Parental involvement in children’s (0–6-year-olds) EFL learning: Outlining practical proposals for improvement as part of student teachers’ training

• Autores: José Luis Estrada Chichón
• Localización: Porta Linguarum: revista internacional de didáctica de las lenguas extranjeras, ISSN 1697-7467, Nº. Extra 5, 2022 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Investigando las lenguas extranjeras en Educación Infantil)
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.30827/portalin.vi.26179
• Títulos paralelos:
  • La participación de los padres en el aprendizaje del inglés como lengua extranjera de los niños (0-6 años): Esbozando propues
• Enlaces
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• Resumen
  • español

    Destaca la creciente implicación en el aprendizaje del inglés de los niños por parte de sus padres (Rixon, 2019), que prefieren una iniciación temprana (Fleta, 2019). En respuesta a esta demanda socioeducativa, la enseñanza del inglés comienza en la etapa de preescolar (Cortina-Pérez & Andúgar, 2020). Con todo, los padres siguen necesitando apoyo profesional sobre cómo enfocar su participación (Li et al., 2018). Así, este estudio pretende determinar el grado y tipo de implicación de padres (n=165) en la provincia de Cádiz (España), considerando tres elementos de análisis: Learning at home; Parenting; y Communicating (Rokita-Jaśkow, 2019). Esta primera fase de la investigación contribuye a esbozar un catálogo de propuestas prácticas de mejora para ayudar a los padres como parte de la formación inicial de maestros (N=10) (Universidad de Cádiz, 2021-22). Metodológicamente, se realizó una investigación mixta exploratoria: primero, se midió la implicación de los padres mediante un cuestionario (Rokita-Jaśkow, 2019); segundo, para recabar las opiniones de los estudiantes, se plantearon foros de discusión semanales en línea, y un grupo focal (N=4) donde se acordaron ocho propuestas prácticas. Los resultados revelan un bajo nivel de implicación de los padres, a pesar de su dominio del inglés. 

  • English

    The increasing of parental involvement in children’s EFL learning is highlighted (Rixon, 2019), with parents preferring to start as early as possible (Fleta, 2019). In response to this socio-educational demand, EFL teaching begins in preschool (0–6-years-olds) (Cortina-Pérez & Andúgar, 2020). However, parents still need professional support regarding how to approach their involvement (Li et al., 2018). Thus, this study aims to determine the degree and type of parental involvement (n=165) in the province of Cádiz (Spain), considering three elements of analysis: Learning at home; Parenting; and Communicating (Rokita-Jaśkow, 2019). This first phase of research contributes to outlining a catalogue of practical proposals for improvement to support parents as part of student teachers’ (N=10) training (University of Cádiz, 2021-22). In terms of methodology, an exploratory mixed-methods research was conducted: Firstly, parental involvement was measured through a questionnaire (Rokita-Jaśkow, 2019); secondly, to collect the student teachers’ opinions, weekly online discussion forums were conducted, and a focus group discussion (N=4) led to agreement on eight practical proposals. The results reveal low levels of parental involvement, despite parents’ command of EFL. Finally, practical proposals are suggested for activities involving a closer parent-child relationship, and systematic family-preschool communication.

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