Pre-school foreign language teaching and learning - a network innovation project in Slovenia

The paper describes some findings about teaching foreign languages (FL) in a pre-school setting obtained from the Network Innovation Project (NIP). The aims of the NIP were to research and practise the most effective teaching approaches and organizational models in teaching and learning of FL in pre-schools. The objectives were to determine how pre-school children experience FL learning in spontaneous and planned activities. The project also considered the professional growth of pre-school FL educators, and the parents' viewpoints about FL learning in preschools. The research utilized continuous monitoring of work with pre-school children, academic discussions, questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews with children. The results demonstrate that the children were highly motivated by their FL learning. Most of the parents were satisfied with the FL performance in pre-schools. FL educators pointed out the importance of monthly meetings, academic discussions, and constructive feedback about their live presentation of the FL activities.