Testing the Winds after 10 Years of EarlyBird Elementary Foreign Language Education

Abstract

English speaking proficiency differences were examined at Dutch elementary schools with both a regular EIBO program (English in the last two years of elementary school) and an EarlyBird program (early English language program starting in the first year). Keeping in mind that the results are still preliminary, children attending EarlyBird schools attained, on average, higher proficiency levels than those attending EIBO schools. Also, there was a strong correlation between a student’s speaking skills and their reading, listening, use of English and spelling skills. There was no interaction between a candidate’s speaking proficiency results and CITO/school exit level. Schools with a native speaker attained slightly higher proficiency results, on average, than those without. Based on theories by Bachman (1990) and Bachman & Savignon (1986), the Anglia exams used were found to be reliable and the results valid. Together, these findings not only support EarlyBird’s claims of more, better and earlier English, but they will also play an instrumental role in the future of (early) foreign language education in the Netherlands.