Early Language Learning Policy in the 21st Century: An International Perspective (Language Policy, Band 26) - Softcover

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Subhan Zein (Ph.D., Australian National University) teaches at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is the author of Language policy in superdiverse Indonesia (Routledge, 2020) and the lead editor of Early language learning and teacher education: International research and practice (Multilingual Matters, 2019) and English language teacher preparation in Asia: Policy, research and practice (Routledge, 2018); he is also the editor of Teacher education for English as a lingua franca: Perspectives from Indonesia (Routledge, 2018). He is Asia TEFL Director of Research Publications and Principal Investigator of the British Council’s English across ASEAN Education Systems Scoping Research (2020-2021).

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This volume analyses the policymaking, expectations, implementation, progress, and outcomes of early language learning in various education policy contexts worldwide. The contributors to the volume are international researchers specialising in language policy and early language learning and their contributions aim to advance scholarship on early language learning policies and inform policymaking at the global level. 

The languages considered include learning English as a second language in primary schools in Japan, Mexico, Serbia, Argentina, and Tanzania; Spanish language education in the US and Australia; Arabic as a second language in Israel and Bangladesh; Chinese in South America and Oceania; and finally, early German teaching and learning in France and the UK.

This exciting book brings all new attention to an often overlooked but critically important issue. Zein and Coady make a compelling argument to move beyond debates over critical periods and benefits of earlylanguage learning, and instead engage in practical language policy research that best informs the conditions under which early language learning programs can be most successful for teachers and young children. The rich international examples from expert scholars across six continents and several world languages perfectly captures the complexities of early language learning policy making and implementation.

Zein and Coady break new ground with this publication – an edited collection of papers providing insights to the implementation of widely spoken languages in the primary school curriculum. Policies for the introduction of Arabic, German, Kiswahili, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish are discussed alongside English as a foreign language, adopting a historical approach in accounting for how the neoliberal turn presents a continuing challenge to valuing languages other than English. Each chapter is informed by the author’s detailed knowledge of the policy context, including countries as diverse as Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Chile, Israel, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Paraguay, Serbia, Tanzania, United Kingdom and United States. Together, this collection serves as a rallying call to policy makers for comprehensive investment in additional language programmes for early language learners. I strongly recommend this volume for graduate students, researchers and decision-makers interested in understanding the challenges of early language teaching policy and practice worldwide.

Janet Enever, Professor Emerita, Umeå University, Sweden