| dc.description.abstract | The growing need to master English from an early age presents unique challenges, as
young children learn differently from adults. Teaching English to young learners
(TEYL) therefore requires creative strategies and varied methods that go beyond
conventional adult oriented approaches. To overcome this, teacher can integrate the
creative nature of art to English language learning. However, implementing such
integration in classroom needs teachers’ strong beliefs to ensure the success of this
process. Therefore, this study seeks to explore Malaysian teachers’ beliefs on the
integration of art and language in early childhood education. Using a qualitative
research design, data were collected through interviews and class observation as
secondary data. Afterwards, data are analysed through coding and thematic analysis.
The findings revealed six key themes that reflect the teacher’s beliefs on the benefits
of integrating art into language instruction: scaffolding and instructional support,
student engagement and creativity, higher order thinking skills, independent
expression, language skills development, and cultural awareness. The findings of the
research sheds light to how Malaysian Teacher’s beliefs build her application of art
integration in her teaching practice. The study also offers implications for teacher
training and future research in early childhood language education, and beyond
Malaysia, the findings provide insights for other countries with similar cultural and
educational contexts, suggesting possibilities for adapting art integration practices in
early childhood language classrooms. | en_US |
