Young Children’s Foreign Language Anxiety

This book investigates the effects of foreign language anxiety (FLA) on young language learners, using as a basis for observation the early childhood English education industry in South Korea that has arisen as a result of English fever. The authors combine existing knowledge on the topic of FLA together with original research on FLA in young language learners to fill a large gap in knowledge with regards to this understudied and distinct group of learners. The book includes suggestions for alleviating FLA and encouraging foreign language enjoyment, which can be implemented by parents, teachers and policymakers and which will ultimately facilitate more effective language learning and support children’s psychosocial wellbeing. 

Jieun Kiaer is Associate Professor in Korean Linguistics at the University of Oxford, UK. She has a PhD in Linguistics and works with both linguistics and oriental studies students, tutoring and lecturing on topics related to East Asian linguistics. She has undertaken research on Asian-English children’s linguistic/cognitive development, young children’s translanguaging and the positive impact cooking can have on young children’s vocabulary learning.   Jessica M. Morgan-Brown is a practitioner/researcher with extensive experience teaching ESL to young children in South Korea, the US, the UK and most recently to students in China through online platforms. She is currently a PhD student in the East Asian Studies Department at the University of Toronto, Canada. Naya Choi is Professor in the Department of Child Development & Family Studies, Seoul National University, South Korea. She specialises in Child Studies and her research interests lie in young children’s linguistic and cognitive development and education.