The Impact of Exploratory French Instruction on Child and Family Attitudes and Aptitudes for Learning World Languages in
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The Impact of Exploratory French Instruction on Child and Family Attitudes and Aptitudes for Learning World Languages in Preschool Kristin H. Javorsky1 · Kelly M. Moser2
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract While the demographic diversity of children served in early childhood classrooms continues to grow, world language learning opportunities for English-speaking preschoolers remain a rarity. Efforts to teach world languages in addition to English at the preschool level may be hampered by limited early childhood educator expertise, lack of programmatic fit, and uncertain expectations from participating families. This study used a foreign language exploratory (FLEX) program design for French language learning to examine whether these barriers could be overcome through a collaborative partnership between a world languages specialist, the classroom teacher, and the children’s families. The 10-week study involved twelve 3-year-old children from varied home language backgrounds attending an English-only preschool. Results showed that following the world language specialist’s weekly classroom visits, all participating children demonstrated some level of French language learning, and that learner engagement as a variable was strongly correlated with the child’s ability to acquire French, rather than variables of age, gender, or language used at home. Furthermore, while statistically significant differences in language learning beliefs existed between families who did and did not speak a language other than English at home prior to the study, no significant belief differences between these families were found following participation in the French program. Based on the results of this programmatic effort, the authors posit that a language ladder of supports wherein the childcare center and families form parallel sides of ongoing support while the WL specialist provides the rungs that unite both sides, may be a useful model of collaboration. Keywords Language acquisition · Multilingual · Early literacy · Translanguaging · Preview view review · Curriculum · FLEX program
Introduction Given the changing demographics of the United States over the last decade, with 21.6% of the nation’s population over the age of five reporting the use of a language other than English (LOTE) in the home (Zeigler and Camarota 2018), multilingual learning experiences are a potentially essential component of a high-quality early childhood (ECE) education for an increasing number of young children. * Kristin H. Javorsky [email protected] Kelly M. Moser [email protected] 1
Curriculum, Instruction & Special Education, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
Classical and Modern Languages & Literatures, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
2
Furthermore, as economic and political factors continue to pressure the educational system to produce citizens who are globally prepared (The National Standards Collaborative Board 2015), it follows that early world language (WL) learning experiences will become
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