289Goorhuis-Brouwer & de Bot: Impact of early English language‘International Journal of Bilingualism’• Volume 14• Number 3• 2010, 289–302||
Impact of early English language
teaching on L1 and L2 development
in children in Dutch schools
Sieneke...
More
289Goorhuis-Brouwer & de Bot: Impact of early English language‘International Journal of Bilingualism’• Volume 14• Number 3• 2010, 289–302||
Impact of early English language
teaching on L1 and L2 development
in children in Dutch schools
Sieneke Goorhuis-Brouwer
University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Kees de Bot
University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Abstract
This article reports on the outcomes of a project aimed at the evaluation
of early English language teaching (EELT) in Dutch primary education,
starting at age 4.
Between 2003 and 2008 four cohorts of first- and secondgrade children receiving one to three hours of English language teaching
per week were tested with standardized Dutch and English versions of the
Reynell tests for language development.
The outcomes show that all children acquire some basic skills in English leading to a native age equivalent
of 2.
5 years for comprehension and 2.
1 years for language production.
First
language (L1) development is not affected b
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