The book explores young Arabic-speaking children’s English language learning. Through classroom-based research and learner work samples, the book analyses the interplay between cultural norms and the critical role that teachers play in orchestrating classroom discourse through skillful use of available instructional materials, questioning strategies and feedback to learners. The author shows the potential of instructional materials to influence young learners’ vocabulary, reading comprehension, and written production, as well as the way they acquire the academic literacies needed in school subjects taught in English. She reviews the spread of the practice of teaching English to young and very young children and the increasing demand for English-medium instruction in the Arabic-speaking region, with a particular focus on the negative transfer from Arabic to English spelling and grammar. The book also discusses the importance of story narratives, arguing they are an ideal medium for language teaching because of their rich linguistic repertoire and the strong motivational force that stories have on young language learners and their cognitive growth, essential to their later academic success. Taken together, the research findings and classroom vignettes suggest that children’s language learning happens within a complex system of interactive variables and cultural norms and expectations.
Irma-Kaarina Ghosn is Associate Professor of English and TESOL at the Lebanese American University, Lebanon.
IntroductionPart I: Theoretical Considerations1. Cultural Norms and Expectations versus Teaching Materials2. Narrative and Children’s Language Learning3. The Challenge of English-medium Instruction Part II: Insights from Classroom Research4. Teacher Questions versus Learner Engagement5. Classroom Discourse and the Critical Role of Teaching Materials6. Instructional Materials and Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension 7. Writing Outcomes after a Reading-Based Experiment8. An Action Research Study on Reading Strategies9. Literate Language from Storybooks10. Young Arabic-speaking Learners’ Spelling Skills11. Transfer from Arabic Grammar to Children’s EnglishPart III: Teachers and Students in Action12. Whole Language Experience in Kindergarten13. Flexibility of Story-Based Approaches14. Children’s Diverse Reactions to Stories15. Teacher Effectiveness and Learner Engagement 16. ConclusionsReferencesIndex
This book fills long-standing gaps in Teaching English to Young Learners: it is research-based in a field that is often seen as undertheorised; it focuses on young Arabic speakers, an often neglected group; it takes a holistic view, exploring a variety of factors at work in the YL classroom. It is therefore a very welcome addition to the field.
