Primary school teachers’ language practices. A four-year longitudinal study of three FL classes

Abstract

The present study focuses on early language learners and is an attempt to better understand the language practices of teachers and learners in a FL non-immersion context over a period of four years. Over this period of time students in three target classes underwent at least one change of teacher throughout the four grades, which allowed for the examination of any effects of the teacher factor in relation to students' attitudes, linguistic achievement and features of classroom discourse. Data were collected through non-participant observations, questionnaires and interviews and results are presented as case studies. The study concludes that students in the three schools under study had quite distinct learning experiences in their first four years of FL instruction in primary school. Also, some classroom discourse features as well as students' attitudes and linguistic gains were often sensitive to teaching style.1 Research on primary school FL teachingWhat takes place in the classroom has repeatedly proved to be vital in promoting FL learning among children. Several authors have pointed out sets of conditions for successful practice in primary foreign language learning. Hunt et al. (2005) mention active teaching methods with extensive use of songs and games as well as an emphasis on enjoyment and enthusiasm, among others. Children's participation in informal conversations in the FL as well as the provision of rich, contextualized input and contingent feedback are among a range of teaching strategies advocated by Coyle and Verdu (2000). In the evaluation report of a Bilingual Education Project in Spain, Dobson, Perez-Murillo and Johnstone (2010) point out a number of classroom practices that seem to be associated with pupil outcomes. Some of these practices are particularly relevant at the level of classroom discourse such as pushing learners to offer more sophisticated language, asking well pitched questions or showing due concern for accuracy of language.In spite of the above recommendations when we look at how language teachers actually teach foreign languages to young children, we often get a different picture. In an observational study conducted in Italy, experienced teachers tended to follow traditional approaches when teaching students aged 7-9 (Lopriore, 2009). In Hungary, few examples of good practice were found in novice teachers who had been advised by experienced teachers. They tended to draw heavily on grammar and memorizing vocabulary out of context when teaching children in lower primary (ages 6-10 years) (Nikolov, 2010). In an earlier study, Nikolov (2003) also found that the activities that 12 year olds were most often exposed to in class were the least popular ones and these included translation, reading aloud, grammar exercises and tests. A similar trend was found in a three-year long study involving 39 primary schools in England (Cable et al., 2010) where, even if lessons had a gamelike orientation, the focus was at the word and sentence level with a predominance of interactive whole-class teaching and memorized language. In Ireland, an emphasis by teachers on traditional language practice and some reluctance to use the target language as the predominant medium of instruction were reported in the evaluation report of the National Pilot Project (Harris and Conway, 2002).Discourse analytical studies also indicate that the interactional context and certain teaching practices may enhance or limit opportunities for learning. In the case of context, Oliver and Mackey (2003) showed that whether the classroom exchanges focused on explicit language contexts or on content and management contexts determined learners' use of teacher feedback. In the case of teaching practices, a number of studies show how poor strategies may have limit learning opportunities. In Peng and Zhang's work (2009), Chinese teachers of English gave students few opportunities to self-evaluate, guess or expand their answers and they were observed to give repetitive feedback and blanket evaluations. …