Many US K-12 teachers in ethnolinguistically homogenous, rural areas are not adequately prepared to meet the needs of their English language learner (ELL) students. Such educators often lack conceptual understanding of language pedagogy and affective investment in ELLs. The field of language teacher education (LTE) needs research on how to better…

This classroom-based, quasi-experimental study explored the impact of metacognitive instruction designed to promote young learners' (1) willingness to communicate (WTC), (2) participation in communicative activities, and (3) metacognitive knowledge of oral communication. Forty-four Grade 3 students (8--9 years old) from two intact classes…

Storytelling is a well-established literary practice in language classrooms. However, approaches influencing its effectiveness and efficiency have rarely been investigated. This study compared the effects of three storytelling approaches on the vocabulary acquisition and response patterns of third-grade students of English as a foreign language…

As an effective teaching approach that allows teachers and students to interact collaboratively and actively build on each other's ideas, dialogic teaching can enhance classroom engagement and learning outcomes. This study addresses the use of dialogic teaching for improving English language learning among Chinese children with varied levels of…

This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the nature and the patterns of lexical growth in content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and non-CLIL learners across three successive academic years. To pursue the purpose of the study a total of 110 female students of six classes in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades in both bilingual and monolingual…

The increasing number of students with German as a second language (GL2) poses a great challenge for schools. Previous studies showed that especially young learners with a migration background are lagging behind in the acquisition of second language (L2) literacy. Experiencing problem behaviors (PB) in addition, might pose even greater challenges.…

English, the global lingua franca, enjoys a growing status worldwide. The high status of English is also linked to the increasing interest in teaching English to young learners (EYL), and is reciprocally linked to complex political, cultural and social forces. Research on the advantages of learning English at a young age is controversial and…

This study has investigated, in a quantitative survey, how the attitudes toward English lessons and the motivation for learning English as a foreign language (EFL) of 276 Danish EFL learners (starting age 7 and 9 years) changed within one year. Second, a subsample of children were interviewed. The study investigated what they liked and disliked…