Multiple perspectives on the benefits of teaching of Vietnamese to preschool children in an Australian early childhood context

The cognitive, educational and economic benefits of learning a second language have been well documented in the literature. This paper reports findings on perspectives of 13 stakeholders on the benefits of a case study about teaching Vietnamese to preschoolers in a regional early childhood context in Tasmania, Australia in 2017. Using a thematic approach in analysing 13 semi-structured interviews, five main themes on the benefits of the programme for the children identified were language development, cultural and global awareness, numeracy enhancement, reading engagement, and personal development. The results showed that participating educators and parents all had positive attitudes towards the early Vietnamese language programme, believed that there were many benefits and expressed a desire for its continuity. These findings suggest that there is a need and desire for second language education in early childhood in the Tasmanian context. Therefore, policy makers, educators and researchers should provide preschools access to learning and teaching resources of a language of their choice to benefit children’s overall development and learning in early childhood, adolescence and beyond.