Challenges of Teaching English at Primary Level

AbstractTeaching English at primary level is a challenging task in most European countries. The opinions vary on when the instruction should start, which approaches and techniques work best at this level, what kind of outcomes are desirable as well as what kind evaluation process should be applied. Recent findings of research studies support early beginning on one hand, however, the results show that the instruction must have clear aims, otherwise it can be even contra productive.This article describes the situation in teaching English at primary level in Slovak schools. The author considers both benefits and constraints of introducing English language as a compulsory subject to primary education. The most serious concern is the lack of qualified teachers but at the same time the author underlines the lack of tried-and-tested experience which would be available to teachers. Even though there is an effort to help teachers become qualified for teaching at primary level there are many problematic issues concerning target group of teachers, especially the level of their language command. On the other hand the author appreciates the possibility to start teaching foreign languages to early language learners since there are a lot of benefits learners can gain. The author describes a case study where young learners involved in meaningful learning experience demonstrate how far such experience can take them