Investigating English Learning Classes in Kindergartens in Raparin Area

English language learning has become a necessity for today’s life everywhere around the world. People who started learning English in second language acquisition stated that starting to learn from the ages of 4-5 years old can make the learning much faster and easier and that means starting from kindergartens. This study is investigating English learning classes in kindergartens in the Raparin area to find out how the process of teaching English as a foreign language to Kurdish EFLs is carried out. And the sample size was 19 kindergarten English teachers for this study. This research focuses on four aspects which are setting of the classes, efficiency of the teachers, the curriculum and the method that are used by the teachers to teach their classes. Results showed that ELCs in kindergartens in Raparin area are suitable for a standard English language class, but the environment of the classrooms are not synchronized with the target language. In the matter of efficiency of the teachers, all the teachers have many years of experience and they have good knowledge about both ELT methods and child psychology.


Background of the Study
English is becoming the world's common language as a result of globalization, and a growing number of individuals believe that learning English as a second language is critical for practical purposes. People often believe that learning a second language is simpler for youngsters than for adults. Many parents and societies nowadays push their children to spend as much time as possible learning English. Parents are increasingly requesting that their children begin studying a foreign language (typically English) as early as kindergarten. Many kindergartens in Kurdistan provide this service. Youngsters are achieve two or even three such perfect replications (Singleton 1989). Adults who set out to learn another language hardly ever reach a stage where they speak like those from whom they learn; their 'learner varieties' normally fossilize at an earlier stage. This does not mean that their final learner variety is less of a language, or less efficient; there is no reason to assume that a linguistic system that says 'He swam yesterday' is a superior manifestation of the human language faculty than a system that says 'He swam yesterday' or even 'He swim yesterday.' It is just the way the English do it, and deviations from their norms are stigmatized. If the study of language acquisition, and SLA, should inform us about the nature of the human language faculty. then it must not focus on issues of perfect replication and why it fails sometimes, but try to clarify how the human language faculty deals under varying conditions with forms of linguistic input to which it has access. The first step to this end is to isolate the crucial factors which play a role in this process and to look at the ways they can vary. The second step is to investigate what happens under varying constellations. The final step is to draw generalizations from these findings and to turn them into a theory not just of language acquisition, but the nature of human language itself (Klein, 1986). In Second Language Acquisition, age is one of the most crucial emotional elements (SLA). Age is an emotional component that brings about distinct performance phases in second language learning, according to SLA experts. Individual learners learn differently based on a variety of factors such as learning opportunities, motivation to learn, individual differences, and learning styles in second language acquisition, according to most experts. There is, however, no agreement on how closely learners of the same age group follow a comparable and/or linear pattern of language learning. The interaction of developmental phases with individual learning variations is still a hot topic of discussion. In language acquisition, it is often assumed that younger students have some advantages over older students. In comparison to older children, younger children are thought to learn L2 more simply and fast (Ellis, 2008). The Critical Period Hypothesis is connected to the relationship between age and achievement in SLA, notwithstanding its complexity (CPH). The sensitive phase, also known as CPH, is described as "the period during which a youngster may readily, quickly, flawlessly, and without instruction acquire language" (Richards & Schmidt, 2002, p.145). According to the CPH, there is a period between birth and roughly the age when a kid reaches puberty during which learning a second language may be achieved more quickly and readily than during other periods, such as after puberty (Larsen-Freeman & Long, 2008). The impact of age on second language acquisition has been explained by SLA theories and research. Learning is influenced by the qualities of the learners as well as the environment (Lightbown & Spada, 2008).
Kindergarten is a crucial stage for young children, and it is strongly recommended for all children. Researchers have discovered that kindergarten improves children's health and well-being, helps them develop strong social skills and fosters a love of learning. YangLijun (2012) says children who attend a kindergarten program are more self-sufficient and confident and are more likely to make a seamless transition to elementary school. Prekindergarten programs are available (2012). According to developmental studies, preschoolers who master these abilities are more likely to learn to read, write and calculate earlier and more successfully than those who do not (Siegler & Richards 1982). However, it's unclear if explicitly teaching these abilities in preschool improves children's reading and numeracy later in life. Although some scholars feel this is the case, the data isn't conclusive. The ECLS-K examinations were created to examine children's early academic abilities in three areas: reading, arithmetic, and general knowledge. (Questions of fact and comprehension concerning nature, science, social studies, and citizenship are included in general knowledge). Both kindergartners and first-graders were tested with the assessment batteries. The batteries included items that were appropriate for children of all ages, including those whose development was advanced or significantly delayed. The research will be able to monitor improvement in children's knowledge and abilities from kindergarten entry to the end of kindergarten, into first grade, and beyond since the batteries were intended to be delivered again to the same children. In each domain, a firststage routing test ensured that students received items that were neither too simple nor too tough for their existing levels of understanding (Siegler & Richards 1982).

Problems of the Study
Learning and teaching English as a foreign language has become quite popular in the last century. Learning English is not void of problems and obstacles which these may impede the process or even make it slow. Teaching English in kindergartens is the fundamental and the first basic step in learning English for learners. For the reason, investigating English learning classes is not discovered in Raparin area before, and this area thought to be so important to investigate. Therefore, the current study attempts to fill the gap and discover English language learning classes in kindergartens in Raparin area. Additionally, it also attempts to investigate potential problems or issues that make the matter very difficult and challenging to achieve the desired objectives or goals.

Significance and Justifications of the Study
The significance of this paper is to investigate English Learning Classes in Raparin area to point out what the strong and weak points of the program are that is applied in kindergartens and to see how truly the program has been effective and achieved the goals that were set for it.

Research Questions
1. How are the English learning classes in kindergartens in Raparin area? 2. Are the teachers qualified to teach? 3. Is the curriculum suitable for the children's levels and backgrounds? 4. What teaching methods are used for the process of teaching English?

Definition of Keywords
Kindergarten: Kindergarten is a crucial stage for young children, and it is strongly recommended for all children (YangLijun, 2012).
Second language acquisition: Second language acquisition, or sequential language acquisition, is learning a second language after a first language is already established. Many times, this happens when a child who speaks a language other than English goes to school for the first time.
Children have an easier time learning a second language, but anyone can do it at any age. It takes a lot of practice (Singleton, 1989).
English Learning Classes: English as a Second Language (ESL) classes are designed to teach a variety of language skills to non-native English speakers (also known as English language learners) (Farokhi & Hashemi, 2012).

Illiteracy in Developing Nations
All societies require literacy education since it has been the base for the construction of human capacity and economic growth. Currently, the rate of literacy has risen a rocket compared to the last two centuries (Pednekar, 2011). To clarify this, there were no public schools with academic programs in early communities. Even if there were schools, they were reserved by the elites' children. However, the rate of literacy started to rise in the industrial areas due to the rise of demands for literacy from the Protestants to behave the ability to read the Bible (Weber, 2011). That was the point of agitation of public schools and the progress of literacy in the world. With the progressions in industrial states, skilful laborers were more demanded. Thus, literacy was rising cautiously. With, literacy has been demanded and developed since the 19th century, and it has proved that people with writing and reading skills are more subject to gain higher income from their wellproduced items.
It should be recognized that illiteracy and ignorance are not the same. In other words, literacy is not the key factor for acquiring personal gains and achieving national development. However, this corresponds to nature around the people. For example, if the state is advanced in technologies and a high ratio of people were literate, then literacy is significant and plays a vital role in attaining legal social rights, (Verner, 2005). However, in countries where literacy is restricted and has no value in the state, then literacy would not be crucial for social members.
The rate of literacy is not improved in developing countries as in all other parts of the world. According to the statistic of 1990, the rate of the world's illiterate people is 962 million of which 95% of illiterate people are living in developing countries, (Akintolu, 2020). What that provides is that the developing countries have more causes for not attending schools, and fewer factors to push people towards learning and education. With that being said, the rate of illiterate people in those countries is rising dramatically since such countries are subject to rising populations, not qualified school programs, the restricted ratio of school enrolment, and poverty.
In some situations, the state's development can be delayed due to civil wars, internal coups, or political and economic instabilities, (Milante, 2016). Thus, literacy can be listed as one of the victims of that socio-crisis. In such times, education is always neglected and more attention is paid to the sectors of humanitarian needs like medical supplies, food, and even shelters. Such socio-crisis may lead to the locking of schools and people's displacement due to frequent violence. Hence, people get illiterate more in developing countries since these problems are more likely to happen there.

The Importance of English Language in Developing Countries
The basic element of communicating is language, so language is the vital point of negotiations with people. Through language, humans share their ideas, cultures, backgrounds, and so on. There are countless languages in the world, but the most common language is the English language. To cite this, there are 350 million people who speak English as their first language whereas the number of people who speak the English language as their official secondary language is 450 million people (Coleman, 2011). That number does not include countries and people who learned English or can speak in English, but only the states that officially depend on English as the second language. The English language is an essential qualification for people who live in developing countries. The capability of communicating with the English language is incalculable. The English language plays a vital role in developing countries because it functions as a tool for interactions and communications (Paolo, 2013). To clarify this more, the current imperialism does not belong to warfare and military attacks, but through the principles of imperialism in which one is language. The English language is spread by the British and American states to have political, social, and economic hegemony in all developing and non-developing countries (Muhammad, 2018). Currently, most states have structured their educational curriculum in the English language, and their generations learn English at a young age. Hence, language is the tool for sharing ideologies and shaping cultural behaviors. In such countries, the English language performs an essential role in sectors of politics, society, and even the economy. Thus, individuals can use the language as a tool of life support since it provides financial sources for them. In other words, the language corresponds to the ratio of development in the country. The more people can communicate and learn the English language, the more the state would develop. This is because the academic sources, political powers, international campaigns, international investments, workshops, and many other global events are conducted in English, so if they cannot learn English, then accessibility to such sources would be restricted.
One reason that the English language is important in developing countries is that they prefer the ability to communicate in English and know the language fluently. Thus, people who know the language has greater chances of being hired by firms than those who do not (Clement, 2018). This depicts that the language is the tool for acquiring a job as today's business transactions are global, so the employees' English skills are significant. Furthermore, the English language is the language of the internet. As mentioned above, many academic sources are available in the English language, so if the person does not know the English language, then he/ she would have a restricted chance of being familiar with the latest version of science and knowledge (Clement, 2018). With the English language, people attain knowledge easily through the internet and share their thought there in the same language as well. Moreover, people who live in developing countries do not love their nations as those who are well developed. The reason belongs to the unqualified infrastructures in almost all sectors. With the ability of English communication, one might find himself in other countries that are developed. People can apply for studying from any part of the world to any other place in the world (Ahmad, 2016). Thus, through the English language, you can be a student in other states, and have a better life there in which you might exchange your cultural beliefs with others and learn more about others.

Teachers' Influence on Students' English Language in Kindergarten
Many researchers suggest that learning a foreign language is required to begin from the early years of age. Kindergarten students could be considered the children of the institution, so the program should be designed as an extension of parenting than being taught academic and difficult tasks (Dendrinos, 2012). In other words, the style of the teaching should train students to be able to produce phonologies and sounds of the language they want to learn. Students surely have different talents, interests, and backgrounds, but the creativeness of teachers can challenge that. Teachers should have the ability to accommodate all those differences and have an influence on them all respectively, (Comission, 2019). Skillful teachers intentionally designed the program that caters to all language learners of the kindergarten. To make students more proficient in the language, teachers should make space in the class to have further conversations and activities among the students. This way, the social and academic skills of the children would improve.
Effective teachers should have several qualifications to assist students in the process of learning a language in the Kindergarten phase. In other words, teachers should be trained and well-disciplined to have the ability to understand the context and cater their knowledge to the students practically. They should have the capability to distinguish between students' development ratio, styles of their learning, the distinction between background of emotions and culture, and strategies of teaching successfully (Comission, 2019). Even though for being a teacher in Kindergarten, formal certificates are compulsory, the professional skills and knowledge of teaching the English language are recommended as well. This corresponds to the role of the teachers in the classroom. Classroom interactions are structured through the questions the teachers ask and even their failure in responding to the student's questions, and they are obliged to alter their questions. Thus, the teachers' knowledge of the target language is crucial for developing educational practices.
Foreign languages are the languages that their learners are in the place where the language is not reliably used for communication and ordinary life tasks. Hence, the learners are not on the safe side of learning, they are surrounded by their home language people, so they require more attention and better techniques to force them to learn the target language (Academy, 2021). Learners only get the lessons and knowledge of the foreign language while they are in the class, so outside of the class, they get nothing more than their native language usage. Hence, the teachers should cater heavier emphasis on the elements of the target language such as intonations, pronunciation, and informal usage. This helps to guide learners to learn the foreign language fluently. Therefore, foreign language teachers should have proficiency in the target language, and their knowledge should be up to date not only in language skills but also in the language cultural practices so that their teaching style would be more effective.
The class assignments and tasks should branch from the teachers' intention and their understanding of the students' needs to make the learning process meaningful. Teachers who involve in training sessions and professional techniques have a positive influence on the skills of the students (Araujo, 2015). With that being said, the quality and professional background of the teachers are essentially considered for the phase of kindergarten and their outcomes. That is related to the special world that exists within the institution itself. The quantity and quality of literature and math concepts, plus the social interactions among students in the classroom are the key factors that provide long-term influence on the children's improvements and achievements (Al-Darwish, 2013). The factors depend on the way the teachers use them in the class tasks, the class emotional climates, and the interactions amongst the students. The more these practices are performed, the more impactful the factors would be on the children's skills. Kindergarten teachers should motivate the desire of learning and the favour of doing and practicing knowledge in children. The teachers should speak slowly and use shorter sentences while making conversations. Plus, the teachers use gestures in different ways to explain words and tasks to children (Air, 2017). They also prevent the use of idioms since they are difficult to understand by the students of the kindergarten.

Optimal Age for Learning Foreign Language
When children get to know the foreign language before the beginning of elementary school, their speaking and reading skills are as natives. Hence, the earlier the children are taught a foreign language, the better quality and academic level the students would have. This way, their speaking, and other skills would be proficient (Hu, 2016). This helps not only learn the language and being a master at that but also that their life would be longer than those who only can speak in native languages. Accordingly, those who can speak foreign languages have a longer life than those who do not, this is because they get job opportunities faster and they can share their cultural beliefs with the target language they have learned. The higher qualifications of the children in terms of English language and other foreign languages, the higher future chances would be there for the children, such as being economic competitors, improving global communications, and even managing political interests of the state (Hashemi, 2011). It is proven that when children are taught in kindergarten to learn a foreign language, their speaking pronunciation is the same as the natives.
Currently, firms and companies require dual lingual employees, so each person is recommended to know more than their native language. Thus, the best time to learn a foreign language is ranged from birth to 10 years. During that period, the child's mind is smart and active, so it is the appropriate moment for being introduced to another language. Accordingly children, between the ages of 1 to 3 years, start forming simple words with the quantity of 1,000 to 3,000 words, and later they can create sentences. From age 3 to 5, children can play with the language as they are familiar with the pronunciations and rhymes of the language itself, (Collier, 2011). With, children in the phase of kindergarten are ready for being taught the English language. Furthermore, children the age of five years have the capability of learning 5 foreign languages. Parents are the best source of making children bilingual, but if they are both natives, the best alternative is kindergarten. As mentioned above, kindergarten is the process of teaching children more in a mothering style rather than in academic institutions.

Methodology Introduction
The research approach employed in the study is discussed in this chapter. The research's geographical location, as well as the participants and sample size, are all discussed.

Participant
In Raparin area, there are twenty-eight public kindergartens, that have English classes and nineteen kindergartens English teachers have been chosen as samples and were given the questionnaire. All the teachers were females. As each of the participants have been asked about their experience in their teaching occupation, although they were free to take part in the study, they were happily ready to provide the necessary information that were needed to complete this study.

Instrument
As a data collection method, a questionnaire was created. A questionnaire is a printed self-report form that is used to collect information from individuals through their written replies.
Questionnaires were used to obtain data on the English Learning Classes knowledge, and perspectives of the teachers of language teaching methods. The following factors influenced the decision to employ questionnaires:  They secured a high response rate by distributing questionnaires to respondents for completion and collecting them personally by the scholar.
 It took less time and effort to administer them.
 Because the identities of the individuals were not needed on the completed surveys, they provided the potential for anonymity.
 Because they were presented uniformly, there was less room for prejudice.
Aside from the benefits described above, questionnaires have certain drawbacks. For example, there is the issue of validity and accuracy (Burns & Grove 1993). Subjects may not express their genuine feelings but rather respond in a way that pleases the researcher, and vital information may be missed as responses are frequently quick.
The study also included a questionnaire named "investigating English language class in kindergarten in Raparin area " which was prepared by the researchers. The instrument's content was designed to interview English teachers from several kindergartens in Raparin area, to obtain information about the classes and the ability of the teachers to teach English to the children.
The questionnaire has four sections: A, B, C, and D:  Section A has three items about the setting of the classes.
 Section B has five items about the efficiency of the teachers  Section C has three items about the curriculum that is being taught in ELCs

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 Section D has four items to know what are the most used methods in ELCs

Procedures
The researchers directly gave the questionnaires to the teachers. As each of the teachers answered the questionnaire, and if they didn't understand any of the questions, the questions were explained to them. The data were collected over a period of five weeks. Before giving any of the questionnaires the researchers obtained permission from the head of the kindergarten and the teachers themselves, the teachers were assured that every personal information will be maintained as secret.

Data Analysis
The data were organized and analyzed once it was obtained. A computer application named Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The data were displayed in bar graphs after frequency tables were created. The researchers used quantitative content analysis to examine the responses of the questions to quantify developing traits and notions.

English Class Setting
The teachers were asked about the time that is set for the class which is 30 minutes if it was enough to teach what they have planned for the lesson, and as shown in (Figure 1) 52.6% of the teachers strongly agreed that the time is enough for the classes and 47.4% of them agreed, but the teachers who agreed said that the time does not allow them to try different activities besides what is in the curriculum.
A question was asked about the number of students in ELCs which ranged from (20 to 25) students in each class. The researchers attempted to find out if the number of students has any impact on the teaching process. From the responses of the teachers, it was found out that the ELCs are not overpopulated. 63.2% of the teacher strongly agreed that the number of the students have an actual effect on the teaching process, but 36.8% of them agreed that even the variation of the number of students does not have that great impact on the process.
And lastly, in this section we show the data that we obtained from the teachers about the environment of the ELCs and to what extent they have been synchronized with the English materials we asked the teachers if they have special classrooms for English lessons but only in 26.3% of the kindergarten, those classes were to be found. As shown in (Figure 1) most of the teachers were not satisfied with the classrooms that are provided for them and 21% of the teacher even did not have any English environment in their classrooms.

The Efficiency of the Teachers
For an ongoing successful process in language teaching, we surely need efficient teachers and we are investigating this criterion with much care because the teachers are the base that holds all the program. From interviewing the teachers we have discovered that nearly all the teachers have diploma degrees, and have experience in this field in a range between (6 to 16) years.
When we asked them about the necessary knowledge that any kindergarten ELC teachers should have, and they have knowledge about English language teaching methods (ELTM) and child psychology. It was found that only 26.3% of the teachers had the knowledge and they could implement those methods in their classrooms with ease. And 68.4% of them only could implement some of the methods in a good way, but 5.3% of the teachers were not successful in applying the methods correctly to teach their students.
And, a good teacher should know his students' psychological state and behaviors so they must know child psychology to get the best in their teaching process. The teachers' qualifications were shown in (Figure 2). The numbers obtained about their qualification are not very satisfactory. And another thing that have been noticed is that the teacher's true proficiency was not to teach English in kindergarten as they have not graduated from any of the kindergarten departments, but they were trained to teach English in basic schools as it is a completely different level of education in every way.

The Curriculum that is Being Taught in ELCs
The results that we obtained from asking the questionnaire about some aspects of the English curriculum which is being taught in ELCs, were the difficulty of the language in the textbook, the materials are socially and educationally acceptable in the Kurdish community, and the attractiveness of physical appearance of the coursebook. When the teachers were asked about the difficulty of the language being used in the coursebook, 36.8% of them strongly agreed with the suitability of it for the learners, and 52.6% of the teachers agreed, but 10.5% of them thought that it contains some vocabulary which are difficult for the learners. And, we have asked the teachers if the materials are suitable for the cultural background and beliefs of the EFLs. And 57.9% of the teachers strongly agreed with the suitability of the materials. And 26.3% of them agreed. But 10.5 of the teachers thought that they were not specially designed for our community. Also, the researchers asked if the coursebook contains enough colourful pictures and texts, and 94.7% of the teachers strongly agreed that the coursebook contains enough colourful texts and pictures. And 5.3% of them thought that the coursebook needs some change in its physical appearance.

English Language Teaching Methods that are used in the Classes
About the methods, teachers were asked if they use (short stories, songs, visual aids, and acting) to teach the classes. 100% of the teachers were using short stories as a method to teach the classes. And all the teachers strongly agreed that using songs as a method for teaching some vocabulary to the students is useful. Moreover,they were asked about another method of teaching visual aids, and 89.4% of the teachers strongly agreed with using visual aids as a method to illustrate difficult meanings of vocabulary, but 10.6% of the teachers did not use visual aids as a method for teaching students. About using acting as a method all the teachers said that they are acting for the students and try to give roles to them which helps the learning faster.

Discussion
From the results that were shown above, it was discovered that ELCs in kindergartens in the Raparin area, the setting of the classes and the number of students are suitable for a standard English language class, but the environment of the classrooms is not synchronized with the target language. In the matter of efficiency of the teachers, the results showed us that all the teachers had diploma degrees but teaching in kindergartens is not their true proficiency; however, they attended courses for ELT methods and children psychology. From that, it's known that the teachers are not perfect for this position. About the coursebook that is used in the kindergarten it was found that it does not have any problems in the matter of difficulty of the language, and about the agreement of the materials with background and beliefs of the students. To discuss the physical appearance of the coursebook, with the information that we obtained, we concluded that the coursebook was designed especially to be attractive for children with full of colors and pictures. In the matter of the methods, we learned that nearly all the teachers chose the best methods to teach the students.

Conclusions and Recommendations
Over all the results of this study led to some concludes about the ELCs in kindergartens in Raparin area. 1. In the matter of time and the number of the classes, we have found that there is not any problems and they are suitable for standard English classes, but the environment of the classes can be adjusted to be more synchronized to the English language needs.
2. Even though most kindergarten English teachers come from language institutions and have been trained to teach English to young children, their qualifications are vastly different. Some of them are excellent teachers, while others are not. Because many kindergarten directors have low English language skills, they may not notice the teachers' lack of qualifications. Perhaps the government should provide regular training to kindergarten directors in basic English conversation. In addition, the Educational Department may invite kindergarten directors to meetings where they could share their ideas and challenges that they'd like the government to help them in.
3. It is preferable if kindergarten English teachers have a good understanding of young children. As a result, universities should offer elective courses in child psychology, child development, and teaching methods to students who are majoring in English and want to teach English to young children. Students who want to be kindergarten English instructors in the future should study courses such as how to care for young children and how to be patient when working with children.
4. Overall certification of English teachers is the final and most crucial criteria. More important than teaching materials is how English teachers make the classroom atmosphere enjoyable and how they educate. Part-time English teachers make up a large percentage of kindergarten English teachers. They must create or purchase their own instructional tools. They also necessitate planning time. Children can benefit from their parents' interest in the profession and willingness to spend time preparing and enhancing their teaching. Youngsters' interest in English will decrease if they are not enthusiastic in teaching children English and do not adequately prepare for their lessons.

Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study it is highly recommended for the government and ministry of education, that for a better and more efficient learning for the children, it would be better if the kindergartens have special classrooms, the environment of which is synchronized with English language.
Also it is recommended to open courses for teachers of kindergartens about English language teaching methods, children psychology, and the use of technology to make their classes better.