Early foreign language teaching: the role of preschool foreign language teachers

Abstract

Effective foreign language teaching to very young children have been described in literature by means of a wide range of characteristics that refer both to teachers’ professional competences as to their personal abilities. The aim of this study is to focus on the role and competences of the foreign language teacher in preschools. Starting from the analysis of first and second language acquisition, the focus will then turn to foreign language learning and teaching. Children and their natural attitude to communicate and acquire languages will be assessed and neurological findings reported. Then the role of foreign language teachers and the factors they should consider in order to teach in an efficient way will be discussed. It is a common thought that teaching a foreign language to young children might be easy and enjoyable because children acquire it spontaneously and for fun. What will be investigated is parents’ expectations and if there are some preconceptions that could influence their enthusiasm in wanting their children to join English Classes. The collected data from a formulated questionnaire completed by parents, has given the opportunity to understand that the role of the foreign language teacher is not completely clear and even undervalued when regarding certain aspects. What needs to be stressed is that teachers, parents and institutions should be aware of what foreign language teaching in kindergarten consists of. Teaching a foreign language in kindergarten is a specific professional discipline that requires not only proficiency in the target language, but also specific training as far as language acquisition and foreign language learning theories, pedagogy assumptions and classroom management techniques are concerned.