Early English Language Learning among Primary School Students: The Development of Self-Ego and Social Interaction

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Foreign Languages, Kerman Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran

Abstract

Learning a new language is a complex process that affects the entire person: physically, intellectually, and emotionally. This paper, drawing on Norton’s (2010) conceptualization of language investment, investigated the effects of language exposure on the early foreign language learning of English in a Persian primary school. Using a sample of 40 Iranian children in a primary school, this study investigated how ECFLE (early childhood foreign language education) was related to children's self-ego and social interaction. A D International Institute’s (2007) self-ego questionnaire and Medical Wellness and Life Balance Institute’s (2016) social interaction questionnaire were used to examine participants’ self-ego and social interaction at the beginning and end of the project. After six months of English language exposure, the results demonstrated that learning a foreign language can boost children's self-ego and social interaction development. Study findings revealed that exposure to a new language affects learners' self-development. Speaking an L2 often involves struggling to build a new identity. Instructing children in the English language led to a great deal of change in English language proficiency, the supremacy of self-ego, and the growth of social interaction.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Article Title [Persian]

یادگیری اولیه زبان انگلیسی در بین دانش آموزان دبستانی: توسعه خود منیت و تعامل اجتماعی

Abstract [Persian]

یادگیری یک زبان جدید فرآیند پیچیده ای است که بر کل فرد تأثیر می گذارد: از نظر فیزیکی، فکری و عاطفی. این مقاله، با تکیه بر مفهوم‌سازی نورتون (2010) از سرمایه‌گذاری زبان، تأثیرات قرار گرفتن در معرض زبان را بر یادگیری اولیه زبان خارجی انگلیسی در یک مدرسه ابتدایی فارسی بررسی کرد. این مطالعه با استفاده از نمونه ای متشکل از 40 کودک ایرانی در یک دبستان، به بررسی ارتباط ECFLE (آموزش زبان های خارجی در دوران اولیه کودکی) با خود منیت و تعامل اجتماعی کودکان پرداخت. پرسشنامه خود من موسسه بین المللی D (2007) و پرسشنامه تعامل اجتماعی موسسه سلامتی پزشکی و تعادل زندگی (2016) برای بررسی خود منیت و تعامل اجتماعی شرکت کنندگان در ابتدا و انتهای پروژه استفاده شد. پس از شش ماه قرار گرفتن در معرض زبان انگلیسی، نتایج نشان داد که یادگیری یک زبان خارجی می‌تواند خود منیت و رشد تعامل اجتماعی کودکان را تقویت کند. یافته های مطالعه نشان داد که قرار گرفتن در معرض یک زبان جدید بر رشد خود زبان آموزان تأثیر می گذارد. صحبت کردن با یک L2 اغلب شامل تلاش برای ساختن یک هویت جدید است. آموزش زبان انگلیسی به کودکان منجر به تغییرات زیادی در مهارت زبان انگلیسی، برتری نفس و رشد تعامل اجتماعی شد.
 

Keywords [Persian]

  • یادگیری زودهنگام زبان خارجی
  • دانش‌آموزان دبستانی
  • خود نفس
  • تعامل اجتماعی
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  • Receive Date: 26 April 2023
  • Revise Date: 19 May 2023
  • Accept Date: 31 May 2023