UNIVERZITA KONTANTNA FILOZOFA

PEDAGOGICK FAKULTA

Developing Additive Bilingualism of Very Young Learners of English

Dizertan prca

tudijn program: didaktika anglickho jazyka a literatry

tudijn odbor: 1.1.10 odborov didaktika
koliace pracovisko: Katedra lingvodidaktiky a interkultrnych tdi
kolite: doc. PaedDr. Zdena Krov, PhD.

Nitra 2017 Mgr. Zuzana imkov

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to doc. PaedDr. Zdena Krov, PhD., for
assisting me in writing this dissertation thesis. I am grateful for her thoughtful comments and
valuable suggestions which were of great help in preparing the final version of the thesis. I am
also thankful to all who helped me in any way with the elaboration of the submitted
dissertation thesis.

ABSTRACT
IMKOV, Zuzana: Developing Additive Bilingualism of Very Young Learners of English.
[dissertation thesis]. Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Faculty of Education;
Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies. Tutor: doc. PaedDr. Zdena
Krov, PhD. Nitra: Faculty of Education at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra,
2017. 120. p.

Bilingual education is becoming part of all educational levels worldwide. Today, education in
two languages is required by many schools and parents from the earliest education levels.
Being bilingual does not only open more opportunities for learners, but also provides many
social, emotional and cognitive benefits. Therefore, this thesis deals with developing additive
bilingualism of very young learners of English in Slovak educational context. The analysis is
focused on the phonic level that is the most dynamically developing language level in a pre-
school age. Additive bilingualism focused on English pronunciation of very young learners of
English (3, 4 and 5 years of age) is analysed by an English language phonetician and a speech
therapist. Two types of mistakes developmental and competence are identified and
interrelated in the learners pronunciation. The competence mistakes resulting from their
English phonic competence are further analysed and interpreted. Age-specific differences are
detected in both types of mistakes. English pronunciation of the learners English teachers is
also analysed and the results are compared to the results of the learners pronunciation
analysis. The findings show the importance of proper and correct foreign language model
from very young age.

Key words
additive bilingualism, very young learners, English language, pronunciation

ABSTRAKT
IMKOV, Zuzana: Rozvoj aditvneho bilingvizmu u det v materskch kolch. [dizertan
prca]. Univerzita Kontantna Filozofa v Nitre. Fakulta Pedagogiky; Katedra lingvodidaktiky
a interkultrnych tdii. kolite: doc. PaedDr. Zdena Krov, PhD. Nitra: PF UKF v Nitre,
2017. 120. p.

Bilingvlne vzdelvanie sa stva sasou vetkch vzdelvacch rovn na celom svete.

Vzdelvanie v dvoch jazykoch je dnes vyadovan mnohmi kolami a rodimi od tch
najnich vzdelvacch rovn. By bilingvlnym znamen pre uiacich sa nielen viac
prleitost, ale tie poskytuje aj mnoho socilnych, emocionlnych a kognitvnych vhod.
V tejto prci sa preto zaoberme vvojom aditvneho bilingvizmu u anglicky uiacich sa det
v materskch kolch v slovenskom vzdelvacom kontexte. Analza je zameran na fnick
systm, ktor je v prekolskom veku najdynamickejie sa rozvjajcou jazykovou rovinou.
Aditvny bilingvizmus zameran na anglick vslovnos u iakov materskch kl (vo veku
3, 4 a 5 rokov) je analyzovan odbornkom na anglick fonetiku a fonolgiu a logopdom.
Dva typy chb vo vslovnosti iakov vvojov a kompetenn s identifikovan a
usvzanen. Kompetenn chyby vyplvajce z anglickej fnickej kompetencie iakov s
alej analyzovan a interpretovan. V oboch typoch chb s detegovan rozdiely vo
vslovnosti pecifick pre dan vek. Tie sa analyzuje anglick vslovnos uiteov
anglitiny, ktor je nsledne porovnan s vsledkami zskanmi analzou vslovnosti ich
iakov. Zistenia potvrdzuj dleitos sprvneho jazykovho modelu cudzieho jazyka od
plnho zaiatku vuby.

Kov slov
aditvny bilingvizmus, iaci materskch kl, anglick jazyk, vslovnos

CONTENT
ABSTRACT

ABSTRAKT

1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................9
2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND...................................................................................10
2.1 Bilingualism: definitions and distinctions..................................................................10
2.1.1 Additive bilingualism of very young learners........................................................18
2.1.2 Teaching foreign languages in Slovak nursery schools..........................................23
2.2 Phonic competence of bilinguals................................................................................27
2.2.1 Speech development of very young learners..........................................................27
2.2.2 Slovak-English phonic interference........................................................................35
3 METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................................40
3.1 Research objectives and questions.............................................................................40
3.2 Research sample.........................................................................................................41
3.3 Research methods.......................................................................................................42
3.3.1 Questionnaire..........................................................................................................42
3.3.2 Pronunciation analysis 1 - Error analysis...............................................................45
3.3.3 Pronunciation analysis 2 - Speech therapist analysis.............................................47
3.3.4 Observation.............................................................................................................48
4 Reliability, validity, objectivity..........................................................................................50
5 RESULTS...........................................................................................................................52
5.1 Questionnaire.............................................................................................................52
5.2 Pronunciation analysis................................................................................................56
5.2.1 Pronunciation analysis 1 - Error analysis...............................................................56
5.2.2 Pronunciation analysis 2 - Speech therapist analysis.............................................67
5.3 Observation................................................................................................................73
6 CONCLUSIONS................................................................................................................76
BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................78
RESUM..................................................................................................................................83
APPENDIX...............................................................................................................................84

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Strong forms of Bilingual Education
Table 2 Weak forms of Bilingual Education
Table 3Individual language systems of bilingualism
Table 4 Receptive and productive language skills
Table 5 Five stages in the speech development of children
Table 6 Learners pronunciation mistakes
Table 7 Teacher-learner pronunciation relationship
Table 8 The typology of English pronunciation competence mistakes
Table 9 Learners developmental mistakes
LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1 The number of state nursery schools in Slovakia

Figure 2 Nursery schools providing individual languages
Figure 3 Number of very young learners acquiring languages
Figure 4 Sound development at individual age levels in English language
Figure 5 Teaching the English language in Slovak nursery schools
Figure 6 Qualification of English teachers in Slovak nursery schools
Figure 7 Topics taught at English lessons in Slovak nursery schools
Figure 8 Language systems taught at English lessons in Slovak nursery schools
Figure 9 Language skills taught at English lessons in Slovak nursery schools
Figure 10 Proportion of competence and developmental mistakes
Figure 11 The correspondence teachers of and learners competence mistakes
Figure 12 The proportion of English pronunciation competence mistakes types
1 INTRODUCTION

Bilingual education is becoming part of all educational levels worldwide. Being

bilingual opens not only more opportunities, but also social, emotional and cognitive benefits.
That is why, education in two languages is required by many parents and provided by many
schools from the earliest school levels.
The thesis focuses on additive bilingualism of very young Slovak learners of English
being taught in Slovak nursery schools. Speaking and listening are the dominant language
skills developed at this level and our experience as an English teacher of very young learners
convinced us that pronunciation is the primary determinant of their effective oral
communication, albeit mostly neglected in teaching English in nursery schools.
Teaching English as a foreign language in Slovak nursery schools is described and
specified by the results of a questionnaire. The results confirmed that speaking skill as the
dominant foreign language skill developed among very young learners and revealed that
pronunciation is a totally neglected language system at this level. However, pronunciation is a
crucial component in acoustic-auditive type of communication and its quality significantly
determines comprehension and comprehensibility of learners.
What is more, the phonic level of language is the most dynamically developing
language level in a pre-school age. Nevertheless, speech development within a mother tongue
is not completed yet at very young age which may coincide with the phonic competence in a
foreign language. Therefore, we decided to focus on the age-differences in English
pronunciation of very young learners (3, 4 and 5 years of age) and their English utterances
were analysed both by an English language phonetician and a Slovak speech therapist. Two
types of mistakes developmental and competence were identified and interrelated in the
learners pronunciation. The competence mistakes resulting from their English phonic
competence were further analysed and interpreted. Age-specific differences were detected in
both types of mistakes.
English pronunciation of the learners English teachers was also analysed and the
results were compared to the results of the learners pronunciation analysis. The results were
complemented by the observation done by the learners English teacher concerning the
communication value of their pronunciation mistakes. The findings showed the primary role
of teacher as a pronunciation model in learning a foreign language from very young age
which should be thoughtfully considered and reflected in foreign language teacher training
curricula.

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Bilingualism: definitions and distinctions

If you talk to someone in a language he or she understands, that goes to the persons head.
If you talk to somebody in his or her language, that goes to the heart.
Nelson Mandela

Increasing development of bilingual education and the evolution of language may be

due to the population size, social, political, economic and personal requirements. Bialystok
(2001) and many other researchers claim that learning a language can improve mental agility,
it can strengthen the brain, develop communicative abilities of individuals and strengthen and
improve overall humans abilities and skills.
The concept of bilingualism should be tackled because of the various definitions that
are given to this term. Those definitions seem to share one basic element, which is the use of
two given languages by a given speaker. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary,
bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages or the frequent use (as by a community) of
two languages. The American linguist, Leonard Bloomfield (1933), stated that bilingualism is
the native-like control of two languages.
Defining bilingualism is very difficult since there are plenty of features taking in
account when defining bilingualism. One of the fathers of bilingual research, Uriel Weinreich,
recognised and proposed, along with the Canadian linguist William Mackey, a more realistic
definition of bilingualism the alternate use of two or more languages. In between we find
bilingual children who interact with their parents in one language and with their friends in
another one or with one parent they speak in one language and to the other one in another.
Crystal (1987) suggests that code, or language switching occurs when an individual
who is bilingual alternates between two languages during his/her speech with other bilingual
person. Horeck (2002) says that bilingualism is the ability of a speaker to verbalize the state
of his or her linguistic consciousness by (at least) two codes. It is a quality/attribute of a
human being. Mackey (1962) defines bilingualism as the ability to use more than one
language. Weinriech (1953) claims that it is the practice of using two languages alternately
and according to Haugen (1953) bilingualism is the point where a speaker can produce
complete meaningful utterances in the other language.
Several linguists and researchers have different point of view on bilingualism and its
definition and differentiation. To analyse the term bilingualism person into details the answers
to the following questions should be provided:

1. Is bilingualism measured by how fluent people are in two languages?

2. Are bilinguals only those people who are equally proficient in two languages?
3. Is the person who does not speak a second language fluently, but makes a regular
use of it bilingual? Should the use of two languages also be considered?
4. Is person bilingual if he/she understands a second language perfectly but cannot
speak it? What about a person who can speak this language, but is not literate in it?
And what about the person who cannot speak and understand language, but can
read and write it?
5. Is bilingualism a label people give themselves? What if people lack the self-
confidence despite they can use foreign language and they do not consider
themselves as bilingual?
6. Can a person progress from bilingualism to monolingualism by forgetting a second
language? (Baker Prys, 1998)

Some people are equally proficient in two languages and they use both languages very
often, which is referred to as balanced bilingualism and it belongs to strong forms of bilingual
education. The term balanced bilingual refers to individuals whose competencies in both
languages are equally developed and the individual has the ability of reading and writing in
both languages. The individual is not only bilingual, but also biliterate.
For example, a child who can understand the delivery of the curriculum in school and
operate in classroom activity in either language would be considered a balanced bilingual
(Baker, 2003). Frequently, when people are bilingual, one of the languages is stronger and
used more regularly than the other one?; it means that four language abilities and skills differ
in both languages. This is referred to as dominant bilingualism.
The above-mentioned types of bilingualism and many other types of bilinguals and
bilingual programs started to be established and distinguished in the seventeen century.
Bilingual programs were founded thanks to the economic, political and geographical
circumstances. Since, there has been a huge spread of immigration, the borders were opened
and people started to travel abroad, there was a need to study foreign languages to reinforce
not only the economic power, but also a personal growth.
The first bilingual programs were created in the USA and then they started to be
spread worldwide. It dates back as far back as the first settlements in North America in 1664
and at least eighteen languages were spoken in the U.S. in the 17 th century. During the 18th
and 19th centuries, groups with various cultural and linguistic backgrounds continued to settle
across the country, and in 1839 Ohio became the first state to adopt a bilingual education law,
authorizing German-English instruction at parents' request (Campbell, 1997). These were the
first steps in developing and enacting bilingual education to support economic and financial
situation in the countries worldwide. Bilingual education has become more and more popular
and therefore many types of bilingual education programs were established. One of the most
famous linguists Colin Baker designed several types of programs providing bilingual
education. Nowadays a lot of schools follow the curriculum based on the bilingual programs
created by this linguist. These programs include the ways, the methods and the strategies of
learning and teaching foreign languages, the programs reinforcing the target language or the
programs retaining the mother tongue at the first place and developing the target language.
Two types of bilingualism, balanced and dominant, which are mentioned above, represent the
bilingual person who is educated using the strong types of school bilingual education
distinguished by Baker (2001). Baker introduced two types of bilingual education programs
that are used internationally and some of them are already used in Slovak schools. The first
type, strong forms of bilingual education, mediate educational programs which aim is
bilingualism and biliteracy; they reinforce L1 or L2, depending on the type of the program.
On the other hand, the scope of weak forms of these programs is monolingualism, relative
monolingualism or limited bilingualism. The two types of programs define the current
bilingual programs and ways of teaching bilingually, but there is still no precise distinction of
bilingualism and bilingual education programs because continual development and
improvement of bilingual education is still in progress. The process of innovation of methods
and strategies is still improving and schools worldwide cooperate and inspire each other in
ways of providing bilingual education at nursery, primary and secondary schools. Bakers
(2003) precise division of four strong forms and five weak forms of bilingual education is
shown below in a Table 1 and Table 2:
Type of program Typical type of Language of the Societal and Aim in language
child classroom educational aim outcome
Immersion Language Bilingual with initial Pluralism and Bilingualism and
majority emphasis on L2 enrichment biliteracy
Maintenance Language Bilingual with Maintenance, pluralism Bilingualism and
Heritage majority emphasis on L1 and enrichment biliteracy
language
Two-way /Dual Mixed languages Minority and Maintenance, pluralism Bilingualism and
Language (maj. and min.) majority and enrichment biliteracy
Mainstream Language Two majority Maintenance, pluralism Bilingualism and
Bilingual majority languages and enrichment biliteracy

Table 1 Strong forms of Bilingual Education

Type of program Typical type Language of the Societal and Aim in language
of child classroom educational aim outcome
Submersion Language Majority language (with Assimilation Monolingualism
minority pull-out lessons)
Segregationist Language Minority language (forced, Apartheid Monolingualism
minority no choice)

Transitional Language Moves from minority to Assimilation Relative

minority majority language monolingualism
Mainstream Language Majority language (with FL Limited enrichment Limited
minority lessons) bilingualism
Separatist Language Minority language (no Detachment/ Limited
minority choice) Autonomy bilingualism

Table 2 Weak forms of Bilingual Education

The forms of bilingualism, mentioned above, naturally, have led to two different
approaches to teaching language. Some teaching models try to balance growth and
proficiency in languages, fostering the individuals native language and nurturing that growth
as well as teaching and nurturing the second language. On the other hand, the immersive
approach seeks to give preference to a target language on the assumption that the student sees
both languages as distinct, and thus needs to concentrate on the target language as its not
being supported elsewhere in their lives. As time goes on, more and more effort is put into the
target language and learners are required to focus on the foreign language and mother tongue
is restricted for home usage.
 As it was already mentioned, bilingualism is not only defined by the ability to speak
two languages, the proficiency of the person in two languages and the active or passive using
of languages, but there are many other criteria which have to be taken into account if speaking
about bilingualism and bilingual education. The claim of using two codes, the ability of the
individual to alternate two languages or the proficiency in four skills is not sufficient enough
to provide a complete clear definition of bilingualism, therefore Burk differentiates another
two types of bilingualism, compound and coordinate bilingualism. This distinction is made
according to the time when two languages are acquired and according to the semantic systems
and cognitive perception of these two systems. Burk (2005) refers polylingual or compound
lingual to individuals who learned two languages simultaneously during their infancy as one
language. For example, in a family where the father speaks Italian and the mother speaks
English, children, if they are exposed to both languages, will be proficient in both languages,
they will be polylingual. These learners have a common semantic system for both languages
since they learn two languages in the same environment. They have the same system of
concepts in minds but the only thing which changes is the words or vocabulary items of two
separate languages. Then he considers individuals that already acquired their native language
first and then learnt a second are called polyglot or coordinate bilinguals, whose languages are
considered to operate more separately, since they are learnt in different environments (Burk,
2005, p. 16). Coordinate bilinguals have two different semantic systems for both languages
they acquire. The third type of bilingualism, subordinate bilingualism, was added by
Weinreich (1963). Subordinate bilinguals are those people who have learnt a second language
and cannot understand it without the help of their first language. Such learners translate the
words of a second language in their mother tongue, and then they are able to understand them.
Thus we can say that the concepts in mind will remain in one system i.e. the system of mother
tongue, but an additional language is attached to that system through mother tongue. The first
type of bilingualism, where the speaker is equally proficient in the four language skills,
reading, speaking, listening and writing is rare to find. Moreover, the individual has the ability
to use both linguistic codes for different purposes and in different ways, as it is clearly
displayed in the following Table 3:
 Compound bilingualism Coordinate bilingualism

Common Semantic Semantic

semantic system 1 system 2
system

Slovak language English language Slovak language English language

Subordinate bilingualism

Semantic system
Slovak language

Semantic system
English
language

Table 3 Individual language systems of bilingualism

In Slovakia, the first type of bilingualism is very rare, therefore this thesis deals with
the more frequent type of bilingualism, the second type of bilingualism, coordinate or additive
type. Based on the previous questions there is still unresolved question of what skills are
needed to be possessed to consider a person as bilingual person. The term language ability
and language skill tend to be used somewhat ambiguously. Baker (2001) defines language
ability as a general, latent disposition, a determinant of eventual language success. For some,
it tends to be used as an outcome, similar but less specific than language skills, providing an
indication of current language level. If we confine the question Are you bilingual? to ability
in two languages, the issue becomes what ability? There are four basic language abilities:
listening, speaking, reading and writing for which bilinguals can exhibit different degrees of
proficiency in each of their languages. These four abilities (Table 4) fit into two dimensions
adapted from: Baker, 2001, p. 5): receptive and productive skills; oracy and literacy.
 Oracy Literacy
Receptive skills Listening Reading
Productive skills Speaking Writing

Table 4 Receptive and productive language skills

In other words, the above-mentioned types of bilingualism are distinguished according

to 4 abilities since some speak a language, but do not read or write in a language, some listen
with understanding and read a language but do not speak or write that language and some
understand a spoken language but are not able to speak that language.
Considering very young learners must be taken into consideration that these children
do not have writing and reading abilities developed therefore the objective of the research is
to fully concern the listening and speaking skills. The learners at the age of 3-5 are able to
remember plenty of things just via listening and observing. Their ability and range of
remembering things is quite large. Until the age of 5 children are able to learn the target
language at the native speaker level, therefore the bilingual education is very prosperous and
beneficial when started at the early age. Many linguists divide bilingualism according to the
frequency of the target language, the learners age, the learner's ability to communicate in two
languages, the proficiency of the learners in two languages, the methods and strategies used in
the classroom. Another perception of bilinguals provides the linguists Romaine (1995) who
distinguishes six patterns of home language bilingualism, each one different, and each
difference relevant. These patterns combine values on social and linguistic dimensions, taking
account of both the minority and majority status of current language and the linguistic input
received by children. The six types are:
1. One person, one language
2. Non-dominant home language/ one language, one environment
3. Non-dominant home language without community support
4. Double non-dominant home language without community support
5. Non-native parents
6. Mixed languages

The basic division of bilingualism based on the skills, the abilities, the age and the
other personal and cognitive characteristics of the learner, has been already analysed and was
defined by linguists and researchers as Purcell, Lee, Romane, Biffin, Baker, Burke and
Weinreich. The types of bilingual education, designed by Baker, Romane or Burke are spread
mainly in European countries and in America, however, in Slovak educational context, the
importance of mother tongue is highly emphasized, therefore the additive type of bilingualism
must be discussed. The term additive bilingualism is not known in Slovakia therefore the
main objective of this thesis is to make this term clear and define the strategies used in
providing additive type of bilingualism. The two researchers, Valds and Figueroa (1994),
carried out very clear distinction of bilinguals according to which we can deal with additive
form of bilingualism. They distinguish bilingualism according to the following features:
1. Age (simultaneous/sequential/late).
2. Ability (incipient/receptive/productive).
3. Balance of two languages. (balanced/ dominant)
4. Development (ascendant second language is developing; recessive one
language is decreasing).
5. Contexts where each language is acquired and used (e.g. home, school).
Natural, intentional
6. Circumstantial and elective bilingualism
The first factor, they consider dividing the bilingualism, is the age of the learners
therefore this type of division is further analysed in details. Secondly, they divided
bilingualism according to the learners ability in the target language, if the learner is able to
communicate and how proficient he is in the target language. Thirdly, they distinguish
balanced and dominant bilingualism, the same division is done by Baker (2003) and these two
types have been already mentioned. The next criterion is whether the languages are
developing or decreasing, if the learner improves his skills or not. The next criterion is
contexts where the two languages are learnt, whether at home or at the school environment.
The last criterion according to which Valds and Figueroa divide bilingualism is whether the
bilingualism is circumstantial or elective, it means, whether the learner learns language
because it is required by society or if he learns it because he wants.
Since, this thesis analyses the process of acquisition and teaching process of very
young learners, the bilingualism according to the age is going to be fully discussed. There are
two types of bilingualism concerning the age of learners, simultaneous or sequential/ additive
bilingualism.
2.1.1 Additive bilingualism of very young learners

It is generally found that the better the childs language skills are in his own language,
the more capable he will be about learning and using a foreign language (Dunn, 1998). Dunn
(1998) claims that successful acquiring of mother tongue can ensure better ability of a child to
learn the second language. Additive bilingualism (AB) in other words, childhood bilingualism
is a type of bilingualism where the learner starts to acquire the second language since the age
of 3. By the time children attend nursery school, they have already acquired a rich reservoir of
concepts associated with the home language. When these children learn another language,
their process entails associating the new language with concepts previously acquired. In
additive bilingual education, the mother tongue and culture is retained, developed and there is
no loss of native language heritage. A normal child enters nursery school with a vocabulary of
approximately 8000 words moreover children are able to acquire many other things relating to
the language. First, it is important to mention how very young learners learn the mother
tongue since they learn the second language in the similar way. At the age of 3, children
already have enough knowledge of the mother tongue therefore it is easier for them to learn
the second language since they can build upon the language skills acquired in the mother
tongue. Speaking about very young learners, two possible ways to acquire the second
language are discussed as follows:
1. Simultaneous acquisition (when a child learns two languages at the same time);
2. Sequential acquisition (when the second language is learnt after the first).

An initial distinction made between simultaneous and sequential childhood

bilingualism is usually originated based on the learners age and the way how the second
language is acquired. It separates children who are exposed to two languages from birth from
those who acquire a second language later. Simultaneous childhood bilingualism, bilingual
acquisition, refers to a child acquiring two languages at the same time early in life, sometimes
called infant bilingualism. There are three identified stages when languages are acquired
simultaneously, for example, when they are raised by parents speaking more than one
language. There are three stages of the process of acquiring:
Stage 1 - the child mixes two languages into one system;
Stage 2 - the child starts to separate the words from each language and recognize to
which person that language should be spoken;
 Stage 3 - one language is used more than the other and that language becomes
dominant, which is often the case.
In a simultaneous acquisition, there are also two common patterns of exposure to a
second language:
1. One person - one language (for example, where one parent or other family
member speaks one language, and another parent or family member speaks a different
language); or
2. Both parents (and other family members) speak both languages. (Purcell- Lee-
Biffin, 2006)
Speaking about sequential or additive bilingualism a child learns the language of the
home, then goes to a nursery or elementary school and learns a second language. According to
Lambert (1980) additive bilingualism is a situation where the addition of a second language
and culture is unlikely to replace or displace the first language and culture. In other words,
additive bilingualism is the way of learning the target language wherein learning a second
language does not interfere with the learning of a first language and both languages are
developed. The second language is added to the first one and does not influence mother
tongue. Lambert (1977) says that the majority of positive studies have involved bilingual
students whose L1 was dominant and there was no danger of replacement by L2, therefore the
resulting form of bilingualism is termed additive. Cummins and Swain (1987) state that
bilingual child adds another socially relevant language to his repertoire of skills at no cost to
his L1 competence. Baker (2001) says that a second language and culture have been acquired
with little or no pressure to replace or reduce the first language. Cummins (1991) defines
additive bilingualism as a process of acquisition in which the first language continues to be
developed and the first culture to be valued while the second language is added. According to
Cummins bilingualism brings cognitive benefits, it incorporates a learners first language (L1)
into their instructional practices. Learners learn the curriculum through their native language
and they learn a second language, English, while reinforcing their first language. Another
linguist Landry (1991) claims that in additive bilingualism, language minority members are
proficient (or becoming proficient) in both languages, have positive attitudes to the first and
second language, with ethno linguistic vitality in the language community. Finally, Liddicoat
(1991) claims that additive bilingualism develops when both languages and cultures bring
complementary positive elements to the learners overall language development.
Particularly, additive bilingualism occurs when students add proficiency and
competency in a second language to the native language without loss or retardation of the
native language. Learner acquires the second language after having considerably learnt the
first language, for example, when the parental tongue is different than the main language of
the community or the education system. Considering and analysing many linguists and many
researches, we created the clear definition of additive bilingualism and we created 3
subcategories of additive bilingualism: sequential, intentional and dominant.
There are many definitions defining the term bilingualism, but there are few
definitions describing the term additive neither in Slovak educational context nor international
context. Since this term is not very well-know and there is no document which states the rules
of acquisition of another language than the mother tongue at nursery schools, and immersion
type of bilingualism, it means teaching and learning the majority language and restricting
mother tongue is prohibited in Slovakia, the scope of this thesis is to define this term and
analyse the situation at nursery schools providing the additive type of bilingual education.
The law states (NR SR n. 270/1995) that the state creates scientific and information
systems and such conditions that each citizen of the Slovak Republic may acquire and use the
state language in spoken and written form and that state language has preference over other
languages used in the Slovak Republic, therefore the research analyses the status of additive
bilingualism at Slovak nursery schools. The heritage language maintenance, the second type
of bilingual program founded by Baker, represents the key feature of additive bilingualism, it
means that mother tongue (L1) is dominant while L2 is learnt or acquired in the school
environment in this case at nursery school. In Slovak educational context, the additive
bilingualism is perceived as the process of acquiring the foreign language after acquiring the
mother tongue. Very young learners develop their skills in both languages, in Slovak and in
English. They improve Slovak language at home and also at nursery school, but English is
acquired and developed only in school. In additive bilingualism, the second language is
usually started to be learnt at the age of 3 or 4, but there is no law stating the age when the
learner has to start to learn another language. It is parents will and own decision when they
want their children to start to learn the second language.
Dealing with very young learners, teaching process focuses on teaching language
forms first and then language functions. In Slovak schools the following language forms are
taught: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, prepositional phrases, adverbs, verbs, and verb phrases
descriptive adjectives on the other hand, some of the language functions taught are: defining,
explaining, interpreting, sequencing, making claims, making predictions, asking informational
questions. At the beginning of teaching English, the focus is paid on language forms. Children
are required to learn/acquire the forms, mainly vocabulary and pronunciation, to be able to
make some meaningful sentences later. In Slovak educational context, after acquiring several
language forms, the light is shed on the language functions, but speaking about very young
learners, teaching foreign language for communicative purposes, for specific situations as for
apologizing, expressing a wish or asking permission is not developed and used at nursery
schools. These language functions are developed later at primary school, but at nursery school
the focus is on language forms and pronunciation since very young learners do not have
enough possibilities to be exposed to the target language so often to be able to make
meaningful utterances in it. Fortunately, teaching foreign languages becomes more popular
and there are more possibilities to come across with foreign language and then the focus
becomes less about form and more about the meaning of an utterance. If learners are exposed
to language frequently and regularly, they start to use the language in order to fulfil a specific
purpose. Savignon (1983) describes a language function as the use to which language is put,
the purpose of an utterance rather than the particular grammatical form an utterance takes.
Language forms deal with the internal grammatical structure of words and phrases as well as
the word itself.
Language learners need to acquire both the functions (uses/purposes) and the forms
(structures, vocabulary). Considering very young learners, there is a period in language
acquisition where the comprehension precedes production. At the beginning, the learner is
able to understand much more than he can produce. The ability to understand is visible in 2
year-old babies since some speak to them normally and they can definitely understand
whatever is said. They may use some of the words previously used, but they would find it
impossible to express their ideas, in spite of the fact that they may understand every single
word. This stage of the language acquisition process is called The Silent Period (Krashen,
1985) because the learners do not do much talking yet. Very young learners learning English
as an additional language may spend a long time listening before they start to speak. They will
often be able to understand much of what they hear, particularly where communication
through gesture, sign, facial expression and using visual support such as pictures, posters and
puppets is provided. In some learners this period may be shorter or longer, depending on the
exposure to the foreign language that the learners have. Learners, especially very young
learners, are active, enthusiastic and they want to be fully involved in the lesson and they ask
many questions and answer to them, they are willing to learn something new, but they are not
able to answer with complete and meaningful sentences since they do not have enough
vocabulary units acquired to express everything they want. Therefore the authentic exposure
and systematic repetition of the already acquired things is the crucial factor in teaching. The
great attention is given to the pronunciation since very young learners at the age of 3 and 4,
some learners even longer, have the problems with pronouncing some letters and phonemes.
According to Krashen (1987) there are two independent systems of second language
performance: the acquired system and learned system. Since this thesis deals with very young
learners at the age of 3, 4 and 5, the acquisition of the language is the proper label which
should be given to learners learning the second language early in the life, since the acquisition
is a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their
first language. However, in Slovak educational context learners not only acquire the language,
but also learn it, since some things they acquire subconsciously and some of them they learn
consciously and intentionally. There is a right mix of acquisition and learning techniques
during the educational process. For effective learning and acquiring process is inevitable to
create interactive and authentic atmosphere to fully support these two systems of
performance. Very young learners acquire the language easier and in a natural way, they are
not forced to remember something, but repeating and exposing to the target language they
remember and acquire new things. The Affective Filter hypothesis embodies Krashens view
that a number of 'affective variables' play a facilitating, but non-causal, role in second
language acquisition. These variables include: motivation, self-confidence and anxiety.
Krashen (1988) claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image,
and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for success in second language acquisition.
Low motivation, low self-esteem, and debilitating anxiety can combine to raise the affective
filter and form a mental block that prevents comprehensible input from being used for
acquisition. In other words, when the filter is up it impedes language acquisition, therefore
the teacher has to create pleasant, enjoyable and stress-free environment during the
educational process to lower the Affective Filter and to higher motivation, interest and will to
learn the language. Very young learners have a very low affective filter, so they are not
anxious and they do not feel fear when they are supposed to produce some utterance in the
target language. There are not any problems in expressing or producing something in the
foreign language. On the contrary, adult students are anxious and nervous and have a high
effective filter when speaking in the target language, therefore the childhood is the most
appropriate and beneficial period for learners to start acquiring the second language since it
can bring more effectiveness and efficiency then teaching adults. There are no barriers, no
worries, no anxiety, very young learners are open-minded and they learn by discovering and
exploring.
2.1.2 Teaching foreign languages in Slovak nursery schools

The school system of the Slovak Republic nowadays includes 8 types of schools:
1. nursery schools (for children from 3 to 6 years),
2. primary schools (for children from 6 to 15 years, divided into two levels:
primary education and lower secondary education),
3. grammar schools (with either 4-, 5- or 8-year study programmes),
4. secondary vocational schools (with 2-, 3- or 4-year study programmes),
5. conservatories,
6. schools for learners with special educational needs,
7. elementary art schools,
8. language schools.

ISCED 0 does not state precise rules of foreign language education. In this document,
there is only stated that native language, Slovak language, must be taught at all types of
Slovak schools. Foreign languages are allowed to be taught, but all schools must teach Slovak
language to develop communicative competence of learners. This means that second language
is only some kind of addition to the mother tongue. Slovak language is dominant and target
language is added to the first one. The Slovak legislation also provides education in a foreign
language (only six languages may be taught as foreign languages in Slovakia: English,
German, Russian, French, Spanish, and Italian) (Pokrivkov, 2013).
As it is stated in the document published by the Ministry of Education in 2000 the
network of schools and school facilities included 3,262 nursery schools with 7576 classes. In
September 15, 2012 the network of schools and school facilities included only 2,861 nursery
schools with 7,395 classes. Nursery schools also vary according to the language of
instruction. In 2012 most children attended nursery schools with Slovak language of
instruction (139,955) and Hungary language (9076). There was a smaller representation of a
Ukrainian language (186 children), German (102 children) and French (74 children). There is
also a representation of bilingual Slovak language with English language (57 children),
Bulgarian language (44 children) and Ruthenian language of instruction (17 children).
14,515 teachers provide education and training at nursery schools, of whom 98.7%
have the qualifications established by generally binding regulations. (Ministry of education,
2013)
In Slovakia the additive type of bilingualism is dominant. Mother tongue is stronger
and is used as the first language of instruction, while a foreign language is used only as a
secondary instructional language in some subjects or in the teaching of only some topics or
lessons.
Information which is known about bilingual education refers to primary and secondary
schools, whereas we do not have enough information about the bilingual education at nursery
schools. Therefore, this thesis pays attention to development, importance, quality,
effectiveness and way of foreign language acquisition of very young learners at nursery
schools all around the Slovak republic. It analyses how many teachers teach languages, if they
are qualified to teach them and what materials are used in these schools. It also carries out the
number of nursery schools providing additive type of bilingual education in Slovakia.

The latest statistics from 15. 9. 2014 show the total number of state nursery schools is
2725 (figure 1) in Slovakia. From 2725 schools, 2383 schools provide education in Slovak
language, 73 in Slovak- Hungarian language, in Hungarian 260, in Ukrainian 7 and 2 nursery
schools provide education in other language (figure 2). There are 138920 children learning
Slovak language, 8864 learning Hungarian language, 145 learning Ukrainian language and 10
children learning other language (figure 3).

Figure 4 The number of state nursery schools in Slovakia

 Figure 5 Nursery schools providing individual languages

Figure 6 Number of very young learners acquiring languages

Professor VON Pokrivkov (2013) deals with bilingual education in Slovakia and
she claims that both groups of teachers teach rather traditionally, preferring monolingual
and frontal teaching techniques (e.g. lecturing) and applying nearly exclusively a convergent
type of tasks. Many teachers at bilingual schools are not even aware of a positive impact
bilingual education might have on the development of their students cognitive functions and
they do not apply techniques that could assist in achieving such an impact. It is necessary to
understand the sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and neurolinguistic background of code-
switching and other bilingual speech phenomena.
 Other author who deals with bilingualism, especially bilingual education of very
young learners is Jursov. She performed experimental teaching of English in kindergarten
using the Hocus and Lotus narrative format educational model. The teaching lasted 6 months,
every day for 20 minutes, and children were to learn 290 words in phrases of narrative format
during this period. This experiment involved 64 children. The children were administered
tests of comprehension and production in image form, that measured the amount of learned
and remembered vocabulary. Jursovs (2014) results showed that children recognized
80.51% of foreign language words in the test of understanding, while the production test
showed a 52.10% success rate.
Other author dealing with bilingual education in Slovakia is Haneov (2014) who
emphasizes the importance of the teachers language abilities. In other words, if the teachers
abilities are not good enough it can do more harm than benefit. In her opinion, only if the
teacher is reasonably fluent and his/her pronunciation is really understandable and good,
his/her communication fulfilling a certain standard, including mastering most common
grammar structures only PREFORMULOVAT then we can talk about any benefits of EFL
for younger learners. Of course, the older the learners are the more independent they can be
and they can find, e.g. good pronunciation, on the internet. But the young learners have to be
provided with an excellent learning environment.
The statistics provided by Ministry of education (2013) about the possibilities of
learning foreign languages define that Hungarian, Ukrainian, and some other language (not
precisely stated) are taught at nursery schools but there is no statistics that would show the
number of nursery school providing English language as a first foreign language or additive
language. Due to this lack of information we decided to conduct the research dealing with this
issue. Doing this research we want to map the situation in Slovak nursery schools, the amount
of schools providing English lessons and their frequency and the quality of this service.
2.2 Phonic competence of bilinguals

2.2.1 Speech development of very young learners

The acquisition of the second language has the same stages as acquiring the mother
tongue with the only difference in age. Mother tongue is learnt and acquired from birth and
additive language is usually learnt and acquired from 3 years in Slovak educational context.
During the process of language acquisition, these aspects must be taken into consideration:
the frequency of exposure to target language, the amount of vocabulary and language
structures, environment where learner gets the input and at last, but not at least ??? the proper
input received from the teacher. In the Figure 4 the sound development of individual letters
and age is displayed and shows the accurate time when the sound/letter should be acquired.
According to Piagets (1952) theory of cognitive development, children at the age of 3 to 5
would still be in the pre-operational cognitive stage. At this age children acquire
representational skills in the areas of mental imagery, and especially language. Since children
at this stage cannot read or write, everything from the language learning will have to be
imparted through auditory and sensomotor activities. Every child starts to express his feelings
by babbling. Using various sounds he/she communicates with other world however, at the
beginning of speech development errors in speech occur including omissions/deletions,
distracted words and substitutions. The most common sounds, in Slovak learner, heard in
early babbling around the age of 6 months up to 1 year are /b, m, y, w/ and learners at this
stage should be able to produce 1-2 words. Around the age of 9 months child should start
repeating simple syllables like mama and dada. By 12 months, child should produce 1-6
words. Then, by 18 months, child should produce 15 words and uses the following consonants
/t, d, n, h/. At the age of 2-3 child should produce simple sentences and should be understood
by family and at the age of 3-4 should be intelligible to most people and should create
sentences with 4 and more words. All sounds should be mastered by the approximate age of 7
or by the first grade and child should produce meaningful and communicative sentences
(Burns, Werker, McVie, 2002).
To sum up, at the age of 2 a child should be understood 50% of the time, 75% at the
age of 3, and 100% at the age of 4. By Kindergarten no phonological processes (speech error
patterns) should persist. There are 24 consonants in the English language and they should be
acquired according to the age as follows:
Ages 1-3:
 /m, b, y, n, w, d, p, h/
Ages 3-6 :
/t, k, g, ng, f, v, ch, dg/
Age:5-7 :
/sh, s, z, r, l, zh, voiced and voiceless th/ ffoneticky APA prepis???

Figure 4 Sound development at individual age levels in English language

Speaking about very young learners and additive bilingualism we need to point out the
importance of the pronunciation. At the early stages when very young learners start to
produce words, it is necessary to pay attention to speaking skills especially pronunciation and
representation of the proper language model, either in mother tongue or in the additive
language, and to state the proper time to start with acquisition of additive language is more
than required. According to the Sander (1972), (Figure 4), we can claim that the most
appropriate time to start to learn additive language is the age of 3/4 since at that time child can
produce basic letters and basic words, sentences in a mother tongue. At the age of 5 every
child should be able to pronounce most of the phonemes. In English language there is the
phonemes // and // that can cause troubles at very young age otherwise all other phonemes
should be acquired until the age of 7. In comparison to English language some of the
phonemes do not occur in Slovak language and this feature can cause the obstacles to Slovak
learners learning English language as additive language.
Since this thesis does not discuss very young learners with specific educational needs,
it is needed to specify the process and typical features of normal language development.
Ontogenesis of speech is natural acquisition of childs mother tongue in all its levels and
forms of a complex system language characters and symbols. This process normally occurs
primarily at a young age and the majority of children are its essential aspects round out the
age just after the 3rd year of life (Kapalkov, 2010). Three-year childs ability is to create
both simple and multi-word phrases, but also the ability to actively form compound sentence.
Such syntax ability is typically accompanied by extensive and flexible vocabulary. The
acquisition of morphological speech aspects as bending words and the usage of grammatical
morphemes it is completed in three years (Sandre, 1972). Occasional errors are in normally
developing child and it can be due to hypergeneralization of his grammatical knowledge, it
means the child sometimes apply the learnt grammatical rules incorrectly or creates a typical
baby neoplasms. The acquired oral skills serve him as a key tool for acquiring knowledge
outside world and are the most important base of the forthcoming cognitive and psychosocial
development of his personality. Thus anchored developmental pattern in early age is a
universal for all language cultures around the world (Owens, 2008)
In the next period of speech ontogenesis, between the age of 3 to 6, a child with
normal development of speech will only refine pronunciation skills, expand vocabulary,
deepen and expand the understanding of meanings acquired words, enhance narrative
(storytelling) skills and build the foundations metalinguistic knowledge (knowledge of the
language as a system of features). School age is then determined on acquisition reading and
writing. There are five stages in childs speech development. Table 5 summarizes the basic
principles of the mother tongue acquisition. In comparison to mother tongue acquisition the
acquisition of the second language is deferred what relates to the age of the learner. What is
considered as Silent period in mother tongue acquisition, age range 0-6 months, this period is
deferred to the age of 3 and above in the additive language acquisition.

Approximate Teacher
Stage Learners characteristics Age Range Prompts
1.Preproduction Has minimal comprehension. 06 months Show me
Silent period Does not verbalize. Circle the
Responds to greetings and instructions. Where is ?
Points to the familiar objects. Who has ?
 Nods "Yes" and "No."
Responds mainly nonverbally.
Displays limited comprehension skills.
Answers questions about self only with a
yes or no.
Uses the primary language to express
when a language direction is not
understood.
Observes stories, shared reading, songs,
and poems (Gesell, 1940).
2.Early Has limited comprehension. 6 months1 Yes/no
Production Produces one- or two-word responses. year questions
Uses key words and familiar phrases. Either/or
Uses some basic words and simple questions
phrases. Who ?
Displays some comprehension of spoken What ?
language. How many
Echoes or imitates a number of syllables ?
and sounds.
Responds to greetings, introductions.
Answers questions about self with 1 - 2
words.
Begins to comprehend stories, songs, and
poems.
Recites favourite rhymes, songs, chants,
and poems.
Identifies letters of the alphabet by name
(Crystal, 1997).
3.Speech Has good comprehension. 13 years Why ?
Emergence Can produce simple sentences. How ?
Makes grammar and pronunciation errors. Explain
Uses single words like "mama", "dada", Questions
"piggy". requiring
Follows simple directions and locates phrase or
objects. short-
Uses vocabulary of 300 - 600 words. sentence
Uses 2 - 3 word sentences. answers
Asks questions like "whats that?"
Produces complete phrases and simple
sentences. Makes sentences usually with
errors (Gesell, 1940).
Performs phonemic-awareness skills
(sound-symbol relationships, rhyming).
Displays increasing comprehension of
stories, songs, poems.
Follows two- to four-step oral directions.
Defines and classifies objects.
Rephrases information to check for
comprehension (Krashen, 1987).
4.Intermediate Has excellent comprehension. 35 years What would
 Fluency Uses vocabulary of about 900 -1500 happen if
words. ?
Uses 3 to 5 word sentences. Why do you
Uses language to get information. think ?
Asks many questions (Reilly, Wake, Questions
Ukoumunne, Bavin, Prior, Cini, Conway, requiring
Eadie, Bretherton, 2010). more than a
May experience normal non-fluency. sentence
Average listener understands his speech. response
Ask many questions using words like
what where and why.
Uses longer sentences and link sentences
together.
Have difficulties with a small number of
sounds for example r, w, l, f, th, sh, ch
and dz.
Produces complete sentences that may
contain errors (Wood, 1976).
Answers questions about self and family.
Asks complex clarification questions.
Decodes complex sentences.
Displays full comprehension of stories,
songs, and poems.
Follows complex oral directions (Kamhi,
Clark, 2013).
5.Advanced Has a near-native level of speech. 57 years Decide if
Fluency Uses 6 to 7 word sentences. Retell
Uses vocabulary of 3000 - 7000 words.
Tells simple stories.
Speaks with correct grammar and word
endings.
Uses language for social reasons.
Language is becoming adult-like (Gesell,
1940).

Table 5 Five stages in the speech development of children

Although the first year is really important for language development, the major
learning development continues throughout a childs early years even though at the beginning
child understand a lot more than he/she can say/produce. During the period when child attends
the nursery school, he/she should acquire the usage of their all 4 communicative skills.

1. Listening-Follows commands, listens and understands age appropriate stories,

follows a simple conversation
 2. Reading-knows how the book works, knows that we read from left to right,
identifies the individual words, understands the whole content of the sentence, recognizes
some words by sight, imitates reading by talking about pictures in a book,

3. Speaking-is understood by people, can express every message, idea and need,
answers simple yes, no questions, answers open- ended questions, talks about event, retells
story, shows interest in conversations.

4. Writing-writes own first name sometimes also surname, draws a picture, writes
uppercase letters.

The 4 language skills a ine?should be gained by very young learners up to the end of
nursery school. The Table 5 describes the individual age levels and competences of ordinary
learners without any specific disorder. However, very young learners can experience various
types of communication and speech difficulties caused by various factors. It is inseparable
part of this research and therefore it is necessary to reflect and consider also the very young
learners with disorders. Division is based on how they intervene in the speech production.
Speech disorders are divided into:

1. dyslalia inability to use the individual phonemes or groups of phonemes in

spoken language,
2. stuttering/ balbuties developmental disturbance of speech,
3. mutism the state of being silent or organic or functional absence of speech,
4. aphasia a problem to creating or understanding speech,
5. dysphasia lighter from of aphasia
6. dysarthria slurred speech, i.e. pronunciation,
7. aphonia or dysphonia is rattling and whispered speech,
8. rinolalia or nazolalia the nasal speech,
9. tumultus sermonis impaired speech rate,
10. atactic (chanted) speech occurs in disorders of the cerebellum,
11. monotonous speech.

All these disorders must be mentioned because at the period of speech development
some of these disorders or speech difficulties may occur at the age of 2, 3 or above, it depends
on the individual learners characteristics, predispositions and brain and speech practice.
Except of speech disorders children may have obstacles with incorrect construction of sounds
as well. There are several types of mispronunciation or misuse of the phonemes:
 1. R rhotacism,
2. L lambdacism,
3. C kaporism,
4. G gonacism,
5. S sygmatism/lisping.

The reasons of making the most common mistakes of incorrect pronunciation of the child may
be caused by:

1. skipping speech sounds in the word,

2. substitution of one other sounds,

3. skipping syllables at the beginning, middle and end of words,

4. repetition of syllables,

5. Shifting of speech sounds.

There are also very young learners with motor speech disorder, muscle weakness or
various types of paralysis and mental blocks avoiding proper speech development. Speech
disorders may be caused by different factors. Sometimes problems arise directly via the
speech centrum in the brain, or a problem with the nerve signals or directly to the tongue and
facial muscles. All above-mentioned disorders are called developmental mistakes/disorders
and they occur during learners speech development with the difference of the amount and the
age stage. This thesis deals mainly with competence mistakes/disorders, but it also analyses
developmental ones and therefore there is the description of the pronunciation competence
stated below since very young learners should be able to master the following features under a
certain age:

1. until 3 years: the correct pronunciation of vowels N, M, P, H, T, K, in all positions (at

the beginning, in the middle, at the end of the word);

2. between 3rd-4th year: the correct pronunciation of vowels F, V, G, B, J, D;

3. between 4th to 7th year: the correct pronunciation of all the other phonemes in all
positions in the word; include the most difficult of speech sounds L, R and sibilants C,
S, , , , D.

If problems persist after the 7th year of the child's life, the problem of pronunciation
dyslalia and other kids of developmental disorders should be taken into consideration which
were analysed above. Another factor that plays important role in the speech development is
the formation of correct pronunciation of speech child and the following features are
inseparable part of the proper formation and development:

1. speech models (especially family),

2. verbal practice of child,

3. good hearing,

4. good quality of breathing through the nose,

5. proper swallowing,

6. functional orofacial area (area of the mouth and face).

Speech disorders can eliminate activities that are close to the age of the child or
coming up with activities that require maximum involvement of a child and also the visit of
speech therapist is never useless, however, what is usually underestimated is the time to pick a
specialist. Early care system offers speech therapy, services at the earliest age, some children
already from birth. At regular visits, the speech therapist teaches the young patient and his
family a series of games and practices that help in rectifying the right mechanisms of speech.
In summary, the pronunciation problems, namely, competence and developmental
pronunciation problems of Slovak very young learners learning English language as additive
language, we deal with, analyse and provide cross-age pronunciation mistake differentiation
focusing learners and teachers mistakes and thus the evaluation of mistakes is done, except
speech disorders, and the reasons of making these mistakes are formulated and the importance
of the proper language model is emphasised.
2.2.2 Slovak-English phonic interference

Speaking about interference which may occur during the educational process of very
young learners it is necessary to define subtractive bilingualism as the counteractive category
of additive bilingualism to highlight the benefits and pitfalls of these two types of
bilingualism and also it is important to discuss the obstacles that can be observed in
pronunciation either in mother tongue or in the target language. Weinreich (1979, p.22)
defines interference as "cases of deviating from the standard of one of the languages that
occur in bilingual learners as a consequence of linguistic contact."
To start with, subtractive bilingualism that refers to the situation where a person learns the
second language to the detriment of the first language, especially if the first language is a
minority language. In this case, the mastery of the first language decreases, while mastery of
the other language increases. These concepts were created by Wallace Lambert, the Canadian
researcher who has been given the title of the father of bilingualism research. Conversely,
for Lambert (1983) subtractive bilingualism is characterised by the loss or erosion of a home
or first language and culture. In the European contexts, this typically happens when a minority
language learner enters a school where a socially powerful, dominant language like English is
introduced as the exclusive language of instruction, resulting in a steam-roller effect of the
powerful dominant language (Lambert 1983, p. 100). Home language and culture are
suppressed while the English is reinforced. In other words, subtractive bilingualism develops
when the two languages are competing rather than complementary (Liddicoat, 1991). In
subtractive bilingual environment the home language is replaced by the second language
which causes the negative interference either in pronunciation or in lexical or morphological
sphere, resulting in problems to very young learners. For example, where the home language
is Slovak and the subtractive approach occurs, the first language is replaced by widely used
language, English, negative rather than positive effects may occur in school performance and
self-esteem. In other words, if in the process of acquisition of the second language of very
young learners occurs the negative interference, language transfer, or L1 interference; it can
influence the learners native language. There are several external factors affecting language
maintenance and language shift, interference or transfer.

Social Aspects
Attitudes
 Use of Language

Government Policy

This is a stage in their development where language develops by leaps and bounds therefore it
is suitable to start acquiring the second language at this age. Moreover, very young learners
already speak their mother tongue, they have already understood and accepted the principles
of mother language and they are aware of the value of their culture, so they are prepared to
understand the foreign language principles and accept the value of foreign language and
culture. They learn by repeating the phrases, words, sounds, movements. Learning additive
language, some obstacles in speaking skills and pronunciation may occur:

Specific phonemes or allophones may not be shared by both languages

Differences in distribution of sounds

Different places of articulation of consonants

Differences in phonological rules

Under-Differentiation of Phonemes

Over-Differentiation of Phonemes

Reinterpretation

The transfer/ interference can cause serious problems in the process of foreign language
acquisition, therefore the main scope of this thesis is to detect the interference, obstacles and
mistakes in pronunciation that very young learners make and suggest their elimination. Since
we analyse the process of acquisition of the target language of very young learners, we can
talk mainly about phonological. Interference from a student's native language is mostly in the
form of pronunciation, sentence structure errors and vocabulary unit errors. Pronunciation
mistakes are due to the fact that spoken sounds or phonemes differ from language to
language. Children may have problems with pronunciation of some words from the target
language because these words do not exist in their mother tongue. The phoneme // and // do
not exist in Slovak language so Slovak learners learning English language can have
difficulties to pronounce these two phonemes. The solution could be found in the frequency of
the contact with the target language and the proper language model represented by teacher.
The more children are exposed to the target language, the more they acquire and the foreign
language becomes more developed and stronger. However in this way the negative
interference may occur and native language may become weaker and foreign language may
become more dominant, but in many cases language transfer has been regarded as a natural
fact in the process of learning a second language and it should not be considered as a negative
aspect in the process of teaching the language. The teachers should use as many methods as it
is possible to avoid negative interference and making the pronunciation mistakes and he/she
should support both the target and mother language since learners at the age of 3, 4 and 5 are
still in the process of the mother tongue speech development. The most typical mistakes that
occur during educational process of Slovak learners were summarized by various linguists
and Krov (2011) defines several types of the interference that occur during learning the
second language. The typology of linguistic interference can be approached from different
points of view, although strict division in many cases is not adequate. The most common
criteria that Krov (2011) describes are the relationships of the different language systems,
according to which the interference is divided into:
1. interlanguage interference,

2. intralingual interference,

3. mixed (intralingual- interlingual) (Lenhardtov, 1989, in Krov 2011).

By intervention of individual language levels we distinguish interference:

1. sound,

2. lexical-semantic,

3. morpho-syntactic,

4. orthographic (Juhsz, 1970).

U. Weinreich (1979) divides the interference according to the sound level to phonic,
phonotactil and suprasegmental. At the level of audio segments defined four basic types of
interference:
1. under-differentiation,
2. over-differentiation,
3. reinterpretation of distinctions,
4. phone substitution (in Krov, 2011).
 According to Krov (2011) typical mistakes that are made by Slovak very young
learners are:

1. Substitution of the phoneme //

2. Incorrect word stress placement
3. Omission of a phoneme
4. Distorted words
5. Incoherent speech flow
6. Substitution of the phoneme //
7. Inadequate tone
8. Lengthening of a vowel
9. Letter-pronunciation
10. Substitution of the phoneme /w/
11. Improper articulation of final -ng
12. Substitution of the phoneme /v/
13. Improper articulation of the final phoneme /v/
14. Adding a phoneme
15. Inadequate pace of speech
16. Application of Slovak assimilation of voice
17. Substitution of the phoneme //
18. Coalescent speech
19. American pronunciation
20. Improper distribution of the phoneme /r/ foneticky prepis sa realizuje cez hranate
zatvorky
21. Mispronunciation of the suffix -ed
22. Incorrect equivalent of grapheme
23. Incorrect articulation of clear [l]
24. Shortening of a vowel
25. Improper articulation of the phoneme /r/
26. Monotonous intonation
27. Improper pronunciation of weak forms

After defining the typology of mistakes the question why learners make mistakes and
how to avoid these mistakes and how to assure the proper pronunciation must be asked and
answered. Furthermore, it must be admitted that the teacher the most important element in the
educational process. The role of teacher and his/her language level embodies the essential part
of the proper, correct, adequate, qualitative, effective and efficient language model to very
young learners. Teachers are crucial and essential elements in the educational process and
thus schools should provide qualified teachers, appropriate materials and place where
educational process will take place to assure the educational process on high level.

According to Harmer (2007) teacher should be skilled in choosing appropriate, useful,

convenient, technically adequate methods. He must be able to choose relevant and appropriate
content that matches the different levels of very young learners needs, the proper materials
and techniques to meet the objectives. He should give feedback to learners to motivate and
encourage them. Every teacher must be really prepared and determined to teach very young
learners and he must represent a complex role and language model for children.