engleski

Is L2 Exposure a Factor in Multilingual Children's Use of Language Learning Strategies?

Learning strategies have been in the focus of researchers for the past three decades ; however, there are not many studies that explore young children’s learning strategies. Therefore, this presentation looks into the language learning strategies of multilingual five- to seven-year- old speakers. Starting with the assumption that L2 exposure is one of the factors in the use of language learning strategies, the aim of this presentation is to investigate whether there is a difference between the use of language learning strategies in young multilingual learners in Croatia considering the above-mentioned factor. To find an answer to this question, we analyzed the data collected from the sample of 35 participants, multilingual speakers of Croatian, German, French, or Italian, categorized into three groups according to the length of L2 exposure. German learners studied German in kindergarten where part of the content was delivered in German ; French learners were in an intensive French-learning programme that they attended for four hours each day ; Italian learners were in a kindergarten for Italian minority with all content delivered in Italian. The participants were interviewed using six questions that required them to describe how they would help a certain plush toy to learn a given word. The interview was carried out at the beginning and at the end of the school year. By comparing the results from the first and second measurement, we found an increased number of language learning strategies in participants with longer L2 exposure. In addition, we found that these participants reported a greater variety of strategies as opposed to those with shorter L2 exposure. Based on the analysis, we conclude that different L2 exposure in early language learning seems to be a factor in the use of language learning strategies ; therefore, children at different levels of L2 exposure require different approaches to raising awareness about language learning strategies and their use.

language learning strategies ; early multilingualism

Greenfield Community School Dubai (kolaboracija)