Cover not available

Article published In: Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education: Online-First Articles

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB

EFL lexical abilities in pre-primary education

Longitudinal effects of individual differences, quality and quantity of exposure

ORCiD logo with link | Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
 | Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Open Access logo
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

This article was made Open Access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license through payment of an APC by or on behalf of the authors.

Published online: 29 November 2024
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.24029.seg
Abstract
The increasing need for plurilingualism within the latest decades has led many schools to promote an early start to Foreign Language (FL) teaching, in some cases as early as in pre-primary education. Research on pre-primary students to understand FL development in instructed contexts is still scarce. This study examines (1) how English as a FL receptive vocabulary develops over two years in pre-primary education learners, and (2) which internal and external factors influence it. Data were collected from 71 Catalan-Spanish bilingual pre-primary students at three times: T1-September 2019 (Mage = 4;6), T2-September 2020 (Mage = 5;1), and T3-June 2021 (Mage = 5;9). EFL receptive vocabulary was measured with the PPVT-4 (Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, D. M. (2007). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (4th Ed.). NCS Pearson.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), and at T1 participants’ parents filled in a background questionnaire. Results showed growth in participants’ lexical abilities from T1-T3. The strongest predictors of lexical development were gender, maternal education level, school, and EFL out-of-school exposure.
Resumen
La creciente necesidad de plurilingüismo ha motivado escuelas a promover un inicio de instrucción de lengua extranjera (LE) temprano, en muchos casos en educación infantil. La investigación en infantil para entender cómo se desarrolla la LE en contextos de instrucción formal todavía es escasa. Este estudio examina (1) como el vocabulario receptivo en inglés como LE se desarrolla durante dos años en alumnos de infantil, (2) qué factores internos y externos lo influencian. Se recogieron datos de 71 bilingües de catalán-castellano tres veces: T1-septiembre 2019 (Medad = 4;6), T2-septiembre 2020 (Medad = 5;1) y T3-junio 2021 (Medad = 5;9). Se midió el vocabulario receptivo en inglés con el PPVT-4 (Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, D. M. (2007). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (4th Ed.). NCS Pearson.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) y en el T1 las familias rellenaron un cuestionario sociolingüístico. Los resultados muestran crecimiento en el vocabulario entre T1-T3. Los predictores más significativos fueron género, nivel educativo materno, escuela, y exposición a la lengua fuera de la escuela.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Individual differences (internal vs external factors)
    • 1.2Quantity and quality of exposure
  • 2.Methodology
    • 2.1Study design
    • 2.2Participants and intervention
    • 2.3Data collection
    • 2.4Data analysis
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Overall lexical development
    • 3.2Individual differences
    • 3.3Quality and quantity of exposure
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1Overall lexical development
    • 4.2Predictors of lexical development
  • 5.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
    • Declaration of interest statement
    • Data availability statement
  • Note
  • References
References (75)
References
Agustín-Llach, M. P. (2015). Age and type of instruction (CLIL vs. traditional EFL) in lexical development. International Journal of English Studies, 16(1), 75–96. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2015). Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4. Journal of Statistical Software, 67(1), 1–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bruton, A. (2011). Is CLIL so beneficial, or just selective? Re-evaluating some of the research. System, 39(4), 523–532. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2013). CLIL: Some of the reasons why … and why not. System, 41(3), 587–597. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Castellano-Risco, I., Alejo-González, R., & Piquer-Píriz, A. M. (2020). The development of receptive vocabulary in CLIL vs EFL: Is the learning context the main variable? System, 91. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Catalan, R. M. J. (2003). Sex differences in L2 vocabulary learning strategies. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13(1), 54–77. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cenoz, J., & Valencia, J. F. (1994). Additive trilingualism: Evidence from the Basque country. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15(2), 195–207. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dale, L., & Tanner, R. (2012). CLIL activities. A resource for subject and language teaching. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dalton-Puffer, C. (2008). Outcomes and processes in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL): Current research from Europe. In W. Delanoy, & L. Volkmann (Eds.), Future perspectives for English language teaching (pp. 139–157). Carl Winter.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dalton-Puffer, C., Hüttner, J., & Llinares, A. (2022). CLIL in the 21st Century. Retrospective and prospective challenges and opportunities. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 10(2), 182–206. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
David, A., & Wei, L. (2008). Individual Differences in the Lexical Development of French–English Bilingual Children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11(5), 598–618. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
De Wilde, V., Brysbaert, M., & Eyckmans, J. (2020). Learning English through out-of-school exposure. Which levels of language proficiency are attained and which types of input are important? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 23(1), 171185. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Delaney, J., & Devereux, P. J. (2021). Gender and Educational Achievement: Stylized Facts and Causal Evidence. Center for Economic Policy Research, Discussion paper No. DP15753. Retrieved October 4, 2024, from [URL].
Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The Psychology of the Language Learner: Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, D. M. (2007). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (4th Ed.). NCS Pearson.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Emilsson, K. H. (2021). The relationship between extramural English exposure and receptive vocabulary knowledge of young Swedish L2 learners of English. [Doctoral dissertation, Lund University] Lund University Publications. [URL]
European Commission. (1995). While paper on education and training. Teaching and learning — Towards the learning society. Office of Official Publications of the European Communities.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2003). Promoting language learning and linguistic diversity: An action plan 2004–2006. Office of Official Publications of the European Communities.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
European Commission. (2011). Commission staff working paper — Language learning at pre-primary level: making it efficient and sustainable — A policy handbook.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
European Commission. (2002). CLIL/EMILE — The European dimension. Technical report.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eurostat. (2024). Foreign language learning statistics. Retrieved September 30, 2024, from [URL]
Eurydice European Unit. (2006). Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) at school in Europe. Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2023). Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe — 2023 edition. Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Farkas, G., & Beron, K. (2004). The detailed age trajectory of oral vocabulary knowledge: Differences by class and race. Social Science Research, 33(3), 464–497. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
García Esteban, S. (2015). Soft CLIL in infant education bilingual contexts in Spain. International Journal of Language and Applied Linguistics, 11, 30–36.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gené-Gil, M., Juan-Garau, M., & Salazar-Noguera, J. (2016). A methodology for longitudinal research on EFL written production: Capturing writing multidimensionality by combining qualitative and quantitative procedures. Journal of Research Design and Linguistics and Communication Sciences, 3(1), 23–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Generalitat de Catalunya. (2023). Decret 21/2023, de 7 de febrer, d’ordenació dels ensenyaments de l’educació infant [Decree 21/2023, February 7, by which the ordinance of the teaching in pre-primary education in established]. Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 88511.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goris, J., Denessen, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2019). Effects of content and language integrated learning in Europe. A systematic review of longitudinal experimental studies. European Educational Research Journal, 18(6), 675–695. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental review, 26(1), 55–88. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Institut d’Estadística de Catalunya (2018). Usos lingüístics de la població. Llengua inicial, d’identificació i habitual. Retrieved July 8, 2024, from [URL]
(2019). Enquesta d’usos lingüístics de la població. Retrieved July 8, 2024, from [URL]
Ikeda, M. (2013). Does CLIL work for Japanese secondary school students? Potential for the ‘weak’ version of CLIL. International CLIL Research Journal, 2(1), 31–43.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ikeda, M., Izumi, S., Watanabe, Y., Pinner, R., & Davis, M. (2021). Soft CLIL and English language teaching. Understanding Japanese policy, practice, and implications. Routledge Handbooks. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jafarigohar, M., Fivsar, H., & Etemad, P. (2022). The effect of CLIL context on the primary education EFL receptive and productive lexical growth. Language Teaching Research, Online first. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jiménez-Catalán, R. M., & Agustín-Llach, M. P. (2017). CLIL or time? Lexical profiles of CLIL and non-CLIL EFL learners. System, 661, 87–99. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jiménez-Catalán, R. M., Ruiz de Zarobe, Y., & Cenoz, J. (2006). Vocabulary profiles of English foreign language learners in English as a subject and as a vehicular language. Views, 15(3), 23–26. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Johnson, J. S., & Newport, E. L. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive psychology, 21(1), 60–99. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kassambara, A. (2023). rstatix: Pipe-Friendly Framework for Basic Statistical Tests. R Package Version 0.7.2. [URL]
Lindgren, E. & Muñoz, C. (2013). The influence of exposure, parents, and linguistic distance on young European learners’ foreign language comprehension. International Journal of Multilingualism, 10(1), 105–129. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Llach, M. P. A., & Gallego, M. T. (2012). Vocabulary knowledge development and gender differences in a second language. Elia, 121, 45–75.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lasagabaster, D., & Sierra, J. M. (2009). Language attitudes in CLIL and international EFL classes. International CLIL Research Journal, 1(2), 4–17.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lenth, R., Singmann, H., Love, J., Buerkner, P., & Herve, M. (2023). Estimated Marginal Means, aka Least-Squares Means. R package version 1.9.0. [URL]
Leona, N. L., van Koert, M. J. H., van der Molen, M. W., Rispens, J. E., Tijms, J., & Snellings, P. (2021). Explaining individual differences in young English language learners’ vocabulary knowledge: The role of Extramural English Exposure and motivation. System, 961. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Llinares, A., & Morton, T. (2010). Historical explanations as situated practice in content and language integrated learning. Classroom Discourse, 1(1), 46–65. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lorenzo, F., Casal, S., & Moore, P. (2010). The effects of content and language integrated learning in European education: Key findings from the Andalusian bilingual sections evaluation project. Applied Linguistics, 31(3), 418–442. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lüdecke, D., Ben-Shachar, M., Patil, I., Waggoner, P., & Makowski, D. (2021). Performance: An R Package for Assessment, Comparison and Testing of Statistical Models. Journal of Open Source Software, 6(60), 3139. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Muñoz, C. (2008). Symmetries and asymmetries of age effects in naturalistic and instructed L2 learning. Applied Linguistics, 29(4), 578–596. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2011). Input and long-term effects of starting age in foreign language learning. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 49(2), 113–133. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Navés, T. (2009). Effective Content and Language Integrated (CLIL) Programmes. In Y. Ruiz de Zarobe and R. M. Jiménez Catalán, (Eds.), Content and Language Integrated Learning. Evidence from Research in Europe (pp. 22–40). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Navés, T., & Muñoz, C. (1999). CLIL experiences in Spain. In D. Marsh, and G. Langé, (Eds.), Implementing Content and Language Integrated Learning. TIE-CLIL.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nieuwenhuis, R., Te Grotenhuis, M., & Pelzer, B. (2012). Influence.ME: Tools for Detecting Influential Data in Mixed Effects Models. R Journal, 4(2), 38–47. [URL].
Paradis, J. (2019). English second language acquisition from early childhood to adulthood: The role of age, first language, cognitive, and input factors. In Proceedings of the BUCLD (Vol. 431, pp. 11–26).Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pérez Cañado, M. L. (2018). CLIL and educational levels: A longitudinal study on the impact of CLIL on language outcomes. Porta Linguarium, 291, 51–70. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
R Core Team (2023). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical computing, Vienna, Austria. [URL]
Revelle, W. (2024). psych: Procedures for Psychological, Psychometric, and Personality Research. R package version 2.4.3, [URL]
Rua, P. L. (2006). The sex variable in foreign language learning: an integrative approach. Porta Linguarum 6(1), 99–144.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sagasta, M. P. (2003). Acquiring writing skills in a third language: The positive effects of bilingualism. International Journal of Bilingualism, 7(1), 27–42. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
San Isidro, X., & Lasagabaster, D. (2019). The impact of CLIL on pluriliteracy development and content learning in a rural multilingual setting: A longitudinal study. Language Teaching Research, 23(5), 584–602. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sanz, C. (2000). Bilingual education enhances third language acquisition: Evidence from Catalonia. Applied Psycholinguistics, 21(1), 23–44. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2008). Predicting enhanced L3 learning in bilingual contexts: The role of biliteracy. In C. Pérez-Vidal, M. Juan-Garau, & A. Bel (Eds.), A portrait of the young in the new multilingual Spain (pp. 220–240). Multilingual Matters. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Segura, M., Barón, J., & Roquet, H. (2022). Productive vocabulary development in pre-primary through soft CLIL. Open Linguistics, 8(1), 297–327. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soto-Corominas, A., Roquet, H., & Segura, M. (2024). The effects of CLIL and sources of individual differences on receptive and productive EFL skills at the onset of primary school. Applied Linguistics, 45(2), 364–382. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Soto-Corominas, A., Segura, M., Roquet, H., Navarro, N., & Met, Y. E. (2024). Third language English performance at the onset of schooling: Effects of bilingualism and exposure in Catalan-Spanish bilingual children. International Journal of Multilingualism (online first). Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sun, H., Steinkrauss, R., Tendeiro, J., & De Bot, K. (2016). Individual differences in very young children’s English acquisition in China: Internal and external factors. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(3), 550–566. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sun, H., Steinkrauss, R., Wieling, M., & De Bot, K. (2018). Individual differences in very young Chinese children’s English vocabulary breadth and semantic depth: Internal and external factors. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(4), 405–425. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sundqvist, P. (2024). Extramural English as an individual difference variable in L2 research: Methodology matters. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, online first. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sylvén, L. K. (2010). Teaching in English or English teaching? On the effects of content and language integrated learning on Swedish learners’ incidental vocabulary acquisition [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Gothenburg.
Tedick, D. J., & Lyster, R. (2020). Scaffolding language development in immersion and dual language classrooms. Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Thordardottir, E. (2011). The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15(4), 426–445. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Unsworth, S., Persson, L., Prins, T., & De Bot, K. (2015). An investigation of factors affecting early foreign language learning in the Netherlands. Applied linguistics, 36(5), 527–548. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van Mensel, L., & Galand, B. (2022). Testing the predictive power of executive functions, motivation, and input on second language vocabulary acquisition: a prospective study. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 38(2), 475–494. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Venables, W. N., & Ripley, B. D. (2002). Modern Applied Statistics with S (4th ed.) Springer. [URL].
Vraciu, A., & Marsol, A. (2023). Content-specific vocabulary in CLIL: Exploring L2 learning outcomes in a primary education programme in Catalonia. Language Teaching Research, Online first. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wickham, H., Davis, V., Girlich, M., & Usher, K. (2024). tidyr: Tidy Messy Data. R package version 1.3.1. [URL]
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue