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

mechanisms alone cannot explain the total process of first language
development and that social interactions and affective variables play a role.

2.2.3.2 Environmentalist Perspectives

The effects of environmental factors on language development were examined
by Wells (1981, 1985). In the 'Bristol Language Project' Wells studied first
language development amongst a group Ofchildren born in Bristol in the late
60s and early 70s and found that there were significant differences in the rate of
language development between these children. The results of this study
suggested that while the environment might not affect the route of development,
both the quality and quantity of the social and linguistic interactions a child
experiences seem to affect the rate Ofdevelopment. Wells (1985: 3) concluded
that differences between children depended largely on the quality of a child's
conversational experiences with adults. More specifically, faster progress made
by some children seemed to be related to 'the number of direct requests
for control made by the parent' and the 'proportion of extended utterances'.

High quality time between adult and child, exposure to books and language play
and games were regarded as key factors in the rate of first language
development. In follow-up research to the Bristol Project, Skehan (1988)
suggested that first language development, especially development in the use
of auxiliary verbs, influences later fore gn language development. Family
background might therefore be a reliable predictor in children's ability to deal
with literacy related language activities at schools. This research will be
referred to in more detail in Chapter Four.

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