Promovendo a aprendizagem de línguas estrangeiras em programas pré-escolares de baixa exposição através de uma abordagem colaborativa: Evidências comportamentais e neurais num ensaio aleatório controlado

The STARLing project aims to address critical issues currently facing education systems and society as a whole. Specifically, we aim to analyse the effects that the adoption of collaborative practices, an approach recently introduced by Sandra Mourão (SM), a member of the research team. This approach is aimed at enhancing the results of low-exposure FL programmes, specifically English, within Portuguese public preschools. We will examine the impact of this approach on children’s linguistic (both English as L2 and European Portuguese as L1) and cognitive (executive functions) skills by adopting a cross-task multimethod approach. Earlier studies on the effects of collaborative practices in early educational settings have used a qualitative approach to analyse the data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with English teachers, educators, and children who have experienced these practices in FL low-exposure programmes. Although the findings obtained from these works are interesting and suggest positive results, more research is needed before this approach can be generalized. The studies included in this proposal were specifically designed to address this issue and to strengthen the robustness of previous findings. We are adopting an innovative research approach in which we intentionally aimed to integrate observational, behavioural, and neural (EEG) data collected from the same participants. This will provide a deeper and more comprehensive view of the net effects that collaborative FL practices have on children’s linguistic and cognitive skills. For this purpose, a randomized control trial design will be used. Two hundred children recruited from Portuguese preschools will be exposed to an English low-exposure programme led either by an English teacher only (mimicking what occurs in most Portuguese preschools) or by the English teacher in articulation with the educators in the collaborative approach. Children from both groups will be assessed at the start and the end of the FL exposure on several linguistic (both L2 [English] and L1 [European Portuguese]) and cognitive (executive functions) measures. This will involve the collection of both behavioural and electrophysiological (EEG) data. The utilization of electroencephalography (EEG), which is extensively employed in studies conducted by our research team, is strongly recommended. It is a safe, non-invasive technique that allows the study of the neurocognitive mechanisms underpinning language processing, even in the absence of any overt (behavioural) responses from participants. This is particularly suited to studying the effects that collaborative practices might have on very young children, overcoming potential attentional and motivational confounds. Thus, the main question this project aims to address can be formulated as follows: Do the linguistic and cognitive skills of preschool children exposed to an English low-exposure programme in Portuguese public preschools implemented either by a collaborative FL method or by a standard FL method differ? If so, to what extent? It is important to note that the results of this project can contribute to creating much-needed guidelines for good practices in FL learning in early educational settings. They can also help define the training needed to equip both in-service and pre-service English teachers and educators with the skills and knowledge required to implement early FL practices effectively, based on scientific evidence.