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

comfortable when lessons proceed mainly in English and that, contrary to
Krashen's prediction, in the classroom 'maximum' use of the target language
might increase levels of anxiety rather than lower them, especially amongst
young children. As argued before, the use of the target language both
qualitative and quantitative would very much depend on the aims of a scheme.

5.11.7 Awareness of Language and the Learning Process

Interviews seem to suggest that, expectedly, some children had a higher degree
of 'awareness' of the nature of language and of what language learning might
be about. A couple of children, possibly through attending classes outside
school, for example in Hebrew, had developed a degree of understanding of
some grammatical concepts such as masculine and feminine. One boy said
that 'English words were similar to French words' and that he liked
'experimenting with words and trying to pronounce them'. Another child stated
that 'if you are reading you are not showing everyone that you know French'
while one boy stated that 'listening to the tape tests your hearing'. On the other
hand there was also Thomas who said that he did not enjoy doing the
'Je n' aime pas' as there were not many things he disliked! Some children said
that they had French books or dictionaries at home which they consulted and
some re∞gnised the importance of practice and said that they practised French
with a member of the family. The importance of social strategies such as
co-operation (O' Malley & Chamot, 1991) was also recognised by some children
who stated that 'in a group we can help each other*, in a group 'it's a lot less
hard' and 'sometimes I need a little help'.

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