Early Childhood Education in English for Speakers of
To be effective in ECEE, teachers need to
Other Languages
V. A. Murphy and M. Evangelou (eds.)
British Council 2016, 315 pp., free online https://www.
teachingenglish.org.uk/article/early-childhood-education-
english-speakers-other-languages
isbn 978 0 86355 782 8
Early childhood English language education must
surely be the most rapidly growing sector of the
English teaching industry worldwide, so this volume
is a welcome addition to the existing literature on
the subject. Necessarily, no single account can do
justice to the scale, scope, and complexity of this
phenomenon, so the current title will profit from being
read alongside Rixon’s survey (2013).
The volume is divided into three main sections,
together with an Introduction and an Epilogue
contributed by the editors. Section 1, ‘Global
perspectives’, comprises six chapters, each one of
which focuses on a region: North America, South
America, Europe, India, Africa, Australia, and Eastern
Asia. Section 2 offers six ‘Case studies in immersion’
from a variety of countries and contexts. Section 3
presents five ‘Case studies in EFL contexts’, again
from a variety of settings.
Coverage then is wide but on closer examination
proves patchy. Chapter 1.2, South America, focuses
mainly on Colombia, Chapter 1.5, Africa, on Tanzania,
and 1.7, Eastern Asia, on Hong Kong and Korea. There
is no coverage of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand,
Vietnam, and other South East Asian contexts.
Likewise with Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East.
Nonetheless the collection will be useful for
identifying the key issues, which are largely shared
across the geographical spectrum in Section 1, and for
highlighting the particularities of specific contexts in
Sections 2 and 3.
The Introduction provides a clear and succinct
discussion of most of the main issues. The editors
cite three main reasons for the current expansion of
ECEE (Early Childhood Education in English). There is
an unprecedented population of migrants across the
globe, many of whom find themselves in
English-speaking countries. There is a widespread belief
among parents, administrators, and governments
that ‘younger is better’ (despite the fact that this belief
is unsupported by research). And English is viewed,
particularly by parents and by government, as the
language of opportunity and success in later life.
The issue of teacher supply is addressed in the
Introduction and taken up repeatedly throughout
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the book.
be proficient in English, to have a thorough training
in teaching learners in the younger age groups, and
to have an understanding of the cultural context in
which they operate. It is clear that these conditions
are only rarely met. All too often, unqualified native
speakers of English are employed in preference to
well-qualified and experienced local teachers. In many
cases, teachers have low English proficiency, and are
untrained. In others, they are trained to teach older
age groups.
Lack of adequate, appropriate resources is also
highlighted both in the Introduction and in many of
the chapters. In many cases, authorities decree the
introduction of ECEE without providing the human
and material resources needed to ensure its success.
Time is a key resource, yet authorities often prescribe
no more than a couple of 30-minute lessons a week.
There is also a lack of consistency in the curricula for
ECEE. In some cases, what is decreed by ministries
bears little resemblance to what is encountered in the
classroom. In others, especially in the private sector,
there is a lack of policy, or loosely articulated notions
of what should be taught, and how.
Views of the role for the L1 are shown as confusedly
diverse and often retrograde. As the editors state,
‘the issue of L1 maintenance and/or integration with
the L1 is a predominant issue’ (p. 12) and ‘in the zeal
to learn English, some educators, parents and policy
makers seem to have lost sight of the importance
of supporting the L1’ (p. 13). Yet the L1 is key to the
child’s overall development and the acquisition
of literacy skills. And contrary to popular belief, a
multilingual approach is more beneficial linguistically
and maturationally than a purely monolingual focus.
In considering the learner, there is now clear evidence
that early language exposure has the potential to
enhance the whole life of the child, not just the
language skills. However, many learners are under
extreme pressure from their life circumstances, home
background, and lack of support.
The role of parents is also a recurrent theme. There
are many positive aspects, including the willingness
of parents to make significant financial and lifestyle
sacrifices to ensure their children have early access
to English. And in many cases, parents cooperate
closely with the school in supporting their children,
both by encouraging them and by actively engaging
with the language learning activities themselves.
There is, however, a negative side when parents have
unrealistically high expectations of their children, and
submit them to inhumane pressure to perform highly.
Clearly, much remains to be done in educating parents
 (the wider community and other sponsors) to the
realities of young age learning.
It is not feasible within the limited space of this
review to discuss all the detailed chapters. Some
were of particular interest, however. Genesee’s
Chapter, 1.1, on North America, in fact also deals
with some more general, key issues. He reviews
a number of widely held beliefs about English
Language Learners (ELLs), which he then goes on to
rebut. The first is that ‘learning and using more than
one language is burdensome and has associated
costs and disadvantages’ (p. 25). He presents
evidence to show that this is not the case, and that
ELLs in bilingual programmes do at least as well and
often better than their counterparts in monolingual
programmes. Many also believe that young children
are natural language learners and will have no
problems picking up a new language. While this can
sometimes be true, there is no agreement on the
best age to start. Moreover, the detailed contexts of
learning are complex, and natural learning cannot
be guaranteed. Further, the acquisition of so-called
‘academic’ language (the language they will need for
learning subject matter) is much more protracted
and problematic. There is also a belief that the
greater the exposure to the language, the greater the
efficiency. Clearly there is no simple correlation here
either. Much depends on the detail of the context,
such as the role of the majority language. The final
belief is that the languages of bilingual students
are separate, leading to a taboo on using the L1.
Genesee shows that, to the contrary, bilinguals are
able to draw on either of their languages to enhance
learning in the other. Using this advantage can save
time and effort.
The other chapters in Section 1 serve mainly to
reinforce the major issues already mentioned. In 1.3,
Europe, for example, Murphy, Evangelou, Goff, and
Tracz draw attention to the confusing diversity of
provision, with very few countries able to define their
curricula or how they are implemented. ECEE seems
to be a very ad hoc affair. It is also, of course, a highly
market-led business, with incomplete regulation
at best. The same is true of India (Chapter 1.4 by
Shankar and Gunashekar), where there is no single
policy and where small, profit-driven private schools
proliferate. Issues of teachers’ language proficiency,
low resources, and the divisive effects of creating an
English-speaking elite are also addressed. In Australia
(Chapter 1.6, Gawne, Wigglesworth, and Morales),
these kinds of problem are compounded by the history
of the treatment of indigenous peoples and languages,
and the emergence of creolized versions of English.
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Section 2 deals with situations where English is
the medium of instruction, with chapters on topics
ranging from learners with English as an additional
language in the United Kingdom, biliteracy in the
Maldives, vocabulary development in Hong Kong,
and pre-school provision in Singapore. One telling
quotation from the Maldives is that ‘Regardless
of what the research evidence shows, and what
prescribed curricula may state, what actually happens
in the classroom is largely dependent on individual
schools and teachers’ (p. 188).
Section 3 focuses on EFL situations, where English
is taught as a subject. Chapters are again very
diverse, ranging from Colombia to Spain, Portugal,
and France. I found Mourão and Robinson’s chapter
on collaboration between a local ‘educator’ and a
specialist English teacher particularly interesting. Ellis’
description of a training course in France for pre-
school teachers also has useful suggestions for others
planning such courses.
To conclude, this is a valuable addition to resources
for this rapidly expanding sector. It raises all
the pertinent major issues. It also reveals the
extraordinary diversity of contexts and practices
worldwide. One inevitable conclusion is that ‘more
research is needed’. But there is some doubt, reading
some of the contributions here, as to whether more
research will be heeded. Clearly there is a critical
need for a considerable effort to educate ministries of
education, educational administrators, parents, and
the wider community in the realities of early language
education.
Reference
Rixon, S. 2013. British Council Survey of Policy
and Practice in Primary English Language Teaching
Worldwide. London: British Council. Available at www.
teachingenglish.org.uk/article/british-council-survey-
policy-practice-primary-english-language-teaching-
worldwide (accessed on 18 December 2016).
The reviewer
Alan Maley is a retired ELT practitioner of 55 years’
standing. He has lived and worked in ten countries
worldwide, including China, India, Singapore, and
Thailand. He has published over 40 books and numerous
articles and is a regular reviewer for ELT Journal.
Email: yelamoo@yahoo.co.uk
doi:10.1093/elt/ccx005
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