Short report India

The International conference on teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) organized by IATEFL YL SIG & BRITISH COUNCIL held in Bangalore, India, between
January 3-6, 2008 (www.primaryeltconference.org) was unique in bringing together a small but representative sample of professionals dealing with the challenges of introducing English at earlier ages in schools.

During three days an intensive programme took place, with plenary talks, case studies and reports of projects or innovative practices in TEYL from 26 countries. The format enabled the participants to have a very good grasp of what is happening in contexts where English is being introduced at earlier stages in primary schools. Similarities were striking and one particular was predominant: the gap between policy-making and the actual practices in the classrooms ran across the different presentations. In addition to lack of communication between policy-makers and classroom teachers, there are many missing conditions: classes are large, teachers feel unprepared and insecure, resorting to techniques adopted with older students, textbooks lack quality or are far beyond the level of the students (and sometimes teachers themselves!).

On the other hand, innovative projects, conducted in countries like Argentina and Spain, although not at a comprehensive scale, have indicated some of the conditions: fewer students in class, language integrated with other subjects, exposure and meaningful situations for students to interact. However, the communicative approach and learner-centred teaching does not match cultural patterns of education in many countries, especially in Asia, and there seems to be a mismatch between the intention of policy-makers and teachers´interpretations in their day-to-day practices. Because there is almost no formal evaluation of the implementation of these policies, it is difficult to say how successful they have been in producing results. Most of the research has focused on what teachers have been doing and their beliefs. The results have shown that lessons are highly structured, controlled by teachers, with a strong focus on form. Lack of teacher preparation programs was a theme running across many of the case studies. It seems that governments have been keen on introducing large scale English language teaching in primary schools without considering the changes that were deemed necessary to achieve good results. Without financial resources, there is little that can be done. In fact, it can do more harm than good.

In order to investigate results, a substantial research project in Europe, however, will assess the learning outcomes in 7 European countries. Through a longitudinal study, the researchers hope to gather information to answer the research question: what can realistically be achieved in state schools where relatively limited amount of class time is available for foreign language learning? The project is still in its first year and should produce more results in the next 3 years.

In general, the conference provided us with a lot to think about in terms of policy-making. One constant message was the need to prepare teachers to deal with this new learning environment. In most countries, TEYL is not part of the formal education of English language teachers. A document with recommendations to policy-makers will be drafted as a result of the event.

The study presented by Dr Yuko Butler about the local and global influence on the implementation of early English learning in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan suggested that language in education policies are embedded in global contexts that not always find resonance in local contexts.

The conference suggested to me that careful planning and careful consideration of the conditions available for TEYL are key to the successful implementation of any programme. As Professor Richard Johnstone reminded us in his opening talk, it is better to introduce English at earlier stages of schooling, under certain circumstances. Governments not always take this into account, and base their decisions on popular but dubious assumptions. It was very exciting to participate in this conference, which Prof. Johnstone sees as a landmark for what he considers the “third wave” of introducing early language learning, this time on a global scale.