Page 10 - ELG1707 Jul Issue 449

RESEARCH NEWS .

‘Don’t give up on Germany’s early

start policies’, says academic

Prof Eva Wilden says there is not enough evidence to suggest the programmes will fail

By Claudia Civinini early starters could not maintain is a body of fully qualified English
Early language learning in their advantage in secondary teachers. Again, this is a policy
Germany has not failed its purpose school’. problem that could get worse due
– but more research is needed to Dr Wilden co-authored a study to attempts to mainstream teacher
understand why early starters lose with Dr Raphaela Porsch and Prof education across all German states.
their lead at secondary level, an Markus Ritter in 2013 using the ‘At my university, for example,
academic has told the Gazette. same dataset used by the most primary student teachers won’t be
A recent study (see Gazette recent study. Results for the Year able to enrol in teacher-training
June 2017) showed that German 5 English test were the same: early programmes with English as their
children who had started learning starters showed higher receptive core subject – they will only be
English in Year 1 only retained skills compared to the late starters allowed to have maths or German,’
an advantage over peers who had – and this was valid for students of she said. ‘This is a “rivalry” between
started later until Year 5. When all linguistic backgrounds. two educational policy initiatives.’
they were tested again in Year 7, Teaching culture, Prof Wilden and Dr Porsch are
the late starters had overtaken the communication between primary now working on a cross-sectional
early starters. The study indicated and secondary schools and study comparing early and late
that starting age, amount of curriculum continuity play a bigger EFL starters across two states. As
weekly exposure and curriculum role, she said. ‘There is narrative part of the study, they will also
continuity between primary and Prof Dr Eva evidence that some secondary survey teaching quality and teacher
secondary could all have a role to Wilden, teachers are very critical of primary characteristics.
play. from University of EFL education.’ ‘We are planning to look at
The report came as a number Vechta The problem seems to be also correlations between teaching
of German states have brought at policy level. ‘The state of Lower quality and learner proficiency at
in policies to start EFL as early as Wilden, who is from Universität Saxony, for example, is revising the the end of primary school. We are
Year 1. Vechta in Lower Saxony, ‘but secondary curriculum – without planning to do a longitudinal study
Commenting on the findings I do disagree with some of the revising the primary curriculum in the future,’ she added.
of this study, Prof Eva Wilden interpretations that have been put first. There is a lack of continuity Last month the Gazette reported
said that calls to scrap early EFL forward, especially by the media. between the two,’ she explained. on a study (From Early Starters to
education miss the point, and that For example, I disagree with the Regarding teacher Late Finishers? A Longitudinal Study
teaching quality – and teacher criticism of primary education and qualifications, Prof Wilden said of Early Foreign Language Learning
characteristics – should be taken primary teachers: the early starters that a majority of teachers at in School. Jaeckel et al, 2017) that
into consideration as well. did have an advantage by the end primary level were probably not called into question the ‘early
‘I don’t disagree with the of primary school. These newer specialist English teachers, and it start policy’ and how it had been
results of the study,’ said Prof findings pose the question why the would take a while before there implemented.
10 July 2017

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