Early language learning. A bibliometric analysis of the most influential articles (2010-2022)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi42.29518Keywords:
Early Language Learning, Bibliometrics analysis, Foreign languages, Plurilingualism, Pre-primary educationAbstract
The aim of this article is to analyse the evolution of research on language learning at early ages within the main collection of the Web of Science (2010 to 2022) and Scopus (2010 to 2022).
To this end, a bibliometric study has been developed taking into consideration the following indicators: diachronic, geographical, authors and source productions. At the same time, an analysis of the structural development of the topics has been carried out on a sample of references from combined searches.
The analyses carried out determine an exponential growth pattern in the scientific literature on early language and learning over the last two decades (2010-2022), a period that covers 87.2% of the current scientific production. In relation to the evolution of topics in the field, it is observed that current lines of research are focusing mainly on the results obtained in two areas: (1) Neurosciences and Speech Pathologies and (2) Psychology, Social Sciences and Technology, where the value of A/Y where higher, which indicates that both areas are the ones that have the greatest influence over time.
Downloads
References
Albaladejo Albaladejo, S., Coyle, Y., & de Larios, J. R. (2018). Songs, stories, and vocabulary acquisition in preschool learners of English as a foreign language. System, 76, 116–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.05.002
Becker, C., & Roos, J. (2016). An approach to creative speaking activities in the young learners’ classroom. Education Inquiry, 7(1), 27613. https://doi.org/10.3402/edui.v7.27613
Bendels, M. H. K., Müller, R., Brueggmann, D., & Groneberg, D. A. (2018). Gender disparities in high-quality research revealed by Nature Index journals. PLOS ONE, 13(1), e0189136. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189136
Bergström, K., Klatte, M., Steinbrink, C., & Lachmann, T. (2016). First and Second Language Acquisition in German Children Attending a Kindergarten Immersion Program: A Combined Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Study. Language Learning, 66(2), 386–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12162
Bornmann, L., & Haunschild, R. (2017). Relative Citation Ratio (RCR): An empirical attempt to study a new field-normalized bibliometric indicator. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 68(4), 1064–1067. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23729
Bowers, E. P., & Vasilyeva, M. (2011). The relation between teacher input and lexical growth of preschoolers. Applied Psycholinguistics, 32(1), 221–241. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716410000354
Brooks, E., & Murray, J. (2018). Ready, steady, learn: School readiness and children’s voices in English early childhood settings. Education 3-13, 46(2), 143–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2016.1204335
Conger, D., Gibbs, C. R., Uchikoshi, Y., & Winsler, A. (2019). New benefits of public school pre-kindergarten programs: Early school stability, grade promotion, and exit from ELL services. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 48, 26–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.10.015
Council Recommendation of 22 May 2019 on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages (2019/C 189/03). Official Journal of the European Union. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019H0605(02)
Coyle, Y., & Mora, P. A. F. (2018). Learning a Second Language in Pre-School: Using Dramatized Stories as a Teaching Resource. Didáctica. Lengua y Literatura, 30, 73–85. https://doi.org/10.5209/DIDA.61955
Cummins, J. (1979). Linguistic Interdependence and the Educational Development of Bilingual Children. Review of Educational Research, 49(2), 222–251. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543049002222
Deveci, T. (2015). A comparative study of the lifelong learning propensities of English language learners: Nationality, gender and length of study. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 12(1), 2–25. https://doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v12.n1.185
Erkan, N. S., Tarman, İ., Şanlı, Z. S., & Ömrüuzun, Y. K. & I. (2018). First Grade Students’ Perceptions of Their Preschool and Elementary School Experience. International Journal of Progressive Education, 14(5), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.29329/ijpe.2018.157.1
European Commission. (2011). Language learning at pre-primary school level: Making it efficient and sustainable. A policy handbook. http://ec.europa.eu/languages/policy/language-policy/documents/early-language-learning-handbook_en.pdf
European Commission. (2018). Council recommendation on High Quality Early Childhood Education and Care Systems. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:05aa1e50-5dc7-11e8-ab9c-01aa75ed71a1.0003.02/DOC_1&format=PDF
European Commission. (2020). Commission staff working paper - Language learning at pre-primary level: making it efficient and sustainable - A policy handbook.
European Commission. (2023). Key data on teaching languages at school in Europe – 2023 edition. https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/publications/key-data-teaching-languages-school-europe-2023-edition
European Strategic Framework for Education and Training. Commission Staff Working Paper. Brussels, 7.7.20 11. SEC (2011). Language Learning at Pre-Primary School Level: Making It Efficient and Sustainable. A Policy Handbook. https://education.ec.europa.eu/document/commission-staff-working-paper-language-learning-at-pre-primary-level-making-it-efficient-and-sustainable-a-policy-handbook
Fernald, A., Marchman, V. A., & Weisleder, A. (2013). SES differences in language processing skill and vocabulary are evident at 18 months. Developmental Science, 16(2), 234–248. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12019
Garfield, E. (1989). Citation-classics and citation behavior revisited. Current Contents, 5, 3-8. http://www.garfield.library.upenn.edu/essays/v12p030y1989.pdf
Garner, P. W., & Waajid, B. (2012). Emotional knowledge and self-regulation as predictors of preschoolers’ cognitive ability, classroom behavior, and social competence. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 30(4), 330–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/07342829124494
Gasparyan, A. Y., Yessirkepov, M., Voronov, A. A., Maksaev, A. A., & Kitas, G. D. (2021). Article-Level Metrics. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 36(11). https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e74
Hakuta, K., Bialystok, E., & Wiley, E. (2003). Critical Evidence: A Test of the Critical-Period Hypothesis for Second-Language Acquisition. Psychological Science, 14(1), 31–38. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.01415
Hammer, C. S., Hoff, E., Uchikoshi, Y., Gillanders, C., Castro, D. C., & Sandilos, L. E. (2014). The language and literacy development of young dual language learners: A critical review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(4), 715–733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.05.008
Hutchins, B. I., Davis, M. T., Meseroll, R. A., & Santangelo, G. M. (2019). Predicting translational progress in biomedical research. PLOS Biology, 17(10), e3000416. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000416
Hutchins, B. I., Yuan, X., Anderson, J. M., & Santangelo, G. M. (2016). Relative Citation Ratio (RCR): A New Metric That Uses Citation Rates to Measure Influence at the Article Level. PLOS Biology, 14(9), e1002541. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002541
Hyltenstam, K., & Abrahamsson, N. (2001). Comments on Stefka H. Marinova‐Todd, D. Bradford Marshall, and Catherine E. Snow's “Three Misconceptions About Age and L2 Learning” Age and L2 Learning: The Hazards of Matching Practical “Implications” With Theoretical “Facts”. TESOL Quarterly, 35(1), 151-170.
Jaekel, N., Schurig, M., van Ackern, I., & Ritter, M. (2022). The impact of early foreign language learning on language proficiency development from middle to high school. System, 106, 102763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102763
Kohler, M. (2017). Review of languages education policies in Australia. The Multicultural Education and Languages Committee (MELC). https://acortar.link/Z2EKrJ
Jiménez-Jiménez, M. Á., Segura-Robles, A., & Rico-Martín, A. M. (2023). Heritage and minority languages, and their learning: A general bibliometric approach and content analysis. Training, Language and Culture, 7(1), 40–57. https://doi.org/10.22363/2521-442X-2023-7-1-40-57
Kohler, M. (2017). Review of languages education policies in Australia. The Multicultural Education and Languages Committee (MELC). https://acortar.link/Z2EKrJ
Kuhl, P. K. (2010). Brain Mechanisms in Early Language Acquisition. Neuron, 67(5), 713–727. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2010.08.038
Marinova-Todd, S. H., Marshall, D. B., & Snow, C. E. (2000). Three Misconceptions about Age and L2 Learning. TESOL Quarterly, 34(1), 9–34. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588095
Moed, H. F. (2009). Measuring contextual citation impact of scientific journals (arXiv:0911.2632). arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.0911.2632
Myles, F. (2017). Learning foreign languages in primary schools: Is younger better? https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.9806
National institutes of Health. (2021). iCite. https://icite.od.nih.gov/user_guide?page_id=ug_data
Ojima, S., Matsuba-Kurita, H., Nakamura, N., Hoshino, T., & Hagiwara, H. (2011). Age and amount of exposure to a foreign language during childhood: Behavioral and ERP data on the semantic comprehension of spoken English by Japanese children. Neuroscience Research, 70(2), 197–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neures.2011.01.018
Paradis, J., & Jia, R. (2017). Bilingual children’s long-term outcomes in English as a second language: Language environment factors shape individual differences in catching up with monolinguals. Developmental Science, 20(1), e12433. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12433
Pfenninger, S. E., & Singleton, D. (2021). Is there a best age for second language learning? Evidence from across the lifespan. In Debates in Second Language Education. (pp. 52-65). Routledge.
Real Decreto 95/2022, de 1 de febrero, por el que se establece la ordenación y las enseñanzas mínimas de la Educación Infantil. Boletín Oficial del Estado núm. 28, de 02/02/2022. https://www.boe.es/eli/es/rd/2022/02/01/95/con
Ramírez, N. F., & Kuhl, P. K. (2020). Early Second Language Learning through SparkLingTM: Scaling up a Language Intervention in Infant Education Centers. Mind, Brain, and Education, 14(2), 94–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/mbe.12232
Rixon, S. (n.d.). British Council Survey of Policy and Practice in Primary English Language Teaching Worldwide.
Sembiante, S. F., Restrepo-Widney, C., Bengochea, A., & Gort, M. (2023). Sustainable translanguaging pedagogy in support of the vulnerable language: Honoring children’s ways of ‘Showing’ and ‘Telling’ in an early childhood dual language bilingual education program. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 0(0), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2022.2161814
Surkis, A., & Spore, S. (2018). The relative citation ratio: What is it and why should medical librarians care? Journal of the Medical Library Association, 106(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2018.499
Thieme, A.-M. M. M., Hanekamp, K., Andringa, S., Verhagen, J., & Kuiken, F. (2022). The effects of foreign language programmes in early childhood education and care: A systematic review. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 35(3), 334–351. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2021.1984498
Tscharntke, T., Hochberg, M. E., Rand, T. A., Resh, V. H., & Krauss, J. (2007). Author Sequence and Credit for Contributions in Multiauthored Publications. PLOS Biology, 5(1), e18. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050018
Valderrama, P., Baca, P., Solana, C., & Ferrer-Luque, C. M. (2021). Root Canal Disinfection Articles with the Highest Relative Citation Ratios. A Bibliometric Analysis from 1990 to 2019. Antibiotics, 10(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10111412
Valderrama, M. & Solana, C. (2022). Análisis bibliométrico de los artículos más relevantes en Educación Dental. In D. Caldevilla (Ed.), Fórmulas y tendencias de valoración educativa (pp. 479–495). Thomson Reuters Aranzadi.
van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
Wei, X., & Weerasawainon, A. (2022). Analyzing Lifelong Learning Tendency in Language Classrooms, Thailand. International Journal of Educational Reform, 10567879221081112. https://doi.org/10.1177/10567879221081112
Weitz, M., Pahl, S., Flyman Mattsson, A., Buyl, A., & Kalbe, E. (2010). The Input Quality Observation Scheme (IQOS): The Nature of L2 Input and its Influence on L2 Development in Bilingual Preschools. In K. Kersten, A. Rohde, C. Schelletter, & A. Steinlen (Eds.), Bilingual Preschools. Volume I.Learning and development. (Vol. 1, pp. 5–44). Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier.
Yilmaz, R. M., Topu, F. B., & Takkaç Tulgar, A. (2022). An examination of the studies on foreign language teaching in pre-school education: A bibliometric mapping analysis. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35(3), 270–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2019.1681465
FUNDING INFORMATION
Diseño de un perfil docente para la Educación Infantil desde un enfoque plurilingüe: aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras y lenguas adicionales en la infancia (LEyLA). Ref. PID2021-123055NB-100
Financiado por MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 y ERDF A way of making Europe
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
The authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- The authors retain copyright and guarantee to the journal the right to be the first to publish the work as well as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the authorship of the work and the initial publication in this journal.
- Authors may separately enter into additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (e.g., placing it in an institutional repository or publishing it in a book), with acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their own website) before and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).
