Teaching English to Very Young Learners

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the current perceptions of English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher to very young learners in two contexts: Russia and Spain. Despite the increase of EFL teaching in early childhood, there is a gap in understanding the needs and concerns of EFL teachers to very young learners. An online distributed questionnaire was designed to collect data from 49 teachers from Spain and Russia. The findings show that most perceptions are shared between teachers of both countries. Among other methodologies, the participants highlight games and other play-oriented tasks, as well as the usefulness of the L1 for the students. Also, the results reveal that teachers face multiple challenges: lack of time, appropriate teaching materials for very young learners, pressure to complete the syllabus, and heterogeneity. In sum, the beliefs and concerns of teachers of EFL to very young learners are common across borders.