Students’ Ages at which EFL is Introduced
in Schools and Educational Outcomes
Chuzaimah Dahlan Diem
This study tries to see the
relationship between the age at which EFL is introduced in public schools and
educational processes and outcomes. A survey involving 229 students from
elementary and junior high schools in Palembang is conducted. The
population consists of those who have never taken extra non-formal English
courses. These students are given the same English tests comprising mostly
vocabulary and reading comprehension followed by a small portion of grammar. It
is hypothesized that those who start learning English earlier have better
achievement. Curriculum, intensity of instruction, teacher education level,
years of ELT experience are considered in the analysis, in addition to class
size, students’ SES and gender. Stepwise regression analysis is applied to
identify which variable contributes to students’ outcomes. The results show
there is no correlation between age alone and the students’ EFL achievement.
However, negative significant correlation is found between the students’
achievement and teacher education level and also between the students’
achievement and SES. Finally, some implications of research for theory, policy,
and practice are suggested.
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Diem, C. D. (2004). Students’ age at which EFL is introduced in schools and
educational outcomes. TEFLIN Journal, 15(1).
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