Teaching English to Very Young Learners

Abstract

The thesis deals with teaching English to preschool children. Firstly, the fundamental theoretical issues connected to the topic are discussed. A particular attention is devoted to the question of optimal age for second language learning and to ELT methodology for the target age group; briefly, the role of a foreign language teacher in the process of very early foreign language learning is addressed. Secondly, the empirical research is conducted with the aim of discovering whether the key didactic principles for teaching English to preschool children are followed in the classroom practice in the selected nursery schools. The research utilises structured observations based on the video recordings, unstructured observations and an interview to elicit valuable data on the investigated phenomena. The obtained results are evaluated and compared to the theory outlined in the first part of the paper.