TEYL

Child is exposed to a foreign language

Child is exposed to a foreign language

English language learning as a global phenomenon

In UK today, whilst the need for good communicative skills in English, both in the workplace and in leisure time, is widely endorsed, there is a growing scepticism about the need for comparable skills in other languages. This trend is well illustrated in the EU's special Eurobarometer on languages (2006), which found that whilst people in UK were extremely positive to the idea that everyone in the EU should be able to speak one language in addition to their mother tongue, 90% believing so, they were the least enthusiastic of all EU nationals to the idea that everyone in the EU should be able to speak two additional languages, with only 27% of UK respondents believing this to be the case, compared to an EU average of over 50%.

Empirically based research into the language attitudes of pupils in UK appears to bear out the concerns about the effects of global English. For example, in The Assessment of Pupils' Skills in English in Eight European Countries (Erickson, 2004) UK pupils were found to be very good at English, very confident in their own abilities and, of all the participating nations (Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Spain and UK), it was the UK pupils who were most positive to English, both as a language and as a school subject. However, when it comes to second FLs which, in UK, children start learning in the sixth grade of school (average age = 12) the picture is somewhat different.

Proponents team for early EFL education in the Saudi educational system

Important changes in the understanding and management of the intrinsic motivation among Saudi EFL learners have been developed in the past 10 to 15 years. Various researchers, practitioners and policymakers now acknowledge that the intrinsic motivation among Saudi EFL learners can be conceptualized from a functional perspective and that appropriate interventions involve the development of alternative measures to cope up (1977).

It was also noted that the establishment of a conducive environment for learning have served effectively in lowering the prevalence of underachievement among Saudi EFL learners (2003). At present, this philosophical shift has extended to university settings in Saudi Arabia. Teachers and educators here have recognized that some Saudi EFL learners do not have the skills and behavioral repertoires necessary to cope with the many academic and social expectations. Hence, these students may have the tendency to remain contented with their mediocre performances as their alternative way of mitigating these school expectations (2001).

Opponent team of early EFL education in S educational system

For decades, researchers have tried to discover the intrinsic motivation among Saudi EFL learners (1992). And while they might have been able to identify certain sources of intrinsic motivation, they have yet to determine its precursor. However, it has been shown that the lack of intrinsic motivation produces consequences that foster inappropriate behavior ...