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

teacher speaks French because 'it's nice when people come round and they
hear us speaking in French and different languages'. Natasha looks forward to
learning more French.

Geoffrey

Geoffrey says he likes learning French, especially speaking and does not mind
when he makes a mistake. He likes worksheets, games and working in groups
because in a group 'we can help each other¹. Geoffrey also says, however, that
he finds things difficult most of the time. He finds working with the tape recorder
and understanding the teacher's questions especially difficult. He says he
much prefers it when the teacher speaks English. Nevertheless Geoffrey says
he definitely wants to continue with French.

Michael

Michael sounds very confident and seems to remember what has been covered
in the French lessons in more detail than the rest of the class. He uses some
French during the interview although with a slight accent. Michael says he likes
speaking in French and is not worried about making mistakes. He says he
would like to get things right but if he does not he 'just gets on with it'. He likes
learning about a different language and thinks it is fun and there does not seem
to be anything he does not like. Michael says he goes to Jewish Sunday school
and finds Hebrew quite hard 'because in Hebrew there's loads Offeminine and
masculine and that stuff. He thinks Hebrew is harder than French. However,
through his experience Michael has grasped some basic grammatical concepts.

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