Moments That Matter: Reflections on Researching Language Awareness With Young Children Over the past decade, research on additional language (AL) learning in pre-primary education has increased considerably. For instance, a recent review by Nikolov and Mihaljević Djigunović (2023) exam...

🔁 ELLRA Memory Lane

Revisit Veronika Timpe-Laughlin’s session on researching with children.

📖 Open-access article:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

#ELLRA #EarlyLanguageLearning

14th ELLRA Webinar for Members by Members 3 March 2026-Does CLIL Time Pay Off? Young CLIL Learners’ Oral Proficiency in the Spanish Context

📅 ELLRA webinar reminder – 3 March, 14:30 CET

🎙 Raúl Azpilicueta-Martínez on whether CLIL time pays off (Spanish context)

Details & registration:
ellra.org/event/14th-e...

#ELLRA #CLIL #Webinar

Developing intercultural competence in English foreign language learning: focus on communication differences This study used a pre- and post-test intervention design, supplied with post-test interviews, to investigate to what extent an English foreign language lesson plan focusing on communication (in)dir...

🌍 ELLRA Memory Lane

Revisit Magne Dypedahl’s 1st Anniversary Web Festival talk on systemic intercultural learning for young learners.

📄 Related study on intercultural competence:
doi.org/10.1080/0031...

Members can access the recording via the portal.

#ELLRA #InterculturalCompetence

Critical Framing of Transversal Competences: Promoting Intercultural Responsibility through Cross-language and Cross-curricular Teacher Collaborations | OLBI Journal

🤝 ELLRA Memory Lane
Sunny Man Chu Lau’s talk (1st Anniversary Web Festival, cross-curricular collaboration of English & French teachers)
📄 Open-access paper on transversal competences:
doi.org/10.18192/olb...
ELLRA members can access the recording in the members’ area.
#ELLRA #TeacherCollaboration

Language proficiency over nonverbal sound effects in children's eBook incidental word learning While multimodal glossing is supported by theories like Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, its effectiveness remains debated due to potential cognitive demands. This study examined how r...

📖ELLRA Memory Lane
ELLRA members can revisit past webinars via the members’ area.
🎙Spotlight on Dr He Sun (NIE, NTU Singapore) and her work on digital tools for young language learners.
📄Open-access paper:
scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/items/ded034...

#ELLRA #EarlyLanguageLearning #DigitalLiteracy

💡 Mid-week inspiration for ELLRA members:

Revisit past webinar & WebFestival recordings in the members’ area.

Today’s pick: Anders Myrset’s 2025 WebFestival talk on L2 pragmatic instruction from learners’ perspectives.

#ELLRA #Pragmatics #LanguageLearning

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

📖 Webinar warm-up | ELLRA

Ahead of our 3 March webinar, check this open-access paper by Raúl Azpilicueta-Martínez on CLIL exposure & young learners’ grammatical complexity.

👉 doi.org/10.1177/1362...

#ELLRA #CLIL

📅 ELLRA webinar | 3 March, 14:30 CET

Raúl Azpilicueta-Martínez explores whether CLIL time really pays off, based on research in the Spanish context.

Members-only event.
#ELLRA #CLIL #earlylanguagelearning

🏅 ELLRA members — reminder to submit nominations for honorary (lifetime) ELLRA membership.

Recognising exceptional contributions to early language learning & ELLRA.

🗓 Deadline: 30 Jan 2026

📩 info@ellra.org

#ELLRA #earlylanguagelearning

Using LLAMA_B as a predictor of L2 vocabulary learning by young learners Studies of language learning aptitude with young learners are scarce. This study aims to contribute to this area by examining the role of aptitude in …

📊 Conference spotlight | ELLRA 2026

Carmen Muñoz examines age-related effects in language learning, drawing on long-term research (open access).

👉 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

#ELLRA #earlylanguagelearning

🌎 Keynote spotlight | ELLRA 2026

Mario López-Gopar & Darita Isabel Pérez Nava explore critical and decolonial perspectives in language education (open access).

👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

#ELLRA #languageeducation

The role of linguistic context and language similarity in the relationship between language exposure and language proficiency in bilingual children Abstract Amount of exposure has consistently been shown to influence language development in bilingual children. To date, it has been treated as a variable that affects language development in the sam...

🌍 Keynote spotlight | ELLRA 2026

Sharon Unsworth examines how exposure, context & language similarity affect bilingual children’s proficiency (open access).

👉 doi.org/10.1075/lab....

#ELLRA #bilingualism

Multilingual picture books – an analysis of language, content and poetic intention In the past decades, the publishing industry has begun to recognise what Adichie calls ‘The Danger of a Single Story’. Since then, while picturebooks featuring children from a more diverse range of...

📖 Keynote spotlight | ELLRA 2026

Sabine Little explores multilingual picturebooks through language, content & poetic intention (open access).

👉 doi.org/10.1080/0143...

#ELLRA #multilingualism

Setting them up for (grammatical) success: on the impact of metalinguistic explanations on young learners’ metalinguistic awareness and language learning aptitude The overlapping constructs of metalinguistic awareness and language learning aptitude act as predictors of attainment in instructional settings. Given the scarce input that young learners of Englis...

📚 Keynote spotlight | ELLRA 2026

Paloma Delgado-Garza & María del Pilar García Mayo examine the role of metalinguistic explanations for young EFL learners (open access).

👉 doi.org/10.1080/0965...

#ELLRA #earlylanguagelearning

🎄
✨ Season’s greetings from ELLRA ✨
🎄
Wishing our community a joyful holiday season and a wonderful New Year.
🎄
Thank you for being part of our international research network!
🎄
#ELLRA #earlylanguagelearning #happyholidays

📬 ELLRA members, check your inboxes!

The new ELLRA newsletter is out, full of news, projects and achievements from across our community.

Not a member yet? Consider it for your New Year’s resolutions! ✨

#ELLRA #earlylanguagelearning #research

🌱 Final day of the #ELLRA Virtual School!

Topics: Global citizenship, peace & educational technologies with Mónica Lourenço and Yuko Butler.

A powerful close to a rich week of learning.

#ECRs #EarlyLanguageLearning

🎨 Creativity day!
Julie McAdam explores children’s literature research; Nayr Ibrahim shares arts-based multilingual methods.

#ELLRA #ArtsBasedResearch #Multilingualism #ECRs

🌍 Day 3: Interculturality, decoloniality & pluriversal perspectives with Yecid Ortega, plus a special #ELLRA session on language maps!

#VirtualSchool #LanguageLearning #ECRs

Day 2 at the #ELLRA Virtual School!

🤝 Collaboration & plurilingual practices with Daniel Xerri (Malta) & Sunny Lau (Canada).

Exploring how we learn with children, not just about them.

#ResearchWithChildren #ECRs

The #ELLRA Virtual School begins!

🎓 Subhan Zein: Interviewing Young Learners
🎓 Annamaria Pinter: Research with Children

A week of creativity, collaboration & multilingual research starts today!

#EarlyLanguageLearning #ECRs

🌍 Connect & collaborate with peers worldwide at the ELLRA Virtual School!

06/11
• Aesthetic & Pedagogical Entanglements in Children’s Literature Research
• Arts-based Approaches to Multilingual Research

👉 ellra.org/event/ellra-...

#Networking #ELLRA

🎤 Meet the experts! Gain insights from leading voices in early language learning research.

05/11
• Interculturality, Decoloniality & Pluriversal Approaches )
• Special Session: Discover ELLRA & Create Language Maps

👉 ellra.org/event/ellra-...

#ELLRA #VirtualSchool

🎓 Mentoring & research sessions for doctoral & early career scholars — join ELLRA’s Virtual School!

04/11
• Exploring the Mosaic Approach
• Researching Plurilingual Practices

👉 ellra.org/event/ellra-...

#ELLRA #Research

📢 ELLRA Virtual School for Doctoral Scholars & Early Career Researchers is coming soon!

Learn, share & connect globally 🌍
👉 ellra.org/event/ellra-...

03/11:
• 09:00 CET Interviewing Young Learners
• 16:00 CET Research with Children: Methodological Considerations

#ELLRA #VirtualSchool #Research

🎓 11th ELLRA Webinar

📅 7 Oct 2025 | 🕟 16:30 CET

Integrating Virtual Exchange Projects into Language Teacher Education

Speakers from DE, SI, ES & PL

ℹ️ Access link sent to members by email

👉 More info: ellra.org/event/integr...

#ELLRA #Webinar

🌍 STAGE Research Webinar – 18 Sept, 12:00–13:30 CET

Findings from the STAGE project (starting age & extramural English in Norway & Flanders) + launch of new research network.

📝 Register by 17 Sept

👉 nettskjema.no/a/507110#/pa...

#ELLRA #Research

📚 Two new resources for early language learning!

📖 Yuko Goto Butler's new book on young additional language learners – flyer with discount attached

📰 Jakupčević (2025) on teacher talk in primary EFL:
doi.org/10.14746/n.2...

#ELLRA #Research

ELLRA 2nd Anniversary Web Festival ELLRA 2nd Anniversary Web Festival, June 28th

We are celebrating ELLRA's 2nd Anniversary with a day-long WebFestival.

More information can be found on the ELLRA website:
ellra.org/event/ellra-...

JOIN US!

#ELLRA

📚 Online talk: Creativity, Empathy, Motivation – and the Role of Picturebooks

🗓️ 14 June, 16:00–17:00 UK | 17:00–18:00 CET

🎙️ With Dr Deborah Buttery

Free but register here 👉 tinyurl.com/SharingLangu...

#ELLRA #SharingLanguages