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

3.7.1.4 Access to Written Language

Early foreign language programmes have traditionally focused on listening and
speaking activities with written language playing a secondary role as in the
acquisition of a first language. In the 1960s there was widespread agreement
that there should be considerable delay in the introduction of reading and
writing skills as these were thought to interfere with spoken language and both
the FLES programmes and the Pilot Scheme focused on developing children's
spoken and listening language skills:

"Premature exposure to written words so dissimilar in interpretation to the
native language causes ∞nfusion in the child's mind and a sudden
deterioration in pronunciation." (Taylor, in Libbish, 1964: 74)

However, already in 1964 Rivers questioned the wisdom Ofwithholding the
written word in the early stages of foreign language learning. The writer (Poole,
1996a, 1997) suggested that a totally spoken approach would not allow children
to make as much progress as they might make if written language were
introduced into early foreign language learning schemes and excessive focus
on speaking and listening at the expense of reading and writing does little for
the development of structural competence, for example. Cases of 'limited
spoken' foreign language competence reported from Scotland ∞uld be a
reflection of a teaching and learning context:

"...where the strong early emphasis is on 'listening' (and to a limited extent
'speaking') and on 'action' rather than 'reflection'." (Low et al.,1995:176)

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