engleski

Early and Primary School Foreign Language Learning and Teaching in European Documents

The presentation focuses on the rationale behind EFLL, and on key European documents on ELLT. The rationale behind EFLL is usually viewed through language benefits, especially through achieving better pronunciation, intonation and possible fluency (as age-sensitive factors). It is frequently stressed that teaching should be age-appropriate and performed by specially educated teachers. But EFLL, as a question of public policy and of language planning politics, is sometimes viewed, by policy makers and by general public, as costly in resources, time and money. So, an overview of benefits additional to language benefits (language learning benefits) should be pointed out. In addition to that, an overview of the EU official documents supporting the initiative of ELLT will be given. Among the documents the most relevant ones are: - Report on Foreign languages in primary and pre-school education. (Blondin C. et al.) (1998) - European Council’s call (at the Barcelona summit) for further action to improve the mastery of basic skills, in particular by teaching at least two foreign languages from a very early age. (2002) - Action plan for Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity (2004 – 2006) - Framework Strategy for Multilingualism (2005) - Main pedagogical principles underlying the teaching of languages to very young learners (2006) - Early Language Learning Policy Handbook (2011). Each of these documents is crucial irrespective of whether it gives initiatives or sets out policies, lays out goals or pedagogical principles, or gives orientations on how to approach EFLL.

early foreign language learning, European documents, young learners, language benefits, language learning benefits

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