Arts , Humanities & Social Science

Abstract

This practice‑based study theorizes and tests a set of design principles for integrating English into play‑based learning centers and daily routines in a Taiwanese public nonprofit kindergarten. Drawing on eight coaching cycles that combined in‑class observations, collaborative planning, demonstration lessons, and post‑lesson debriefs, we examined how teachers’ English‑across‑the‑curriculum practices evolved and how children appropriated English as a social tool during activity transitions and center time. Data sources included coaching notes, teacher reflections, artifacts, and classroom vignettes compiled by the kindergarten and the university coach. Analysis used iterative coding to surface mechanisms of change across cycles. Findings show (a) teachers’ confidence and accuracy in using English increased when goals were made explicit in lesson plans and assessed formatively; (b) language‑experience charts (LEA‑inspired) helped preliterate children attach meaning to print and sentence frames; (c) a classroom helper system, visual schedules, and musical transition rituals stabilized attention, lowered wait‑time stress, and opened authentic interactional spaces for English; (d) learning‑center bilingualization enabled children to reuse vocabulary and sentence patterns spontaneously during block/dramatic‑play; and (e) families reported visible transfer. The paper contributes a design‑based theory of change that aligns CLIL/translanguaging rationales with social‑emotional learning routines in early childhood and offers actionable heuristics for Taiwan’s Bilingual 2030 agenda. Implications include pragmatic criteria for selecting routines/centers as “high‑yield” language sites, and a caution that visual schedules alone rarely reduce transition‑related off‑task behavior without paired reinforcement and modeling.