The present study is situated within the field of Early Language Learning and aims to examine the impact of participatory approaches and multimodal methods of teaching on young learners' L2 acquisition. Over the past three decades researchers' interest in the teaching of Greek as L2 has increased significantly. This is partly due to the increasing number of non-Greek speaking refugees who have entered the Greek schools since 2015 but also to the new migratory movement of young Greeks who, due to the economic crisis in Greece, are moving abroad looking for either employment or studies related to their professional field. There is a wide variability in the provision of Greek as a foreign language instruction around the globe and this variability is dependent on the economic and political situation of each country as well as on the different educational systems and values that each country stands for. Given the dearth of appropriate materials for the teaching of Greek as L2 to young learners, the study aims to present innovative material for the teaching of Greek as L2 to early primary school learners (aged 5-6). The study took place in an American-Greek K-12 state school in Delaware, USA, founded by Greek-Americans in 2006. The school's current student population is around 2,000 students of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds, most of them English native speakers. In order to address the need for appropriate materials for the teaching of Greek as L2 to young learners, we designed multimodal material that has a robust pedagogical and linguistic foundation and takes into account (a) the characteristics that young learners bring with them into the classroom, and (b) how they learn a foreign language. The material adopts a story-based approach and is accompanied with songs and videos aiming to make learning fun, motivating and attractive for young learners. The material promotes a 'learning by doing' approach that encourages students to use their body, gestures, and voice in many different activities and through all that, it aims to develop students' social, cognitive, affective and psycho-motor skills. The material takes into account the plasticity of young learner's brain and the holistic way in which they approach the language. This is why the teaching framework adopted is story-based. All stories are followed by game-like activities which aim to provide language practice and develop young learners' cognitive skills (inferencing, inductive thinking, etc.). All stories are either rhyming or musical ones and are supported with both a video and an audio. Music has a predominant role in the design of this material because research findings have shown multiple benefits of its use in foreign language learning at this age (e.g. Fonseca, 2000). Our presentation is going to be supported with video excerpts showcasing the use of the specific material and pedagogical practices in young learners' classes.
References
Fonseca Mora, C. (2000). Foreign language acquisition and melody singing. ELT Journal, 54(2), 146-152. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/54.2.146
