Discourse Patterns in First Language Use at Hcme and Second Language Learning at School: an Ethnographic Approach

Literature I 64

2..S.5 Adult-child Question-Response patterns

Questions have been considered important for the acquisition of
communicative competence (see page 56). The use of questions varies in
numerous aspects across sub-groups and cultures, as frequency and type of
questions are related to the specific way the environment is socially
organized. Among some groups, questions are not considered highly
relevant to the learning process, both for learners and teachers
(Goody,1977). A Striklngtylow frequency of questions and explanations was
found in a study of Mexican weavers instructing trainees, while commands
and statements constituted the great majority of verbal interaction
(Childs and Greenfield,1981).

As this appears to be a general trend for all ’traditional’ societies,
conclusions were drawn about the educational process being minimally
verbal and mostly directive, and about the use of ’inquiry’ interrogative
style in the classroom being culturally unfit (see Campbell,1986 for a
subsequent reassessment). A closer look at the type of verbal interaction,
however, gives a different picture, with the rate of questions increasing
and of commands decreasing as the learner becomes more proficient. A
statement is sometimes interpreted as explanation and again there is the
tendency to leave to the less competent member of the group the burden
of making sense of the situation (Childs and Greenfield,1980).

Learning by observation or self-initiated testing does not imply many
questions (Philips,1972). Question exchanges are subject to precise rules
of status and roles:

... in small-scale societies there are two sources of constraints on
questioning reinforcing each other. Those defined as subordinate -
and children are always defined as subordinates- cannot freely
question superiors without appearing to challenge them ... (and the
fact that] an individual occupies several roles in respect to the
same person simultaneously. (Goody,1977:40).

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