DIGITAL LIBRARY
OFF-TASK BEHAVIOR AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE KINDERGARTENS
József Eötvös College (HUNGARY)
About this paper:
Appears in: ICERI2009 Proceedings
Publication year: 2009
Pages: 6074-6082
ISBN: 978-84-613-2953-3
ISSN: 2340-1095
Conference name: 2nd International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation
Dates: 16-18 November, 2009
Location: Madrid, Spain
Abstract:
This study investigated teacher and children behaviour at a kindergarten where English classes were held. The qualitative longitudinal research highlights different methods used by the teacher and the children's behaviour as they get closer to the L2 while not leaving their spontaneous world of playful activities. It also deals with chronotopes (Bakhtin, 1981), i.e., how dialogically constructed worlds are experienced by children aged 3-6, and how L2 teacher can adapt these worlds to facilitate children's L2 development.

Classroom observation, a questionnaire and digital voice recording have revealed significant domains concerning this investigated phenomenon.

Language elements in playful activities and playful elements in language use can be considered as basic components of activities in an EFL classroom. The questions are, to what extent can all these facilitate acquisition, what frequency and intensity is needed to have real success. This paper intends to answer these questions.