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

when it would have been quite appropriate to do so. A question such as ^,quel
3ge as-tu?', for example, was not infrequently answered with ^,je m'appelle...’.

A considerable amount of confusion seemed to exist in dealing with a variety of
questions. A range of basic questions and answers on personal information
were extensively practised at the start of every lesson every week, for example.
Nevertheless, there were a number of children who could not remember either
to answer or ask simple questions about somebody's name or age such as
'comment t'appelles-tu?', 'quel age as-tu?' or 'ou habites-tu?'. Some children in
School Two did not seem to be aware of the difference between a statement
and a question.

The observer would also practise some questions and answers with individual
children over a period of time but only few could provide appropriate answers or
remember how to form a question. There seemed to be considerable confusion
amongst some children and, as lesson observation notes show, the same
children kept asking the observer the same questions week after week. These
children had problems trying to remember the most basic language material
such as asking somebody their name or answering in response despite these
language items having been practised at the start of every lesson. It is
possible, however, that a more tightly structured and graded approach to
whole-class question and answer sessions might have led to better results.

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