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An overview of research on Young EFL learners and Bilingual Teaching
Abby WU
Academic Reading and Writing for Applied Linguistics
Annotated Bibliography
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An overview of research on Young EFL learners and Bilingual Teaching
Introduction
Young learners in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and bilingual education represent
a crucial and expansive area of research within applied linguistics. This field encompasses not
only cognitive and psychological development in children, but also pedagogy, language
acquisition, and assessment methodologies. As a junior researcher, it is essential to thoroughly
review existing literature in order to identify gaps and to fill it. This annotated bibliography
presents a selection of ten articles, including two foundational ones and eight more recent
publications. The studies cover a range of topics, from how young learners acquire vocabulary
and engage with translanguaging, to the assessment practices used by teachers and the
emotional impacts of second language learning. By examining these works, this bibliography
aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on best practices for teaching young EFL learners,
while offering insights into emerging trends in bilingual education research.
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Bibliography
Booton, S., Wonnacott, E., Hodgkiss, A., Mathers, S., & Murphy, V. (2022). Children’s
knowledge of multiple word meanings: Which factors count and for whom? Applied
Linguistics, 43(2), 293–315. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amab028
This study investigates the influence of wordform-level and meaning-level factors on the
recognition of homonyms among K1-K4 students, as well as the role of psycholinguistic
predictors in the recognition process for English as an Additional Language (EAL) and English
as a First Language (EL1) learners. The authors employ the receptive picture vocabulary test
(RPVT) to collect data, analyzing factors such as word frequency, relatedness (from
wordform-level), and dominance and imageability (from meaning-level). The findings
demonstrate that word frequency, imageability, and dominance are key factors influencing
homonym recognition. The study’s conclusions offer valuable insights for curriculum
development, specifically for teaching homonyms and lexis in English language classrooms.
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2017). Minority languages and sustainable translanguaging:
Threat or opportunity? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development,
38(10), 901-912. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2017.1284855
This article addresses the preservation of minority languages, such as Basque, and
explores how translanguaging can be used to support the learning of second and third
languages (e.g., Spanish and English) in regions where regional languages coexist with official
national languages. While the study is primarily concerned with the Basque Autonomous
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Community, the findings and suggestions regarding translanguaging can be applied more
broadly, including in bilingual education contexts such as China. The authors argue that
translanguaging is not a threat but an opportunity for language development, offering practical
recommendations for language teachers and policy makers to incorporate translanguaging
strategies in bilingual teaching.
Dao, P., Bui, L. D., T., & Nguyen, M. X. (2024). Public primary school teachers’
perceptions and assessment of young learners’ engagement. Language Teaching
Research, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688241253546
This study investigates the perceptions and assessments of young English learners'
engagement from the perspective of primary school teachers in Vietnam. The authors employ a
mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative interviews, classroom observations, and
reflective frameworks to gather data. The findings reveal that teachers primarily assess
students' engagement through behavioral and emotional indicators, with less emphasis on
cognitive and social aspects. This study also provides insights into the implementation of
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms,
offering valuable implications for both teachers and curriculum designers in promoting
engagement and effective language teaching.
Gorp, K. V., & Verheyen, S. (2024). Primary school children’s conflicted emotions about
using their heritage languages in multilingual classroom tasks. The Modern Language
Journal, 108, 101–126. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12893
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This study investigates the emotional impact of using heritage languages on primary
school children’s second language learning in multilingual classroom tasks. Using a
mixed-methods approach, the authors examine how children’s emotions shift positively when
completing tasks involving their heritage language. Although the research is based on the
Belgian context, where multilingualism is common, the findings have broader implications for
language educators in other countries, encouraging them to consider the role of students' first
languages in their second language learning process. This research underscores the importance
of supporting children's emotional connections to their heritage languages in multilingual
settings.
Koutamanis, E., Kootstra, G. J., Dijkstra, T., & Unsworth, S. (2024). The role of cognates
and language distance in simultaneous bilingual children’s productive vocabulary
acquisition. Language Learning, 74(1), 129-150. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12666
This study explores the impact of both general language similarities and phonological
similarities between specific words on vocabulary acquisition in simultaneous bilingual
children. The authors conclude that children who speak languages with greater linguistic
distance exhibit a stronger positive effect from phonological similarities between words. The
findings are particularly relevant to children from Indo-European language backgrounds,
providing valuable insights into bilingual vocabulary acquisition. However, the study’s
conclusions may not be applicable to children learning languages from other language families,
such as Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, due to significant structural differences between these
languages and the Indo-European languages.
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Min, S., Bishop, K., & Cook, H. (2022). Reading is a multidimensional construct at
child-L2-English-literacy onset, but comprises fewer dimensions over time: Evidence
from multidimensional IRT analysis. Language Testing, 39(2),
265-288. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221253546
This study examines the interaction between content knowledge and reading ability in the
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) assessment for K1-K12 English Language Learners
(ELLs) in the United States. The authors use multidimensional Item Response Theory (IRT)
analysis to show that reading ability in young ELLs (K1) is a multidimensional construct, and
that their English proficiency is appropriately assessed through the ACCESS test. However, the
study highlights that this test is less suitable for older ELLs (K2-12) or those at higher
proficiency levels, as their multidimensional abilities tend to decrease with age. The study
provides insights into how reading assessments for K1-K12 ELLs should be adapted, though it
lacks clarity on the specific content knowledge being assessed, which limits the ability of
teachers to prepare suitable instructional materials.
Nikolov, M., & Djigunović, J. (2023). Studies on pre-primary learners of foreign
languages, their teachers, and parents: A critical overview of publications between
2000 and 2022. Language Teaching, 56,
451–477. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444823000095
This article offers a comprehensive review of studies on foreign language (FL) learners in
pre-primary education worldwide, examining 74 published articles from the past two decades.
The authors explore various aspects of FL learning, including policies, parental perspectives,
and the roles of teachers and learners. The study not only covers the learning of English as a
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second language but also addresses the acquisition of other languages, such as Spanish, French,
and Chinese. The authors identify key research questions that remain unresolved in this field,
providing valuable guidance for emerging researchers in early childhood language education.
This review is an essential resource for those looking to understand the current state of FL
teaching for young children and to identify potential avenues for future research.
Rodgers, C. R., & Raider-Roth, M. B. (2006). Presence in teaching. Teachers and
Teaching: Theory and Practice, 12(3),
265-277. https://doi.org/10.1080/13450600600606707
This study explores the concept of "presence" in teaching. The authors argue that
"presence" goes beyond a checklist of behaviors or standardized teaching measures, offering an
alternative view of teaching as an authentic relationship between teacher and students. The
authors draw on qualitative data to support their research. The study offers valuable insights for
teacher how to be presence in classes rather than merely focusing on scores. The limitation of
this study is that they do not suggest the practical implementation of presence in day-to-day
classroom scenarios. Additionally, the study's reliance on qualitative data from interviews and
stories may limit its generalizability to larger or more diverse educational contexts.
Sanchez, L., & Sunesson, M. (2023). Grasping the effects of storyline complexity, task
structure, and proficiency in narrative writing performance. Journal of Second
Language Writing, 106, 3743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2023.100986
This study explores the impact of storyline complexity on the complexity, accuracy, and
fluency (CAF) of narrative writing among Swedish secondary school learners of Spanish as a
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foreign language. The authors utilize a between-subjects design with two narrative tasks that
vary in storyline complexity (simple vs. complex), alongside a multiple-choice proficiency test
to assess participants' language proficiency. The study emphasizes the significance of
considering learners' proficiency when analyzing the effects of task complexity on second
language writing performance and highlights the importance of thoughtful task design in
language instruction. While the study focuses on Spanish as a foreign language rather than
English, it offers valuable insights for language teachers working with students at various
proficiency levels in second language acquisition.
Shi, L., & Rolstad, K. (2023). “I Don’t Let What I Don’t Know Stop What I Can
Do”—How Monolingual English Teachers Constructed a Translanguaging Pre-K
Classroom in China. TESOL Quarterly, 57(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3204
This study examines how monolingual English teachers in China can apply
translanguaging theory to foster bilingual development in young learners. The authors explore
the use of translanguaging assistance, assessment, and showcase in building bilingual habits,
despite teachers not speaking students' first languages. Through classroom observations and
interviews with monolingual teachers, the study demonstrates that children can develop both
English proficiency and bilingualism by leveraging their home language in the learning process.
This paper provides encouragement for teachers to confidently implement translanguaging
strategies, even when they are not proficient in the students' first languages. A limitation of the
study is the lack of information on the duration of the research period, which may affect the
sustainability of the bilingual habit development.