Early additional language learning in classroom ecosystems

Abstract

In many communities around the world children are being enrolled in pre-school programmes where they learn additional languages apart from their mother tongues. This entails a fresh look at key aspects of additional language teaching pedagogies. At an early age, language learning is socially mediated, and the target language is acquired orally. This points to the importance of considering how children’s biological capacities and learning contexts contribute to the development of the learning process. Thus, building on child language acquisition approaches and on the conceptual framework of educational ecosystem, this paper describes how the learning environment of preschool classrooms shapes the additional language learning process. In addition, the article sets out the building blocks that ensure a solid construction of learning ecosystems which teachers can draw on to strengthen the quality of their teaching.