Teaching English to Young Learners : Critical issues in language education with 5 to 12-year-olds

In this fully revised second edition of Teaching English to Young Learners, leading international scholars explore the critical issues shaping English language education for children aged five to twelve. Moving beyond narrow debates about early language learning, they foreground the complex realities of teaching English in diverse, multilingual, and rapidly changing educational contexts.
Contributors examine key themes including high-quality language input, teacher education, formative assessment, picturebooks, storytelling, drama, CLIL, task-based learning, intercultural citizenship education, inclusion, translanguaging, and extramural English. Combining research, critical pedagogy, and classroom practice, the book highlights how English language teaching with young learners is deeply connected to broader educational goals such as empathy, creativity, critical thinking, multilingual awareness, and social responsibility.
With chapters spanning policy, teacher preparation, and classroom practice, this volume offers both theoretical insight and practical guidance for researchers, teacher educators, pre-service and in-service teachers, undergraduate and postgraduate students. A comprehensive glossary of key concepts and terminology further supports readers in navigating the interdisciplinary field of English language teaching with young learners. This is a compelling vision of English language education that is child-centred, ethically grounded, and attentive to the linguistic and cultural diversity of today’s classrooms.