Developing Learning Environments and Creative Activities to Promote the Acquisition of English as an Additional Language in Early Childhood Education

Abstract

The motivation to write this qualitative and functional thesis was to support a group of children during their first introduction to the English language at their Finnish Early Childhood Education and Care unit. I aimed to create a small English language atmosphere to encourage participation and demonstrate how learning environments and creative activities promote acquiring an additional language in early childhood education. I wrote a short pedagogical plan as a development suggestion for this unit.

The theoretical foundation integrates a short revision about language development and second language acquisition in early childhood education; it includes a brief examination of how forming a relationship with a group of small children help them ease anxiety. It considers the Finnish National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care, 2018, as the guideline to explore different learning environments and develop creative activities to support English language acquisition. The revised literature justifies the implementation of play, circle time, reading, and creative activities with children to motivate and encourage them to participate and become familiar with an additional language.

My interactions with the children, their daily participation, and their feedback underpin the action research and qualitative part of the thesis. This practice exemplifies that reflecting upon the learning environments and the implementation of activities is necessary to support children learning a second language; however, small children are ready to learn in any environment, and therefore, planning activities is more effective for early childhood educators, who make the activities attractive and organized for children to execute them. The electronic questionnaires for staff and parents were anonymous to find their opinions about the children learning an additional language. The results and analysis of the questionnaires served me to develop practical activities during the implementation according to their expectations and suggestions. The functional element of the thesis is the pedagogical plan, which offers a framework to organize a day in an early childhood and care unit.