Learning a Second Language in Pre-School: Using Dramatized Stories as a Teaching Resource

Abstract

In recent years, the interest in early language learning shown by both parents and politicians has led to the introduction of a second language (L2), particularly English, to children as young as two or three years old in pre-schools and kindergartens across Europe and beyond. The demands involved in teaching this age-range require from teachers a set of specialized skills to ensure that children’s first experience with a new language is as enjoyable and fruitful as possible. This article discusses the impact of learner-internal and contextual factors on children’s second language learning, together with the contribution that children make to the process in terms of their language-learning abilities. In doing so, key issues such as promoting comprehension, lexical acquisition and initial language production in the second language are addressed, together with the methodological implications derived from this knowledge. Finally, an age-appropriate approach for teaching children using predictable dramatized stories is presented.