Research Information System
FIRST INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE-FOR-ALL CONFERENCE '22, Adana, Turkey, 21 - 23 October 2022
In primary language classrooms, the physical layout should consist of labels with words and
pictures so that students make connections between the written and visual input presented via
posters, and displays for young learners’ use. This environmental print provides continuous
learning opportunities through exposure to the target language with authentic and multi-modal
input with visuals and interactivity. Existing literature highlights the importance of print in
classrooms (Cameron, 2001; Linse and Nunan, 2006; Kang-Shin and Crandall, 2014) and adds
that young children pay attention to the literacy-based elements in their environments. A total
of 78 pre-service English language teachers taking Teaching English to Young Learners
became familiar with the concept of environmental print via poster design project and a total
of 39 posters were designed by small groups. The present study examines pre-service English
language teachers’ poster designs and their attempts in creating literacy-rich learning
environments for young language learners. Once the goal of the poster project was explained,
participating teacher candidates chose the content, goal, and design, and intended young learner
profile for their poster designs. The analyses of posters revealed poster designs were mainly
for the walls of the classrooms though few others were designed as floor board game posters.
The designed posters showed similarities with the concepts and themes appearing in the
primary English program. The study has implications for pre-service teacher training and
material development.
Keywords
pre-service teacher training, poster design, environmental print, teaching English to young
learners