like situations

3 alliterations: cheddar cheese, French fries, broad beans 5 everyday phrases: Good morning, Can I have…, Please, Thank you, Goodbye

2 vocabulary tests: passive + active knowledge Oral role-play test

10. Summer Holidays

Reading

(Text entitled “My plans for the summer holidays.”)

Reading/comprehension test

References Bełtkiewicz, D. (2013). Ksi˛az˙ ka wielozmysłowa – nowa metoda stymulacji rozwoju poznawczego dzieci z zaburzeniami rozwojowymi [A multisensory book—A new stimulation method for children with disorders development]. In M. Z. Babiarz & M. Rutkowski (Eds.), Dziecko ze specjalnymi potrzebami edukacyjnymi – pedagogiczne dylematy przestrzeni rozwoju integralnego [A child with special educational needs—pedagogical dilemmas in the sphere of integral development] (pp. 293–319). Kielce: Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach. Downey, D., Snyder, L., & Hill, B. (2000). College students with dyslexia: Persistent linguistic deficits and foreign language learning. Dyslexia, 6, 101–111. Fleming, N. D. (1995). I’m different; not dumb. Modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary classroom. In A. Zelmer (Ed.), Research and development in higher education (Vol. 18, pp. 308–313). Proceedings of the 1995 Annual Conference of the Higher Education and Research Development Society of Australasia HERDSA. Institute for Multisensory Structured Language Education. (2006–2009). http://www.multisensory education.net.au/. Accessed 24 June 2020. Kormos, J., & Smith, M. (2012). Teaching languages to students with specific learning differences. Bristol, Buffalo, Toronto: Multilingual Matters. Kováˇciková, E. (2015). Teaching English to learners with specific learning needs. In S. Pokrivˇcáková, et al. (Eds.), Teaching Foreign Languages to Learners with Special Educational Needs: e-textbook for foreign language teachers (pp. 29–38). Nitra: Constantine the Philosopher University. Król-Gierat, W. (2013). Kształcenie j˛ezykowe dzieci ze specjalnymi potrzebami edukacyjnymi na etapie nauczania zintegrowanego z wykorzystaniem ksi˛az˙ ki wielozmysłowej [Foreign language teaching to children with SEN—The use of a multisensory book in integrated education]. In M.

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Z. Babiarz & M. Rutkowski (Eds.), Dziecko ze specjalnymi potrzebami edukacyjnymi – pedagogiczne dylematy przestrzeni rozwoju integralnego [A child with special educational needs— Pedagogical dilemmas in the sphere of integral development] (pp. 267–291). Kielce: Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach. Król-Gierat, W. (2015). Edutaining English experience. Autorski program zaj˛ec´ dydaktycznousprawniaj˛acych z j˛ezyka angielskiego dla klas integracyjnych pierwszego etapu edukacyjnego [Edutaining English Experience. An original English-teaching-supportive programme for inclusive classrooms at the lower primary level]. Bank Dobrych Praktyk, O´srodek Rozwoju Edukacji [Bank of Best Practices, The Centre for Education Development]. http://www.ore.edu.pl/wydzialy/specjalnych-potrzeb-edukacyjnych/5906-edutaining-eng lish-experience-eee and http://www.ore.edu.pl/programy-i-projekty-69647/bank-dobrych-pra ktyk-82894/dobre-praktyki. Król-Gierat, W. (2016). Translation of cartoonyms as a vocabulary teaching technique through associations and context in an inclusive educational setting. In I. Hostová & M. Chovanec (Eds.), Mirrors of translation studies II translation: interpreting shifts: Identity shifts (pp. 118–124). Presov: Univerzitná knižnica Prešovskej univerzity. MacKenzie, H. (2008). Reaching and teaching the child with autism spectrum disorder: using learning preferences and strengths. London and Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Miller, P. (2001). Learning styles: The multimedia of mind. ERIC. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED4 51140. Nijakowska, M. (2008). An experiment with direct multisensory instruction in teaching word reading and spelling to Polish dyslexic learners of English. In J. Kormos & E. H. Kontra (Eds.), Language learners with special needs: An international perspective (pp. 130–158). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Ormrod, J. E. (2008). Educational psychology. Developing learners (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Educational International. Rokita-Ja´skow, J. (2019). Parental involvement in very early FL education. In J. Rokita-Ja´skow & M. Ellis (Eds.), Early instructed second language acquisition. Pathways to competence (pp. 191– 205). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Schneider, E., & Ganschow, L. (2000). Dynamic assessment and instructional strategies for learners who struggle to learn a foreign language. Dylexia, 5, 72–82. Sousa, D. A. (2007). How the special needs brain learns. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. A Sage Publications. Sparks, R. L., Artzer, M., Patton, J., Ganschow, L., Miller, K., Hordubay, D. J., & Walsh, G. (1998). Benefits of multisensory structured language instruction for at-risk foreign language learners: a comparison study of high school Spanish students. Annals of Dyslexia, 48, 239–270. Sparks, R. L., Ganschow, L., Kenneweg, S., & Miller, K. (1991). Using Orton Gillingham approach to teach foreign language to dyslexic/learning-disabled students: explicit teaching of phonology in a second language. Annals of Dyslexia, 41, 96–118. Sparks, R., Ganschow, L., Pohlman, J., Skinner, S., & Artzer, M. (1992). The effects of multisensory structured language instruction on native language and foreign language aptitude skills of at-risk high school foreign language learners. Annals of Dyslexia, 42, 25–53. Szpotowicz, M., Mihaljevic Djigunovic, J., & Enever, J. (2009). Early language learning in Europe: a multinational, longitudinal study. In J. Enever, J. Moon, & U. Raman (Eds.), Young learner English language policy and implementation: International perspectives (pp. 141–147). Kent, UK: IATEFL. The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2018a). Country information for Poland—Assessment within inclusive education systems. https://www.european-agency.org/cou ntry-information/poland/assessment-within-inclusive-education-systems. Last updated 30 April 2018. Accessed 19 May 2020.

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The European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (2018b). Country information for Poland—Systems of support and specialist provision. https://www.european-agency.org/countryinformation/poland/systems-of-support-and-specialist-provision. Last updated 30 April 2018. Accessed 19 May 2020. The Regulation of the Ministry of National Education of 23 December 2008 on core curricula for pre-school education and general education in specific types of schools (Journal of Laws 4, item 17) [Rozporz˛adzenie Ministra Edukacji Narodowej z dnia 23 grudnia 2008 r. w sprawie podstawy programowej wychowania przedszkolnego oraz kształcenia ogólnego w poszczególnych typach szkół (Dz.U. 4 poz. 17)]. http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20090040017/O/ D20090017.pdf. Ur, P. (2000). A course in language teaching: Practice and theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Willing, K. (1987). Learning styles in adult migrant education. Sydney: NSW Adult Migrant Education Service.

Werona Król-Gierat holds a PhD degree in Applied Linguistics and lectures at the Pedagogical University of Kraków. She is also qualified in early-school pedagogy, psychological-pedagogical diagnosis and therapy, and education management. Her main research and publication interests include inclusive education and individual differences in learning, especially the psychologicalpedagogical aspects of teaching foreign languages to young learners with Special Educational Needs.

Is Strategy Training Necessary in L3 Learning? The Study of Communication Strategies Used by Upper-Primary School Learners Dominika Dzik

Abstract Studies (e.g., Holec, 1981; Benson, 2001; Rabab’ah, 2005; Rokita, 2005) prove that communication strategies play a crucial role in the process of foreign language learning. Their main role is to enable effective communication even without sufficient linguistic competence. The aim of the present paper is to find out what strategies are used by beginner learners of Spanish (L3) in their classroom interactions. As a part of their task, students were supposed to work with their level- and age-matched peers and give direction to the places indicated on the map. Students’ answers were recorded, analysed and transcribed with the use of Dörnyei and Scott’s taxonomy (1995) of communication strategies. The results showed that the students were able to deal with communication breakdowns even though they sometimes lacked necessary linguistic resources. They achieved the communicative goal with the use of various communication strategies, including switches to L1 and L2, use of fillers as well as appeals for help. It is concluded that in order to improve learners’ communication skills in the foreign language they should be provided with strategy training, which should be, above all, based on modelling the strategy by the teacher and independent practice in the new task. Keywords Child-child interaction · Communication strategies · Cross-linguistic influence · L3 learning

1 Introduction Communication strategies are regarded as one of the most crucial components of language learning. To be more specific, they enable learners to convey their message, even though they do not possess the necessary means to achieve this aim at times. It cannot be denied that experienced language learners have their own ways of dealing with communication breakdowns. Nevertheless, beginners are not equipped with a sufficient number of effective strategies that would enable them to freely express their D. Dzik (B) Pedagogical University of Cracow, Cracow, Poland e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_8

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thoughts. What can be particularly helpful for them is increasing their awareness of the strategies they can undertake to improve the overall production in the language. Communication strategies play a crucial role especially in today’s multilingual world. Owing to the fact that the European Commission has set a very ambitious goal for EU members, namely being able to communicate in two foreign languages (Gazzola, 2016), it is of the utmost importance to try to achieve plurilingualism from the early stages of education. In Poland, the foreign language education starts in primary school: L2 is taught from the 1st grade (usually at the age of 7), whereas L3 is introduced in the 7th grade, that is, ca. at the age of 13 (Ministry of Polish Education, 2017). This fact entails certain consequences. One of them is related to the influence that L2 exerts on the process of learning students’ L3. Undoubtedly, prior experience in FL learning causes that students are already equipped with the knowledge that may be indispensable for them in the process of learning a new language. In the present study, the main aim is to investigate how beginner learners of L3 (in this case Spanish) deal with the deficiencies that hinder their performance. This issue will be addressed from the two perspectives, namely: the differences between the use of communication strategies by 6th- and 7th-graders and the possible patterns in the use of those strategies in their utterances. What enabled me to compare these two groups of learners is the fact that at school where the study was conducted, L3 is introduced three years earlier than required by the Ministry of Polish Education (2017). On the basis of the results obtained in the study, an attempt will be made to devise a plan for strategy training that will enable the learners to communicate more effectively in the foreign language.

2 Communication Strategies and Their Taxonomies Research on communication strategies (CS) dates back as far as almost 50 years ago. Although they have been the subject of intensive research, there is still no consensus on how to define this concept. What is universal in each definition is that communication strategies are consciously applied techniques or plans (Faerch & Kasper, 1983) that are meant to bridge the gap between what students actually know and what they would like to express (Maleki, 2007). Over the years, there were many attempts to classify communication strategies. According to Bialystok (1990), although there is a proliferation of taxonomies, all of them are built on the same basis. It can be clearly visible in Table 1, which presents the four taxonomies of communication strategies created by Tarone (1977), Paribakht (1985), Willems (1987), and Dörnyei and Scott (1995). The reason for choosing them is that they are most emblematic classifications, which form the fundamentals for other researchers. One of the first taxonomies of CSs was created by Tarone (1977). The division adopted by the researcher concentrated mainly on social or interactional criteria,

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Table 1 The list of various taxonomies of communication strategies Tarone (1977)

Paribakht (1985)

Willems (1987)

1. Avoidance (topic avoidance, message abandonment)

1. Linguistic 1. Reduction approach (semantic Strategies (e.g., ambiguity, phonological, circumlocution, morphological, metalinguistic syntactic, lexical) clues)

2. Paraphrase (approximation, word coinage, circumlocution)

2. Contextual approach (includes idiomatic transfer, use of L2 idioms and proverbs)

3. Conscious transfer (literal translation, language switch)

3. Conceptual approach (demonstration, exemplification, metonymy)

4. Call for help

4. Mime

Dörnyei and Scott (1995) 1. Direct strategies (e.g., message replacement, message abandonment, restructuring)

2. Achievement 2. Interactional strategies strategies (e.g., (including comprehension borrowing, check, asking for foreignising, literal clarification, asking translation, word for repetition, coinage, guessing) paraphrase, exemplification) 3. Indirect strategies (e.g., use of fillers, repetitions)

5. Mime

which dominate in his classification. Tarone’s (1977) taxonomy includes five categories, out of which the most complex is paraphrasing. It is defined as an attempt to compensate for a target language word which is not known by making it up (word coinage), describing the elements of an object or an element (circumlocution) or by using an incorrect word which shares semantic characteristics of the desired vocabulary item (approximation). Tarone’s taxonomy (1977) took into account the fact that the speakers can also use some less effective strategies, namely avoiding the topic and abandoning the message, and strategies that are closely related to the paralinguistic aspects of social interactions: miming and asking for help. It is interesting to observe how Paribakht (1985) emphasises in his classification various forms of the speakers’ linguistic utterances. In his taxonomy, he makes a distinction between contextual and conceptual approaches. The former focuses mainly on the use of transfer in the target language utterances. Depending on the structure that students “borrow” from their mother tongue, Paribakht (1985) lists idioms and proverbs as the main source of transfer. The latter approach partly corresponds to Tarone’s (1977) paraphrase strategies, but has been enriched with new elements such as borrowing and foreignizing. Another crucial taxonomy was created by Willems (1987). The reason for including this classification among others is that the researcher adopted a specific way of grouping CSs. The taxonomy consists of only two categories: the reduction

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and achievement strategies. What was omitted in this classification is the paralinguistic aspect of communication, such as appeals for help or using gestures to convey the message. The taxonomy created by Willems (1987) stands in opposition to Dörnyei and Scott’s classification (1995) and concentrates on the manner of problem management. With direct strategies, the researchers emphasise alternative means of conveying the message including restructuring or circumlocution. On the other side of the continuum, there are indirect strategies. As Dörnyei and Scott (1995) state, indirect strategies cannot be labelled as problem-solving devices. Their main objective is not to provide the self-contained means to express thoughts, but rather to prevent from communication breakdown. Indirect strategies are especially beneficial for beginner learners as they do not involve the use of students’ target language, but at the same time, such strategies provide the students with additional time to express themselves. This group of strategies involves the use of fillers and repetitions. Last, but not least, Dörnyei and Scott (1995) distinguish interactional strategies, which are based on a student’s natural need to collaborate with the interlocutor. The main feature of this group of strategies is that they are used in three situations: when facing the resource deficit, when one is not sure about the clarity of his or her own performance or the performance of others. Therefore, interactional strategies are one of the most commonly used strategies, especially by beginner learners who often call for help, ask for repetition or clarification and check their own accuracy. Although there is an enormous proliferation of classifications of communication strategies in L2, it seems that, so far, little has been done to create a taxonomy which would relate to interactions in L3. As stated by Kucharczyk (2018), such a taxonomy should be based on students’ repertoire of languages. It is caused by the fact that interactions in L3 are much more complex, as they involve more languages. Consequently, in the present study Dörnyei and Scott’s (1995) classification was adopted as it allowed to divide the strategies into those related to L2 and L3 influences.

3 Previous Research on Communication Strategies Many studies on communication strategies focused primarily on the correlation between the frequency of use and learners’ proficiency (e.g., Bialystok & Fröhlich, 1980; Safont Jordá, 2001; Prebianca, 2009), switches to L1 (e.g., Pinter, 2006; Lázaro-Ibarrola & Hidalgo, 2017), or the interactions between native and non-native speakers (e.g., Haastrup & Phillipson, 1983; Rosas Maldonado, 2016). However, there is still a paucity of research on the use of communication strategies by low-proficiency learners. One of the examples of research conducted by Sato et al. (2019) concentrated on analysing communication strategies in terms of their utility. The participants of the study were 20 Japanese low-proficiency English learners who interacted with their English instructors. Their conversations were recorded and transcribed in an

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attempt to find out how the students dealt with communication breakdowns. Particularly important was the fact that, when analysing the data, the researchers focused not only on communication strategies typical of SLA, but were also concerned with pragmatics and collaborative strategies. The results showed that the students, without any prior strategy training, applied CSs to effectively deal with problems related to their insufficient competence in the target language and managed to convey the intended message. However, what the researchers observed was that not all the strategies used by the learners were effective, such as switching to L1 and message abandonment. Therefore, it seems that students need guidance and explicit instructions, which can help them to learn and apply strategies with which they are not familiar. Apart from learners’ proficiency, what exerts enormous influence on the choice of communication strategies is the age of the learners. Undoubtedly, conversational interactions of children are much different than those of adults. Oliver (1998, 2002, 2008) investigated this issue, paying special attention to the patterns of negotiation for meaning. The participants of her study were primary school learners who interacted with their level- and age-matched peers and with adults. The variables that were taken into account included: the age, native/non-nativeness, proficiency and negotiation for meaning strategies used by the learners. The findings show that young learners, similarly to adults, use a wide variety of strategies when they negotiate for meaning (NfM). However, the main difference between these two groups is that NfM in children’s interactions was strongly influenced by the nativeness and proficiency of the dyad. What is even more interesting about the studies by Oliver (1998, 2002, 2008) is that she observed that the low-proficiency of the learners does not mean that the students should be devoid of communication tasks. Quite the contrary: students should be given a chance to participate in activities promoting negotiation for meaning as they provide them with the opportunity to produce comprehensible output and after that, receive feedback. Some attempts have also been made to investigate the correlation between the choice of communication strategies in L3 and the previously acquired languages. The study was conducted by Arratibel-Irazusta and Martínez Adrián (2019) and was carried out in the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) context. The participants of the study were 48 Basque/Spanish bilinguals learning English. They participated in an oral narration task on the basis of which their use of the target language based strategies (e.g., circumlocution, the use of paraphrases) and previously known language-based strategies (e.g., appeals for assistance, transfer) were analysed. The results indicate that there is a correlation between the proficiency of the learners and their use of the previously known language-based strategies. However, the proficiency factor does not play such a significant role in the use of the target language-based strategies. The studies related to communication strategies unequivocally confirm that students often resort to them regardless of their age or experience in language learning. However, some language learners need guidance to be able to use them more effectively.

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4 The Study—Aims and Research Questions The present study was a part of a larger project conducted in a private primary school. The main purpose was to explore the strategic behaviour of beginner learners of L3 Spanish, while interacting with their level- and age-matched peers. The reason for concentrating on communication strategies is that still little is known about their use in learning L3. In the present study, the two groups of learners have been compared: 6th- and 7th-graders. The main aim was to investigate if various language learning experiences influenced the learners’ choice of communication strategies. It is assumed that older students who have been learning Spanish and English for a longer period of time will be able to choose more effective communication strategies than younger participants. The study intends to answer the following questions: 1. What type of strategies are most commonly used by the learners? Which of them seem to be most effective? 2. What is the difference between the use of communication strategies by 6th- and 7th-graders?

4.1 Participants A total of 20 Polish native speakers learning English as their L2 and Spanish as L3 were the participants of the present study. There were 6 female and 14 male students with the age range between 13 and 14. What was most significant was the fact that all the participants had different experiences in learning both Spanish and English and that was the primary reason for comparing the use of communication strategies among two groups of learners. At the time of data collection, they had been learning L3 Spanish for 15 months (7th-graders) or 6 months (6th-graders). As far as English is concerned, 6th-graders displayed the knowledge of this language oscillating between A1 + and A2, whereas 7th-graders were A2 + users of English. There were no specific criteria in terms of the selection of the participants; all the students from 6thand 7th-graders who attended Spanish classes were the participants of the study. The role of the researcher was to monitor the conversations of the students.

4.2 Research Design and Procedure As a part of the present study, the students were supposed to perform the task which was related to asking for and giving directions. In the beginning, they were divided into pairs. Each student was given a different worksheet with a map. At the top of the page, there were some places listed (e.g., supermarket, pharmacy, library). The students’ main task was to ask their assigned partner for directions and find out where those places were located. The reason for choosing this information gap activity was that it perfectly matched the needs of the learners at the time: they had

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already mastered the vocabulary related to places in the city and phrases related to giving directions. What they lacked was the practical use of those words and phrases in oral communication. Hence, the present study was the opportunity for the students to make use of the newly acquired vocabulary items. In the first phase of the study, the students’ conversations were recorded and then transcribed. Once it had been done, the data was analysed by means of Dörnyei and Scott’s (1995) classification of communication strategies. It was chosen primarily because of its specific view on CSs: they are treated not only as a means of solving a communication problem, but also as a “stalling” device, which helps the interlocutor to gain some time to process the new information and think of the answer. As far as the data obtained in the study is concerned there were 10 conversations recorded. Each lasted 5 minutes on average. All the conversations were transcribed and then, the quantity of communication strategies used by the learners was calculated and the strategies were classified into three categories: direct, indirect and interactional strategies. Special attention was paid to the differences in the use of those strategies by 6th- and 7th-graders, especially in terms of switches to L1 (Polish) and L2 (English). Apart from this, particular examples of the use of CS were cited and analysed. This approach enabled the learner to investigate the reasons behind the adoption of a particular type of the strategy by the learner.

4.3 Results and Discussion The present section attempts to answer the research questions and aims at providing some suggestions, which may improve the students’ oral performance in L3 Spanish.

4.3.1

Research Question 1: What Type of Communication Strategies Are Most Commonly Used by the Learners?

Table 2 presents the communication strategies used by both 6th- and 7th-graders. As the results indicate, the subjects resorted to a wide range of strategies as singled out Table 2 The most commonly used communication strategies Category

Strategy type

Observed frequency Number of instances

%

Indirect

Use of fillers

34

27

Direct

Code switching L2

24

19

Direct

Code switching L1

22

17

Interactional

Appeals for help

19

15

Interactional

Asking for repetition

12

10

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in Dörnyei and Scott’s (1995) taxonomy of CSs. There were a total of 126 instances of communication strategies that were identified by the researcher. As it can be observed in Table 2, although the students did not have any prior strategy instruction, they used a great variety of such strategies in their interactions. The strategy that was most commonly adopted is the use of fillers. It seems that hesitations and frequent pauses are the very nature of speaking. They are inherent in communication not only in one’s mother tongue, but, above all, in foreign languages. Thus, it should not come as a surprise that the participants of the present study, who are beginner learners of Spanish, frequently resorted to this strategy. As Rieger (2003) points out, fillers are used when speakers are in need of words or when they are planning their next utterance. These two basic functions of fillers were also observed in the present study. The students resorted to the above especially when thinking of the answer to the questions: ¿Dónde está…? (Where is…?) or ¿Cómo llego a..? (How can I get to?). As one can observe in Example 1, the students usually started their answer with commonly used fillers, such as: mmm, ok, uhm / ehm. Example 1: A: Cómo se va al restaurante? B: Ehm.. Seguir… Sigue recto. Ok? Y…. va a la calle de Adjetivo

What is also interesting to observe is that the learners did not use typical Spanish fillers such as: pues or vale. It is caused by the fact that they did not know how to express hesitation in the foreign language yet. However, some researchers (see Khojastehrad, 2012; Erten, 2014) claim that fillers should be the first element taught in the target language. Although they do not carry any explicit meaning, they really matter, even at the elementary level, as they keep communication going. Apart from fillers and switches to L1 and L2 (discussed in examples 4 and 5), most commonly used were interactional strategies, such as appeals for help and asking for repetitions. Generally speaking, social behaviours for negotiating the meaning are common in communication tasks in a foreign language. In the present study, most students relied on interactional strategies, as they are used to working in pairs, and asking their partners for help comes naturally. As it can be seen in Example 2, the learners appealed for assistance when they had discovered the gap in their knowledge. Example 2: B: Para ir al supermercado, hmm.. Jak powiedzie´c “skr˛eci´c”? (To get to the supermarket, hmm.. How to say “to turn”?)

Example 2 shows that the students use L1 to ask for help. Such appeals are, in most cases, connected with the insufficient linguistic competence. More experienced language learners in such situations usually resort to more effective communication strategies, such as restructuring, miming or circumlocution (Ahmed & Pawar, 2018). However, beginners are not equipped with so many techniques to be able to deal with communication breakdowns.

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Apart from appealing for help, the participants frequently asked for repetitions. Similarly to the previous example, for this purpose the students usually used the Polish language, as illustrated in Example 3. Example 3: S13: ¿ Dónde está la panaderia? (Where is a bakery?) S14: Gira a la izquierda y va recto. Pasa por la calle. (Turn left and go straight. Cross the street). S13: Gdzie? Powtórz. (Where? Please, repeat)

Asking for repetition is a strategy that serves a practical purpose for retrieving a particular linguistic unit. However, in example 3, it can serve another purpose— simply gaining time to find the indicated place on the map.

4.3.2

Research Question 2: What Is the Difference in the Use of Communication Strategies by 6th- and 7th-Graders?

The question related to the quantitative differences in the use of communication strategies by both groups of learners appeared to be significant for the study. Table 3 presents the main differences in the use of CSs by 6th- and 7th-graders. What is most striking when comparing the strategy use of both groups of the participants is that the less experienced English learners (6th-graders) rely more on their native language in their interactions. It is clearly observable especially in pragmatically purposeful switches, such as when planning the conversations (who starts, what is the next step of the task) or when they ask for help. However, 6thgraders tend to use their L1 even in the situations when they want to fill a linguistic gap, which is illustrated in Example 4. Example 4: S9: Sigue todo recto hasta skrzy˙zowanie. (Go straight until you reach the crossroads)

Example 4 shows that 6th-graders prefer to switch to Polish, as English seems to be the language they do not identify with (Hammemberg, 2001). According to Lindqvist Table 3 Selected differences in the use of strategies by 6thand 7th-graders

Strategy type

Use of fillers

The use of communication strategies 6th-graders

7th-graders

20

14

Code switching L2

6

18

Code switching L1

19

3

Appeals for help

15

4

Message abandonment

3

0

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(2009), in such interactions, L1 usually plays an instrumental role (for eliciting words and commenting on production). Additionally, the fact that the students share the same L1, negatively influences the communication in the target language, because they often tend to switch to the Polish language, even though they may easily deal with the communication problem with the use of the Spanish language. However, the situation appears to look a bit different with the 7th-graders. Since they are more experienced language learners, it is easier for them to notice the typological similarity between the two languages (English and Spanish). Thus, the influence of L2 might be more prominent in their utterances, as shown in Example 5. Example 5 S19: Dónde está pharmacy? (Where is a pharmacy?)

There are two factors that influenced the choice of the word pharmacy instead of farmacia. First and foremost, these two vocabulary items bear close resemblance to each other: have similar forms and the same origin. Hence, they are easily confused. Another reason why the speaker switches to English is that L2 is usually used as a supplier language and is activated more involuntarily than L1 (Lindqvist, 2009). In Example 5, both factors might have equally influenced the choice of English word pharmacy instead of farmacia.

4.3.3

Is Strategy Training Necessary in Language Teaching?

The use of strategies, even outside the realm of language learning, is considered to be beneficial for learners (Oxford, 2003). It is caused especially by the fact that the positive correlation between its use and achievements of the students has been observed. Beginner learners are particularly in need of strategy training, as they often struggle to get their message across due to the insufficient linguistic competence. Over the years, many controversies have arisen whether strategy training should be a part of the foreign language classes. Some researchers (Bongaerts & Poulisse, 1989; Kellerman, 1991) strongly oppose this idea, as in the case of L2, students know some of the most useful strategies from the process of L1 acquisition. As they already know how to use and apply various strategies, there is no need to introduce any further training. What they did not take into account is that some of the strategies used by the learners are not effective, because they may be conducive to closing the communication channel (such as message abandonment). On the other hand, there are researchers (e.g., Manchon, 2000; Nakatani, 2005, Maleki, 2010) who strongly believe that strategy training is a perfect way to enhance students’ communication skills. The key argument for their introduction in the classroom context is that it simply makes students more confident speakers of any foreign language. Being equipped with a variety of techniques that they can use when facing communication breakdowns, contributes to the increase in the motivation to use the target language in their interactions. Apart from this, students need guidance in order

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to be able to transfer the strategies from L2 into L3 context. There are different models of strategy training, but they all emphasise one feature: the complexity of the process of strategy instruction. For instance, the model proposed by Chamot (2005), involves six stages. The first one—the preparation, requires identifying current communication strategies of the learners and preparing a plan for introducing new techniques that will improve their performance. What follows are the stages related to presentation, practice and evaluation. Chamot’s model (2005) also emphasises the necessity of expanding activities, in which students have the opportunity to apply them in the new context and integrate in their knowledge frameworks. The last step is the assessment, which concerns investigating the impact of the strategy training on student performance. In view of the data gathered in the study, the most effective communication strategies that definitely should be a part of a training are paraphrasing and asking for help. As far as the first strategy is concerned, students should be aware of the fact that if they lack necessary means to express themselves, the easiest way to achieve success is to try to convey the message using alternative structures or phrases. Apart from this, they can also rely on an interlocutor to help them in case of some problems. Thus, it is worth knowing how to appeal for assistance in the target language. To sum up, although strategy training is a complex process, it seems to be beneficial also for young language learners. The main advantages include: better coping with communication difficulties in the foreign language, greater autonomy of the learner and motivation to speak fluently, even if the linguistic resources are insufficient.

5 Conclusions and Implications for Language Teaching In conclusion, communication strategies remain an important part of foreign language learning. As it can be observed in the present study, although students did not undergo prior strategy training, they applied a wide array of strategies in their conversations. What should be emphasised is that what helped them most with communication breakdowns is their experience as language learners. Possibly, they knew some strategies that they were applying when acquiring English and transferred them into the new context: L3 communication tasks. However, not all the strategies applied by the students were effective enough to keep the conversation going. Thus, the necessity to provide them with strategy instruction that would help them in their everyday interactions in L3. The role of the teacher is crucial in developing students’ knowledge of communication strategies. First of all, they need to enable learners frequent and meaningful practice of communication skills. Although it may seem that in the beginning of their learning path, students may display insufficient linguistic resources, their speaking should not be neglected. Actually, students should be given an opportunity to negotiate for meaning and receive meaningful input from their interlocutors. That is how they challenge themselves and effectively learn the target language.

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Strategy training may be of great help for learners, as some of the strategies used by students are ineffective. In the present study, some participants frequently appealed for help or switched to L1, which, in the long run, is not a perfect solution in particular when encountering foreigners. Therefore, there is no doubt that students should be taught strategies explicitly and demonstrated optional solutions to resolve their communication problems.

References Ahmed, S. T. S., & Pawar, S. V. (2018). Communicative competence in English as a foreign language: Its meaning and the pedagogical considerations for its development. The Creative Launcher, 2(4), 301–312. Arratibel-Irazusta, I., & Martínez Adrián, M. (2019). The use of communication strategies in L3 English CLIL learners. In M. Juncal Gutierrez-Mangado, M. Martínez-Adrián, & F. Gallardodel-Puerto (Eds.), Cross-linguistic influence: From empirical evidence to classroom practice (pp. 169–189). Cham: Springer. Benson, P. (2001). Teaching and researching autonomy in language learning. London: Longman. Bialystok, E. (1990). Communication strategies. Oxford: Blackwell. Bongaerts, T., & Poulisse, N. (1989). Communication strategies in L1 and L2: Same or different? Applied Linguistics, 10, 253–268. Chamot, A. U. (2005). Language learning strategy instruction: Current issues and research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dörnyei, Z., & Scott, M. L. (1995). Communication strategies: An empirical analysis with retrospection. In J. S. Turley and K. Lusby (Eds.), Selected papers from the proceedings of the 21st Annual Symposium of the Deseret Language and Linguistics Society (pp. 155–168). Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. Erten, S. (2014). Teaching fillers and students’ filler usage: A study conducted at ESOGU preparation school. International Journal of Teaching and Education, 3, 67–79. Faerch, C., & Kasper, G. (1983). Plans and strategies in foreign language communication. In C. Faerch & G. Kasper (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 20–60). London: Longman. Fröhlich, M. (1980). Oral communication strategies for lexical difficulties. Interlanguage Studies Bulletin, 5, 3–30. Gazzola, M. (2016). Research for cult Committee—European strategy for Multilingualism: Benefits and costs. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/573460/IPOL_STU(201 6)573460_EN.pdf. Accessed 23 January 2019. Haastrup, K., & Phillipson, R. (1983). Achievement strategies in learner/native speaker interaction. In C. Færch & G. Kasper (Eds.), Strategies in interlanguage communication (pp. 140–158). London and New York: Longman. Hammarberg, B. (2001). Roles of L1 and L2 in L3 production and acquisition. In J. Cenoz, B. Hufeisen, & U. Jessner (Eds.), Cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition: Psycholinguistic perspectives (pp. 21–41). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters. Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. New York: Pergamon Press. Kellerman, E. (1991). Compensatory strategies in second language research: A critique, a revision, and some (non) implications for the classroom. In R. Phillipson, E. Kellerman, L. Slinker, M. Sharwood Smith, & M. Swain (Eds.). Foreign/second language pedagogy research. A communicative volume for Clause Faerch (pp. 142–161). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Khojastehrad, S. (2012). Hesitation strategies in oral L2 test among Iranian students-shifted from EFL context to EIL. International Journal of English Linguistics, 2(3), 10–21.

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Kucharczyk, R. (2018). Nauczanie j˛ezyków obcych a dydaktyka wieloj˛ezyczno´sci (na przykładzie francuskiego jako drugiego j˛ezyka obcego). Lublin: Wydawnictwo Werset. Lázaro-Ibarrola, A., & Hidalgo, M. A. (2017). Benefits and limitations of conversational interactions among young learners of English in a CLIL context. In M. P. García Mayo (Eds.). Learning foreign languages in primary school: Research insights (pp. 86–102). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. Lindqvist, C. (2009). The use of the L1 and the L2 in French L3: Examining cross-linguistic lexemes in multilingual learners’ oral production. International Journal of Multilingualism, 6(3), 281–297. Maleki, A. (2007). Teachability of communication strategies: An Iranian experience. An International Journal of Educational Technology and Applied Linguistics, 1(5), 583–594. Maleki, A. (2010). Techniques to teach communication strategies. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 1(5), 640–646. Manchon, R. M. (2000). Fostering the autonomous use of communication strategies in the foreign language classroom. Links and Letters, 7, 13–27. Ministry of Polish National Education. (2017). http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU201 70000356. Accessed: 23 Jan 2019. Nakatani, Y. (2005). The effects of awareness-raising training on oral communication strategy use. Modern Language Journal, 89, 76–91. Oliver, R. (1998). Negotiation of meaning in child interactions. Modern Language Journal, 82(3), 372–386. Oliver, R. (2002). The patterns of negotiation for meaning in child interaction. The Modern Language Journal, 86, 97–111. Oliver, R. (2008). Age differences in negotiation and feedback in classroom and pair work. A Journal of Research in Language Learning, 50(1), 119–151. Oxford, R. L. (2003). Language learning styles and strategies: An overview. GALA, 1–25. Paribakht, T. (1985). Strategic competence and language proficiency. Applied Linguistics, 6, 132– 146. Pinter, A. (2006). Verbal evidence of task related strategies: Child versus adult interactions. System, 34(4), 615–630. Prebianca, G. V. (2009). Communication strategies and proficiency levels in L2 speech production: A systematic relationship. Revista de Estudos da Linguagem, 17(1), 7–50. Rabab’ah, G. (2005). Communication problems facing Arab learners of English. Journal of Language and Learning, 3(1), 194. Rieger, C. (2003). Disfluencies and hesitation strategies in oral L2 tests. Gothenburg Papers in Theoretical Linguistics, 90, 41–44. Rokita, J. (2005). Learning and communication strategies in the very young learners’ L2 classroom. In K. Ciepiela (Ed.), Procesy poznawcze i j˛ezyk: klasyczna problematyka - współczesne rozwi˛azania (pp. 221–230). Piotrków Trybunalski: Naukowe Wydawnictwo Piotrkowskie. Rosas Maldonado, M. (2016). Communication strategies used by different level L2 English learners in oral interaction. Revista Signos. Estudios de linguistica., 49(90), 71–93. Safont Jordá, M. P. (2001). An analysis on the use and selection of communication strategies by Catalan/Castilian learners of English. Rassegna Italiana di Linguistica Applicata, 1(1), 57–72. Sato, T., Yujobo, Y. J., Okada, T., & Ogane, E. (2019). Communication strategies employed by low-proficiency users: Possibilities for ELF-informed pedagogy. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 8(1), 9–35. Tarone, E. (1977). Conscious communication strategies in interlanguage: A progress report. In H. D. Brown, C. A. Yorio, & R. C. Crymes (Eds.), TESOL ‘77 (pp. 194–203). Washington: TESOL. Willems, G. (1987). Communication strategies and their significance in foreign language teaching. System, 15, 351–364.

Dominika Dzik is a PhD candidate and research assistant at Pedagogical University of Cracow. Her professional interests include: developing plurilingual competence, influence of L2 (English) on the process of acquisition of L3 (Spanish) and intercomprehension in European languages.

Assessment for Learning, Learning for All: A Case Study in the Foreign Language Classroom Julie Waddington

Abstract This chapter considers assessment from a rights-based approach to childhood development and education. Recent developments in foreign language education are discussed, focusing in particular on calls for more holistic approaches to be adopted in the young learner classroom. A case study is presented to illustrate how peer and self-assessment activities were incorporated into the foreign language classroom in a low-exposure context in a preschool and primary school setting in Catalonia. The detailed descriptions will provide teachers and teacher trainers with practical ideas which could be adapted to their own contexts. The findings show some of the key benefits of introducing such methods, while also alerting teachers to some of the drawbacks and other issues to be taken into account. Overall, the findings show how an assessment for learning approach can be incorporated within the foreign language classroom, in a way which enhances ongoing learning and attends to the rights of each individual child. Keywords Children’s rights · Self-assessment · Peer assessment · Personalised learning · Authentic communication

1 Introduction This chapter considers the role of assessment in the young learner classroom. A theoretical framework is presented which establishes a link between societal pressures and/or parental aspirations for their children and the application of test-based approaches within the foreign language classroom. Questions are raised about the effect that such approaches may have on the development of more holistic approaches within the primary classroom (see Ellis & Ibrahim, 2015) and when working with very young learners in preschool contexts (see Cortina-Pérez & Andúgar Soto, 2018). Experts in the field insist that promoting holistic approaches is vital in order to ensure that learning is meaningful for young learners and adapted to their specific J. Waddington (B) University of Girona (Catalonia), Girona, Spain e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_9

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needs (Rokita-Jaskow & Ellis, 2019). The role of assessment is therefore considered within this framework, building on the work of previous authors, and also taking into account the question of children’s rights. A case study is presented to illustrate how different self-assessment and peer-assessment strategies were introduced in the foreign language classroom (English) in a preschool and primary school context in Catalonia. A detailed discussion is provided of some of the main findings and also of the drawbacks detected. The chapter concludes by discussing some of the difficulties and implications of introducing changes into classroom practice and by highlighting findings which illustrate ways in which children’s rights can be recognised and developed. Final reflections are included to emphasise the way that assessment for learning can be incorporated into day-to-day practice within the foreign language classroom.

2 Assessment in the Young Learner Classroom When talking about assessment in the foreign language classroom, emphasis has tended to be placed on the different techniques available for assessing students. A recent addition to the Second Language Learning and Teaching series published by Springer argues for the need to revisit and reassess different assessment constructs, paying particular attention to test fairness and validation to promote more democratic processes within ELT classrooms (Hidri, 2018). Despite heated debates on assessment-related issues, ability-testing still tends to dominate, even within the young learner environment. In some contexts, this may be encouraged further by the growth of internationally recognised exams, which are being targeted at ever younger learners. Within an increasingly globalised world, this phenomenon is closely related to the growing social pressures and parental aspirations highlighted by Rokita-Jaskow and Ellis (2019), according to which English language competence is seen to be key to securing a successful future. Within such a mindset, it is becoming more and more common to see state schools signing up for external, internationally-recognised exams through programmes such as The National Schools Project, and encouraging their take-up among children from primary-age onwards (Cambridge Assessment English, 2019). This opens up an important question concerning the extent to which classroom practice may be affected, generating exam-oriented teaching as opposed to the holistic and child-centred approaches advocated by experts in the field (Ellis & Ibrahim, 2015). This also raises further concerns about the potential for such abilitybased approaches to be fully inclusive and to attend to the diverse needs of all students within the young learner classroom. As Ellis argues, “all children, including those with special educational needs, have the right to learn another language” (2019, p. 24) and the right to have their views and their multiple ways of learning and expressing themselves respected (2019, pp. 24–25). Can these rights be fully guaranteed in a state school environment in which classroom practice is unduly shaped by social pressures and parental aspirations and/or anxieties? To what extent are these futureoriented pressures compromising efforts to attend to children’s present needs and rights? The urgency with which these questions need to be addressed is supported

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further by a recent study in Catalonia, showing how these pressures are also manifested in a teacher training context (Waddington, 2019a). The findings of this study, analysing pre-service preschool teacher views, suggest strong bias towards instrumental conceptions of language learning (the idea that children should learn English to improve their future job prospects); even when referring to learners as young as 3–5 years’ old.

2.1 The Rights of the Child While concerns for the future are legitimate and understandable, a rights-based approach to children’s education may help to address the questions raised above. Awareness of children’s rights has increased since the signing of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 (The United Nations, 1989). Article 29.1 of the Convention provides a clear outline of what all childhood education should be directed towards, with 5 sub-clauses establishing fundamental goals regarding aspects ranging from the individual to the global. To summarise, these goals refer to the development of: (a) the child as a unique individual; (b) respect for human rights and freedoms; (c) respect for different cultural identities, language and values; (d) responsible citizens capable of living peacefully in free societies; and (e) respect for the natural environment (The United Nations, 1989, p. 9). While recognising the importance of all five components, there are two in particular which are highly relevant to this current discussion. These are sub-clauses (a) and (d), as indicated below: (a) The development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential. (d) The preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin (The United Nations, 1989, p. 9). By juxtaposing these two sub-clauses, we can appreciate the need to be mindful of the present and the future. Thinking in the present, teachers need to attend to the needs and characteristics of each individual child to help them develop to their full potential. Projecting towards the future, they also need to prepare the child to live responsibly and peacefully with others in society. Within these parameters, there is clearly a twofold temporal focus combining and recognising present and future needs. Nevertheless, there is a clear disjunction between the conception of future needs referred to in the Convention and the one manifested in the societal pressures and parental anxieties of today’s globalised world. In other words, there is a stark contrast between a conception that recognises the child’s right to be prepared for a “responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of the sexes, and friendship among all peoples” (The United Nations, 1989,

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p. 9), and one driven by concerns about the individual child’s future career opportunities. While the latter conception is framed within an individualistic conception of rights, the one found in the Convention relates to collective needs and rights. From the perspective of language education, this collective focus is foregrounded in a steering document published ten years after the Convention, which establishes guidelines for teaching and assessing language learning (Council of Europe, 2001). According to this document—Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR)—one of the principle aims of foreign language learning is to promote “mutual understanding and cooperation, and overcome prejudice and discrimination” (Council of Europe, 2001, p. 2). It follows from this that a rights-based approach to children’s education must take into account present and future needs, but with the latter being conceived within a collective mindset focused on the development of values, understanding and responsibility.

2.2 Assessment for Learning From an individual perspective, and considering education in general, sub-clause (a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child highlights the need to develop “the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential” (The United Nations, 1989, p. 9). With regards to language education, guidelines for teachers provided in the CEFR are consistent with this personalised approach and recommend “basing language teaching and learning on the needs, motivations, characteristics and resources of learners” (2001, p. 3). If we take the view that learner resources include their own existing views, attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs, then we can also begin to reimagine assessment processes which draw on and develop these particular resources. According to such a view, assessment needs to be contemplated as part and parcel of learning itself, or as a key part of learning culture, as suggested in a recent study highlighting the negative washback effects of using exams and regular testing on learner views and attitudes (Dijoub, 2018). In contrast to examoriented approaches, Dijoub’s study indicates that the use of presentations as an assessment method can help boost motivation, self-confidence and learning (2018, p. 457). Although the study was conducted with adult learners in the context of a Master’s programme on Didactics and Applied Linguistics, the findings are equally relevant to the young learner ELT context insofar as they help shift attention to performance and to student perceptions of this performance. Taking into account students’ perceptions of their own performance is a vital step towards acknowledging and stimulating their active agency in their own learning. From this perspective, all learners, including young or very young learners, are capable of reflecting on their own performance in a constructive manner, as long as they are supported using ageappropriate strategies (Ellis, 2019). Nevertheless, and as Ellis argues, some teachers may need to review their own theories and constructs of children and childhood and to re-examine the power relations which have traditionally positioned the teacher as authority figure, replacing such views with a conception of “teacher as partner,

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where learning is a shared process respecting the equal status of children” (Ellis, 2019, p. 23). It follows from this that children should be given ample opportunity to share in the assessment processes used in the classroom, in a way which conceives assessment as part of learning and therefore integrates assessment within classroom activities (Ellis & Rixon, 2019).

3 Case Study A case study is discussed here to illustrate how different assessment processes were introduced as part of a new literacy project within the foreign language classroom. The three distinct phases described reflect the developments which occurred over the three-year-period during which a longitudinal study was carried out, with each phase corresponding to the respective years of the study. The author of this chapter played an active role as researcher, working closely as advisor during the implementation stage, and as participant observer throughout the whole period (Kawulich, 2005), collecting data through classroom observations and other methods which were incorporated into classroom activities, as described in the different phases presented below.

3.1 Educational Context The assessment strategies were applied in the context of a new foreign language literacy project implemented in a small rural state school in Catalonia which provides education for students in both preschool (3–5 years old) and primary education (6– 11 years old). The methodology involved bringing these two stages together; with older children (10–11 years) working in small groups to prepare storytelling sessions for their younger peers (the age-group depended on the story selected) using authentic picturebooks and following an established/pre-modelled routine (cf. Waddington, 2019b). The preparation of the sessions took up a good part of two school terms (during one of the two one-hour English classes of the week), and provides an example of classroom practice which is adapted to students’ different learning styles and needs. Students were given choices at all stages of the process, from picturebook selection to decisions about what to work on in the different ‘storytelling preparation workshops’ (for example, taking a linguistic, artistic, or IT focus), as discussed at length in Waddington (2020). The effect that the project had on improving students’ self-efficacy beliefs and developing more situated and realistic foreign language learner self-concepts is reported in Waddington (2019b).

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3.2 Phase I: Introducing Self-Assessment 3.2.1

Background and Procedure

The project described above signalled a departure from the methodology usually followed during English classes, which was determined to a great extent by the coursebook worked on and the content established within it. Within this context, assessment was usually understood as a way of identifying the degrees to which each child had learned the pre-established content (e.g., set vocabulary lists; conjugations of the verb ‘to have’, etc.). This test-based approach was no longer viable within the framework of a project in which each child (or group of children) worked on different language content depending on the story/picturebook they had selected. In other words, changing the methodology also meant changing the way assessment was conceived. Rather than focusing on content—and attainment levels of such content—attention shifted instead to student performance in different tasks as well as to behavioural and attitudinal aspects manifested during the process. In addition to observing student performance, it became apparent that the teacher would also need to take into account the students’ perceptions of their own performance. These perceptions would: (i) provide the teacher with a more complete picture of what was occurring with each learner; (ii) acknowledge each individual child’s capacity to reflect on their own learning; and (iii) stimulate reflection and active agency in the learning process. This approach is based on the principle that all learners, no matter how young, are capable of reflecting on their own performance in a constructive manner. However, and as highlighted by Ellis (2019), they need to be supported in this process using age-appropriate strategies. Two ad hoc self-assessment strategies were designed and applied during this first phase to stimulate student reflection and to provide the teacher with information on the children’s perceptions of their own learning.

3.2.2

Instruments

The first strategy involved the use of self-reporting questionnaires: one at the beginning of the project and one after having delivered their own storytelling session. The aim of the first questionnaire was to find out what experience students had of telling stories; how they felt about it; what they thought they learned from it; and if they felt capable of doing it in English. The questionnaire shown in Table 1 is a translated version of the one used with the students: the original version was written in the students’ L1 (Catalan) to ensure maximum comprehension and accessibility; students responded in L1. In the first instance, students were asked to complete the questionnaire individually, without consulting each other, to encourage authentic, personal responses and reduce the tendency for them to copy each other’s answers. The teacher monitored the activity, clarifying doubts and providing any guidance necessary. On completion, the teacher opened a discussion with the whole class (a

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Table 1 Initial questionnaire: completed by students before starting work on their storytelling sessions OUR STORYTELLING CIRCLE Initial Questionnaire Name:

Date:

1. Have you ever told stories at school?.................................................

When?...........................................................................................

Who to?........................................................................................

In which language?.......................................................................

A lot

2. Do you like doing it?

3. Do you think you learn anything when you tell stories? (What?*)

4. Do you think you learn anything when you listen to stories? (What?*)

5. Do you think you’d be able to tell a story in English?

*Add your comments here…

Quite a bit

Not a lot

Not at all

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group of 13 students) in English, asking them about their answers and encouraging them to reply in the target language. The fact that they had already understood the context and thought through their own answers in L1 meant that they were able to concentrate more on trying to convey their ideas (in English), rather than trying to process the information, formulate a response and then try to express it. This strategy generated in-depth discussion and revealed a multiplicity of views and perceptions regarding language and literacy learning. The fact that students were able to switch between languages promoted expression and encouraged them to share their views (they expressed themselves in English if they could, and switched to Catalan when they couldn’t). The second questionnaire was completed by students once they had all delivered their storytelling sessions to different classes of younger pupils in the school (see Table 2). The process followed was the same as the one described above for the initial questionnaire. In addition to these initial and follow-up questionnaires, another strategy was devised to promote ongoing reflection on the learning taking place during the different ‘storytelling preparation workshops’. This involved the completion of a Learning Diary, where students recorded their individual reflections and experiences at the end of each class. Specific questions helped focus students’ attention on learning achievements; difficulties encountered; and resources and strategies used to overcome difficulties. As we can see in Table 3, the last question also prompted students to reflect on what they could do to improve their learning. In contrast to the questionnaires, which used L1 to facilitate maximum accessibility and comprehension, the Learning Diaries were presented to students in the target language (English). The reason for this was that the diary was explicitly contemplated as an assessment for learning tool and activity. Any initial difficulties understanding the meaning of the questions were soon overcome, since the activity was repeated at the end of each session, with students taking around five minutes to complete the day’s entry. Students were encouraged to expand as much as possible on their answers, using English whenever possible, and also being free to express themselves in their L1.

3.2.3

Results

The information obtained in the questionnaires provided the teacher with considerable insight which helped form a fuller and more complex picture of what was occurring in the classroom. Of particular interest and concern were the low levels of selfefficacy reported in the Initial Questionnaire, and the factors that learners attributed their perceived failures to. Overall, and as discussed at length in Waddington (2019b), students attributed their inabilities to (1) weaknesses in communications skills in general and the concern that they would not be understood; (2) pronunciation and accent-related factors; (3) identify-related issues. Identifying and discussing these factors with students helped to challenge perceptions that were inhibiting the

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Table 2 Follow-up questionnaire completed by students after delivering their storytelling sessions OUR STORYTELLING CIRCLE Follow-up Questionnaire Name:

Date:

Now that you have told a story in English… Not good

I’m not sure

Good

Very good

1. How did it go? 2. If you answered ‘Good’ or ‘Very good’, explain why... Why do you think it went well? Was there anything in particular that helped?

3. If you’re not sure, or you think it did not go well, explain why...

4. What were your strong points during the preparation of the storytelling session?

5. Which points do you think you could improve during the preparation?

6. What were your strong points when you told the story?

7. Which points do you think you could improve when telling the story?

Not particularly 8. Do you think the listeners enjoyed the story?

Maybe a little

Yes, I think so

Yes, definitely

9. How does that make you feel?

10. Finally, would you like to tell more stories in English? Yes Why?

No

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Table 3 Standard format used for Learning Diaries OUR STORYTELLING CIRCLE My Learning Diary Name:

Date:

What have I learned? ……………………………………………………………….

What difficulties have I had? ………………………………………………………………

How did I resolve these difficulties? ………………………………………………………………

What do I need to do now? ……………………………………………………………….

construction of positive and realistic foreign language learner self-concepts. Furthermore, becoming more aware of learners’ concerns prompted the teacher to design activities to work on aspects identified as particularly difficult or challenging (e.g., specific work on pronunciation). The Follow-up Questionnaire showed improvements in self-efficacy levels and encouraged students to become more aware of the factors (often behavioural and attitudinal) that helped or hindered their learning. The information recorded in the Learning Diaries also served a dual purpose: on the one hand providing the teacher with insight into what the students were learning or experiencing difficulty with; and also encouraging the learners themselves to think about what they were learning and what they needed to do to develop this learning further.

3.2.4

Drawbacks

With time being one of the most valuable commodities in a low-exposure context, it is not surprising that most of the drawbacks reported are related to it. Regarding the Learning Diaries, the teacher noted that it was sometimes difficult, if not impossible, to reserve enough time for students to write-up their entries properly at the end of the session. This limited the effectiveness of the strategy and led to superficial reflections or entries that were copied hastily either from their own previous entries

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or from other students in their group. Regarding code switching and flexible use of language, while acknowledging the need to use L1 in some situations (e.g., in-depth discussions of questionnaires), the teacher was nevertheless concerned that this was reducing communication time or input in the target language (English), in a context in which time was already precious. Finally, although noting a general willingness to express thoughts and feelings among the majority of students, the findings indicated that some learners were less inclined or less able to participate in the self-assessment processes described.

3.3 Phase II: Introducing Peer-Assessment 3.3.1

Instruments and Procedure

The self-assessment strategies designed in the first year were maintained and applied again in the second year of project implementation. Taking into account the drawbacks identified at the end of the initial phase, one of the teacher’s main aims was to dedicate more time to completing the Learning Diaries. In addition, and responding in particular to the concern that not all students showed the ability or willingness to engage in the self-assessment process, work was carried out to develop strategies to promote more participation. First of all, an in-depth study of the previous findings revealed that some students drew a blank when asked to identify their strong points and aspects to improve when delivering their storytelling session. Further analysis revealed that the students who contributed the least (either orally or in writing) tended to be low-achievers when other more traditional test-based assessments were applied. A twofold strategy was designed to address this point and to see if applying different strategies might help develop the self-assessment skills of these learners. A decision was taken to focus on the storytelling sessions themselves. This time, before inviting students to assess their own performance, an activity was designed to introduce peer-assessment into the process. The idea was that dedicating more time to thinking about what contributed to the successes or weak points of their classmates’ sessions might help develop reflection on their own performances. In order to facilitate this process, video recordings were made of all the storytelling sessions. Once all the sessions had been delivered and recorded, several classes were dedicated to viewing the recordings (or part of them) and carrying out a peerassessment activity. A ‘Two stars and wish’ activity was adapted for the situation to help students organise their ideas by focusing on two things that they liked or found effective (stars), and one aspect that they would improve (a wish). After eliciting some initial ideas, the teacher provided scaffolding by writing some sentence starters on the board (e.g., I like the way you…), to help students express their ideas in English. In the first instance, emphasis was placed on the oral exchange of ideas and opinions, with students taking turns to formulate their contributions with the support of the teacher. When all students had made at least one oral contribution, the task was then transformed into a writing activity, with students writing at least three sentences

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Fig. 1 Two stars and wish activity: peer assessment

for each story viewed. Students were given a handout with useful expressions and sentence starters, and the teacher monitored throughout, providing support when needed. An example of the written results of this activity can be seen in Fig. 1. Attention was finally turned to self-assessment in a class session held once the twofold strategy described above had been completed: i.e., after viewing the videos and participating in the peer assessment activities. Regarding the first part of this process, having an opportunity to see their own performance meant that students had more information to draw on than in the first year, when they relied solely on their own memory of the experience. Secondly, the contributions offered during the peer assessment activity had already stimulated reflection on the strong points and weak points of their session from their classmates’ perspective. The Follow-up questionnaire (Table 2) used in Phase 1 was therefore administered in a different context, with students having been more prepared to think about their performance and to respond to the questions asked.

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169

Results

The peer assessment activity generated a lively classroom climate, with most students being keen to watch the videos and share opinions on how the sessions had gone. The structured ‘Two stars and a wish’ activity helped the students organise their ideas and express them in appropriate terms in English. Moreover, the weighting towards ‘stars’ ensured that emphasis was placed more on positive aspects, before introducing a more critical perspective by offering constructive ideas for improving performance (wishes). Despite the general enthusiasm shown, some students showed signs of discomfort when watching their own performance on video and became fixated on certain aspects, such as the sound of their own voice and their perceived pronunciation problems. This distracted their attention from other aspects—including things they had done well—and could have had a negative effect on their self-assessment. This hypothesis is supported by comparisons between teacher assessments of the storytelling sessions and those of the students themselves. According to the teachers, the quality of the sessions was high, showing significant improvements in relation to the previous year. However, and in contrast to the teacher perspective, self-assessment questionnaires told a different story, with a high percentage of students reporting that their sessions had gone badly. Further scrutiny of the questionnaires showed that students had elaborated much more than during the previous year (Phase I), but that their reflections tended towards negative self-appraisals. Spending more time on the peer- and self-assessment activities had generated more reflection and fostered a more critical spirit among the learners. The question remains, however, as to whether this critical spirit is constructive or whether, by contrast, it may produce undesired effects on students’ self-concepts within this particular context.

3.3.3

Drawbacks

From the teacher and student perspective, the structured ‘Two stars and a wish’ activity was a helpful tool to organise ideas and provide scaffolding for students to be able to formulate and express their opinions in English. Nevertheless, the time and effort taken between formulating their initial opinion (L1) and being able to express it accurately in English (first orally and then in writing) generated frustration among some students and led to a loss of interest in the process. Furthermore, and as reported with the Learning Diaries in Phase I, this sometimes led to the writing-up of superficial comments; the repetition of the same ideas and the copying of learned structures. While repetition of newly learned structures helped students acquire new language (e.g., ‘I liked the way you…’), concern was raised (from teacher and learner perspectives) about the limitations this put on the free and authentic expression of ideas. The extent to which these limitations may compromise the peer assessment process was discussed at length and taken into account when considering improvements to the project. The negative self-appraisals were also the subject of considerable debate. While the videos had provided a valuable record and could be used to focus on specific aspects of the storytelling sessions, overall, watching them seemed to

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produce a negative effect on self-assessment, fostering an overly critical response among students and potentially impacting negatively on self-efficacy levels and selfconcepts. Given this concern, a decision was taken to (i) carry out a specific study to explore the issue in more depth; and (ii) record the sessions for data collection purposes, but refrain from viewing them in class with students while awaiting the results of the study. Finally, regarding the Learning Diaries, the teacher continued to report problems finding sufficient time to carry out this part of the self-assessment properly.

3.4 Phase III: Incorporating Self- and Peer-Assessment into the Learning Process 3.4.1

Instruments and Procedure

Taking into account the findings from previous years, the intention was to maintain the pre- and post-questionnaire activities; to try to dedicate more time and attention to the Learning Diaries; and to adapt the peer-assessment activity using the ‘Two stars and a wish’ idea, but without viewing the videos and aiming to keep students’ interest by making the process more agile. Unforeseen circumstances meant that the project had to be taken over by a new teacher half-way through the first term of the year. The reports elaborated during the two previous phases helped considerably to orientate the teacher and provide indications of which steps to follow and which areas needed improvement. As a result of this transition period and the loss of time incurred, work on the Learning Diaries was discontinued. Work on the storytelling sessions continued, sometimes with students themselves providing the teacher with orientations and indications on the process to be followed (in the case of the 6th grade students who were carrying out the project for the second year). Regarding the peer assessment activity, the new teacher and the researcher discussed the findings from the previous year at length and discussed ways of adapting it to make the process more agile and extract the maximum benefits for the learners. A detailed description of the process followed is provided below. In terms of timescale, rather than contemplating the process as something to be carried out after all the stories had been told, this time the peer assessment component was incorporated into each storytelling session. Regarding the different roles assumed by the students, in Phase II, assessment of the sessions had only been carried out between peers from the same class. Within the new framework, this was not possible as they could not be present at all the storytelling sessions (for logistic reasons) and would not be able to view the sessions on video. As a result, the younger children listening to the stories were assigned this role. In order to facilitate the process, the teacher adopted an active role in order to mediate effectively between the younger students and their older peers. First of all, and immediately after the story, the teacher asked the listeners (in English) if they had enjoyed the story. Then, continuing in

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English, she introduced the ‘Two stars and a wish’ activity, showing the rubric and using the visual prompts (stars and magic wand) to explain that they had to think of two things they liked and two things that could be improved. Some students understood the aim of the activity immediately, and started to offer their own views in L1. The teacher (still speaking English) encouraged participation and guided the activity to ensure turn-taking and to make sure that all students in the group had an opportunity to share their thoughts. Whenever possible, she encouraged the children to speak in English by asking further questions in response to their comments, as illustrated in the following example, where 3 storytellers are listening to feedback from 12 students from year 3 of primary (8 years old): Child 1:

M’ha agradat que ens hagin fet preguntes sobre els animals. (I liked that they asked us questions about the animals)

Teacher: Ah yes. That was good. Which animals are in the story? Teacher: (Repeats) Which animals? Child 2:

Ah. A frog! (laughs)

Teacher: Yes! (smiling). The story is called Oi Frog! (showing the picturebook). Which other animals are there? Child 3:

A cat.

Teacher: Very good ‘name of student’. What else? Child 4:

A lion? Lleó? (saying the English word slowly and then checking by saying the word in L1)

Teacher: Yes. Lion. Very good.

After exhausting the list of animals that students were already familiar with, or whose names they remembered from the story, the teacher then extended the activity by referring to the picturebook and saying ‘Look! If we don’t know we can look in the book’. Attention was given to new vocabulary and students appeared to enjoy discovering the names of animals that were not usually introduced in their English classes (e.g., gophers, weasels, moles). Having been introduced to these new animals, they then wanted to know what they were called in L1 and seemed surprised that they could learn a word in English that they didn’t already know in Catalan. After spending sufficient time on the oral part, ensuring that all students had contributed and that ample feedback had been provided, the teacher then gave out the ‘Two stars and a wish’ handout and gave the students instructions. The younger children were instructed to write down the ideas they had expressed orally on the rubric. No specific instructions were given about language use. As expected at this age, they completed the activity in L1 with the support of their teacher. The older children were given the same instructions (‘write two positive things and 1 thing to improve’) taking into account the feedback they had received. Some examples of the older children’s responses can be seen in Fig. 2. The self-assessment process therefore began during the storytelling session itself, after the storytellers had received immediate oral feedback from their younger peers, mediated by the teacher. The process was continued and extended at the beginning of the next English class, when the teacher gave the ‘Two stars and wish’ handouts

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Fig. 2 Two stars and wish activity: self-assessment taking into account peer assessment

back to the students and generated a brief discussion asking them to share the main results with the whole class; focusing on the highlights and points to be improved. After refreshing their memories in this way, students were then asked to complete the Follow-up questionnaire individually, without sharing their ideas or copying from each other.

3.4.2

Results

The peer assessment process described above generated authentic communication among participants and proved to be an effective way of obtaining genuine feedback from the younger students. Their assessment of the storytelling sessions provided useful information for both the student storytellers and the teacher. For the students, the feedback gave them an opportunity to reflect on different aspects of their own individual performances and to think how they could improve aspects such as: speaking slowly and clearly; taking into account the listener/s; repeating things; asking questions to check that the listener is following you; stopping and recapping or summarising things; checking body position and not turning your back to the

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audience; etc. This information highlighted aspects that would facilitate comprehension for the younger children and also provided the teacher with further insight into their interests and preferences. Comments explaining what had helped them follow the story revealed a general appreciation of resources such as picturebooks, images, PowerPoint presentations, and games. Contrary to teacher and storytellers’ expectations, no negative comments were reported in relation to the complex vocabulary introduced in the story Oi Frog. Conversely, when asked to identify a ‘star’ point, one girl stated that she liked the vocabulary of the story a lot. Being the only child in class with English as a home language, she clearly enjoyed learning something unexpected and acquiring language that went beyond the limits of the input covered in their usual language classes. In another session, discussing the story Marvin wanted more, some younger students from year 4 of primary (9 years old) expressed appreciation for the values highlighted in the story, as illustrated in this translated version of one boy’s comment: ‘I liked the way Marvin reflected and made us reflect too on things like greed, on how it’s important to be happy with what you already have/are’. While the children responded enthusiastically to humorous stories and funny images, comments like this reveal their simultaneous capacity and willingness to engage with serious issues and to reflect on them together. The teacher’s flexible approach to the students’ language use contributed significantly to generating the climate described above. The fragment of dialogue reproduced in Sect. 3.4.1 shows how she encouraged them to use English whenever possible, while being careful not to stop the flow of ideas. This example shows that when students can say what is expected in English, they do. This point is also illustrated in Fig. 2, where we can see how four different storytelling students complete the ‘Two stars and a wish’ rubric. Two of the students completed the activity in English, even though they had not been requested to do this. One of these students has an Individual Learning Plan in place as a result of considerable learning difficulties; especially in reading and writing. It is interesting and inspiring to find a student with these characteristics making the effort to write in a foreign language (without this being a requirement) and expressing enthusiasm for the work being carried out: ‘I like the experience of storytelling’. Although mixing L1 and L2 when writing comments in the ‘wish’ section, the student has clearly extracted the most relevant points from the feedback received from the younger learners, pinpointing the need: ‘to repeat parts of the story and to ask the listeners more questions’. With regard to self-assessment, the reflection already prompted at the end of the storytelling session was extended in the subsequent class in the Follow-up questionnaire and discussion. In stark contrast to Phase II, all storytellers (8) reported that the session had gone well (2) or very well (6); that the younger students had enjoyed their story (6 = ‘yes I think so’ and 2 = ‘yes definitely’); and that this made them feel ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Their answers to the different questions (written mainly in English) indicated that the peer feedback had fed into their own reflections, generating more constructive self-appraisals than in Phase II. Focusing on the reasons given for the success of the sessions, several students reported that this was ‘because it went fluent’. Their comments showed appreciation that although improvements could be made, and even though the listeners had not understood everything, they

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had followed their story and enjoyed it. Recognising this increased the students’ selfefficacy levels and gave them more confidence in their own communicative abilities. This is demonstrated by their willingness to repeat the experience, as indicated in the affirmative response given by students to the last point on the questionnaire, asking if they would like to tell more stories in English. When expanding on their reasons, many students emphasised the enjoyable aspect of the experience (‘because I liked it’); while also making specific links between the methodology and learning: ‘it’s funny and I learn in a different way’. Regarding specific content learned, or specific skills identified as strengths or weaknesses, the personal responses provided in the questionnaires and during the subsequent discussion gave the teacher deeper insight into progress made and challenges faced by each student. Finally, when explaining why their sessions had gone well, some students highlighted the help they had been given or the extra time that had been dedicated to pronunciation work as a key factor. This is particularly noteworthy as it shows how the concerns expressed in students’ self-assessments in the previous phases had been listened to and addressed. Summing up at the end of the process, the teacher felt that the students’ selfassessments were well calibrated with their actual performance and consistent with her own views. In this sense, her feeling was that they had found a good working formula to encourage constructive criticism, while also creating classroom activities that stimulated learning for both the older children and the younger ones who listened and interacted with the stories.

3.4.3

Drawbacks

Overall, and as reflected in the final paragraph of the previous section, the findings were positive from both the student and teacher perspective. The teacher expressed some regret at not having been able to continue with the Learning Diary strategy and showed an interest in developing this in the future. In terms of the procedures followed during the storytelling sessions, one drawback was identified in relation to the written part of the peer-assessment/self-assessment process. The open-ended nature of the writing activity (‘Two stars and a wish’) prompted individual, meaningful responses, but also meant that students sought the constant support and guidance of the teacher in order to put their thoughts into words. The fact that the researcher was present during these sessions meant that the students had two guides instead of one and could resolve their doubts without having to wait too long. In the usual classroom scenario, with just one teacher, strategies would need to be devised to reduce frustration caused by waiting time and to encourage students to be more self-sufficient by using other resources, such as ICT tools.

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4 Discussion and Conclusion The different phases of the case study have been described in detail, highlighting the most interesting findings and drawbacks encountered during each stage. The intention has been to highlight the point that methodological changes take time to implement successfully and often undergo several processes of experimentation, reflection and modification before obtaining satisfactory results. Furthermore, and as highlighted in the description of Phase III with regard to changes to teaching teams, effective coordination and detailed report-keeping aids transition in unexpected circumstances (which are not at all infrequent), enabling the continuity of projects which aim to introduce innovative methodologies in the classroom. This supports findings of a recent study highlighting how the education system itself (precarious labour conditions, lack of fixed contracts) can represent one of the main impediments to change, and that close coordination between teachers and schools is one of the main facilitators of innovation (Díaz-Gibson et al., 2019). The theoretical framework presented at the beginning of this chapter establishes a link between the implementation of changes in assessment processes and the need to comply with and attend to children’s rights. The findings from the case study can help illustrate how changes in classroom practice can promote the specific rights inscribed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (The United Nations, 1989). Considering the need to develop each individual child’s full potential (Article 29.1.a), the description of the procedures followed in the different phases provides examples of how activities can be adapted to different learning styles. The findings show that these adaptations generate positive results for all children, including those experiencing learning difficulties on the one hand, and those who would be described as high-achievers within a test-oriented mindset. An example of the former is found in Phase III, in the case of the student who experiences considerable learning difficulties, who makes an effort to write in English—even though this is not a requirement—and expresses genuine enthusiasm for the work being carried out. On the other hand, we find an interesting example of how a personalised methodology can help engage the interest of students who could be susceptible to boredom. In today’s increasingly diverse classrooms, we frequently find children who have (or who are acquiring) English as a home language, while simultaneously receiving instruction at school in English as a foreign language. Within a Funds of Knowledge approach to childhood education (Esteban-Guitart, 2016; Esteban-Guitart & Vila, 2013), the disjuncture between these different experiences, and the gap that this can open up between school and home life, can have negative effects on the child, generating boredom, lack of interest and potential detachment. In the case described above, the young student who already has English as a home language is fully engaged in the activity and explicitly refers to the enjoyment she obtains from learning vocabulary which is new to her. The methodology therefore manages to bridge the potential gap between home and school practice and to reduce the risk of boredom which can have devastating effects on children’s development and experiences of school (Macklem, 2015). The findings indicate that the assessment processes introduced

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were instrumental in generating a classroom climate which respected the right that all children have to learn another language (Ellis, 2019) and to develop their own unique personalities, talents and mental and physical abilities (The United Nations, 1989, p. 9). Considering the need to prepare children for responsible life in free societies (The United Nations, 1989, p. 9, Article 29.1.d), the peer-assessment activities provided opportunities for working on key aspects such as turn-taking and respect, and for developing students’ capacity to give each other constructive feedback. Observations during the different phases revealed that the more the teacher’s role shifted to facilitator or “teacher as partner” (Ellis, 2019, p. 23), the richer the experience became. Opening up a space in which children’s views were positively encouraged, and traditional power relations were no longer dominant, produced interesting results. One unexpected result from the teacher’s perspective was the insight provided into factors that help or hinder learning for children: for example, feedback from selfassessments in the early phases prompted more extensive work on pronunciation in line with student demands. In this case, the teacher acknowledged that she was constantly learning from the students. Similarly, in another example that helps reexamine hierarchical power relations, the findings in phase III show how younger children can provide their older peers with valuable feedback. The term valuable is used here to stress the point that the feedback becomes valuable, or useful, when it is provided within a system that can use the information to affect future performance (Wiliam, 2011). In the different examples provided, learning is shown to be a shared process in which the equal status of all children is respected and valued, as advocated by Ellis (2019, p. 23), and in which the pooling of different resources and perspectives advances learning for all. At the end of the three year process, and taking into account the constant reflections and modifications made throughout, the successes reported in the third phase seem to correlate strongly with the changes made to the assessment processes. In the first two phases, although benefits were apparent, the self- and peer-assessment activities were mainly conceived as follow-up activities. In the third phase, assessment became an essential part of the learning process itself and was conceived in a way which corresponds to the definition adopted in line with work developed on assessment for learning (Wiliam, 2011): Assessment for Learning is part of everyday practice by students, teachers and peers that seeks, reflects upon and responds to information from dialogue, demonstration and observation in ways that enhance ongoing learning. (Klenowski, 2009, p. 264)

This chapter has demonstrated how such an approach to assessment for learning can be incorporated within the foreign language classroom in a way which aims to enhance the ongoing learning of all students. Aspects that contribute to the successes of the third and final phase of the experience include: the immediacy of the peer and self-assessment activities (the less of a gap between performance and assessment the better); the creation of an authentic communicative context which boosts students’ willingness to communicate; the role of the teacher as facilitator and not assessor;

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the teacher’s acceptance of code-switching and, above all, an empathetic approach to students’ language use and to their individual learning needs.

References Cambridge Assessment English. (2019). Who can take Cambridge English Exams? https://support. cambridgeenglish.org/hc/en-gb/articles/202838466-Who-can-take-Cambridge-English-Exams-. Cortina-Pérez, B., & Andúgar Soto, A. (2018). Didáctica de la lengua extranjera en educación infantil: Inglés [Foreign language teaching in preschool education: English]. Madrid: Pirámide. Council of Europe. (2001). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (CEFR). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Díaz-Gibson, J., Civís, M., Fontanet, A., López, S., & Prats, M. A. (2019). School head teachers’ views of the drive towards educational innovation in Catalonia. Culture and Education, 31(3), 640–670. https://doi.org/10.1080/11356405.2019.1630957. Dijoub, Z. (2018). Performance-based assessment: A shift towards an assessment for learning culture. In H. Sahbi (Ed.), Revisiting the assessment of second language abilities: From theory to practice (pp. 457–470). Cham: Springer International Publishing. Ellis, G. (2019). Children’s language learning rights. TEYLT Worldwide, 1. Ellis, G., & Ibrahim, N. (2015). Teaching children how to learn. Peaslake, UK: Delta Publishing. Ellis, G., & Rixon, S. (2019). Assessment for learning with young learners: Is thinking about their learning a step too far? In D. Proši´c-Santovac & S. Rixon (Eds.), Integrating assessment into early language learning and teaching practice (pp. 87–104). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Esteban-Guitart, M. (2016). Funds of identity. Connecting meaningful learning experiences in and out of school. New York: Cambridge University Press. Esteban-Guitart, M., & Vila, I. (2013). Experiencias en educación inclusiva. La vinculación entre escuela, familia y comunidad [Experiences in inclusive education. The link between school, family and community]. Barcelona: Horsori. Hidri, S. (Ed.). (2018). Revisiting the assessment of second language abilities: From theory to practice. Cham: Springer International Publishing. Kawulich, B. B. (2005). Participant observation as a data collection method. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 6(2), Art. 43. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn: nbn:de:0114-fqs0502430. Klenowski, V. (2009). Editorial: Assessment for learning revisited: An Asia-Pacific perspective. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy, and Practice, 16(3), 263– 268. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38184135_Assessment_for_Learning_revisited_ An_Asia-Pacific_perspective. Macklem, G. L. (2015). Boredom in the classroom: addressing student motivation, self-regulation, and engagement in learning. Manchester, MA, US: Springer. Rokita-Jaskow, J., & Ellis, M. (2019). Early instructed second language acquisition: Pathways to competence. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. The United Nations. (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Treaty Series, 1577, 3. Waddington, J. (2019a). Foreign language teaching: Does it still make sense? Papeles de Trabajo sobre Cultura, Educación y Desarrollo Humano, 15(3), 115–121. http://psicologia.udg.edu/PTC EDH/menu_articulos.asp. Waddington, J. (2019b). Developing primary school students’ foreign language learner self-concept. System, 28, 39–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.02.012. Waddington, J. (2020). Motivating self and others through a whole-school storytelling project: authentic language & literacy development. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, Special Issue, 7(1), 124–144. https://doi.org/10.21283/2376905X.11.188.

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Wiliam, D. (2011). What is assessment for learning? Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 3–14.

Picturebooks Shark in the park by Nick Sharratt. (2007). London: Corgi Childrens. Oi frog by Kes Gray and Jim Field. (2015). London: Hodder Children’s Books. Marvin wanted more by Joseph Theobald. (2014). London: Bloomsbury Children’s Books.

Julie Waddington is a Research Fellow in the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the University of Girona, Catalonia. A member of the Culture and Education research group, her current interests focus on questions of learner identity, particularly in relation to the learning and teaching of foreign languages at early ages.

Literacy and Diversity

A Multimodal Analysis of ELT Materials for Young Learners Maria Stec

Abstract Multimodality is an interdisciplinary approach to communication represented across cultures in various semiotic resources. It is reflected in the processes of materials’ development driven by local, national and global concerns linked to language education. ELT materials for young learners (YLs) are not the exception. All learners must develop new forms of literacy. This chapter aims to offer a multimodal perspective on ELT materials for YLs. The idea is to answer one major question: How is image-text relationship realised in ELT coursebooks for children? The paper focuses on systemic-functional and multimodal discourse analysis (SF-MDA) of the selected coursebooks, following a socio-cultural and qualitative approach. It describes the visual-verbal relationship starting with the cover page, single and double pages as a site of display and ends with examples of projects. It shows various implications for materials’ implementation and describes new directions in materials development for heterogeneous classrooms in primary school.

1 Introduction Each classroom welcomes young learners (YLs) with various learning styles, strategies, a range of MI (Multiple Intelligences), as well as dysfunctions and problems (Nunan, 2011, pp. 154–170). These characteristics and factors are considered in YLs’ materials development, which in this paper involves the processes of design, implementation and evaluation. Presently, YLs learn in a diverse English classroom with a range of children, who vary widely in abilities, skills and needs. As a rule, all children have a holistic approach to learning, limited reading and writing skills, an increasing gathering of knowledge about the world, including first (and other) language acquisition (Nunan, 2011, pp. 2–3). All children experience developmental changes including cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, physical and mental ones M. Stec (B) Foreign Languages Teaching Centre and Doctoral School, University of Silesia, Cieszyn and Katowice, Poland e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_10

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(Stec, 2011, pp. 13–29). Their education is supported by multimodal printed and online ELT materials. Materials’ development has undergone a shift from “a visual turn” towards a multimodal perspective, which is reflected in the growing popularity of online materials used in online and blended learning as well as gamification and mobile learning. On the one hand, these advances stress the importance of multiliteracies as YLs are surrounded by multimodal texts. On the other hand, the question is whether these resources provide enough (or too much) stimulation in their development. The dilemma is supported by neuroscience, which helps us to advance our professional understanding of the brain processes which impact early language education. Namely, YLs’ neural network always changes under the influence of experiences, such as educational, familial and social. YLs assimilate information from various resources that challenge the ability of their brain to respond actively or passively, verbally and non-verbally during early language education (Conkbayir, 2017, pp. 30–36). As ocularcentrism has been extremely present in our life, there is a need to develop an understanding of the multimodal ensembles and introduce a multimodal perspective on ELT materials which will be helpful for all users. The multimodality of ELT materials for YLs is perceived in this paper through the image-text (image-language) relationship which always brings some “reading” possibilities and restrictions for all users (learners, teachers and parents) (Bezemer & Jewitt, 2018, p. 281).

2 Literature Review 2.1 Materials Development Materials development has been recognised as an academic discipline since the 1990s (Tomlinson, 2020, p. 4). It comprises language acquisition, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, discourse analysis including Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), pragmatics and other fields, to increase the effectiveness of materials in practice (Fenton-Smith, 2013, pp. 127–147). On the one hand, materials development indicates how theories of language learning and teaching are applied in formal education. On the other hand, several language learning approaches and theories filter through into ELT materials (Tomlinson, 2012, pp. 143–144). YLs encounter the target language and culture through ELT materials, which in this chapter refer to artefacts that facilitate English education (Gray, 2000, pp. 274–283; Mills & Unsworth, 2016, p. 7). The subject literature stresses the importance of the learning experience through receptive skills and development of a positive attitude to learning English, namely through the best materials possible (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018, pp. 246–269). Materials can be classified in several groups. The classification accepted here is based on the place and aim of their production. These are global, local and glocal materials (McGrath, 2013, pp. 2–3). Global coursebooks are produced for an international market and designed with the idea to contribute to YLs’ holistic development.

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They have been criticised for transferring cosmopolitan (Western) values, promoting an Anglo-Saxon view of the world such as a system of writing and reading from left-to-right (Garton & Graves, 2014a, pp. 1–18; 2014b, pp. 271–273; Hadley, 2014, p. 205; McGrath, 2013, pp. 9–10). Culture-specific content has always been a problematic issue in the global coursebooks (Ghosh, 2019, pp. 377–379; Rixon, 2015, pp. 43–47; Tomlinson, 2013, pp. 37–42; Tomlinson, 2015; pp. 280–281). The issue is particularly important for YLs, who learn holistically and develop their understanding of diversity within their own and others’ culture, also during English classes (Driscoll, 2017, pp. 24–40; Driscoll & Simpson, 2015, pp. 169–179). The increasing popularity of English as an international language has a profound impact on education, including resources. The processes of standardisation, centralisation and globalisation of materials design have been observed from the 1980s (Littlejohn, 2012, pp. 294–295; Tomlinson, 2020, pp. 13–14; Zein, 2019, pp. 1–16). ELT global coursebooks constitute the standard on which local and glocal materials are designed (Hadley, 2014, pp. 205–238). The local materials draw on a national policy and curriculum, following the principle of linguistic and cultural localisation, which is particularly important for children’s materials design. The principle of localisation also relates to the visual content included in ELT resources for YLs. Glocal (global-plus-local) coursebooks seem to be the best solution as they are basically global ELT coursebooks rewritten by local writers to meet learners’ needs in a specific teaching context (Thornbury, 2013, pp. 220–221). They combine international (global English) issues with the regional aspects of language and culture reflected in ELT materials. This “hybrid approach” is very popular in Europe, having been applied in such countries as Poland, Greece, Austria and Portugal (Garton & Graves, 2014a, pp. 1–14). As a rule, there are seven principles commonly applied in ELT materials development. These are: localisation, modernisation, individualisation, personalisation, humanising, simplification as well as differentiation, complexification and variety (McGrath, 2013, pp. 66–70). The author of the chapter would add one more—the principle of multimodality related to various modes used in generating meanings. These principles are reflected in Tomlinson’s list of criteria for materials’ evaluation: universal, local, content, age and a medium set of criteria (Tomlinson, 2013, pp. 37–42; Tomlinson, 2015, pp. 279–293). Similarly, the principles mentioned above could be enriched with one more category: multimodal criteria related to visual and verbal content. The list can be helpful in a selection, analysis and evaluation of ELT materials for YLs. Consequently, ELT materials are defined as cultural artefacts rooted in a time and tradition. Moreover, they are multimodal artefacts with content transferring values, knowledge and hidden messages, presenting a certain reality, which, in turn, influences YLs’ understanding of the world. They transfer norms and beliefs as well as generate social meanings intentionally and unintentionally through various modes. This is reflected in the language structures, texts, illustrations and procedures offered in ELT coursebooks (Gray, 2013, p. 3). These artefacts can be regarded differently by community members and outsiders, carrying different meanings for their users.

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2.2 Multimodality Multimodality, also known as MDA (multimodal discourse analysis) or multimodal studies, is defined as a challenging field with a focus on various semiotic resources, modes and modalities (O’Halloran, 2011, pp. 120–132). The major modes are language and image, sound and music (and their sub-modes) which generate messages and organize logical texts. They form communicational ensembles with multi-layered meanings (Kress, 2010, p. 79; Mills & Unsworth, 2016, p. 5; O’Halloran, 2011, p. 120; Painter et al., 2014, pp. 1–10). Each mode is socially shaped and culturally originated as a semiotic resource with different functions, limitations and potentials for generating meanings (Kress, 2010, p. 1). The social semiotic analysis of multimodal texts is based on M. A. K. Halliday’s theory of “metafunctions” to identify meanings. These meanings refer to three following functions that interplay within a multimodal text (Jewitt et al., 2016, pp. 34–44; Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996, pp. 40–42; 2006, p. 15; Serafini, 2014, pp. 46–47): 1. Ideational function: presents objects and actions, the world around us and inside us. It is perceived through narration, conceptual presentation, visual background (setting) and characters’ appearance (clothes, gesture, mimes). The question is: How language is used to represent ideas? Experiential and logical meanings constitute ideational meaning to construct our experience of the world and link logically processes, participants and circumstances. 2. Interpersonal function: establishes social relations through interaction among an author, the image itself and its receivers. It is perceived through a direction of action, distance, perspective (front/bottom) and the direction of coding (realistic, abstract). The question is: How does language establish relationships between producers and receivers? It is to exchange information of goods and services through gazing, framing, light and perspective. 3. Textual function: stresses the structure of the text and communicative events to realise social practices. It organizes messages through proportion and alignment, being perceived through information value (left/right; top/down), grouping of elements in the image (non/linking) and visual distinctive features (form, colour and contrast). The question is: How is language organised in a specific manner? Multimodality is needed to catch YLs’ attention, entertain or just teach them irrespective of age. YLs require both cognitive and perceptive processes, which involve recognition of the context and situation, integration of forms, the actual state and association of language and image (St˝ockl, 2015, pp. 120–123). Comprehension of multimodal texts requires multiliteracy—the holistic reception of language and image. A page-flow perception is directed not only by the structure of the text, as receptive difficulties may involve issues related to the processes of acquisition, processing and interpretation of information. Research recording eye movement and oculographic experiments indicate what one looks at but not necessarily what is seen. An understanding of pages may vary from a focus on content (titles, short texts) to

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the focus on the structure (links, navigation). The receptive integration of modes improves with the implementation of the dual scripting principle with the logical sequence of graphic design (from general to specific ones). Differences may occur in the context of cultural varieties that matter in the perception of the same messages. Multimodal perception requires both top-down and bottom-up processes, which can lead to an interactive theory of acquisition where a learner, stimulation and reactions are important. It is a dynamic process of eye movement, processing and learning between image and language (Bucher, 2015, pp. 98–107). In practice, ELT materials can be investigated in terms of four core modes: sound, music, image and language. Namely, image and language are realized through more than one medial variant (sub-modes, categories). The core mode of image is realised through static (still) and dynamic (moving) medial variants. The core mode of language is realised through speech, static writing and animate writing. Each core mode commands a set of sub-modes; for example, the target language is realized through a system of verbal signifiers, available at the level of letters, sounds, lexical and grammatical structures, with the medial variants of speech and writing. A network of sub-modes for images, to name a few, include colour, size, perspective and composition. Core modes, medial variants and sub-modes form multimodal texts (St˝ockl after Perez-Gonzalez, 2014, pp. 192–225). Multimodality is a natural form of communication with a historical, cognitive and functional character. Languages and pictures have always participated in performing communicative functions, as the human system of writing has developed from pictures. The tendency is that a child’s human sight precedes one’s speaking skills. Then, languages and pictures overlap in human mental representation while people’s multisensorial nature requires multimodal communication. To summarise, multimodality is an integrated system of modes occurring at numerous levels in a text (semiotics, perception and understanding). Multimodality involves cultural competence, individual intelligence and the ability to transcribe, explain and paraphrase messages from one mode to the other (transduction). Multimodality is a semiotic and cognitive activity needed for making and understanding messages and texts (St˝ockl, 2015, pp. 114–116).

2.3 Multimodal ELT Materials for Heterogeneous Learners ELT coursebooks that have been published recently are similar in terms of verbal and visual content, being defined as content and meaning focused, with English being used to gain new knowledge, experience and skills (Tomlinson, 2001, p. 70). Content should represent a diversity of characters, with equal treatment of all genders and age groups, interesting contexts and topics, as well as a wide range of images. As far as the design of ELT coursebooks is concerned, the PPP approach is applied to the presentation of content increasing with language proficiency level and learners’ age. Content with a focus on English use in context prevails in all coursebooks, although

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most texts for children (written and spoken) tend to be short and simple (Richards, 2014, p. 27; Tomlinson, 2020, pp. 5–8). Among critical issues linked with early language education are conditions including the proper materials for YLs, considering their development on the one hand and sustainability on the other (Johnstone, 2019, pp. 18–25). The question related to “good and successful” materials for TEYL (Teaching English to YLs) has been constantly repeated in the subject literature. The tendency is to follow a structured approach to communicatively oriented content. The key points encompass relevant topics, natural and contextual language, skills integration and appropriate cultural content. ELT coursebooks include cultural content with aspects of the home culture and target language culture. EU policy promotes multicultural and multimodal education as YLs’ skills of critical cultural awareness can be developed through reflections of their own culture and of others’ (Driscoll, 2017, pp. 24–40). ELT materials in Poland promote intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and include aspects of intercultural teaching. The major areas (topics) for YLs are presented in Fig. 1. Fig. 1 Areas of topics suggested for YLs’ content in primary schools

I

My family

My home

My toys

My school

My background

My city/village

My country

Other countries

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Titles for the series of coursebooks and single units are familiar to learners’ backgrounds and experienced in their everyday life. Most of them reflect English learning as a journey and a cross-cultural experience (Gray after Richards, 2014, pp. 20–21). ELT coursebooks offer units (chapters) divided into a few sections (lessons) with a similar structure. Each unit ends with a project (a task) section to develop ICC, a review section to develop self-learning and indicate YLs’ progress. ELT coursebooks for YLs include a word list (a picture dictionary) and extra cultural materials at the end (Tomlinson, 2013b, p. 16). Modern ELT materials are hybrid forms of various modes known as multimodal forms of communication. Not only is a mere text to be comprehended, but the whole layout and structure of all elements are presented on the pages (Bucher, 2015, pp. 79–112). Multimodal configurations are experienced holistically by YLs where language, image, sound and other modes are integrated (Jewitt, 2008, pp. 29–30). Visual content has always played a significant role in ELT materials. It is necessary for language learning at all stages of education (Gangwer, 2009, pp. 1–6, 10– 12; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018, pp. 325–341) and may include photos, drawings, paintings, cartoons, maps, diagrams and functional illustrations (headings, icons, arrows, speech and thought bubbles). Visuals can be part of instructions in children’s materials. They are used widely in generating messages with various educational functions. They explain unfamiliar issues to YLs, offer context, introduce the characters, set the mood and tone. Other functions are linked with YLs’ reactions as ELT materials induce affective responses, stimulating YLs’ ideas and behaviours. The ideal situation is when they support development of visual literacy and facilitate English learning. Their implementation is always linked with such dilemmas as variety, attractiveness, impact and usefulness in developing mental representations (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018, pp. 326–330). Most images in ELT materials are subordinated to writing, some are on an equal footing with writing and none is super-ordinated to writing. The image-text relationship may change due to the distribution and colour of drawings and photographs, which can be treated as separate modes. Most photos in the ELT materials show snapshots of ‘real’ people while most drawings present ‘imagined world’ of people and places (Bezemer & Kress, 2009, pp. 252). There are two perspectives on the multimodal composition of elements: holistic, when the whole page in a book is investigated and local, when a few elements such as layout, colour, picture, title and text are investigated. The second one is accepted here with SF-MDA (systemic-functional and multimodal discourse analysis), which investigates how semiotic resources are organised to generate messages (the possible options) that are selected to make meaning. Namely, it investigates the intersemiotic relationships between text and image (Martinec & Salway, 2005) descriptions (Unsworth, 2006) or extension of their approach with texts and images in educational materials (Jewitt et al., 2016, pp. 39–40). As a rule, design involves the size, weight and covers as well as the composition of the pages (Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018, pp. 331–334). Composition, colour and typography are the key elements in the process of generating meanings. Design is responsible for the semiotic realization with the specific use of ordering and space,

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the transfer of messages with shapes, structures and content. The logic of the writing system introduces the order of the content in a print coursebook, while the logic of the image forms the order on the screen during distance-learning. Therefore, the visual grammar has developed with the definitions of zones for pictures, pages and screens (left-right, given-new, top-bottom, centre-margins) and the polarisation (contrast) between elements placed on the left and those on the right corresponding to the Western tradition in writing and reading (left-right mode) (van Leeuwen, 2011, pp. 549–569). For example, Halliday’s concepts of the ideas given on a page (the elements on the left) and the new information (the elements on the right) are applied by the writers of ELT coursebooks as well (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006, pp. 179–185). In applied linguistics, ELT materials can be investigated at the level of content, consumption and production. For the purpose of this paper, the level of content is highlighted with verbal and visual content (Harwood, 2014, pp. 1–4). It involves texts and images in ELT coursebooks, following visual methodology in its compositional modality (Rose, 2012, pp. 81–104). To develop a link between image and language in a text requires a few relations and stages. These are their content (thematic structure), function (structure of linguistic functioning) and forms (cohesion and semiotic structure) (St˝ockl, 2015, pp. 122–123). As far as text is concerned, four basic structures of language are involved: typography, layout, function and materials. These features can be discussed within the context of the image as well. a. Typography: refers to style, arrangement and appearance of the created letters, numbers, and symbols. ELT coursebooks use different fonts; type size is consistent throughout the single selected coursebooks, except for headings and titles; their boxing and background colouring is common (Bezemer & Kress, 2010, pp. 10–29). b. Layout: is the arrangement and composition of both linguistic texts and visuals arranged in the specific space on a page. It involves the use of space, positioning, size, sequence, separation, balance and repetition. The idea is how these reconfigurations influence the relationships between the modes and meaning to catch a user’s attention, separate and sequence sections, provide structure and impact on the users (Jewitt et al., 2016, pp. 179–180; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018, pp. 331–330). c. The function of signs and letters, and their interpretation of letters. d. Materials and techniques for text generation: edition and variety show (St˝ockl, 2015, pp. 132–133). YLs must learn text features and graphic elements with their functions, namely: the elements that organize a text such as units or chapters, titles and (sub)headings; the elements needed for locating information, including table of contents and page numbers; the elements for explanation and elaboration such as charts, graphs and glossaries (picture/dictionaries); the elements which illustrate, for example, photographs, pictures and drawings, plus the elements that notify, such as bolded words and italics (Fisher et al., 2016, p. 82).

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A multimodal perspective brings insights into materials analysis and enriches our understanding of MMR (mixed methods research) in materials development (Enever & Lindgren, 2017, p. 305). There are few papers about multimodality in ELT materials for YLs, whereas a considerable amount of literature has described materials as cultural artefacts (Stec, 2017, 2018, 2019). Multimodality in ELT materials has a profound impact on meaning-making, comprehension and interpretation of messages. The image-text relationship is vital particularly in the context of children, who develop simultaneously visual and verbal literacy.

3 Research Project The project is based on the sociocultural approach and SF-MDA (systemic-functional and multimodal discourse analysis). The qualitative research procedures are accepted in this paper (Lindgren & Enever, 2017, pp. 1–3). The qualitative analysis of the image-language relationship refers here to constructing the ideational meanings in the sample of ELT coursebooks.

3.1 Research Purpose and Questions The paper aims to describe ELT materials for YLs with a focus on visual content. The awareness of materials composition, design and layout will be helpful for teachers’, learners’ and parents’ interpretation and comprehension of messages. The issue has grown in importance considering the diverse classrooms in Polish schools, where a wide selection of ELT materials are implemented. These materials offer various types of the image-language intermodality. The following question has been stated: 1. How is image-text relationship realised in ELT coursebooks for YLs?

3.2 Procedure Following the qualitative approach, the project describes image-text modalities only at the level of single and double pages. The project involves two stages: selection and proper analysis of English coursebooks printed for children and currently available at the Polish market. ELT coursebooks are selected and then coded respectively in the first stage. They are selected following a list of criteria (Tomlinson, 2013, pp. 36–44; 2015, pp. 280–288): 1. Universal criteria: related to English language education in the international/global context in Europe.

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2. Local criteria: related to the early language learning in Poland (level). 3. Age-specific criteria: related to the age of YLs. 4. Content specific criteria: related to the child-related topics, home and English culture. 5. Media-specific criteria: related to the printed materials (only coursebooks). One more criterion is added to the list: 6. Multimodal criteria: related to the core modes of image and language, and their sub-modes used for making meanings (Stec, 2018, pp. 90–91). The criteria used in this analysis are designed before the material processes of development. The dilemma has been always concerned with the extent to which the materials provide practice for multiliteracy, for example, the extent to which the materials support and stimulate children’s development of multiliteracies including visual literacy. The tool implemented in this project is entitled “A Checklist for a Multimodal Analysis of ELT Materials for Young Learners” (see the Appendix for details) and divided into two parts. The first part is entitled “ELT material context and users’ background information” and serves as an introduction into the subject matter. It outlines the amount and type of content limited for the purpose of this research initially to the cover pages and then into the category of food, clothes and school. The second part of the checklist is entitled “Multimodality of content: image-language relations” and involves the proper analysis, which includes four sets of questions related to the multimodal content, inter-semiotic relations and image-language relationship. Having accepted the previous model frameworks on the matter (Bateman, 2014, pp. 186–203; Martinec & Salway, 2005, pp. 338–371; Painter et al., 2014, pp. 1–10, pp. 91–109; Perez-Gonzales, 2014, pp. 192–224), this project refers to the expansion of ideational meanings through such categories and questions1 : 1. Questions about concurrence related to the image-language agreement and correspondence in terms of clarification, exposition, exemplification and homospatiality. 2. Questions about complementarity related to the image-language supplement in terms of augmentation or divergence. 3. Questions about enhancement related to the image-language enrichment in terms of manner, condition and space. 4. Questions about projection related to the image-language presentation of words, thoughts and cognition in terms of locution (wording) and idea (meaning). ELT materials are grouped according to three categories: cover pages, single and double pages and single tasks (projects). The data will be analysed and discussed in stages.

1

For details see Appendix.

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4 Results and Discussion In order to answer the research question, five series of English coursebooks for YLs (grades 1–3) were selected, including English Quest, Hello Explorer, Oxford Explorer, Our Discovery Island and Young Treetops. In total, fifteen coursebooks were analysed with a focus on the pages limited to the topics of food, clothes and school. For the purpose of this paper, only findings on the food category are discussed below. The visual-verbal relationship is analysed in a sample of cover pages, single and double pages as a site of display and the projects respectively. To start with a more detailed inquiry of image-text relationships, fifteen cover pages from the selected coursebooks were analysed. They offer a model of agreement between verbal and visual content as is observed in the cover page in Figs. 2 and 3. Considering the logico-semantic relations between image and text, both cover pages are classified within the category of expansion, concurrence and elaboration of the meaning to be more precise. The elaboration involves the exposition of messages as the images (main characters) and titles (text) present general information about the courses and are at the same level of generality. Both covers present an equal status of verbal and visual content as they perform a complementarity role. Titles are short and communicative, reflecting English learning as an adventure. Other details refer to the type of coursebook and publisher. As far as the visual content is analysed, there are two major tendencies: CG (computer-generated) images (see Fig. 2) and authentic pictures with symbolic characters (see Fig. 3). As Fig. 2 depicts the computer generated image presents the main characters: children, pets and a computer where they search for information. Figure 3 illustrates an authentic picture Fig. 2 English Quest, 1. Corbett, J., O’Farrell, R., Kondro, M., Macmillan Education, 2014

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Fig. 3 Hello Explorer, 3. Heath, J., Adlard, R. Sikora-Banasik, D., Łubecka, A., Mrozik, M., Nowa Era, 2019

of a boy who explores nature, the family of elephants and hugs the small one. Both types of images accompany YLs in the process of learning English. It is the interplay of written language, visual images and design features to present their narratives. YLs are to comprehend the context—title and places, humans, animals and settings. The comprehension of image and language is practised from the first pages of the coursebooks. The visual and verbal contents in cover pages establish a complete message for the coursebook’s users. As far as a category of a single (double) page(s) is concerned, the topic of food is realised at a range between 12 and 6 pages with a balanced amount of texts and images. To answer the research question, in total, 44 pages were selected for the investigation in this project. They presented a transduction from a static image to a text, from action to writing. Each mode and medial variants offered both potentials and limitations for YLs’ comprehension of messages. For example, the initial series of ELT coursebooks included English Quest (parts 1, 2, 3) published by Macmillan with a focus on the first part and its Unit 4 entitled “Food Zone”. It offered 7 lessons plus the integrated content section entitled “Learn about food” and a review entitled “Digi Zone”. In total there were 10 pages on the topic. The analysis, following the checklist, indicated a double spread page of the content design with a consistent intermodal integration of texts and images. The most popular were illustrations of concurrence—clarification, exposition and exemplification. Furthermore, the project (Task 2, p. 47) focused on the practice of listening, drawing food in YLs’ notebooks and naming the items. It enabled YLs to develop multiliteracy with the opportunity to develop receptive and productive skills simultaneously practising visual transfer of messages.

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The next sample of ELT coursebooks included Hello Explorer (parts 1, 2, 3) published by Nowa Era. In this paper, 12 pages from the third part of this series were examined. It was Unit 4 entitled “Food” with 3 lessons and self-explanatory titles such as “Can I have fish and chips, please?”; “Pumpkin farm” and “Gingerbread cookies”. The analysis included also “Review 4” and the intercultural section entitled “Wonderful world: children’s favourite food”. All pages followed a model of a double spread page where a complementarity and concurrence of texts and images were recognised in the inner construction. Moreover, a class project (p. 53) was offered with Polish instructions on artwork and writing recipes on desserts. It stressed creativity and process/product writing. It may be classified as an example of mediation too. The third series of the investigated coursebooks included Oxford Explorers and its three parts (1, 2, 3) published by Oxford University Press. For this paper, Unit 5 entitled “Food” from the first part was selected for the examination. It included 8 lessons with such titles as “How fruit grows? Let’s explore (shops)!”. The sample proved that a double spread page of the content is omnipresent in the contemporary ELT materials for YLs, representing the image-language agreement, correspondence, supplement and enrichment. Additionally, a category of projects (Task 1, 2, p. 47) instructed YLs to draw in their notebooks, present and say their favourite food. This project, similarly to the previous ones, offered the opportunity for the integrated layout of English language and illustrations, practising receptive and productive skills. The fourth series of ELT materials for YLs encompassed Our Discovery Island (1, 2, 3) by Pearson. It focused on Unit 7 from the first part and entitled “Food” with 8 lessons on 8 pages. The lessons included the standard tasks such as a song, story and a section about integrated content entitled “Find out” with a round-up and review “I can do it”. The pages explored here resulted in the examples of concurrence, complementarity and projection in terms of image-text relationship. Likewise, a project category represented by the task (Task 15, p. 59) of drawing and naming food they like/dislike promoted the image-language intermodality. The last set of ELT coursebooks included Young Treetops (1, 2, 3) by Oxford University Press. The analysis related to the second part and Unit 3 entitled “Food and drink”, which had 6 lessons on 6 pages with the title catching attention “Super spaghetti!” and a review section “Round-up”. All pages followed a model of a double spread page for the construction of visual-verbal content with the examples of concurrence, complementarity and projection. Finally, a challenging project (Task 4, p. 27) with the task to make a food mini-book was analysed. It certainly aimed to promote the integrated intermodality and YLs’ creativity. The detailed analysis indicates that the most popular model for the inner construction is a double spread unit that is presented in Fig. 4. Reading letters and images starts with the left side of the first page and continues to the right side of the second page. This holistic understanding of layout, typography, image and a writing system is needed to read this type of materials. These dual spread pages represent the expansion, concurrence, exposition and simultaneously, an exemplification of the image-language relationships. Additionally, a verbal

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Fig. 4 Hello Explorer, 3, Nowa Era, pp. 42–43, 2019

projection of information is included here both in Polish and English. YLs seem to practise trans-languaging at the same time. The instructions and short texts are in English, whereas the aims of the unit are in Polish. To comment on the results, it was clear that the impact of multimodality is recognised in the design (structure) of each coursebook. Namely, a unit on food was identified in each set of the selected coursebooks. The titles of the units were clear and short, while the subtitles of the lessons (sections) were limited to two-three subject related ones. Only in one case (Our Discovery Island), are the sub-titles related directly to the tasks and procedures rather than food lexis. The coursebooks were divided into two groups. The first one included the coursebooks which offered between six and eight lessons on food (Oxford Explorer, Our Discovery Island and Young Troops). The second set of ELT materials offered between ten and twelve lessons on this topic (English Quest and Hello Explorer). All the investigated units offered projects on food, which required drawing the meaning, mediating the meaning between Polish tradition and English description on YLs’ side. The projects tend to focus on receptive skills first and later, on productive ones with a major tendency to draw food items. Two of them were much more demanding than others. The first one required not only drawing (artwork), but a description of procedures for preparing meals as well (Hello Explorer). The second one required the design and production of a food mini-book, which might have been a challenge for heterogeneous learners in a primary classroom.

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5 Conclusions and Implications The impact of multimodality on ELT materials results in a wide selection of resources to make meaning and interactions. This enables researchers to investigate the manner in which modes are offered in the structure of ELT materials. There is always a dilemma as to what kinds of multimodal materials may be suitable for multicultural and multi(bi)lingual learners in the globalized world, not to mention “the young minds” (Kress, 2010, pp. 16–20; Stec, 2017, pp. 101–124; Tomlinson & Masuhara, 2018, pp. 331–334). Understanding the impact of multimodality on ELT materials might support users’ choices and implementation. The review indicates that ELT materials for YLs are based mainly on visual content with the use of writing, typography and layout. The results show that there is a considerable impact of multimodality on ELT materials’ design. The changes refer to cover pages and structure of content, the potential of multimodal materials for heterogeneous YLs, plus a diverse use of modes. The use of modes in ELT materials changes constantly, which has a significant impact on providing input and experience to YLs. This aspect provides an inspiration for further enquiry into the verbal and visual content in ELT materials. This paper focuses only on print ELT materials to indicate the power of image-language relations in generating English content for YLs. Further research may relate to learners’ and teachers’ reflections on materials’ implementation. It is argued that the criteria used in materials evaluation should be designed before writing and designing them and during their development. The author, for example, can ask “To what extent do the materials provide practice for multiliteracy? To what extent do the materials cater for the development of visual literacy? On the one hand, the design and use of ELT materials demand new forms of literacy as an ability to read simultaneously writing, image, typography and layout. On the other hand, the single modes generating meanings on double pages can be read and used for partial learning with dysfunctional children. Multimodality shows that meaning and communication can be realised through different resources and sign systems. Moreover, distance learning and interactive digital media require an interpretation of still and moving images, icons, written and spoken language, screen layout and sounds simultaneously. This field of study related to various modes used in communication stimulates research on the relationship between language, cognition and action. Further research in this area should include the multimodal perspective on ELT materials including evaluation of visual and verbal content in terms of children’s comprehension and navigation of the virtual materials needed for online teaching.

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Appendix: A Checklist for a Multimodal Analysis of ELT Materials for Young Learners Introduction: ELT Material Context and Users’ Background Information 1. What is the target group of young learners? a) Very young learners b) Young learners c) Older young learners 2. What is their level of English? … 3. What cover-pages are offered in ELT coursebooks for YLs?…….. 4. What content is offered within the category of food? a) Unit … b) Project … 5. What content is offered within the category of clothes? a) Unit … b) Project … 6. What content is offered within the category of school? a) Unit … b) Project …

Multimodality of Content: Image-Language Relations Check the content offered and describe multimodality in terms of expansion. 1. What are the examples of concurrence (the image-language agreement and correspondence)? a) The examples of clarification are… b) The examples of exposition are… c) The examples of exemplification are … 2. What are the examples of complementarity (the image-language supplement)? a) The examples of augmentation are … b) The examples of divergence are … 3. What are the examples of enhancement (the image-language enrichment)? a) The examples of manner … b) The examples of condition … c) The examples of space … 4. What are the examples of projection (the image-language presentation)? a) The examples of verbal and non-verbal projection in the context of perception and cognition are … 5. Other comments on image-language relations (please specify): ….

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“Picture This!”: The Educational Value of Illustrations in the Process of Teaching L2 to Young Learners Agata Wolanin

Abstract The significant role that picturebooks play in early L2 education and materials development has been thoroughly discussed in recent years (e.g., Dean & Grierson, 2005; Roser, 2012; Mourão, 2016; Wang & Lin, 2019). One of the most apparent differences between a textbook and a picturebook is the changing dynamics of text and image. One of the major aims of this chapter is to explore the educational potential hidden in the visual aspects of four picturebooks (i.e., Goodnight Moon, The Giving Tree, Little Beauty, and Home). The picturebooks were analysed from a multimodal perspective, which emphasises the multi-layered and interconnected relationship between text and image. The checklist used in the analysis focuses not only on the different roles and functions the analysed images serve in a given picturebook, but more importantly on the possible educational value those visuals could add to an L2 classroom. The paper ends with some more practical considerations on how the analysed illustrations could serve as alternative teaching resources. Keywords L2 teaching materials · Picturebooks · Multimodality · Image-text relationship

1 Introduction Pictures play an important role in the materials design—illustrations are often purposefully placed at the top right corner of a textbook to attract potential customers’ attention, so that the teachers skimming the coursebook could easily spot them (Tomlinson, 2013, p. 31). In this way, the illustrations used in L2 classroom materials, treated as commercial products available on the market, may serve purposes other than educational. Having this particular issue in mind, picturebooks, being cultural artefacts used as authentic materials, may serve as an alternative to what Littlejohn (2012) calls globalised, neo-liberal ELT materials that are characterised A. Wolanin (B) Pedagogical University of Krakow, Kraków, Poland e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_11

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by standardisation and centralisation. This has been one of the main reasons why I decided to choose picturebooks as the objects of my analysis. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to present and discuss the results of a small-scale picturebook analysis that adopted a multimodal perspective to investigating the role and educational value of illustrations. By taking a more practice-oriented approach, the emphasis was placed not only on the intricate relationship between image and text, but, more importantly, on what alternative educational potential the analysed illustrations seem to offer for both L2 students and teachers.

2 Picturebooks in L2 Education There has been a continuous interest in the application of visual materials used in an L2 classroom (Hill, 2013, p. 157), picturebooks being one of the most popular resources. Picturebooks play an important role, particularly in early L2 education, by contributing to L2 learners’ success on four different levels: linguistic, artistic, cultural and social. In the context of language learning, picturebooks are said to be great tools in promoting and developing literacy—by activating schemata and providing relevant context they help students understand the gist better (see Dean & Grierson, 2005; Rokita-Ja´skow, 2015; Walsh, 2003). In the more and more technologically advanced and digitalized classrooms, both Walsh (2003) and Roser (2012) point to the importance of fostering visual literacy—the ability to read images (an issue discussed in some more detail in the subsequent sections). As Wang and Lin (2019) observed in their research project investigating 7thand 8th-graders working on a collaborative project by writing a picturebook, apart from developing literacy skills, picturebooks motivated the students and engaged them in the process. The affective dimension of introducing picturebooks into L2 classrooms contributes to creating a safe space for the younger learners to start thinking creatively. The fact that picturebooks often leave some content “unsaid” stirs learners’ imagination and develops their reflective skills as well (Graham, 2000, p. 62). Cohen and Hegarty (2007), on the other hand, suggest that by operating on both external and internal visualisations, engaging with pictures may very well develop their problem-solving skills. Another significant benefit of employing picturebooks at early educational stages is the cultural value of such materials. As picturebooks are considered cultural artefacts in the first place, it seems natural to delve into their cultural dimension, particularly in a foreign/second language lesson. It has been observed that by engaging with the visual aspect of a book (i.e., authentic images of the representatives of more distant cultures), children exhibit less prejudiced attitudes towards people represented in the book (e.g., Harrington, 2016). Picturebooks can also be used as a means for redefining cultural identities in more multicultural educational contexts (as in the case of Canada, see Hammett & Bainbridge, 2009). For those teachers who work

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in less culturally diverse classrooms, Mourão (2016) provides useful examples of picturebooks that can be used to raise children’s cultural awareness. Finally, picturebooks can be used to establish learners’ social relevance by promoting “an active investigation of society” (Owens & Nowell, 2001, p. 34). Sharing the space together, discussing the story, sharing perspectives, inspiring one another—all this develops children’s social skills, so dearly needed in the digitalised 21st-century classroom. But more importantly, picturebooks may serve as a trigger for raising questions and critically approaching the way people/objects/events are represented. Since storytelling and picturebooks are powerful tools in the way moral values are presented and imprinted in children (Collins, 2010, p. 177), it seems vital that L2 teachers in particular are ready to encourage younger learners to challenge and question seemingly obvious images portrayed in picturebooks. Such critical readings of picturebooks (Gritter et al., 2017) may be instrumental in serving the transformational and liberating role of education (see Freire, 1970, 1974; Giroux, 1993).

3 Text-Image Relationship—Multimodal Perspective Along the proliferation of different terms used to refer to picturebooks in general (see Mourão, 2016, p. 26), there is also an abundance of various definitions (for an overview see Bateman, 2014). What most of these definitions have in common is the intricate relationship between image and text and, what Nikolajeva and Scott (2001) call, “two separate sign systems, the iconic and the conventional” (p. 1). In a similar vein, Bateman (2014) points to the need to look for a common ground for comparison of those two modes. As a result of this interdependence, best illustrated by the metalanguage used to talk about picturebooks spelled as a compound noun to highlight the interdependence of the visual and the textual (Lewis, 2001, p. xiv), picturebooks represent a bimodal form of language materials (Painter et al., 2013). Due to the fact that picturebooks operate on those two modalities, the relationship between text and image has been given much consideration (for an overview of typologies see Fitriani et al., 2019). One of the possible ways to see this connection is that of two independent channels that serve two separate purposes: words are used to name, describe, and generalise, whereas pictures aim at showing emotions and feelings (Graham, 2000, p. 61). This approach, however, has its limitations, as the relationship between words and pictures seems to be much more complex. This would be the reason why some argue that there is a certain dependence between text and image. As Bateman (2014) observes, the interdependence between text and image appears to be “loosely coordinated” (p. 81). Owens and Nowell (2001), on the other hand, claim that the word-image relationship constitutes a form of coexistence or symbiosis. From this perspective, the textual and the visual both function within the dimension of complementarity—the text is amplified and enhanced by the pictures, and vice versa. Painter et al. (2013) take the definition one step further by implying the text-image relationship may be viewed as contentious, where these two

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modalities compete with each other. What this particular approach highlights is the apparent tension between the visual and the textual. According to Nodelman (1988, p. 196) pictures do not compete with the text, but rather change its meaning. An interesting insight into this intricate interdependence is offered by the multimodal perspective, which focuses on different modes of expression (such as text, image, sound, movement, etc.) and their meaning making potential, or what Bateman (2014, p. 5) refers to as meaning multiplication. A perfect illustration of multimodal learning materials can be digital storytelling (see, e.g., Campbell, 2012; Darvin & Norton, 2014; López-Bech & Zúñiga, 2017), where the meaning making potential can be found within various dimensions (pictures, films, recordings, narratives, music, etc.). As the present paper focuses on the role of illustrations in the use of picturebooks in an L2 classroom, the functionality of images will be further discussed in the following section.

3.1 Deciphering Images One of the major aims of the multimodal approach is to establish credibility and truth value of a given message channelled through a particular mode. In the case of images, Kress and van Leeuwen (1996) offer a detailed conceptual framework that is designed to describe and explain the meanings hidden behind images. Their visual grammar provides a set of “rules” that can be applied to reading images and seeking validity (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1996, p. 154). To illustrate it with an example, pictures can be analysed and interpreted differently based on the left or right side they appear on: the images placed on the left typically introduce a given piece of information, whereas the visuals put on the right side present the viewers with the new, allowing them to make predictions about what could be seen on the following page. There are numerous implications based on in-depth analyses of picturebooks and illustrated stories (see Painter et al., 2013; Rose, 2016; Unsworth & Wheeler, 2002). Once the narrative capacity of illustrations is recognised, it is possible to differentiate between three types of meanings hidden behind the images (Unsworth & Wheeler, 2002, pp. 69–70), namely: a) referential, i.e., those representing events, objects and/or agents; b) interpersonal/interactive, i.e., those establishing a relationship between an image and its viewer; c) and compositional, i.e., those highlighting information that is sent by drawing viewers’ attention to particular elements of the layout. Considering the multimodal nature of images in the context of L2 teaching and learning, it seems important to highlight different functions images fulfil in L2 materials development. For the purposes of the present paper, I will refer to four major roles illustrations play in my analysis of picturebooks, specifically:

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1) contextual, i.e., providing relevant background knowledge for the learners by activating schemata; 2) functional, i.e., making comprehension easier by amplifying and elaborating on the textual contribution; 3) reactive, i.e., stimulating language production by actively responding to the visual content; 4) decorative, i.e., contributing aesthetically. It seems important to note that there is a high probability that images in a given picturebook may carry more than one meaning and may, consequently, play more than one role. It is, however, crucial to decipher the complex layers that comprise the image-text relationship, which is one of the key aims of the analysis, introduced and described below.

4 The Visual Input of Picturebooks in Teaching Young Learners—Analysis One of the major aims of the mini-project is to explore the educational potential of the visuals used in picturebooks addressed to young learners that is usually hidden behind the multiple layers of meaning. In an effort to achieve this aim, I would like to adopt the multimodal perspective, which highlights the complexity of the meaning making process and allows for a more in-depth analysis of the teaching materials. In this way, the gap between theory and practice can be further bridged. In the present research project I have focused on four English picturebooks that can be used in L2 lessons targeted at young learners; these are: Goodnight Moon by Wise Brown, The Giving Tree by Silverstein, Little Beauty by Browne, and Home by Ellis (see Table 1). The process of selecting picturebooks for analysis was informed by the need to ensure diversity, and involved the following criteria: diversity of visual representations, year of publishing, a variety of topics presented, target readership, popularity and availability. As far as the final criterion is concerned, all of the analysed materials are part of my own collection of picturebooks, which can be employed in working with younger students. The main research tool used in the picturebook analysis is a checklist (see Appendix) designed specifically for the purposes of this small-scale study. Having analysed other tools used in similar projects, Rose’s (2016, pp. 374–375) questions served as a starting point for designing the tool. As a result, four major questions emerged from the process, all of which revolve around the importance of illustrations in the use of picturebooks in an L2 lesson, namely: 1. What do the visuals present? 2. What is the type of meaning conveyed by the pictures? 3. What is the role of the visuals in relation to the text? How do the visuals stimulate the students?

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Table 1 About the picturebooks Title

Goodnight Moon

The Giving Tree

Little Beauty

Home

Author

Margaret Wise Brown

Shel Silverstein

Anthony Browne

Carson Ellis

Year of publishing

1947

1964

2009

2015

Publisher

HarperCollins Publishers

Particular Books (Penguin Group)

Walker

Walker

Main theme

A little rabbit trying to fall asleep is saying goodnight to all the things and people in his surrounding

A story about a relationship between a boy and a tree who accompanied and supported the boy selflessly throughout his life

A story about a peculiar friendship between a kitten and a gorilla

A whirlwind tour around different types of homes and people who live there

Target reader

2–3 years old

9–11 years old

3–5 years old and/or adults

6–8 years old

4. What else can be done with the pictures? How can they be used creatively to maximize their potential? What educational resources are hidden behind the illustrations? The first question deals with the first layer of the visual representation and the process of “reading” illustrations present in the picturebooks (see Painter et al., 2013). The second question inquiries about the different types of meaning hidden behind images (following Unsworth & Wheeler, 2002). Next, the emphasis is placed on the relationship between text and image, discussed in more detail in the previous section. Finally, the potential educational value of the analysed images is examined and discussed. The answers can be sought after in the following sections presenting the results of the picturebook analysis.

4.1 Goodnight Moon The oldest picturebook from the shortlisted selection, which has been recognised as a classic children’s book, is a bedtime story titled Goodnight Moon (for a short description see Table 1). The main focus of the picturebook is the little rabbit’s room and the many objects and people he says goodnight to before falling asleep. The main character lying in bed is placed on the right side of the double-page spread. What immediately catches readers’ attention is the alternating shift of focus between the background (i.e., the room covering the double-page spread) and the details (i.e., the objects that can be found in the room). There is a visible recurring pattern: the room

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is always in colour, while the objects are in black-and-white. The ambience of the room is also changing; it is getting darker and darker in the room as the night sets in. Apart from the referential meaning manifested in representing different objects that belong to the rabbit, the images also carry the compositional meaning. By changing the gradient and size of the objects, the images draw viewers’ attention to particular elements of the bigger picture. The illustrations, therefore, serve two major roles: contextual, as the picture of the room offers the background knowledge and context for the whole narrative, and functional, as the images of particular objects support the caption below. Since it belongs to the type of bedtime stories, the picturebook adopts the form of a lullaby with the repetitive, almost hypnotising pattern. Even though, on the face of it, there is little going on in terms of the narrative, the picturebook hides much additional resources that could be discovered and later used by the teachers. Firstly, there is a small mouse that is the only element of the picture that changes places in the room, once it is on the windowsill, later it moves in front of the fireplace, etc. That is why it may serve as a good prompt to introduce or revise prepositions of place. Another small detail that is easily overlooked is the clock; in fact, there are two clocks in the room: one on the mantelpiece, the other on a bedside table. As the readers turn the pages, the clocks show different time. It might be a good opportunity to introduce discourse markers and structures used while asking for time. Finally, the picturebook might be a springboard for a role play—children saying goodbye to all the things in the classroom, or in their own bedrooms. The repetitive patterns give structure and framework for their own “stories”. It could also be possible to compare the things they have in their rooms with the one presented in the picturebook, in this way encouraging more interaction with its content.

4.2 The Giving Tree Another classic on the list is The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (for some details concerning the picturebook, see Table 1). The illustrations focus on the two main protagonists—a tree and a boy who grow old together as time goes by, with each page. As far as the visual aspects are concerned, the picturebook is illustrated with black-and-white drawings. The tree is introduced first on the left side and reappears on the following pages predominantly on the left, whereas the boy is centred on the right. The drawings are focused on the movement: leaves are falling from the tree, the boy is swinging on the branches, moving from one side to the other. This constant motion represents the ebb-and-flow relationship that symbolises the paternal and selfless love for a child. There are two major types of meaning that can be attributed to the visuals of The Giving Tree, namely: referential and interpersonal/interactive. The drawings focus on presenting the main protagonists and their activities in the first place, yet the visible movement of the tree and the gradual transformation from a young, full-fledged tree,

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to an old stump makes the reader identify and sympathise with the personalised tree, inviting interaction. The meaning-making process behind the drawings is tightly connected with the textual layer of the picturebook. The drawings, on the one hand, support the content of the text—they clearly enhance and amplify the narrative. On the other hand, there is much that is unsaid and could only be implied and imagined. The relation between image and text is also visible in the way the words are distributed; for instance, the older the boy gets, the more text there is. The picturebook begins with very short and concise sentences and ends with longer passages of the text. Another example can be observed in the graphic placement of the text—when the leaves are falling from the tree, the text is written as if the words fell from the tree as well. This implies that the relationship between the visual and the textual in this picturebook is not incidental. Finally, as far as the creative potential of the illustrations is concerned, it can be stated that the black-and-white drawings invite interaction—a young reader would most probably feel the urge to colour them and add to the ambience of the illustrations. In a similar vein, there are 8 blank pages left at the end of the book. This space could encourage young learners to draw something on their own; by doing so, children could, for example, present an alternative ending to the story. By stirring their imagination, teachers can moderate the lesson in such a way that some new linguistic content could be revised or introduced.

4.3 Little Beauty Little Beauty by Anthony Browne (for details see Table 1) is the visually true opposite to The Giving Tree as it offers illustrations which overwhelmingly dominate the textual layer, owing to its big format and large-scale drawings. The book revolves around the activities a gorilla and a kitten do together and the feelings they articulate. It is worth highlighting that the drawings are very detailed and masterfully executed. Colours play an important role in amplifying the emotional states of both protagonists, e.g., red for anger, yellow for happiness, white for fear, etc. Compared to the previous two picturebooks, there are pages with much space left or no text at all in Little Beauty. The emphasis is placed on the reactive meaning— the readers respond to a variety of feelings the gorilla experiences. It is also the first example of a picturebook that serves not only the contextual and reactive, but also a decorative role; by leaving some pages wordless, readers can concentrate on the purely aesthetic aspects of the picturebook. The aesthetic value of the picturebook would be appreciated by older readers more, which turns it into an asset—even though the textual layer of the picturebook is addressed to pre-school children, adults can also find something for themselves. The hidden potential of the illustrations included in Little Beauty lies in their subtle cultural references, which make it a book that could be read to young children as well as teenagers and young adults. There are many examples of small details that offer a comic relief for the older audience, e.g., the gorilla watching TV, sipping coffee

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and eating a hamburger in a room wallpapered with a pattern resembling the style of William Morris. Another important cultural reference appears when the gorilla becomes very upset watching “Godzilla”. There is also one intertextual reference to a famous painting “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by Pieter Bruegel—the painting hangs on a wall in a room where the gorilla and the kitten are playing by swinging on a ceiling lamp. The author clearly winks knowingly at an adult reader. The picturebook could be, therefore, used with teenage learners to introduce popcultural references—it is also a golden opportunity to create a cross-curricular lesson combining language, art, history and literature.

4.4 Home The last analysed picturebook entitled Home is written and illustrated by a wellknown illustrator, Carson Ellis (details about the picturebook are presented in Table 1). What makes this picturebook different from those analysed above is the fact that there is no main protagonist and no particular storyline—the picturebook consists of a series of poster-like pages. The narrative focuses on the concept of home and the creatures who live there (people, animals, imaginary characters). The picturebook stirs readers’ imagination by focusing not only on typical types of houses or flats, but also on some more abstract places (such as the Moon or Atlantis). The ambience of the book is almost dream-like owing to the dominance of subdued colours, such as grey or brown. The illustrator paid much attention to the details, and although it seems at first that each picture is independent from the other, there are recurring elements that connect those poster-like images (e.g., a pigeon, a cup of coffee, socks, patterns, plants, etc.). The images provide a visual representation of the places introduced in the textual layer, but more importantly, they focus on the inhabitants of those spaces. The people are usually presented in action, involved in a variety of activities that can activate schemata and background knowledge necessary to understand the meaning conveyed by the text. The verbal dimension is very limited (from 2 to 8 words per page) and readers’ attention is drawn to the aesthetically pleasing drawings. Thanks to the recurring elements that reappear throughout the picturebook, it is possible to place emphasis on the details and adopt the perspective of the other. The original pictures trigger imagination and allow teachers to introduce some more abstract elements of an L2 lesson, such as intercultural education. Apart from the different nationalities and ethnicities presented in the pictures, there are many abstract places and people, which make the story much more inclusive. There is one moment in the picturebook where two images, a French lady and Atlantians are mirrored. This particular mechanism introduces the other (here represented by an imagined nationality) as equal to a well-known and familiar nationality. In this way attitudes of openness and acceptance can be promoted while reading the book to students. It should be emphasised here that cultural elements of L2 education should be introduced at the early stages as well.

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5 The Educational Value of Illustrations—Concluding Remarks The central aim of the picturebook analysis was to investigate the educational potential of illustrations, which could be, at first glance, considered as a mere addition to the text. Pictures used as space fillers that serve no particular purpose and are usually treated as a decorative element of the book represent, what Hill (2013) calls, “lost opportunities” (p. 161). All visuals, even those serving solely decorative purposes, can be employed in the process of L2 teaching, as they open up the possibility to interpret the meaning in numerous ways (Mourão, 2016, p. 29). The analysed picturebooks hide immense educational resources. The various means of augmenting the visual potential can be organised into four separate categories, namely: a) b) c) d)

nuanced (e.g., Goodnight Moon), artistic (e.g., The Giving Tree), Easter egg (e.g., Little Beauty), kaleidoscopic (e.g., Home).

The first category is characterised by the seemingly latent visual potential of a picturebook—the reader needs to dive deeper to notice the details and nuances hidden in the images. As it can be observed in Goodnight Moon, only an observant reader will be able to see more than just a bedtime story and use its capacity to introduce new vocabulary items, as well as grammatical and discourse structures. The second category represents picturebooks that offer an artistic, interactive and more creative approach to reading a story. By interacting with the drawings, learners engage with the story on a more personal level and are encouraged to contribute something creative to the story. The Giving Tree can be a perfect example of how the blank pages left at the end of the picturebook can invite children to think of their own, alternative ending to the story. This seems to fall in line with what Gangwer (2009) emphasised in his 6 fundaments of visual learning, i.e.: to investigate, to chronicle, to express, to communicate, to inspire, and to envision. The Easter egg category highlights the subtle cultural references expressed in the form of a wink to the older audience—teachers or parents reading to their younger children. As it was shown in Little Beauty, this particular picturebook crosses the boundaries of age and can be used both in teaching pre-school learners and adult students. The picturebook is rich in intertextual and interdisciplinary references that can serve as a springboard for introducing topics unrelated to the main story, which is, nonetheless, timeless and heart-warming. The final category embraces picturebooks that, just as Home does, offer an abundance of various images and details. The intricately ornamented illustrations make a kaleidoscopic impression; yet when we focus on particular elements of the bigger picture, it opens up the whole possibility to connect the dots and discover new layers of meaning.

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The illustrations included in all four picturebooks provide a great opportunity to explore alternative resources in images that, on the surface, support the textual layer. The multimodal approach stresses the intricate, dynamic and tense relationship between text and image, which makes it possible to uncover the multi-layered and complex potential of illustrations, particularly in the L2 educational context. In the future research endeavours it would be interesting to investigate children’s reactions to the analysed picturebooks, focusing on the visual component. The emotional aspect of the visuals should not be underestimated. Furthermore, it would also seem relevant to confront the identified functions of the illustrations with the real-life classroom practice in an effort to verify the effectiveness of analysed picturebooks in L2 education.

Appendix: Research Tool—A Checklist Used to Analyse the Selected Picturebooks No.

Criteria

1.

What do the visuals present?

2.

3.

4.

What is the type of meaning conveyed by the picture?

Comments a.

character depiction

b.

ambience

c.

framing

a.

referential

b.

interpersonal/reactive

c.

compositional

What is the role of the a. visuals in relation to the text? b. How do the visuals stimulate c. the students? d.

contextual functional reactive decorative

What else can be done with the pictures? How can they be used creatively to maximize their potential? What educational resources are hidden behind the illustrations?

References Bateman, J. A. (2014). Text and image: A critical introduction to the visual/verbal divide. New York: Routledge.

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Campbell, T. A. (2012). Digital storytelling in an elementary classroom: Going beyond entertainment. Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69, 385–393. Cohen, C. A., & Hegarty, M. (2007). Individual differences in use of external visualisations to perform an internal visualisation task. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 701–711. Collins, L. (2010). Autonomy and authorship: Storytelling in children’s picture books. Hypatia, 25(1), 174–195. Daniel, A. K. (2012). Storytelling across the primary curriculum. London and New York: Routledge. Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2014). Transnational identity and migrant language learners: The promise of digital storytelling. Education Matters, 2(1), 55–66. Dean, D., & Grierson, S. (2005). Re-envisioning reading and writing through combined-text picture books. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 48(6), 456–468. Fitriani, S. S., Erdiana, N., & Samad, I. A. (2019). Visual representations and comprehension: The exploration of image-word relations and types of designs. International Journal of Language Education, 3(2), 27–40. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Freire, P. (1974). Education for critical consciousness. New York: Continuum. Gangwer, T. (2009). Visual impact, visual teaching: Using images to strengthen learning. London: Sage. Giroux, H. A. (1993). Living dangerously: Multiculturalism and the politics of difference. New York: Peter Lang. Graham, J. (2000). Creativity and picture books. Reading, 34(2), 61–67. Gritter, K., Van Duinen, D. V., Montgomery, K., Blowers, D., & Bishop, D. (2017). Boy troubles? Male literacy depictions in children’s choices picture books. The Reading Teacher, 70(5), 571– 581. Hammett, R., & Bainbridge, J. (2009). Pre-service teachers explore cultural identity and ideology through picture books. Literacy, 43(3), 152–159. Harrington, J. M. (2016). “We’re all kids!” Picture books and cultural awareness. The Social Studies, 107(6), 244–256. Hill, D. A. (2013). The visual elements in EFL coursebooks. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing materials for language teaching (pp. 157–166). London: Bloomsbury. Kress, G. R., & Van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading images: The grammar of visual design. London and New York: Routledge. Lewis, D. (2001). Reading contemporary picturebooks: Picturing text. Abingdon: Routledge Falmer. Littlejohn, A. (2012). Language teaching materials and the (very) big picture. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 9(1), 283–297. López-Bech, L., & Zúñiga, R. (2017). Digital storytelling: Putting young asylum seekers at the heart of the story. Intercultural Education, 28(2), 224–228. Mourão, S. (2016). Picturebooks in the primary EFL classroom: Authentic literature for an authentic response. CLELE Journal, 4(1), 25–43. Nikolajeva, M., & Scott, C. (2001). How picturebooks work. London: Routledge. Nodelman, P. (1988). Words about pictures: The narrative art of children’s picture books. Athens and London: University of Georgia Press. Owens, W. T., & Nowell, L. S. (2001). More than just pictures: Using picture story books to broaden young learners’ social consciousness. The Social Studies, 92(1), 33–40. Painter, C., Martin, J. R., & Unsworth, L. (2013). Reading visual narratives. London: Equinox. Rokita-Ja´skow, J. (2015). Using storybooks as a catalyst for negotiating meaning and enhancing speaking among very young learners of L2: Evidence from a case study. In M. Pawlak & E. Waniek-Klimczak (Eds.), Issues in teaching, learning and testing speaking in a second language (pp. 205–217). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials. London: Sage.

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Roser, N. (2012). Looking, thinking, talking, reading, writing, playing…images. Language Arts, 89(6), 405–414. Tomlinson, B. (2013). Materials evaluation. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing materials for language teaching (pp. 21–48). London: Bloomsbury. Unsworth, L., & Wheeler, J. (2002). Re-valuing the role of images in reviewing picture books. Reading, 36(2), 68–74. Walsh, M. (2003). ‘Reading’ pictures: What do they reveal? Young children’s reading of visual texts. Reading, 37(3), 123–130. Wang, H., & Lin, M. (2019). Linking reading and writing with picture books: A literacy buddy approach in rural Taiwan. TESOL Journal, 10(3), 1–5.

Picturebooks Browne, A. (2009). Little beauty. London: Walker. Ellis, C. (2015). Home. London: Walker. Silverstein, S. (1964). The giving tree. London: Particular Books. Wise Brown, M. (1947). Goodnight moon (Renewed ed.). New York: HarperCollins.

Corpus-Based Evaluation of Textbook Content: A Case of Russian Language Primary School Textbooks for Migrants Maria Lebedeva, Tatyana Veselovskaya, Olga Kupreshchenko, and Antonina Laposhina

Abstract The textbook is considered to be the main medium of language learning and the main tool for differentiation in classrooms with language and cultural diversity. The number of such heterogeneous classrooms has significantly increased during the last decades in Russian primary schools due to the growth in the population of migrant children in Russia (mostly from the former Central Asian republics of the USSR). Given this fact, it seems important to review and refine requirements for modern textbooks, which are intended to be a relevant tool for developing language proficiency and literacy of migrant children. Therefore, language experts and teachers need a revised model for objective language textbook evaluation that addresses current educational challenges. This paper presents a new framework for evaluation of educational content based on a conception of the ‘textbook as a corpus’. With qualitative and quantitative methods, this framework assesses such features as textbook language, cultural aspects of its content and illustrative material contained within a textbook. For this purpose, a Text-Image Russian Textbooks Corpus (TIRTEC) for primary school children with different language proficiency in Russian (first, heritage, additional, non-native, second, foreign) has been created and annotated. All Russian language coursebooks can be divided into three types: for L1 (students with Russian as a first language), FL (students studying Russian as a foreign language out of Russian community) and L2 (students studying Russian as a second, third, etc. language within Russian environment). In this paper, we focus on a detailed analysis of Russian textbooks for migrant children, who learn Russian in Russia. The textbook series selected were evaluated with such parameters as text diversity, vocabulary input, readability, and visual and cultural (including pragmatic) aspects. By analyzing data collected from these books according to the selected criteria assessed by corpus linguistic methods, one can show the level of complexity and comprehensibility of the educational materials, reveal the methodological design of the textbook, and determine the congruence with the educational needs of the multicultural young language learners.

M. Lebedeva · T. Veselovskaya (B) · O. Kupreshchenko · A. Laposhina Language and Cognition Laboratory, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Moscow, Russia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 J. Rokita-Ja´skow and A. Wolanin (eds.), Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education, Second Language Learning and Teaching, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66022-2_12

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Keywords The Russian language · Russian as a second language · Textbook corpus · Textbooks for migrants · Educational text · Text-image corpus

1 Introduction Modern educational institutions are marked by the increasing heterogeneity of their learners, and one of the key factors in this trend is an increase in migration. In 2015, across OECD countries, on average 12.5% of students had an immigrant background, up from 9.4% in 2006, and they received education in a language that differed from their mother tongue (OECD, 2016). In a learning environment, the ability to successfully communicate and acquire knowledge in multiple languages is an indispensable, yet challenging skill for primary school learners. Different language proficiency and abilities of children in one class has also become a great challenge for teachers who should provide an optimum learning environment for everyone. Currently, data on how many children (aged 7–15) of “foreign origin” attend Russian schools and their level of Russian language proficiency is fragmentary. According to Alexandrov et al. (2015), the percentage of such children in modern Russian schools ranges from 4 to 16% and is increasing each year. Although students are very heterogeneous, at least two main groups can be identified—migrant children from other countries than Russia and citizens of Russia with mother tongues other than Russian. Regarding the former group, there are no exact numbers of how many children with migrant or refugee backgrounds study at schools across Russia, but we know certain information on big cities. For example, during the 2018–2019 academic year, about sixty thousand migrant children from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Moldova (the leading migrant supplying countries to Russia) studied in Moscow schools (6.1% of the total number of students in Moscow). Regarding the latter group, a significant number of people from some federal subjects of Russia adopt Russian as a non-native language, although Russian remains a state language for all regions in Russian Federation. According to the Census (2010), as many as 14–15% Russian citizens noted they do not speak the state language. Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Altai, Dagestan are mostly known as the linguistic diversity hotspots of Russia (Marten et al., 2015). In these regions, national languages have a different alphabet and type of language, which adds extra difficulties in acquiring Russian language. Within the global context, migrant children belong to a group of students with special educational needs (OECD, 2015). Hence, migrant children need support to achieve the appropriate educational outcome and integrate—linguistically and culturally—into their new communities. Support refers to any necessary adjustment to teaching and educational services relating to cultural, environmental or other aspects of their life. However, the number of special schools for migrants is not increasing, extra Russian classes are provided selectively, and statistics about Russian proficiency levels within this group are not collected overall (Klimenko, 2014). Mitigating

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problems of multicultural interaction, creating and maintaining an encouraging environment and providing tools (particularly Russian language textbooks) for young language learners (YLL) are issues highly relevant for Russia. Textbooks, as an important educational tool and, frequently, the basis for a curriculum, play a key role in achieving this objective. It is crucial that coursebooks facilitate learners’ progress and move students towards the main objective of language acquisition, i.e., acquiring language competence (Cunningsworth, 1995). As Mikk (2000) noted, a good textbook makes it possible to lay down a deep and solid knowledge. However, it is not completely obvious what constitutes a textbook quality. In Russia, CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is used as a basis for adult L2 learners, but there are no adaptations of CEFR for children. Also, there is a lack of precise requirements in state documents defining what particular vocabulary should be used in school textbooks for L1 and L2 and how difficult texts and explanations should be (e.g., Pedagogical and ergonomic requirements for means of education (Apparovich et al., 2000) state that text should be both clear and interesting enough for target students—but how to achieve it?). Accordingly, research on textbooks’ content is needed to provide guidance for authors in designing a modern textbook. Some features of textbooks evolved unintentionally, but they have a significant impact (positive and negative) on their target audience. For example, authors do not realise how many texts about birds are used until they are shown comparative vocabulary statistics. Some key concerns with language textbooks (accessibility, content, structure, and authenticity) were highlighted and basic criteria for a textbook evaluation system were proposed by experts (i.e., Cunningsworth, 1995; Sheldon, 1988; Tomlinson, 2009). The content of a language textbook is determined by the methodological approach chosen by textbook authors, but at the same time, it can strongly influence the presentation of the specific methodology. Accessibility and authenticity of the textbook are highly important for students’ language learning process as they help maintain motivation. Corresponding to the rapidly changing circumstances of language learning, methods of textbook analysis are also developing rapidly.

2 Related Work In the teaching and learning process of any subject, a textbook is the main training tool. Sheldon (1988) believes that textbooks have the potential to serve different purposes for teachers. They are a core resource for presentation of materials, a source of supplemental materials, inspiration for classroom activities and tasks, and resources for self-directed learning. One of the basic functions of textbooks is to make existing knowledge available and apparent to learners in a selected and well-organized way. Evaluating textbooks means making judgments of appropriateness based on certain criteria. Sheldon (1988) provides two main reasons for the need to evaluate textbooks. First, the evaluation is expected to help the teacher select the most

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appropriate textbook for his or her audience. Second, the evaluation provides information about the strengths and weaknesses of the textbook, which can help teachers to make appropriate modifications and adaptations. Several experts have published textbook evaluation criteria, such as Cunningsworth (1995), Sheldon (1988), and Tomlinson (2009). Sheldon (1988) focuses precisely on content factors such as accessibility, layout, and authenticity and suggests a checklist based on 17 major criteria. Cunningsworth (1995) emphasizes the importance of general criteria for textbook evaluation, which included 45 criteria in 8 categories: aims and approaches, design/organization, language content, study skills, topic, methodology, teacher’s book, and practical considerations. Tomlinson (2005) defines material evaluation as a procedure that involves measuring the value of a set of learning materials. Despite recognition of the evaluative measures needed, Sheldon (1988) noted dissatisfaction with the “uneven quality” of these “evaluative tools”, stating the lack of any standardized global checklist or approach to materials analysis. Accessibility is one of the most obvious and basic characteristics of educational texts, especially when designed for primary schools with a highly diverse schooling audience. Vygotsky (1962) identified the development of higher-order cognitive functions, including linguistic skills based on the connection between thought and language, highlighting the importance of the understandability of explanations, instructions, and texts. The clearer the language used, the more successfully the learners can acquire the target language. Hence, researchers focused on the language in textbooks (Andon & Wingate, 2013; Mikk, 2000; Morgan, 2004). However, as O’Keeffe (2013) said, “while many researchers acknowledge the need for language analysis to be embedded in such methods of textbook analysis it remains disengaged” (p. 2). Careful language analysis is especially important in language textbook evaluation, which requires an in-depth look at textbooks’ content in order to investigate such aspects as the kinds and readability levels of texts, sets of vocabulary, and visual materials based on their complexity. Readability refers to “how easily written materials can be read and understood” (Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p. 482) and is particularly useful in studies of collocational patterns and word frequency. Klare (1963) found that suitable readability levels increased the effectiveness of text in over 68% of the cases investigated. Glynn and Britton (1986) found that frequency of words and sentence length played a vital role in students’ ability to acquire knowledge, the time spent reading the text and the mental effort it took to read and understand the text. Assessing text quality using automatic analysis of language data allows measuring educational texts’ parameters objectively (Peksoy & Harmaoglu, 2017; Zhang et al., 2018) and conducting expert linguistic research. To drive an objective analysis of the lexical material, it is necessary to collect a relevant corpus of textbooks. Corpora present information on the frequency of particular linguistic features in textbooks’ verbal content. Therefore, corpus findings can be an ideal starting point for evaluating coursebook content and the way in which content is organized. Currently, analysis of a collection of textbooks is widely used in research and the creation of educational materials—mainly in English (Boulton, 2017; Islam, 2014; McEnery & Xiao, 2010; Peksoy & Harmaoglu, 2017; Tribble, 2015), or in other languages, e.g., in Japanese

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(Sato et al., 2008). However, the researchers did not address Russian educational materials. To develop students’ multicultural perspectives at school, a textbook is supposed to be a platform that introduces such features as cultural diversity and tolerance. The sets of cultural components reflected in textbooks are explicitly/implicitly delivered to learners as a “hidden curriculum” (Chao, 2011; Cunningsworth, 1995). Culture-related content can be shown in verbal and visual textbook elements. Ren and Han (2016) argued that pragmatic content is not adequately established in English language textbooks. Kim and Paek (2015) also noted “imbalances in the representation of cultural contents” (p. 85), yet the representation of culture-related materials influences learners’ views of different cultures. Thus, it is of interest to evaluate how cultural and pragmatic components are revealed in Russian-language textbooks for migrants. The detailed quantitative analysis sheds light on the types of cultural content and the appropriateness of its organization.

3 Materials and Methods 3.1 Research Aims and Research Questions The present study focuses on the content evaluation of the full series of textbooks for migrants and immigrants edited by F. F. Aznabayeva et al. (2014–2018) for primary schools (from the ABC book for the 1st grade to the 4th grade). These textbooks aim at multi-ethnic students according to the Russian Educational Standard for primary schools and are approved for use at all Russian state schools. These textbooks are used both for students who study together in the same class with Russian-origin children and for students who study in separate classes with special programs for foreign-origin children. The study has been conducted on Russian language textbooks for migrant children. It aims to present a framework of textbook analysis focusing on verbal and visual educational content based on corpus linguistic methods and to answer the following research questions: RQ1. What parameters assessed by corpus linguistic methods should be included in the textbook evaluation? RQ2. According to these parameters, how does the coursebook series for migrant children (Azanbayeva et al., 2014–2018) respond to the learners’ needs?

3.2 Instruments and Procedure In order to apply and test the framework, a Text-Image Russian Textbook Corpus for primary school (1th-4th grade, ages 7–10) has been compiled (referred to as

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TIRTEC hereafter). Within TIRTEC, textbook content has been annotated according to a specially developed set of textbook analytical tags. Currently, TIRTEC consists of 50 manually annotated textbooks (comprising about 770,000 tokens—words and punctuation symbols). To include the impact of multimodality on the educational materials, the verbal and non-verbal components of textbooks were included. Thus, the corpus may be defined as a “text-image corpus” (Mohd Yasin et al., 2012; Tirilly et al., 2010) as it focuses on the interconnection of text-image modalities. Compiling the corpus involved several consecutive steps: (1) textbook selection; (2) textbook structure annotation; (3) textbook content annotation. As a first step, a list of textbooks for primary school officially approved by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation was drawn up. Also, in the selection step, the survey was conducted among teachers, methodologists, parents, and students in order to select the most popular and pertinent textbooks. All selected textbooks were digitized in order to easily access all text fragments as data sets for annotation and analysis. Second, specific annotation tags were developed and manually applied to structure, visual and cultural components, and language content. Additionally, metatext information was provided (grade, target audience, authors, etc.). This annotation includes not only the elements of textbook structure but also typological annotation of the visual component of the educational material (including decorative elements, font type). Moreover, a market was assigned to each illustration and educational text according to cultural connotation. If some parameters are not significant for the structural item, the text does not have these annotation tags, instead hyphens are used, i.e., original text of instructions. Table 1 shows the annotation set for educational texts. Having been annotated, TIRTEC permits automated analysis by natural language processing systems and statistical tools. For detailed vocabulary analysis of textbooks, we used word frequency lists and comparing corpora tools provided by SketchEngine platform. Words frequency lists Table 1 Fragment of TIRTEC annotation Annotation items

Text 1

Text

Pacckaжi o tancax cvoego napoda. Bez tpyda ne vytawitb i pybky iz ppyda. ‘No sweet without some Kak oni nazyvaюtcя? ‘Tell us about your nation’s dances. What are sweat.’ they called?’

Structure

Instruction

Text organization –

Text 2

Exercise text Prose

Dialogue

No

No

Text origin

–

Authentic

Author’s name

–

Folklore

Illustration

Navigation

Graphics

Culture (verbal)

Yes. Mixed type

Yes. Russian culture

Culture (visual)

No

No

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are widely used in a textbook analysis field as a quick way to get the big picture of textual content of the coursebook, to find the key words and perhaps to discover some peculiarities or abnormalities (Alcaraz-Mármol, 2009; Lipinski, 2010). In compiling the frequency lists, we used the lemma attribute, that is, the frequency was computed for all morphological forms of the word. All other basic calculations (general quantity of vocabulary input in a textbook; vocabulary growth in each grade; repetition of vocabulary across all the books of a series; readability scores) was carried out by means of the SciPy, statistics package for Python. The corpus-based framework for textbook content evaluation is based on such criteria as follows: text diversity, vocabulary input, language readability, visual and cultural (including pragmatic) components. The procedure of assessing each criterion is described in detail below. A corpus-based approach allows estimating diversity of: (1) text organization (prose or poetry), (2) types of speech presented in text (monologue or dialogue), (3) text types in terms of text origin (authentic, adapted or constructed for the purpose of language teaching), and (4) texts’ authors. Regarding language textbooks for migrants, their vocabulary profile may be determined along several dimensions: (1) general quantity of vocabulary input in a textbook; (2) vocabulary growth in each grade; (3) repetition of vocabulary across all the books of a series; (4) a frequency rating of textbook vocabulary. Vocabulary input should correlate with the concept of a textbook as a container of vocabulary input (Thornbury, 2002) and imply that the most frequent words in the national language should prevail among other words in the textbook. Accessibility of textbook content is particularly essential for migrant children who study along with their L1 peers. The widely used Flesch readability formula (Flesch, 1974) was chosen to estimate the readability of text content in the series of textbooks for migrant children. As most such formulae, it was developed for English texts, and it needed to be adapted. Thus, we used the Flesch formula in Oborneva’s version for Russian (Oborneva, 2006): FLESCH (Oborneva) = 206.836 − 60.1 ∗ AWL − 1.3 ∗ ASL Where FLESCH (Oborneva) is a difficulty rating of a text; AWL—the average number of syllables per word; ASL is the average sentence length. It is important to note that Oborneva’s formula does not consider the vocabulary aspect of complexity. The amount of culture-related content within a textbook should be considerable to sustain the student’s process of socialization and adaptation as members of another community (Kramsch, 1993). Illustrations and texts are divided into two groups: zero (neutral) culture-related content and culture-related content. In this study, culturerelated content is distinguished into three categories: Russian culture, another culture, and mixed representation of culture-related content. A significant number of studies address the issues of the effect of illustrations on the perception of educational texts (Carney & Levin, 2002; Jewitt, 2008). In order to evaluate the influence of the visual component on text, the corpus was annotated

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according to the type of text and illustrations coherence. We focused on such types as Decoration; Vocabulary representation; Content representation; Heroes representation; Author representation; Association; Navigation; Graphics; Mnemonics; Visual task; Comics.

4 Results In this section we provide main findings obtained by applying the corpus-based framework for evaluation of Russian language textbooks for migrants (Aznabayeva et al., 2014–2018). For convenience, the results are presented separately for each parameter within the framework.

4.1 Text Diversity The data analysis of textbook series for migrant children (Aznabayeva et al., 2014– 2018) revealed a rather high level of text diversity in terms of text organization (prose, poetry): there were 614 prose texts and 283 poetry texts, accounting for 68% and 32% respectively. About 10% of prose texts (65 of 614) in the whole series of textbooks for migrants represent dialogic speech. In comparison, the percentage of dialogues in L2 textbooks for foreign children is around 40%, while in L1 textbooks dialogues are far less frequent, about 2% of a textbook. Thus, textbooks for migrants fall somewhere between standard L1 and L2 textbooks according to the number of dialogues, but the nature of these dialogues brings textbook for migrants closer to L2 textbooks, as they are very simple and aim at grammar and vocabulary drilling: 1. – эto qbë novoe palbto? “Whose new coat is it?” – эto moë palbto. “It is my coat”.

Regarding the text origin parameter, there were 613 constructed texts, accounting for 58.4% of all texts. A large number of constructed texts indicates that selecting suitable authentic texts for multicultural YLL is quite a challenging task for authors—it involves not only accurate and appropriate language compliance but proper cultural context and information as well. Nevertheless, authentic texts account for 32.7% (343) of all texts, including 107 of a folkloric nature. Therefore, the provision of Russian and Soviet Central Asian cultural content within a textbook’s content is considered sufficient. Adapted and combined texts were 7.9% (41) and 1% (10) respectively. The distribution of authentic, adapted and constructed texts are presented in Fig. 1. Authentic texts have also been annotated according to the author’s name to make precise conclusions about text diversity. Most authors are the same as in the textbooks of the Russian as a first language: they are Russian authors writing for children

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Fig. 1 The distribution of authentic, adapted and constructed texts in textbook series for migrants (Aznabayeva et al., 2014–2018)

(Marshak, Zakhoder, etc.) and famous Russian literary classics (Pushkin). The largest number of authentic passages were extracted from Bianki’s writings about nature. But at the same time, there are a wide variety of foreign authors, such as Bakozade (Tajik), Kaputikyan (Armenian), whose texts introduce children to their national literature and culture.

4.2 Vocabulary Input To analyze the textbook vocabulary, the number of unique words in textbooks for each grade was calculated (Fig. 2). Shaded blocks show the word’s first appearance in the textbook series, black color blocks indicate conditionally “known” words (by “known” we mean a word which has appeared at least once before—although, of course, exposure to a word just one time is not enough to remember the word, not to mention to learn how to use it in active speech). Interestingly, every year students are supposed to learn around 1000 new words, as textbook authors, probably unintentionally, do not appear to consider the ability to master vocabulary in relation to the age of a child. The total number of unique lemmas in a textbook for migrants is 6400, which is slightly fewer than a comparable series of textbooks for students with Russian as a first language. In order to generate a more detailed lexical profile of textbooks and analyse their core and periphery, frequency lists were developed. Figure 3 shows the vocabulary distribution of a textbook series in terms of word occurrence.

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Fig. 2 Vocabulary input by grade in textbook series for migrants (Aznabayeva et al., 2014–2018)

Fig. 3 Frequency vocabulary in textbook series for migrants (Aznabayeva et al., 2014–2018)

The first line represents the most frequent words in the textbook which are constituted, apart from functional words, by only four common words (lec ‘forest’, dom ‘house’, qelovek ‘human’, mama ‘mum’) and mostly by educational terminology (e.g., cywectvitelbnoe ‘noun’, okonqanie ‘flexion’, coglacnyй ‘consonant’, ctixotvopenie ‘poem’, tekct ‘text’), classroom and instructional language (ppoqitatb ‘read’, cxema ‘chart’, cpicatb ‘copy’). Such vocabulary is actively introduced from the very 1st grade. On the one hand, it responds to the need for students’ preparation for future study at a Russian school, but on the other, the abundance of terminology reduces the readability of educational materials and, thus creates a risk of low comprehension by L2 students. Among the second segment of frequent words (occur 50–99 times) the percentage of linguistics terms (poclovica ‘proverb’, cppяgatb ‘conjugate’, ppictavka

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‘prefix’, opfogpamma ‘spelling rule’) remains high, but common vocabulary is frequently presented (vecna ‘spring’, ptica ‘bird’, xkola ‘school’, depevo ‘tree’). Finally, separate consideration is required for words that occur only once in the entire textbook series: such words account for nearly half of the overall number of unique lemmas. They can be divided into several groups: (1) frequent words of everyday language, which, for whatever reason were used only once (komanda, pяtnica, dognatb, gpяznyй, intepec); (2) relatively rare words derived from frequent words (lecoqek ‘small forest’