36.3950, Reviews: Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts: Stefanie Frisch; Karen Glaser (eds.) (2025)

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Subject: 36.3950, Reviews: Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts: Stefanie Frisch; Karen Glaser (eds.) (2025)

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Date: 28-Dec-2025
From: Leyla Mammadova [lema2 at uni-bremen.de]
Subject: Stefanie Frisch; Karen Glaser (eds.) (2025)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/36-2322

Title: Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts
Subtitle: Current issues and empirical insights into teaching and
learning languages in primary school
Series Title: Language Learning & Language Teaching
Publication Year: 2025

Publisher: John Benjamins
           http://www.benjamins.com/
Book URL: https://benjamins.com/catalog/lllt.62

Editor(s): Stefanie Frisch; Karen Glaser

Reviewer: Leyla Mammadova

SUMMARY
The edited volume “Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts”
offers a comprehensive, empirically grounded exploration of early
additional-language learning for children aged approximately 5 to 12.
Bringing together fourteen chapters from international scholars, the
book surveys contemporary research on assessment, literacy
development, classroom practices, teaching materials, teacher
cognition, parental views, and transitional experiences between
primary and secondary schooling. The editors frame the volume within a
growing global interest in early foreign language (L2) education,
particularly English, and emphasize the methodological and pedagogical
challenges that characterize low-exposure instructional contexts.
These challenges include limited contact hours, heterogeneous learner
profiles, and the need for purposeful input management and carefully
designed materials to support emergent linguistic and literacy skills.
The volume is structured into four thematic parts. Part I, Assessment
and Teaching Practices, contains three chapters. In Chapter 2,
“Child-centered Assessment Research and Practice,” by Danijela
Prošić-Santovac and Shelagh Rixon, the authors argue for greater
learner agency in assessment design and processes for young language
learners, noting that early learners benefit when assessment supports
motivation rather than merely measuring achievement (pp. 38-39). They
survey strands of child-centered assessment, including children’s
language assessment literacy, self-assessment, and technology-enhanced
assessment tools. Chapter 3, “Primary School Learners Benefit from
Captioned Video Viewing,” by María Alcocer and colleagues, presents an
experimental study of captioned animated videos in Chilean primary
English classrooms. The study shows clear gains in written vocabulary
recall and highlights motivational effects of multimodal input, with
learners reporting that captions helped them follow stories and
remember words (pp. 55-57). Chapter 4, “On Teachers’ Use of the L1 in
Primary English Classrooms in Germany,” by Katharina Zwirner, examines
the quantity and interactional functions of teachers’ first-language
(L1) use. Based on a corpus of 24 lessons, the study identifies both
brief and extended use of German that supports scaffolding,
comprehension, classroom management, and awareness of linguistic
differences (pp. 70-73).
Part II, Emerging L2 Literacy in Instructed Contexts, comprises four
chapters. Chapter 5, “Paving the Way for L2 Literacy Skills from the
Start,” by Ellen Esterhazy and Claudia Neumann, presents a
fine-grained conversation-analytic study of the introduction of the
English split digraph “Magic E” in a German Grade 3 classroom. The
chapter demonstrates how teachers adapt L1 phonics methods for L2
contexts and how such instruction supports phonographic awareness.
Chapter 6, “L2 Spelling Predictors of Young German Learners of
English,” by Katharina Schmid and Carsten Roever, reports a
longitudinal study identifying reading comprehension and reading
accuracy as the strongest predictors of L2 spelling success, with
phonological awareness and grammar showing indirect effects. Chapter
7, “The Development of French Vowel Spelling in a German-French
Bilingual Primary School,” by Saskia Steinlen, investigates
cross-linguistic transfer in biliterate learners and finds that
initial reliance on German graphemic patterns gradually shifts toward
target-language norms. Chapter 8, “Young Learners’ Verbal Reports of
Their Writing Strategies when Composing an Explanatory Text in CLIL
Science,” by Elena Smirnova, analyzes planning, formulation, and
revision strategies of young learners, observing heavy reliance on
memorized language, L1 translation, and visual recall, with limited
metacognitive revision.
Part III, Teaching and Learning Materials, includes three chapters. In
Chapter 9, “Speech Acts in English Language Textbooks for Young
Language Learners in Croatia,” Ivana Kovačević presents an analysis of
eighteen textbooks for Grades 2-4, uncovering a severe imbalance in
pragmatic content, with requests and request responses dominating
while apologies and other everyday speech acts are rare or absent.
Chapter 10, “Intercultural and Citizenship Objectives through
Picturebooks in Early Language Learning,” by Christine Hélot, Nathalie
Auger, and Mirjam Eisenwort, describes a professional development
course (ICEPro) that trains teachers to use picture books as vehicles
for intercultural citizenship education. The authors introduce the
Picture book Selection Guide and the ICEKit template and document how
teachers integrate picture-mediated discussions with Taking Action
projects that involve community participation (pp. 209-212). Chapter
11, “An English Listening Comprehension Learning Game and Its Effect
on Phonological Awareness,” by Yvanne Leblanc and colleagues, reports
two studies evaluating a tablet-based listening comprehension game
used with young French learners. The game consistently improved
listening comprehension, though effects on phonological awareness were
inconsistent throughout the two studies.
Part IV, Teacher, Parent and Learner Views of Early Language
Education, contains three chapters. Chapter 12, “Student Teachers’ and
Mentors’ Perceptions of Effective Teaching Techniques in the Primary
L2 English Classroom,” by Julia Knopp and Sabine Pirnay-Dummer,
examines self- and mentor assessments of teaching quality using the
Teacher Input Observation Scheme. The chapter reveals institutional
differences in ratings, mixed patterns of over- and underestimation by
student teachers, and a trend toward stricter judgments with
increasing experience. Chapter 13, “Starting Early or Late? Parental
Perspectives on the Onset of English Language Education at Primary
School in Germany,” by Ute Massler, presents a large-scale survey of
2,645 parents. Most favor starting English in Year 1 or 2, and
attitudes correlate strongly with educational aspirations, positive
personal experiences, and expectations for language outcomes. Chapter
14, “The Transition from Primary School Bilingual Programs to Regular
Foreign Language Lessons in Secondary School,” by Simone Eberhard,
provides a longitudinal perspective on 69 former CLIL pupils. The
study finds that CLIL learners maintain positive attitudes and
outperform peers in listening, speaking, and reading up to Year 7,
though differentiated instruction is needed during the transition.
Across its chapters, the work emphasizes the importance of maximizing
high-quality input, professionalizing teachers, integrating L1
strategically, advancing L2 literacy from the earliest stages,
supplementing inadequate materials, fostering intercultural
citizenship, and understanding stakeholder perspectives in early
language education. It also showcases diverse methodologies, including
conversation analysis, corpus linguistics, longitudinal designs, mixed
methods, and practitioner research.
EVALUATION
“Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts” represents a
significant contribution to research on primary-level L2 learning and
teaching. As early language education continues to expand globally,
often driven by policy rather than pedagogy, empirically grounded
resources like this volume are essential for both scholars and
practitioners. The book’s breadth is impressive, covering assessment,
multimodal input, literacy acquisition, biliteracy, classroom
discourse, pedagogical materials, pragmatics, intercultural
citizenship, and teacher and parent perspectives. The editors
successfully assemble contributions that, while diverse in approach
and geographic focus, collectively illuminate the opportunities and
constraints of low-exposure instructional contexts. This thematic
diversity reflects the nature of early L2 learning as highlighted
across several chapters (e.g., Chapter 3, pp. 55-58).
One of the book’s principal strengths is the clear connection between
empirical evidence and pedagogical implications. Schrader’s chapter on
Magic E (Chapter 5) offers a detailed micro-analysis of phonics-based
instruction in a German primary classroom, showing how young learners
respond to phonographic patterns (pp. 95-101). The interactional
excerpts (Excerpt 1, lines 1-31) illustrate how learners co-construct
literacy knowledge within teacher-guided sequences (pp. 100-101).
Moreover, her longitudinal intervention demonstrates measurable gains
in read-aloud accuracy for split digraphs over 15 weeks (pp. 98-100),
reinforcing arguments for structured, phonics-informed L2 literacy
instruction even in limited instructional time settings.
The chapters on spelling development and emergent biliteracy similarly
stress the interconnectedness of reading, spelling, and
cross-linguistic transfer. For instance, the overview of English
orthographic depth, including the complexity of phoneme-grapheme
correspondence and the challenges of decoding larger grain sizes such
as onset-rime structures (Chapter 5, pp. 95-96), underscores why
sequenced literacy instruction is indispensable for young L2 learners.
By situating L2 reading development within cognitive processes of
phonological awareness, the authors show that L2 literacy cannot be
viewed in isolation from learners’ broader linguistic repertoires.
Another strength of the volume is its attention to learner agency and
multimodal input. Prošić-Santovac and Rixon argue for more
child-centered assessment cultures, while Avello & Muñoz (Chapter 3)
contribute longitudinal evidence of how captioned video viewing
supports vocabulary development (pp. 55-59). Their study demonstrates
that multimodal input, particularly the synchrony of audio, imagery
and written text, helps young learners compensate for knowledge gaps
(pp. 57-58). Interview data show learners becoming more aware of their
learning processes, consistent with developmental research on
metacognition in middle childhood (pp. 57-58). The chapter also
highlights practical constraints, such as difficulty processing
dynamic captions at early ages (pp. 56-57), reminding educators that
multimodal input must be carefully examined.
The chapters on L1 use and pragmatic development further enrich the
volume. Jakupčević & Ćavar Portolan’s study of 18 Croatian textbooks
shows profound gaps in the representation of key speech acts essential
for Survival English, such as requests, apologies, greetings, and
suggestions (Chapter 9, pp. 190-207). Their quantitative coding of
textbook pages reveals uneven distribution and frequent
underrepresentation of critical communicative forms (pp. 191-193). The
authors situate these findings within broader concerns about
authenticity and pragmatic range in young language learner (YLL)
materials (pp. 193-195). This aligns with global critiques of
commercially driven materials prioritizing visual appeal over
communicative richness.
The section on intercultural citizenship brings a welcome
broad-educational perspective. Ibrahim & Mourão (Chapter 10) present
the ICEPro professional development model, detailing its theoretically
informed, sustained, and mentoring-supported structure (pp. 209-212).
Their analysis of ICEKit resources demonstrates how picturebooks can
foster intercultural dialogue and civic engagement even at early ages.
The Picturebook Selection Guide and ICEKit templates provide teachers
with structured, replicable frameworks, countering the common
challenge of insufficient pedagogical scaffolding in intercultural
education.
The final part of the book extends the discussion to teacher, parent,
and learner perspectives, highlighting the sociological and
psychological forces shaping early L2 education. For example, parental
expectations documented in Massler’s work influence policy decisions
at the primary level, and Knopp and Pirnay-Dummer explore how
pre-service teachers develop reflective competence. Eberhard’s
longitudinal CLIL research, showing sustained advantages into Year 7,
raises crucial questions about system coherence, especially given her
finding of limited collaboration between primary and secondary
teachers.
Despite these strengths, the volume exhibits some typical limitations
of edited collections. Methodological variance between chapters can be
seen, for instance, between the detailed CA-for-SLA transcript
analyses in Chapter 5 (pp. 100-102) and the more surface-level
textbook analyses in Chapter 9. Furthermore, the geographical focus
remains largely European, despite the book’s applicability to regions
such as Asia or Africa where early L2 instruction often starts earlier
and takes different forms. A more explicit cross-contextual synthesis
in the introduction or conclusion would have helped mitigate this.
Some chapters would also benefit from stronger integration with
existing scholarship. For example, the captioned video chapter,
although analytically rich, could link more explicitly to broader
multimodal learning theories (e.g., Mayer et al., as already cited in
Chapter 3, p. 56). Similarly, the speech-act chapter could connect its
findings more directly to research on developmental pragmatics in
children.
These limitations, however, do not diminish the book’s overall
contribution. Rather, they reflect the inherently interdisciplinary
nature of early language education research, spanning linguistics,
psychology, literacy studies, pedagogy, and sociology. The volume is
particularly suited to researchers, teacher educators, and graduate
students working on early L2 literacy, CLIL, assessment, and classroom
discourse. Practitioners will find practical insights, including ways
to manage L1 use strategically (as illustrated in classroom dialogues
in Chapter 5, pp. 100-102), how to integrate picture books
meaningfully, or how to structure multimodal tasks.
The volume also points toward important future research directions.
Longitudinal studies tracking learners across primary and secondary
schooling, including read-aloud and independent reading development
(as modelled in Chapter 5, pp. 98-100), are urgently needed.
Comparative research across typologically diverse languages would
provide insight into how phonological and orthographic systems
interact with learning conditions. Further work on digital and
AI-supported tools, building on chapters dealing with multimodal and
audiovisual input, could significantly advance the field. Finally,
several chapters stress the need for improved collaboration across
school levels, suggesting that continuity in CLIL and literacy support
remains an underdeveloped area.
To sum it all up, “Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts”
succeeds in presenting a multifaceted, empirically grounded
perspective on early L2 learning. Its contributions are timely and
substantive, and despite minor issues of coherence, the volume stands
as a valuable, field-defining resource.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Leyla Mammadova is an aspiring English language teacher and currently
a Master’s student at the University of Bremen. Her research interests
lie in Applied Linguistics, Cultural Linguistics, English Language
Teaching Methodology, and Pedagogy.
REFERENCES
Avello, D., & Muñoz, C. (2025). Primary school learners benefit from
captioned video viewing: Vocabulary learning, viewing distribution and
perceptions. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education
in Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Charles, E., Magnat, E., Jouannaud, M.-P., Payre-Ficout, C., &
Loiseau, M. (2025). An English listening comprehension learning game
and its effect on phonological awareness. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser
(Eds.), Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. John
Benjamins.
Coyle, Y., & Roca de Larios, J. (2025). Young learners’ verbal reports
of their writing strategies when composing an explanatory text in CLIL
science. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education in
Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Glaser, K., & Frisch, S. (2025). Early language education in
instructed contexts: An introduction. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.),
Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Goto Butler, Y. (2025). Child-centered assessment research and
practice: Current issues. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.), Early
Language Education in Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Ibrahim, N., & Mourão, S. (2025). Intercultural and citizenship
objectives through picturebooks in early language learning:
Teacher-made resources for Taking Action projects. In S. Frisch & K.
Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. John
Benjamins.
Jakupčević, E., & Ćavar Portolan, M. (2025). Speech acts in English
language textbooks for young learners in Croatia. In S. Frisch & K.
Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. John
Benjamins.
Kersten, K., Glaser, K., Ruhm, H., Roos, J., Brunsmeier, S., & Koch,
M. J. (2025). Student teachers’ and mentors’ perceptions of effective
teaching techniques in the primary L2 English classroom. In S. Frisch
& K. Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts.
John Benjamins.
Limberg, H. (2025). On teachers’ use of the L1 in primary English
classrooms in Germany. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.), Early Language
Education in Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Lorenz, A., & Weth, C. (2025). Faktör – factoure – facteure? The
development of French vowel spelling in a German-French bilingual
primary school. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.), Early Language
Education in Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Mlakar, H., Hirst-Plein, J., & Koch, M. J. (2025). L2 spelling
predictors of young German learners of English. In S. Frisch & K.
Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. John
Benjamins.
Rumlich, D., & Porsch, R. (2025). Starting early or late? Parental
perspectives on the onset of English language education at primary
school in Germany. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.), Early Language
Education in Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Schrader, A. (2025). Paving the way for L2 literacy skills from the
start – Raising phonographic awareness in the primary English language
classroom. In S. Frisch & K. Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education
in Instructed Contexts. John Benjamins.
Steinlen, A., Schwarz, D., & Piske, T. (2025). Transitioning from
primary CLIL to regular secondary English programs. In S. Frisch & K.
Glaser (Eds.), Early Language Education in Instructed Contexts. John
Benjamins.



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