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

children, while those requiring a degree of metalinguistic awareness and those
likely to sustain a conversation were the last to be developed and 'exhibited by
only a few children at the end of the first grade'. These findings suggest that
meta∞gnitive strategies, such as being able to control, to ∞-ordinate, to plan
and evaluate the learning process, are more likely to be present in older
learners. However, it would seem important to add that Olson also suggested
that younger children can employ strategies that will help them in dealing with
language material, but that they would have to be prompted to do so or in
Hawkin's (1981) words, that they would need to be 'given the tools'.

Chesterfield & Barrows-Chesterfield (1985: 57) also emphasised the
'importance of socio-psychological variables in the choice of strategies' as many
children used what they called 'avoidance' or 'reduction' strategies. Older
children on the other hand, seem to be more prepared to ask for help than
younger children, which suggests a greater awareness of 'what might be wrong'
(Scarcella & Higa, 1982).

4.3.7.1 Social Strategies

Wong-Fillmore reported from her own study (1979) that children employed
'social strategies' such as 'join a group and pretend to know what was going on
even if you do not', or 'give the impression with a few words that you know the
language' or 'count on your friends for help'. However, she also reported
differences between children relating to their approaches to the learning task:

231

<<   228   229   230   231   232   233   234   >>

More intriguing information