Early Second Language Learning and Arts Integration in Malaysian Multicultural Context: A Sociocultural Perspective

Abstract

Participating in art activities benefits young children tremendously, especially in promoting young children’s language development. In Malaysian education system, English is learned as a compulsory subject in school from kindergarten level and it is a second language (L2) for most of the population. Art activities provide a language and discourse-rich environment for young learners to communicate. Interaction is the foundation of learning a language in the sociocultural learning perspective. The diverse language input during the art activities helps children to understand the abstract language instructions and meaning, hence, yielding language output. By integrating art activities in language classroom, it promotes languages development and enhances the understanding of cultures diversity that is exceptionally vital in Malaysian multicultural of which the understanding among the cultures is introduced at young age. In terms of the significance of cross-disciplinary in learning, this paper discusses the integration of art activities to optimize English as L2 learning experience especially the oral language among the young children in Malaysia through the lens of the sociocultural theory and how it promotes multiculturalism. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed at the end of this paper.