Parents and Educational Change – the Need for Reculturing Parents In Lowering the Starting Age of Foreign Language Learning

• Authors: Karmen Pižorn , Mateja Dagarin Fojkar

Abstracts

EN

Many countries across the world have been lowering the starting age of foreign language learning (FLL) to an earlier age. While the roles of learners and teachers have mostly been studied from a variety of perspectives, learners’ parents have often been examined for their opinions of FLL, but not as real partners who need the same amount of ‘reculturing’ as other involved stakeholders. In the presented case study, parents were involved in the planning and implementing of lowering the FLL starting age from age 9 to age 6. The results of the questionnaire and the teachers’ interviews show that ‘recultured’ parents’ attitudes to lowering the starting age can differ greatly from those of ‘non-recultured’ parents if the most important variables for the successful implementation of an educational change have been fulfilled. The ‘recultured’ parents’ model can be of great help to decision makers and other stakeholders involved in teaching foreign languages.

Keywords

EN

young learners; foreign language learning; parent and teacher attitudes

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
• Journal: The New Educational Review
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 34
• Pages: 63-73

Dates

published

2013

Contributors

author

Karmen Pižorn

• University of Ljubljana

author

Mateja Dagarin Fojkar

• University of Ljubljana

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Identifiers

DOI

10.15804/tner.13.34.4.05

Biblioteka Nauki

16530327