The purpose of this research is to review studies of English education for young learners in the journal of English Teaching in order to commemorate its 50 years of history. Atotal of 126 young learners ofEnglish-related studies between 1965 and 2015 were collected. The studies were analyzed by historical trend, research methods, topics, subjects, contexts, and authors. The results are as follows: the studies on young learners of English have increased since 1982 when English was allowed to teach as an extracurricular activity in elementary schools; 103(81.7%) studies were identified as empirical research, and 23(18.3%) studies were identified as theoretical research; the most preferred research topic was 'teaching/learning' and 'investigation, effect, and direction' of English education in Korea; the most studied subjects were elementary students; the most preferred research context was Korea; and 98.4% ofresearchers was Korean. Based on the findings, several suggestions are made for future research in the area ofyoung learners ofEnglish.

Recognizing English as an increasingly powerful lingua franca, many governments in East Asia have implemented English-language education at the primary school level. The zeal for teaching English to younger and younger learners extends to both within and outside of the formal education system. While there are many unique local issues, a number of challenges and issues apply across the East Asian region. In this article, I focus on three such topics: (a) the widespread belief in the increased benefit of starting English-language learning when children are very young; (b) the emergence of new instructional models in early English teaching; and (c) the growing gaps in English-language achievement by children’s socio-economic status (SES). In discussing these issues, I draw on examples from previous studies as well as my own applied linguistics research in East Asia. I conclude by offering suggestions for future research directions that will inform pedagogy and policies for early English education.

This study investigates elementary school parents’ perception concerning the starting age for early English education. Four hundred and eighty-four parents located in Seoul and Kyonggi province areas participated in this study. The questionnaire for exploring parents’ perception was used and the major findings revealed that: (1) the children who started to learn English before the official school year tend to learn English from native speakers of English; (2) about 90.9 percent of children learned English before the third grade of elementary school; (3) most parents reported that the proper starting age for learning English is 5 or 6 years although they perceived that it was not an important factor in enhancing their children’s English proficiency. These results indicate that the current status of early English education should be restructured to meet the parents’ perception and needs. Major implications will then be discussed.