Marianne Nikolov

‘Why do you learn English?’ ‘Because the teacher is short.’ : A study of Hungarian children’s foreign language learning motivation

This article looks at the attitudes and motivation of Hungarian children between the ages of 6 and 14: why they think they study a foreign language, how they relate to school subjects and what classroom activities they like and dislike. The long-term study was conducted in the ethnographic tradition where the teacher, syllabus designer and researcher was the author, and the inquiry was prompted by classroom needs. Three groups of children were involved for eight years each during the years of 1977-85, 1985-93 and 1987-95 in Pécs, Hungary. The first part of the article considers the literature on motivation from the perspective of child foreign language learning, whereas the second part looks into how the findings of the Pécs study may contribute towards a better understanding of the effects of specific pedagogic procedures on motivation.

RECENT RESEARCH ON AGE, SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, AND EARLY FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

The aim of this chapter is to provide a critical overview of the issues and research conducted since the most recent state-of-the-art article published in the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics by David Singleton (2001). First, we summarize what research has said about the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) in cognitive science and neurobiology, then we review recent findings of age-related studies since 2000 focusing on what late beginners and adults can achieve, and how early and later beginners compare in bilingual programs. The second part of the presentation explores language policy and classroom implications of the CPH for foreign language teaching. As English has become the lingua franca, early programs have mushroomed all over the world. However, besides overwhelming enthusiasm, more recently critical voices can also be heard. On the one hand, early exposure is often seen as a key to success and a solution to all problems in language education; on the other hand, it may be perceived as a threat to first language development and identity. Finally, we explore areas for further research.

All Shades of Every Color: An Overview of Early Teaching and Learning of Foreign Languages

The paper analyzes research published over the last five years. The first part looks into policy documents, types of programs, and surveys to identify (a) reasons why an early start to learning languages is seen as beneficial and under what conditions; (b) possible threats; and (c) the aims and expected outcomes that are predicted by various models. The second part discusses studies on learners, including what they do in classrooms, how they perform on tasks, how their languages interact, and how they develop in different skills. A separate section reviews individual differences in the affective, cognitive, and strategic domains, as well as the role of learners’ socioeconomic status and their learning difficulties. In the third part, we draw on classroom observation and interview studies to discuss teachers’ roles, proficiency and uses of languages, and beliefs and practices. In the fourth part, we focus on the assessment of young learners; more specifically, we review what the construct of assessment is, what various assessment frameworks include, what international and national examinations exist, and what assessment for learning involves. Finally, in the last section we review implications for further research.

The critical period hypothesis reconsidered: Successful adult learners of Hungarian and English

The strong version of the critical period hypothesis (CPH) encouraged the research on successful adult learners of Hungarian and English at the English Department of Janus Pannonius University, Pecs. Altogether 33 successful learners were interviewed: in Study 1 20 learners of various mother tongues have been acquiring Hungarian in the host environment, whereas in Study 2 13 Hungarians have been learning English as a foreign language and have stayed in the host environment for a relatively short period. Two tapes were developed with short samples from the interviewees and native speakers of the target languages. These tapes were administered to three groups of native speakers in judgement tasks with a follow-up task eliciting clues judges used in deciding whether speakers were native or non-native. The findings of this study challenge the strong version of the CPH. Other outcomes include typical clues applied by native judges and some insights into ways how these successful learners have developed native proficiency.

The age factor and early language learning

This edited volume offers readers 17 chapters on the age factor in different educational contextsacross three continents. Papers discuss curriculum and assessment, individual differences, innovation in teacher education, and the role of target language. The book documents the impressive development in research methods into early language learning and teaching. It is a valuable resource for future studies.

The relationship between reading skills in early English as a foreign language and Hungarian as a first language

In recent years, similarly to other educational contexts in the European Union and other parts of the world, early foreign language programs have become widely spread in Hungary. This article looks into the relationship between Hungarian learners’ reading skills in English as a foreign language (L2) and in their first language (L1) Hungarian. We analyze data from two quantitative cross-sectional studies to explore how they interact. In the first one, participants were representative samples of Hungarian students (n > 4700 in Grade 6 and n > 3900 in Grade 8; age 12 and 14, respectively). Besides their proficiency in reading comprehension in L2, their reading skills were also tested in the mother tongue. The other study involved a representative sample of eighth graders (n = 247) in one particular county of Hungary (Baranya). This enquiry tapped into learners’ proficiency in reading comprehension in English and in Hungarian, but besides reading, their listening comprehension and writing skills were also assessed in the two languages. Both studies found evidence for the interdependence hypothesis: a close relationship was found between L1 and L2 performances. However, relationships between L2 skills proved to be stronger than those between L1 and L2 as well as between L1 skills.

Need We Sacrifice Accuracy for Fluency

Abstract Children who studied English as a foreign language in Hungary with a communication/content-based approach were compared with similar children who studied English with a form-based traditional approach. The former were slightly more accurate in their production of grammatical morphemes in an oral interview, and were more fluent, confirming that communication-based approaches do not sacrifice accuracy for fluency.

A Framework for Young EFL Learners’ Diagnostic Assessment: ‘Can Do Statements’ and Task Types

The aim of this chapter is to present a framework for assessing young learners of foreign languages for diagnostic purposes. The first section outlines the most important trends in language assessment and describes the educational context where the project was implemented. Then, the chapter discusses how children between the ages of 6 and 12 develop in a foreign language and outlines the most important principles of assessing young language learners. The actual framework was designed for the four skills; it aimed to cover the first 6 years of primary education in Hungarian public schools. The document used the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR, 2001) as a point of departure and includes age-specific ‘can do statements’ and task types corresponding to them. Readers are encouraged to critically reflect on how the findings could be adopted in their own contexts.

Colloquium--Early Learning of English: Learners, Teachers, and Discourses.

Presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado; 23 March 2009.

Trends, Issues, and Challenges in Assessing Young Language Learners

This introductory chapter aims to achieve multiple goals. The first part outlines the most important recent trends in early language learning, teaching and assessment and frames what the main issues are. The second part discusses the most frequent challenges policy makers, materials designers, test developers, researchers and teachers face. The third part introduces the chapters in the volume and explains how they are embedded in the trends. The last part suggests ideas for further research and points out some implications for educational and assessment practice.