教育二班English in Elementary Schools Limitations and Possib

English in Elementary Schools : Limitations and

Possibilities

(注：这篇论文信息量比较大，有些内容建议可以选择性讲解。不包括观众回答问题的时间大约35分钟)

Hello, everyone. Our topic today is the limitations and possibilities of English in elementary schools.

（导入建议6分钟—表格讲解2分钟+（原因分析+提问）4分钟） As we all know, many Asian countries, including China, have revised their policy for English language teaching to include the introduction of English in elementary schools. Let’s have a look at the table about some Asian countries’ English language teaching policies. (表格的讲解如下：)

In Korea, The National Education Curriculum (NEC) has

specified that students in elementary school should receive one hour of English instruction per week in Grades 3 and 4 and two hours in Grades 5 and 6.

In Japan, The new Course of Study implemented in 2002 allowed individual elementary schools to introduce English through ‘conversational activities’to promote ‘international understanding’(but not as an academic subject).

Later, in March 2006, a panel consisting of members of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology’s Central Council for Education (CCE) proposed that English should be compulsory for 5th and 6th grade level students (with students receiving one hour of instruction per week). However, English was still not to be considered an academic subject ( i. e. no grades or evaluations should be given in English classes). See Butler (2007).

In China, a policy statement entitled “The Ministry of

Education Guidelines for Vigorously Promoting the Teaching of English in Primary Schools”was issued on January18, 2001. The policy required students to start learning English in the third grade rather than the first year of junior secondary school. With

reference to policy implementation, a distinction was made between primary schools located in country and city areas with the former required to “gradually”implement the policy starting in fall 2001, whereas the latter was required to do so starting in fall 2002. See Hu (2008).

提问：Why the governments of these three countries have elected to mandate the introduction of English at elementary school level？ 回答：Undoubtedly one of the main reasons is the recognition that

English now functions as a language of global communication in business, international relations, and web based information systems. （下面的理由可选择说明或跳过）Another reason is the desire to encourage students to develop awareness and understanding of a culture different from their own ——what Japan has called ‘internationalization’. A third reason is that many parents recognize the importance of developing proficiency in English for their children’s future careers and believe that an early start will help to achieve this. A fourth reason is the conviction that foreign languages can be learned more easily by children than by adolescents or adults. In this respect, however, the decision to introduce English in the elementary school has taken little account of the results of research into elementary English programs in other countries.

（接着）Today, we need to consider the limitations facing elementary school English programs in countries like China while also pointing out the opportunities for methodological innovation in language teaching that such programs provide. I have a question for you.

What language teaching methodology is best suited to teaching young learners of English?

An early start: Is it worth it?

（建议9分钟-引入提论3分钟+解决方案2分钟+建议4分钟） What is the effect of introducing English in the elementary school on learning? To address this question we can consider the research that has compared young and older learners in terms of their rate of learning and their ultimate achievement. We can also examine studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of teaching a foreign language at the elementary school level.

Let’s study three often cited conclusions from Krashen, Long, and Scarcella’s research:

1. Adults proceed through the early stages of syntactic and morphological development faster than children (where time and exposure are held constant).

2. Older children acquire more quickly than younger children (again, in the early stages of syntactic

and morphological development where time and exposure are held constant).

3. Acquirers who begin natural exposure to a second language during childhood achieve higher Second language proficiency than those beginning as adults.

By and large these conclusions have held up over time. They contain a paradox, however. Adults (and older children) learn more rapidly

than (younger) children yet, in many settings, younger children ultimately acquire higher levels of proficiency in the second language (L2). To resolve this paradox it is necessary to distinguish research that has investigated the role of the age factor in naturalistic learners and in school based learners. Studies show that in naturalistic settings child learners achieve a more native like accent than those who start as adolescents or adults. However, it is also encouraging to note that at least some advanced late learners of L2 English can also achieve a native like pronunciation. A similar advantage for young learners is evident for grammar. Naturalistic learners who receive exposure to the L2 before the age of 15 go on to achieve higher levels of syntactical accuracy that those who only experience it later. Again, though, at least some learners who start as adults are capable of acquiring full grammatical competence. (选用材料)What does this research tell us about the effects of starting L2 teaching in the elementary school? First, we can explain the advantage that older learners have where learning grammar is concerned by their greater cognitive development. This enables them to treat language as an object and engage in linguistic analysis, both of which are likely to assist the exp licit learning of grammar. This is why late starting learners do better on traditional grammar tests as these are likely to tap exp licit knowledge. However, on those aspects of language that are more likely to require imp licit learning ——— e. g. pronunciation and oral communication skills ——— we find no clear advantage for the older learners. In fact, given sufficient time, learners who start as children are likely to outperform those who start as adults. Implicit learning is a slow and laborious process but, in the long run, it leads to higher levels of L2 proficiency than explicit learning. However, the advantage that younger learners may have for imp licit learning will not show up until after many hours of exposure to the L2 ——— that is, typically only in a naturalistic setting.

The research and the line of reasoning it supports do not constitute a strong case for introducing English into the elementary school system in China. Formal learning environments ——— such as those likely to be found in elementary school classrooms where English is taught ——— are unlikely to foster the kind of learningwhere younger children have an advantage and are also very unlikely to p rovide the amount of exposure to English for any age advantage to manifest itself. While children are more likely to reach higher levels of attainment in pronunciation and grammar than adults, this will only happen if there is sufficient exposure to the L2. Where there is only very limited exposure late starting learners may continue to outperform child learners, especially in grammar. In short, Chinese politicians and educators should be wary of assuming that teaching English in elementary schools will automatically result in

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