In this volume we examine the full complexity of language learning, and in particular the foreign, or second, language learning of young learners in instructed contexts. The aim of the volume is twofold: first and foremost we bring together and present recent research results from the early language learning classroom context. Second, the volume reviews the choice of research methodologies for early language learning research in schools with a particular focus on mixed methods, and proposes that in the multidisciplinary context of early language learning, this paradigm allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the evidence than other approaches might provide.

Before we describe the volume and its underpinnings, we would like to give a brief note on terminology. The term foreign language (FL) will be used for languages other than the mother tongue(s) a person learns in an instructed context where the national language used outside the formal context is not the FL. The term second language (L2) will refer to a language learnt in, or outside, a formal context within a society where the L2 is used as the national, or most widely used, language. However, a word of caution may be necessary. In the case of, for example, Sweden or the Netherlands, English does not have the status of national language, but it is used to such a high degree in society that children learn it in much the same way as an L2 rather than an FL.

Language learning has traditionally been studied from a variety of theoretical perspectives drawing on a range of research methodologies. Recently, Atkinson (2011) called for a broader, holistic approach to the understanding of the learning of other languages than the mother tongue(s) in which the full dynamics and complexity are acknowledged by the use of cognitive, sociocultural and dynamic systems theories. In terms of methods, the cognitive approach has typically included testing and quantitative methods, while the sociocultural approaches have preferred qualitative approaches such as ethnography and case studies.