Early Language Education as a Distinctive Research Area

This is the first international handbook that offers a comprehensive overview of findings from contemporary research, theory, and practice in early language education in various parts of the world and with different populations. This conceptual introductory chapter starts by tracing the chronicle of recent developments in theorizing early language education as a distinctive area of inquiry. It presents an ecological approach to language learning, drawing on Bronfenbrenner’s human ecology theory (The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979; International Encyclopedia of Education 3(2): 37–43, 1994) that provides a framework for understanding the role of early language education in a young child’s life. Continuing with the structure and content of the handbook, the introduction summarizes its 33 chapters, divided into four parts: (1) General foundations in early language education; (2) Diversity of contexts in early language education; (3) Caregivers in interaction in early language pedagogy, and (4) Early language education in different countries. The concluding remarks call for the formation of a strong professional community of practice among researchers and educators in early language education.