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

possible misunderstandings such as ^,le informatioh'* and 'Ti nforιmation', it can
help to clarify adjective agreements that might not be pronounced and it can
help clarify spoken similarities but structural differences between Je' and 'J'ai^,,
for example. Many cognates shared between the English and French
language, such as table and 'la table', are also more easily recognised in written
language than in speech. In the case of learning the English language, for
example, the writer can report from personal experience numerous reading
and writing activities that focused exclusively on the distinction between lheιr^,
and 'there'.

In addition to providing a day to day link between experiences and providing the
child with a record of what has been taught and learnt, written language,
through its permanent nature, aids concentration and facilitates, supports and
reinforces memory (Hornsey, 1993, 1994). Withoutwrltten language burden on
memory can be heavy and learning a slow and cumbersome process.

Burstall (1970) had reported that many chIdren Complainedthattheycould not
remember words unless they saw them written down and» consequently,
experienced Considerabledifficultyduringthe oral phase of learning.

Krashen & Terrell in a reference to the role of written language suggested that:

"...it norma Iy took three or four times as long to teadh the material
without the aid of orthography." (Krashen & Terre 1,1988 15)

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