Current Trends and Innovations in Teaching English to Young Learners: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) has become increasingly important in response to the growing demand for English proficiency in the era of globalization. This study aims to identify research trends, effective teaching strategies, major challenges, and instructional innovations in TEYL. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines by analyzing 30 empirical studies published between 2019 and 2025 from Google Scholar, Publish or Perish, ERIC, Scopus, DOAJ, and SINTA-indexed journals. Bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer was employed to visualize keyword co-occurrence and thematic relationships. The findings indicate that TEYL research has grown significantly, with effective teaching strategies, teacher challenges, and technology-based innovations emerging as the dominant themes. Interactive approaches, including games, storytelling, songs, Total Physical Response (TPR), and multimodal learning, consistently improve learners’ motivation and language development. However, teacher competence, limited learning resources, institutional support, and learner diversity remain key challenges. The review concludes that successful TEYL implementation depends on the integration of pedagogical innovation, teacher competency, learner characteristics, digital readiness, and institutional support. These findings provide valuable insights for improving English language instruction for young learners and guiding future TEYL research.