Multilingual Early Language Transmission (MELT) - Mercator ...

‘starting age’, ‘social and geographical settings’, as well as the ‘language competence of the
teacher.” (Edelenbos …et al. 2006: 14)
In 2009, the EU Education Ministers set the target that by 2020 at least 95 % of the children
aged between four and the age in which compulsory primary education starts should
participate in early childhood education. 90 In the Communication report the European
Commission describes the importance of early childhood education and care (2011):
“Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is the essential foundation for successful lifelong
learning, social integration, personal development and later employability.” 91
The European Commission defines ‘Early language learning’ as follows:
‘Early Language Learning (ELL) at pre-primary level’ means systematic awareness raising or
exposure to more than one language taking place in an early childhood education and care
setting in a pre-primary school context. 92
In 2011, a group of national experts, convened by the European Commission, debated on
current needs and issues in the field of pre-primary language awareness and acquisition in
Europe. These data and results are presented in a Handbook, including summaries of the
participating countries and the good practices.
However, the central message of research on ‘multilingualism’ and ‘early language learning’
is: "Start early!" There are many advantages when children have the opportunity to acquire
more languages at an early age. Research suggests that bilingualism has positive effects on
children’s linguistic and educational development: they develop more flexibility in their
thinking as a result of processing information through two different languages. There are
long-term cognitive, linguistic, social, economic, and cultural benefits to become
multilingual.
Some benefits 93 to learn more languages from the early start are:
Bi- or multilingual children communicate easier, faster, and better with other people
(in this increasingly globalised world).
Children are less shame (than adults) to use new languages other than their mother
tongue.
Their pronunciation is better in both languages, they do hardly have an accent, or not
at all.
Bilingual children can manage their grammar better; there is also more chance to
develop better writing skills. Compared to adults children who acquire a second
language at early age make fewer spelling errors.
90
Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education
and training (‘ET 2020’) (2009/C 119/02), http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2009:119:0002:0010:EN:PDF
[Accessed June 2011].
91
EUROPEAN COMMISSION, COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION . (2011) Early Childhood Education and Care: Providing all our
children with the best start for the world of tomorrow. Brussels
http://ec.europa.eu/education/school-education/doc/childhoodcom_en.pdf [Accessed June 2011].
92
EUROPEAN COMMISSION ( 2011), COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER European Strategic Framework for Education and training (ET
2020) LANGUAGE LEARNING AT PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL LEVEL: MAKING IT EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE A POLICY HANDBOOK. Brussels.
http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/pdf/ellpwp_en.pdf [Accessed June 2011].
93
In Mercator newsletter “Conference: Early foreign language learning" (May 2011 num. 71) “Conferentie: 'Vvto in opmars' over vroeg
vreemde talen onderwijs 12-05- 2011” (the experts speakers: Hell van J., Bot de K. & Krikhaar E). Leeuwarden: Mercator European
Research Centre on Multilingualism and Language Learning
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