A Critical Examination of the Beliefs about Learning a Foreign Language at Primary School

"The great majority of pupil pairs within the project groups (whether girls or
boys, and whether categorised by their teachers as high, middle or low
achievers) were able to sustain an interaction with a researcher, conducted
almost exclusively in the foreign language and lasting roughly 15 minutes."
(Johnstone, Low & Brown, 1996: 71)

Earlier a Scottish HMSO publication had stated that 'some' pupils could
participate in a conversation with the researcher for 15 minutes:

"Primary pupils seem to enjoy the early start to foreign language learning. They
are comfortable listening to a wide range Ofteachertalk, participating in singing
songs, playing games and listening to stories and, indeed, some could
participate in a conversation with an adult (the researcher) for 15 minutes with
little resort to English." (SOEID, MLPS Update, J1354,12/95: 3)

While the final 1995 report states that project pupils were able to hold a

conversation for 'some 15 minutes':

"There is also evidence that by the end of their primary schooling, project
pupils were...able to participate in a paired conversation with a relatively
unknown adult (a researcher) for some 15 minutes with little resort to English."
(Lowetal., 1995: 177)

As there would seem to be clear differences between 'some children being able

to sustain a conversation for 15 minutes' and 'the majority of children being able

to sustain a conversation for some 15 minutes', the writer finds these

statements difficult to reconcile, unless, of course, they refer to different groups

Ofchildren. The 1995 report states further that 'during paired interviews pupils

146

<<   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   >>

More intriguing information