The Future of Education

Teaching English to children at an early age does not only prepare a breeding ground for early bilingualism/multilingualism but also facilitates language learning at later stages. The early introduction of English in the curricula of primary schools, which has recently become topical throughout Europe, also calls for the introduction of language-teaching methodology suitable for very young learners.  Although there is currently a wide range of material parents and teachers have at their disposal that can assist them in improving their children’s and pupils’ linguistic potential, its amount may sometimes seem quite overwhelming. This can make the choice of the right activity rather complicated and thus the need for language-teaching aids that can be recycled several times arises.

The paper focuses on practical examples of how a magnetic book can be used repeatedly to develop a young child’s language skills in their mother tongue or a second language and what methodology can be deployed in this respect that incorporates some of the principles of language acquisition theories. Special attention is being paid to behaviorism, Chomsky’s ideas, Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s interactionist approaches (fostering Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding), and connectionism as well as how these can be put into operation when one is working with the book.