ABSTRACT

Recent studies have revealed that the development of self-regulation and social skills in preschool children is important for later academic success, social acceptance and psychological wellbeing. Children who lack these skills are at risk for not being able to socialize and may face rejection behaviors among peers, show aggressive behaviors, or suffer from other personal issues which prevent them from being successful in life. The present experimental study was conducted to examine the effects of foreign language acquisition on preschool children’s self-regulation and social skills. In this respect, although there are studies examining the effect of social and/or self-regulation skills on foreign language learning, the field is lacking studies which examine the inverse relationship: the effect that foreign language learning has upon these skills. The present study endeavors to contribute to the literature in this sense. According to the results, it is seen that foreign language acquisition has a positive effect on preschool children’s self-regulation and social skills. Considering the results, it can be said that more foreign language programs should be designed with specific consideration for developing children’s self-regulation and social skills. Additional research studying different age groups, larger sample groups or with different language programs is recommended.

摘要

最近的研究表明，学龄前儿童的自我调节和社交技能的发展对于以后的学业成功，社会接受度和心理健康很重要。缺乏这些技能的孩子有无法社交的风险，可能会面对同龄人的排斥行为，表现出攻击性行为，或遭受其他个人问题的困扰，从而阻碍了他们的生活。进行本实验研究以检验外语习得对学龄前儿童的自我调节和社交技能的影响。在这方面，尽管有研究研究社交和/或自我调节技能对外语学习的影响，但该领域缺乏研究逆向关系的研究：外语学习对这些技能的影响。在这种意义上，本研究致力于为文学做出贡献。从结果可以看出，外语习得对学龄前儿童的自我调节和社交技能有积极的影响。考虑到结果，可以说应该设计更多的外语课程，并特别考虑发展儿童的自我调节和社交技能。建议进行其他研究，以不同年龄组，更大样本组或使用不同语言程序进行。可以说，在设计更多的外语课程时，应特别考虑发展儿童的自我调节和社交技能。建议进行其他研究，以不同年龄组，更大样本组或使用不同语言程序进行。可以说，在设计更多的外语课程时，应特别考虑发展儿童的自我调节和社交技能。建议进行其他研究，以不同年龄组，更大样本组或使用不同语言程序进行。