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Teaching English in Early Childhood Education

Code: 106450 ECTS Credits: 6
2025/2026
Degree Type Year
Early Childhood Education OT 4

Contact

Name:
Melinda Dooly Owenby
Email:
melindaann.dooly@uab.cat

Teachers

Berta Torras Vila

Teaching groups languages

You can view this information at the end of this document.


Prerequisites

Minimum language requirement: CEFR B1.2. 


Objectives and Contextualisation

This elective course aims at providing an introduction to teaching and learning the English language in pre-primary education. It is a key subject for those student teachers who plan to teach English in the future.

It has two main goals: (a) to help future teachers gain knowledge, develop teaching strategies and become familiar with those tools and resources necessary to teach English efficiently in Early Childhood Education classrooms; and (b) to promote critical thinking on teaching English to very young learners.


Competences

  • Being able to encourage an initial approach to a foreign language.
  • Deal effectively with language learning situations in multicultural and multilingual contexts.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the aims, curricular contents and criteria of evaluation of Infant Education
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the evolution of nonverbal communication and language in early childhood, and be able to identify possible dysfunctions and ensure proper development.
  • Demonstrating knowledge of the evolution of non-verbal communication and language in early childhood, knowing how to identify possible dysfunctions and ensuring their proper development.
  • Know and master oral and written expression techniques.
  • Know the language, reading and writing curriculum at this stage as well as theories on the acquisition and development of relevant learning.
  • Promote speaking and writing skills.
  • Properly express oneself orally and in writing and master the use of different expression techniques.
  • Recognize and evaluate the social reality and the interrelation between factors involved as necessary anticipation of action.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Understand oral tradition and folklore.
  • Understand the learning process of reading and writing and how to teach it. Address language learning situations in multilingual contexts. Recognize and value the appropriate use of verbal and non-verbal language.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Acquire the relevant knowledge related to the oral language curriculum at this stage as well as theories on the acquisition and development of learning related to it.
  2. Communicate using language that is not sexist or discriminatory.
  3. Describe the evolution of language in early childhood and know how to identify possible dysfunctions.
  4. Knowing how to analyse aspects of the evolution of non-verbal communication and language in early childhood, identifying possible dysfunctions and suggesting proposals for its proper development.
  5. Knowing how to analyse different meta language learning situations in multilingual contexts.
  6. Knowing how to use language strategies that aid and stimulate the development of children's speaking capacities.
  7. Knowing how to use tools and strategies to generate interest in order to understand and communicate in a third language.
  8. Knowing how to use verbal and non-verbal expression techniques that aid communication and linguistic interaction with children.
  9. Master the use of different expression techniques and express oneself adequately both orally and in writing in situations in the professional field.
  10. Orally and in writing explain the objectives, curriculum content and evaluation criteria of spoken language in infant education.
  11. Recognising and evaluating the social reality and the interrelationship of the factors involved, as a necessary prelude to action.
  12. Understand the linguistic effects of contact with language in learning situations.
  13. Using stories, poems and tones of voice characteristic of the culture of the target language and appropriate for infant education.

Content

1. Early Years Curriculum in Catalonia. Activities to promote communication and speaking skills.

  • Teaching foreign languages in multilingual milieus. Pluralistic approaches to languages and culture in Catalonia. Tasks to promote the development of children’s plurilingual and pluricultural competence in early childhood education.
  • Designing activities to promote early second/foreign language learning.

2. Verbal and non-verbal communication. Language play and creativity in early foreign language learning.

3. Teaching resources: drama techniques, songs, stories, and poetry to support literacy and language development in early childhood education.


Activities and Methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Direct instruction 45 1.8 12, 2, 10, 13, 11, 5, 7, 8
Type: Supervised      
Teacher-student conferences 30 1.2 12, 2, 9, 10, 11
Type: Autonomous      
Papers and activities directly related to the contents of the subject. 75 3 12, 2, 9, 10, 13, 4, 7

In this course we will gain theoretical knowledge needed to develop skills to teach English in Early Childhood Education. Theory will be combined with practice contextualised within the framework of the Catalan curriculum for the area of English. We will analyze and create real classroom tasks, activities and resources and we will provide ample opportunities to share teaching strategies, didactic materials and digital tools. Students will be expected to work individually, in pairs and/or small groups to meet the course goals and requirements.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Assessment

Continous Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Attendance and active participation (individual) 10% 0 0 12, 4, 6
Design and presentation of a teaching sequence. (Group work) 30% 0 0 2, 3, 9, 10, 13, 1, 7, 8, 6
Planning and presentating one activity (out of 4 possibilities) to teach very young children English (Pair work) 20% 0 0 9, 10, 13, 8, 6
Selecting and telling a story in class. Elaborating a reading card (individual work) 10% 0 0 9, 13, 8
1 expository and reflective essay to discuss methodological issues related to the topics dealt with in class or in the course readings (individual task) 30% 0 0 12, 2, 1, 11, 4, 5, 7, 6

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

All assignments are MANDATORY, as is attendance to 80% of the classes. If the attendance critria is not met, the student will not be eligible for evaluation. If students do not submit the four assigments they will fail the course.
Students will receive feedback and grades for their tasks no later than 20 working days after the submission or presentation of the task.
The final grade for the course is the average of the 5 assessment tasks mentioned in the previous section. The minimum grade for each task to be included in the average is 5.

TASK SUBMISSION CALENDAR

The tasks are the same for everyone, but the submission calendar varies depending on the chosen topic:

• EXPOSITORY TEXT on one of the three compulsory readings. Reading 1 (WEEK 3); Reading 2 (WEEK 5); Reading 3 (WEEK 10)

• DESIGN AND CLASS PRESENTATION of an activity to teach English in early childhood education based on one of the following topics: Routines (WEEK 6); Songs (WEEK 8); Visual arts (WEEK 9); body expression (TPR) (WEEK 11). This assignment cannot be retaken.

• STORY SHEET AND NARRATION. Each day, two people will tell a story. The calendar for this activity will be arranged on the first day of class.

• TEACHING SEQUENCE (WEEK 16)

Make-up session date: Friday, June 26, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Only students who have passed 4 out of the 5 assessment tasks may participate in the make-up session. Attendance and active participation in class must be one of them.
In the make-up session, students can only obtain a maximum grade of 5 out of 10 for the task being retaken.

SINGLE ASSESSMENT OPTION

Requesting single assessment option does not exempt students from meeting the attendance requirement. The single assessment option refers to the type and timing of the assignments, but attendance and participation remain mandatory, as this is apractical course.If opting for the single assessment, the following tasksmust be submitted or implemented on June 19, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m.:

  1. Expository text based on three readings – 30%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam.

  2. Design of a teaching sequence – 40%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam and presented orally during the exam.

  3. Presentation of an activity based on one of the following options: Routines, Songs, Visual arts, or Body expression (TPR) – 10%. To be presented orally on the day of the exam.

  4. Selection, justification, and narration of a story – 20%. To be presented both orally and in writing on the day of the exam.

Make-up session date: Friday, June 26, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m.

Only students who have passed 3 out of the 4 assessment tasks may participate in the make-up session. In the make-up session, students can only obtain a maximum grade of 5 out of 10 for the task being retaken.

SYNTHESIS EXAM

Students enrolled in a second attempt who met the attendance requirement during their first year of enrollment may, if they wish, request to take a synthesis exam. To do so, they must inform the professor in writing during the first week of the course. Students choosing this assessment modality are exempt from attending class, as the attendance requirement is considered fulfilled.

The synthesis exam will take place on the same day as the single assessment, June 19, 2026, from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m., and will consist of the following tasks:

  1. Expository text based on three readings – 30%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam.

  2. Design of a teaching sequence – 40%. Must be submitted on the day of the exam and presented orally during the exam.

  3. Presentation of an activity based on one of the following options: Routines, Songs, Visual arts, or Body expression (TPR) – 10%. To be presented orally on the day of the exam.

  4. Selection, justification, and narration of a story – 20%. To be presented both orally and in writing on the day of the exam.

All four tasks must be carried out in English, and language accuracy, writing quality, and formal presentation will be taken into account. Students must be able to express themselves fluently and accurately and demonstrate a high level of understanding of academic texts. A task may be deemed unassessable or failed if the professor considers it does not meet these requirements.

IMPORTANT:

a) If the student has not provided sufficient assessment evidence to enable an overall grade for the subject, the final grade will be recorded as "Not Assessable."
b) The use of generative artificial intelligence is not permitted. Any evidence of its use in a task will result in a failing grade.
c) Students are expected to participate actively in sessions in a respectful, reasoned, and constructive manner.

d) With the aim of ensuring coherence and transparency in the use of AI in the course and its assessable activities, we adhere to Model 3 of Responsible Use: In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted as an integral part of the development of work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in terms of analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated using this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these influenced the process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may lead to a penalty in the activity grade or more serious sanctions in severe cases. However, it must be taken into account that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) entails considerableenergy consumption. Therefore, it is important to promote responsible and efficient use of AI in theeducational field, prioritizing applications with a positive impact and avoiding unnecessary use in order to minimize environmental impact.


Bibliography

Álvarez, Yolanda (2022). Improving skills by playing: Trabajar las habilidades mediante actividades lúdicas. Castelló: Sar Alejadría Ediciones.

Cameron, Lynne (2001). Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://didactics-a.wikispaces.com/file/view/lynne+cameron.pdf

Mont, Maria, & Gonzalez-Acevedo, Nathaly (2019). Coding toys while learning English: Programming with veryyoung learners. In Dolors Masats, Maria Mont & Nathaly Gonzalez-Acevedo (Eds). Joint efforts for innovation: Working together to improve foreign language teaching in the 21st century (pp. 59-65). Rothersthorpe: Paragon Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3064130

Mont, Maria, & Masats, Dolors (2018). Tips and suggestions to implement telecollaborative projects with young learners. In Melinda Dooly & Robert O’Dowd (Dirs.) In this together: Teachers’ experiences with transnational, telecollaborativelanguage learning projects (pp. 92-122). New York/Bern: Peter Lang. Gold open access.

Moon, Jayne (2000). Children Learning English. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann.

Otto, Ana, & Corina-Pérez, Beatriz (Eds.). (2023). Handbook of CLIL in pre-primaryeducation. Berlín: Springer.

Paran, Amos, & Watts, Eleanor (Eds). (2003). Storytelling in ELT. Whitstable: IATEFL.

Pinter, Annamaria (2006). Teaching Young Language Learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Reilly, Vanessa, & Ward, Sheila M. (1997). Very Young Learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Roth, Genevieve (1998). Teaching very young children. Pre-school and early primary. London: Richmond Santillana.

Rubavathanan, Markandan (2021). A comparative study on the theoretical development of functions of language with reference to Bühler, Jakobson, and Halliday. Noble: Journal of Literature and Language Education, 12 (2), 277-29. 

Schwartz, Mila (2018). Preschool bilingual education: Agency in interaction between children, teachers, and parents. Berlin: Springer.  

Shin, Joan, & Crandall, Joann (2013). Teaching young learners English. Heinle & Heinle. 

Torras Vila, Berta (2021). Music as a tool for foreign language learning in early childhood education and primary education. Proposing innovative CLIL music teaching approaches. CLIL Journal of Innovation and Research in Plurilingual and Pluricultural Education, 4(1), 35- 47. https://revistes.uab.cat/clil/article/view/v4-n1-torras-vila/60-pdf-en


Software

No special software is required to enrol in this course.


Groups and Languages

Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2025. You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject.

Name Group Language Semester Turn
(TE) Theory 1 English second semester morning-mixed