Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: More and more children nowadays are exposed to content in English from an early age. They acquire English alongside their native Macedonian and, as a result, speak the foreign language fluently before they even begin attending school. Thus, EFL teachers in North Macedonia regularly encounter students with exceptional English proficiency who use the language as a native tongue rather than a foreign language. The number of such children is high and ever-growing. Understanding this, this study addresses the perceived lack of a suitable curriculum for these advanced learners. We aim to bridge the gap between their language abilities and standard English instruction by developing a program for fourth-grade bilingual students. To understand students’ needs, benefits, and challenges comprehensively, we incorporated teacher feedback via a survey into the process. Our findings indicated that many bilingual students seem to be under-challenged in traditional English classes. Despite administrative hurdles and potential motivational issues, our findings suggest that tailored instruction would yield many advantages for bilingual students in North Macedonia.
Institution: University "St. Kliment Ohridski" - Bitola
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4411028161