Eckpfeiler des kommunikativen Englischunterrichts in der Grundschule.

The teaching of English as a foreign language is an integral part of the primary school curriculum. It was hailed as a path to greater proficiency, motivation for language learning and plu-rilingualism when it was introduced at the beginning of the millennium. In secondary schools some teachers are still sceptical about the necessity of teaching English in primary school although recent research findings are very promising. Critical teachers are of the opinion that it only takes a couple of weeks to bring all learners to the same language level. In this article expectations concerning the outcome of teaching English in primary school are contrasted with recent findings on the effectiveness of this subject. Additionally, the article will discuss what implications current research findings have for teaching programmes and classroom practice, and in which areas further research is needed. Four fundamental principles will be introduced which are considered to be essential for teaching English to young learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]