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

language at the start of secondary school (Low et al., 1995: 72). Reasons for
change given by the more able pupils were in the main parental wishes, the
experiences of older brothers and sisters and 'the popularity of France for
holidays'. The possibility of language choice affecting learning outcomes will be
discussed again later in the chapter.

3.6.2 Children from Different Backgrounds

The importance of children's background in evaluating learning outcomes
cannot be overestimated. Plowden (1967) had already reported that parental
encouragement was decisive for early foreign language learning success.

Burstall et al. (1974) found that children from socio-economically advantaged
backgrounds consistently performed better than those from more
disadvantaged backgrounds. It was found that high achievement scores tended
to coincide with high-status parental occupation. It was also found that girls in
both primary and secondary schools consistently scored higher than boys
irrespective of social class, that pupils in small rural schools performed better
than those in larger schools and that pupils in the South of England performed
better than those in the North. Research in Scotland suggested that:

"In terms of usefulness, the experience was explicitly valued by some pupils
in the context of holidays abroad or prospective jobs in later life; a social class
divide was apparent w th these perceptions coming mainly from those in
advantaged or affluent families." (Low et al., 1995: 81)

165

<<   162   163   164   165   166   167   168   >>

More intriguing information