1. What is ‘good practice’ in teaching an additional language?
Richard Johnstone Milan, March 2011

2. Overview Introduction What is ‘good practice’ in teaching? Conclusions
Teaching an additional language at primary school
Three models of Languages Education
Factors and Outcomes
What is ‘good practice’ in teaching?
How might we recognize ‘good practice’?
Some examples
Conclusions

3. Three models of Languages Education at primary school
MLPS
Limited amount of time / Variety of starting ages
Main aims are to teach initial aspects of the additional language and associated cultures
By far, the dominant model across the world
CLIL
Teaching one or two subjects (or aspects of subjects) througth the medium of the additional language
More time (e.g % of time overall)
Strongly endorsed by European Commission
BILINGUAL/ IMMERSION EDUCATION
Considerably more time (Minimally 40% of time overall)
A range of underlying deep societal aims

4. Factors and Outcomes SOCIETAL PROVISION PROCESS INDIVIDUAL OUTCOMES
Exposure to TL
Business Need
Time
Intensity
Teaching
Instruction
Age
Literacies
Plurilingual proficiency
Dominance of English
Information
Innovation
Learning
Acquisition
Ethnicity
Prior languages
Proficiency in a particular language
Treatment by the media
Place of Ls in the curriculum
Problem-solving
Networking
Gender
Prior attainments
Examination
Attainments
Internet
Globalisation / Localisation
Supply, Training and CPD of teachers
Communication
Interaction
Socio-economic background
Identity
Sense of self
Transferable skills
Political will
Parental Demand
Teacher clusters and networks
Assessment
Evaluation
Attitudes and Motivation
Citizenship
Mobility
Attitudes to particular languages and communities
Policies and support (transnational / national / local)
Planning
Management
Administration
Personality
Cognitive style
Learning strategy
Autonomy
Intercultural competence
EU citizenship (e.g. basic right to mobility)
Infrastructure for continuity across sectors
Development
Research
Confidence
Anxiety
Self-esteem
Teachers
Job satisfaction
Career prospects
Fast capitalism / elite bilingualism
Fund-raising
Profile-raising
Values
Beliefs
Schools
Ethos&Reputation
Performance

5. BEP (SPAIN) KEY POSITIVE FACTORS
SOCIETAL
PROVISION
PROCESS
Political will
Parental interest & demand for EBEiE
But pupils had very limited contact with English outside school
An early start (in some cases from age 3)
Substantial time for English (40%)
Leadership at national level from Ministry & British Council together
Supernumerary teachers fluent in English
Agreed continuity across primary and secondary education
Supportive national Guidelines on BEP curriculum
In-service courses for teachers
Highly reputable external international examination for students at age 16
General teaching strategies
Language-focused strategies
Activities which offer students cognitive challenge, integrating their knowledge
Creation of community atmosphere in class
Use of assessment in support of learning
Management approach based on consultation and collaboration

6. What is ‘good practice’ in teaching a ML?
Doing things which are considered to be ‘good’
‘As a teacher, I am implementing a communicative approach’
‘I am using the Council of Europe Portfolio’
‘I am developing a learner-centred approach’
‘I am developing intercultural competence’
‘I am introducing CLIL ’
BUT
Although these things are probably ‘good’, and I have observed some excellent teaching based on them
I have also observed some unimpressive teaching based on them
So ‘good practice’ should also minimally imply ...
... Doing these things well!

7. Recognizing ‘good practice’
Doing these things well .....
Yes, we can look at how well the teacher performs certain activities
But we should also make judgements about good practice in teaching by observing closely its actual effects on pupils/students
What were pupils doing really well?
What teacher behaviours seemed associated with this? (BEP Evaluation, Spain)

8. Three components of ‘good practice’. 2.
Doing them well / skilfully / smoothly /coherently / responsively 1.
Implementing activities which are desirable 3.
Taking careful account of effects on pupils / students
In the BEP evaluation, we worked from 3. to 2. to 1.

9. BEP STUDY 1: Primary 5 & 6 pupils’ performance and attainments in classrooms
Fluent and confident command of English, including technical vocabulary
Production of extended utterances
General ease of comprehension and of interaction with the teacher
A range of language functions to express the discourse of science and English language & literacy lessons.
Some errors but these seemed developmental and not to detract from pupils’ generally promising performance.

10. Specialized vocabulary to cope with particular content areas: e.g.
BEP STUDY 3: Secondary 2 students’ performance and attainments in class
Fluent and confident use of language reflecting students’ maturing cognitive capacities.
Specialized vocabulary to cope with particular content areas: e.g.
‘fertilisation’, ‘characteristics of predators’, ‘acids & alkalis’
Range of language functions, related to English (language & literacy) and Science: e.g.
providing explanations; coping in an interview; improvising; making a presentation; elaborating the consequences of particular processes; constructing their own arguments
Range of social and task-related purposes: e.g.
banter; peer-support; conducting experiments

11. BEP STUDY 5: Infants and early primary
The lessons observed show substantial progression from age 3 to age 7 in pupils’ learning and language development:
Initially, their activity was based on actions, songs, chants, games, objects and visuals
By Year 2 of primary school they had moved into the use of English for doing science in the form of studying the environment:
Generated longer utterances in response to technical questions
Some degree of verbal reasoning
Pronunciation generally very good
High speed of comprehension and an ability to demonstrate this quickly through actions and mimes
The teachers were generally pleasant, calm, organized and encouraging. Their English was good, as was their planning and organization. They had high expectations of their pupils.

12. BEP Primary 5/6 performance in class
T: ‘What happens when you have a cold?’
P: ‘Mucus goes through the Eustachian tube into the middle ear.’
T: ‘How does the doctor know this if he cannot see into the middle ear?’
P: ‘He sees a change in the position of the eardrum.’

13. BEP Primary 5/6 performance in class
‘If a liquid is not in a container, it will spill (spread) out.’ (boy)
‘If we pour a liquid from one container to another, it changes shape’(boy)
‘If you put the water from the jar into the beaker, it will take the shape of the new container. The shape of the water change’ (sic).
‘We can see that solids can be different. They have different volume and matter’ (girl)

14. BEP Primary 5/6 performance in class
‘We know that light travels in straight lines because ……… behind the opaque object, you cannot see the light, only the shadow. When you put a bottle or glass in front of a source of light, the light travels through it’.

15. BEP Good Practice: General Teaching
Keeps all pupils involved in the lesson
Checks pupils’ outputs
Is willing to collaborate with colleagues
Is firm but pleasant
Uses visual aids
Gives clear explanations of what pupils are to do
Reviews pupil outputs with the whole class
Gives clear guidelines for use of ICT in class
Keeps pupils’ attention focused
Avoids spoon-feeding
Presents tasks in a clear and interesting way
Keeps a log of mistakes for subsequent comment
Chooses websites which are appropriate and comprehensible
Helps pupils work out their own solutions
Exudes ‘presence’

16. BEP Good Practice: More language-focused
Helps pupils focus on linguistic form as well as function and meaning
 Pays due attention to accuracy, especially where meaning would otherwise be compromised
Introduces deliberate mistakes for pupils to identify and correct
Helps pupils focus on key words
Helps pupils develop clear definitions 
Helps them describe the properties of things
Helps them make contrasts, e.g. …. whereas ….. 
Helps them develop robust classifications
Helps them develop use of the passive voice, essential for science
Pupils have to extend their utterances by using additional vocabulary
Colour-codes in order to highlight particular types of word, e.g. verbs
Allows judicious use of Spanish

17. CHILDREN’S MOTIVATION: ACTIVITIES
Wu (2003) studied children aged 5 learning English
primary school in Hong Kong, monolingual Cantonese
classroom activities which fostered intrinsic motivation
These included
a predictable learning environment,
moderately challenging tasks,
necessary instructional support,
evaluation that emphasises self-improvement
attribution of success or failure to variables that the learner can do something about.

18. L1 / L2 within one overall system
Primary Year 1& 2
Introduction of some 30 language concepts in the national language
Primary Year 3 & 4
These same concepts systematically transferred into the learning of a foreign language
Initially for recognition / comprehension, then for production
Pupils used these concepts in order to monitor their own spontaneous oral production and to plan and then monitor their own spontaneous and planned written production
Outcomes
Spoken and written output that was fluent, creative and accurate

19. EARLY READING
Mertens (2003) found that children in Grade 1 learning French
benefited from being introduced to written French immediately
showed results superior to those in purely oral approaches
Vickov (2007) claims that children at Grade 1 in Croatia were
not disadvantaged in their writing in Croatian by being introduced to writing in English.
Dlugosz (2000) found that the introduction of reading in the foreign language at kindergarten
even when reading in the first language was also only just starting
helped speed the process of understanding and speaking the foreign language.

20. PROGRESSION: UPS & DOWNS
Mitchell (2003) claims that second language learning is
not like climbing a ladder; but is
a complex and recursive process with multiple interconnections and backslidings, and
complex trade-offs between advances in fluency, accuracy and complexity.
Pelzer-Karpf & Zangl (1997) found that children’s utterances seemed impressive in Years 1&2
but then in Year 3 went through a phase of ‘Systemturbulenz’ in which their grammar control seemed to fall apart
when the cognitive demands of their tasks were raised to the point that temporarily their grammar-systems could not fully cope
But by Year 4 it sorted itself out.

21. CREATIVITY AND ACCURACY
Lyster (2004) studied ‘form-focused instruction’ (FFI) and ‘corrective feedback’ (CF) with Grade 5 children.
FFI and CF were found to be more successful than an approach based on no-FFI and no-CF
Recasts: an example of no-FFI & no CF
What did you do yesterday evening?
I watch television
Oh, you watched television?
Yes
He also found it useful to encourage pupils in ‘noticing’ particular formal features of the target language
This helped them develop an awareness of language and to refine their internalised language systems as they progressed

22. Thinking of introducing CLIL or EBE
Not to be undertaken lightly
Think carefully about it and analyze your own situation
What are the key societal / provision / process factors I must take into account in my context, in order to make a good start?
In particular, think of teacher supply, teacher CPD and provision of appropriate materials
Consult staff, parents and relevant authorities
Inform yourselves + staff + parents about what CLIL and EBE are and require
Plan for sustainability
Seek to develop ICT and other contacts
Joint projects / intercultural learning / exposure to wider range of L2 models

23. CONCLUSION: SUCCESSFUL LEARNER
Plans, practices, revises
Reviews, Self-assesses
Processes input, e.g. notices, guesses, infers, predicts
Seeks opportunities to use the additional language ‘for real’
Seeks feedback: negative as well as positive
Relates learning & use of the additional language to the learning of other things
Uses reference material appropriately
Interacts and negotiates meaning, e.g. probes, seeks clarification
Offers help, seeks help
Takes personal responsibility
Is aware of and manages different types of discourse
Produces spontaneous as well as non-spontaneous output
Focuses on form as well as on meaning, at different times
Controls anxiety and uses this productively
Feels confident, self-efficacious
Seeks underlying pattern
Pays attention, focuses attention, sustains attention
Develops strategies, uses these and reflects on / revises them
Self-motivates, self-rewards, is curious and seeks challenges
…… Other?

24. REFERENCES
Chesterton, P., Steigler-Peters, S., Moran, W. & Piccioli, M. T. (2004). Developing sustainable language learning pathways: an Australian initiative. Language, Culture & Curriculum, 17, 1, balance. Windsor: NFER Publishing.
Dlugosz, D.W. (2000). Rethinking the role of reading in teaching a foreign language to young learners. ELT Journal, 54 3,
Edelenbos, P., Johnstone R. M. & Kubanek, A. (2006). The main pedagogical principles underlying the teaching of languages to very young learners. Languages for the children of Europe: Published Research, Good Practice & Main Principles. Brussels, European Commission.
European Commission. (2003). Promoting language learning and linguistic diversity: an Action Plan Brussels: European Commission
Johnstone, R. M. ( Addressing 'the age factor': some implications for languages policy. Guide for the development of Language Education Policies in Europe - From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education. Strasbourg, Council of Europe Reference Study

25. REFERENCES (continued)
Lyster, R. (2004a). Differential effects of prompts and recasts in form-focused instruction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26,
Lyster, R. (2004b). Research on form-focused instruction in immersion classrooms: implications for theory and practice. Journal of French Language Studies, 14, 3,
Mertens, J. (2003). Rhythm, rhymes and rules. Vom Nutzen der Schrift (nicht nur) beim frühen Englischlernen. Fremdsprachenunterricht, 47 (56) 3,
Mitchell, R. (2003). Rethinking the concept of progression in the national curriculum for modern foreign languages: a research perspective. Language Learning Journal, Winter 2003.
Peltzer-Karpf, A. & Zangl, R. (1997). Vier Jahre Vienna Bilingual Schooling: Eine angzeitstudie. Vienna; Bundesministerium für Unterricht und kulturelle Angelegenheiten., Abteilung 1/1.
Vrhovac, Y. (Ed.) (2010. Introducing the European Language Portfolio in the Croatian and French foreign language classroom: teachers’ experiences and classroom activities with 8 to 14 year-olds. University of Zagreb: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Vickov, G. (2007) Pisanje na engleskom u prvom razredu osnovne skole (Writing skills in English in the first Grade of primary school), Stranijezici.
Wu, X. (2003). Intrinsic motivation and young language learners: the impact of the classroom environment. System, 31 4,

26. SUCCESSFUL ELL TEACHING: 1
Planning:
Seeking to develop not only AL proficiency but also broader aims, e.g. citizenship, intercultural learning, social skills
Collaborating and joint planning with other colleagues in the school, with parents and with teachers in secondary schools
Planning long-term for sustainability, as well as short-term for success
Adopting an inclusive approach, bringing encouragement, emotional warmth appropriate support to all pupils
Understanding that true progression in a language is not based on the ‘ladder’ model but is a more complex and recursive process.
Building on children’s first language, whatever that may be, helping them to develop explicit conceptual knowledge of this which is then transferred systematically to the additional language they are learning.

27. SUCCESSFUL ELL TEACHING: 2
Providing:
a clear example to pupils of oneself as an enthusiastic, though by no means perfect, AL learner and user
encouragement, sustained and varied input, interaction, feedback, a supportive learning environment and guidance
•a challenge which stimulates pupils’ interest and curiosity
•corrective as well as positive feedback, while ensuring that this does not undermine confidence or self-esteem
•open-ended questions and stimuli, encouraging children to be free and creative.

28. SUCCESSFUL ELL TEACHING: 3
Encouraging learners:
to be strategic &reflective, to engage in self-assessment & self- monitoring
to begin reading, writing from an early stage
to draw holistically on their range of capacities and senses, e.g. physical movement, sense of shape, colour, gesture …..
to derive motivation from feelings of pleasure and success in what they are attempting to do
•to focus on the structure of different kinds of discourse, e.g. conversations, stories, reports, essays, letters …
to develop skills of predicting, guessing and making inferences
to reflect on and explore the rich diversity of human language and the immense linguistic potential that each of us possesses

29. KEEPING A PORTFOLIO
Short statements of what learners think they can do
I can explain … a game, a recipe, how to make something
I can narrate/tell … an experience, a story, a film
I can say … what I like/dislike, and explain why
I can speak/talk about … my friends, family
I can read … an illustrated children’s book
I can find … in a text what I am looking for
Personal diary of occasions outside school when the learner used the target language
Brief discussion of language-learning problems encountered, and of solutions which the learner has found
….. Other?

30. Portfolio: impact on pupils
The Portfolio offers an opportunity for the teacher to continuously follow and assess the pupils’ achievements; it motivates pupils to use the foreign language, and develops their awareness of the need to take responsibility for their learning and performance.
It helps pupils to consciously follow the development of their overall language and communication competence.
Teachers see that pupils, with their help, can independently and with full responsibility do the tasks, prepare their language production, think about it, and decide what they have done well, and what could be improved, and finally, assess their own performance.
Vrhovac et al (2010)

31. CHILDREN’S INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: DEVELOPMENT
Nikolov (1999) followed three cohorts of children
for eight years, taught by the same teacher
It was found that
learners’ motivation could be maintained by intrinsically interesting and cognitively challenging tasks
Intrinsic motivation
Initially associated with ‘fun’ activity
Then becomes linked to ‘curiosity’ and ‘challenge’
Then becomes associated with perception of self as successful language learner

32. PROCESSES: PEER-TUTORING
Xu, Gelper & Perkins (2005) studied class-wide peer-tutoring (CWPT)
Children at elementary school Grade 2 in the United States
Regular instances of:
cooperative play
reciprocal initiation & response.
The researchers concluded that:
CWPT had significantly helped the children in their social behaviour.
Reference:
Xu, Y., J. Gelfer & P. Perkins. (2005). Using peer-tutoring to increase social interactions in early schooling. TESOL Quarterly, 39, 1,

33. PROCESSES: COMPUTER-MEDIATED
Nutta et al (2002) compared
a conventional text-based approach with a computer-enhanced multimedia approach, pupils Grades 2-5 in a USA elementary school.
The computer-enhanced group:
more interactive
greater access to immediate feedback
more precise in pronunciation
smoother flow of reading
produced larger chunks of language.
Concluded that:
ICT can help younger learners in integrating their languages skills and in developing important strategies of monitoring.
Reference:
Nutta, J. et. al. (2002). Exploring new frontiers: What do computers contribute to teaching foreign languages in elementary school? Foreign Language Annals, 35 , 3,

34. KEY MLPS FACTOR: CONTINUITY
It works well when across the two sectors (Primary- Secondary) there is the following:
exchange of information and support
reciprocal visits
collaborative planning
mutual esteem
Large-scale project in New South Wales,Australia: Chesterton et al (2004)
Joint planning by teachers covering 3 years at Primary School and 2 years at Secondary School