“Hearing and Feeling” English in Infancy and Early Childhood” (0-3-6): Self-Efficacy and Satisfaction among Crèche and Daycare Staff Trained to Introduce ‘Foreign’ Sounds

In response to the ever-growing need for large-scale programs to introduce foreign languages at a very early age (MIUR, 2018; European Commission, 2011), the region Emilia-Romagna and the University of Bologna (Italy) have developed a three-year action-research project titled "Hearing/feeling” English, and other languages, in infancy and early childhood (0-3-6)” aiming to bring the sounds of English and other languages into the daily routines of public and private crèches and daycares (5-36 months). In its first year (2021/2022), the project involved 73 schools, over 220 classes, 400 daycare staff and 3000 children. To provide consistent exposure, and to capitalise on pedagogical and interpersonal skills, daycare staff were identified as agents for carefully planned foreign language introduction, expanding upon the paradigm which sees language experts as the main source of reliable linguistic input. Regardless of foreign language (FL) proficiency, daycare staff were thus trained to deliver guided listening experiences based on structured performances of authentic children’s books and action rhymes, with the support of ad hoc audio recordings aiming to broaden children’s perception of less familiar sounds (Masoni, 2019; O'Grady, 2005; Sorace and Ladd, 2004). Since Italian policies and practices rely heavily on expert intervention (Favaro, 2016), the underlying shift in agency poses challenges in terms of daycare staff’s willingness and perceived ability to be effective FL vehicles, generating variables that may affect the level of satisfaction and compliance with the suggested approach (Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, 2001; Garvis and Pendergast 2016). By analysing self-reported data from questionnaires, this study reports on daycare staff’s perceived sense of self-efficacy, as well as on project evaluation from the point of view of both daycare staff and families involved. After the first year, findings suggest that daycare staff and families see carefully designed staff-mediated FL introduction as a viable option for early childhood language exposure.