Esperanto as a Starter Language

Previous work has examined the potential of Esperanto as a pedagogical tool in classroom foreign language learning in England, where limited language input of sometimes as little as one hour per week is the norm. The work reviewed here focuses on child learners aged 6 to 12 and was carried out between 2006 and 2016. This paper includes further research into the potential benefits of using form-focused instruction (based on any language) with children as well as the effects of learning Esperanto in novice adult learners.

View the abstract online or download the full paper at John Benjamins Publishing Company.

In this paper we propose that Esperanto may facilitate the development of metalinguistic awareness and, as a consequence, boost children’s budding capacity for explicit learning.

View the abstract online or download the full paper at De Gruyter.

In this paper we suggest that learning Esperanto may have a lasting levelling effect, reducing differences between children with varying metalinguistic abilities.

View or download the full paper in our research repository.

In this paper we examined whether the teaching and learning of either Esperanto or French would facilitate the development of language learning aptitude and metalinguistic awareness in 8-9-year-old children (N=28), thus setting the scene for enhanced explicit learning even at a young age. We found that language-analytic ability emerged as a significant predictor of L2 achievement in the sample as a whole.

View or download the full paper in our research repository.