Abstract:

The study explores the issue of providing an appropriate sensitive environment for foreign language teaching and learning in primary education. The objective of the study was to identify and analyse the key factors that influence the acquisition or learning of a foreign language by young school-age learners in a school environment. Based on content analysis of 14 research studies and scholarly articles, external and internal stimuli of the psycholinguistic dimension in the educational process have been identified that significantly affect the development of foreign language skills and proficiency of learners aged 6 - 11 years old. The findings were confronted with the results of the questionnaire (371 respondents - foreign language teachers) and showed the significant demand for the formation of a positive classroom climate, the relationship between teacher and pupils. The key factors proved to be - self-agency, self-efficacy and transformation from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. The paper is the output of the research task within the project Creation of a web portal for methodological support of foreign language teaching in primary education KEGA 011UMB-4/2022 supported by the Cultural and Educational Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and as well the project Programme of Linguistic Development for children with a different mother tongue in Slovak - creation and verification.

Acknowledgement:
This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the Contract no. APVV-22-0450.

Keywords:

Primary education, sensitive environment, self-agency, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, foreign language learning and teaching.