In the light of the global trend towards an ever-earlier start to foreign language learning, this paper summarises current knowledge on pre-primary provision for early language learning in Europe, highlighting the challenges of equitable provision for this non-compulsory education sector. The discussion draws on data evidence from the ELLiE study (2006–2010) to propose that much remains still to be done in terms of quality provision even in those countries with a compulsory start age of six or seven years.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.