CHILDREN LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

[GENERALIZATIONS] = hide the detail of different children + the skills involved in teaching
them
> e.g. children are more enthusiastic, livelier as learners [and less embarrassed = lack of
inhibition] + they want to please the teacher + they are not afraid of making mistakes BUT they
lose interest quickly + hard to keep themselves motivated when doing difficult tasks + do not
have the same access to metalanguage
WHAT LIES UNDERNEATH? = differences from the linguistic, psychological and social
development of the learners = teachers have to adjust the way we think about the language we
teach + the classroom activities we use
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO THE CHILDREN WHO ARE LEARNING?

[LEARNING-CENTRED PERSPECTIVE] = knowledge about children’s learning is central

to effective teaching
=/= [LEARNER-CENTRED] = the child at the centre of teacher training + curriculum planning
> this approach does not consider the potential of the child + does not maximise learning + no
challenges + undemanding tasks
[work from beyond language classrooms] = child development + learning theory +
first language development + development of L2 in bilingual contexts

PIAGET
[the child as ACTIVE LEARNER]
HOW DO CHILDREN FUNCTION IN THE WORD THAT SURROUNDS THEM?
HOW DOES IT INFLUENCE THEIR MENTAL DEVELOPMENT?
> children are constantly interacting with the world, solving problems that are presented by
the environment = through taking action to solve problems, learning occurs = KNOWLEDGE
IS ACTIVELY CONSTRUCTED
> first, with concrete objects → then in the mind = problems are confronted internally, action
is taken to solve them/think them through = THOUGHT IS SEEN AS DERIVING FROM
ACTION = fundamental to cognitive development
> two adaptive processes that happen together =
+ [ASSIMILATION] = action takes place without any change to the child = using the
fork in the same way as the spoon was used
+ [ACCOMODATION] = the child adjusting to features of the environment in some
way = the child adapts to the new possibility: spiking food instead of ‘spooning’ it
[REESTRUCTURING] = re-organization of mental representations of a language
> a child’s thinking develops as gradual growth of knowledge & intellectual skills towards a
final stage of formal, logical thinking = there is a SERIES OF STAGES
+ the Piagetian endpoint of development – thinking that can manipulate formal
abstract categories using rules of logic = unavailable to children before
they reach 11 years of age or more

[experimental studies used to support Piaget’s theories] = not sufficiently child-friendly +

underestimate children
[Margaret Donaldson] = when appropriate language, objects and tasks are used, very young
children are capable of many of the ways of thinking that Piaget held too advanced for
them
> no consideration of social interaction

[implications of Piagetian theory for language learning]

> THE CHILD AS SENSE-MAKER = the child as an active learner and thinker,
constructing their own knowledge from working with objects or ideas + brings their own
knowledge and experience to their attempt to make sense [sense-making is limited by their
experience]
The child actively tries to make sense of the world. [Donaldson]
> THE WORLD AS OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING = the environment
provides the setting for development through the opportunities it offers them = classroom &
classroom activities create and offer opportunities for learning
[‘ecological’ thinking] = events & activities as offering AFFORDANCES or
opportunities for use & interaction that depend on who is involved

VYGOTSKY
[the child as SOCIAL]
> central focus on the SOCIAL but he did not neglect the individual cognitive development
> the development of L1 is a fundamental shift in cognitive development = language
provides new tools + opportunities for doing things and organising information through the
use of words as symbols = [egocentric/private speech] → [distinction between social & inner
speech – which REGULATES & CONTROLS behaviour]
> [outward talk] =/= [what is happening in the child’s mind] = they use simple words but
convey whole messages = as language develops, the whole thought message can be broken
down into smaller units & expressed by putting together words that are now units of talk?
[DEVELOPMENT & LEARNING OCCUR IN A SOCIAL CONTEXT] = the child is an active
learner in a world full of other people who play important roles in helping them learn = adults
mediate the world for children and make it accessible to them = humans have the ability to
LEARN THROUGH INSTRUCTION & MEDIATION [human intelligence] = an adult may
assist the baby by guiding their hand in filling the spoon
[ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT] = intelligence is better measured by what a child
can do with skilled help = it is different for every child
> first, children do things in a social context, with other people & language helping in various
ways, gradually shifting away from reliance on others to independent action & thinking = this
SHIFT is INTERNALISATION = [Wertsch] not just transfer, but transformation = the
INTERPERSONAL joint talk & joint activity later becomes
INTRAPERSONAL, mental action by one individual
[implications of Piagetian theory for language learning]
> [WORDS & MEANINGS] = words are recognizable linguistic units that children will
notice in the L2 = much of our knowledge of our L1 can be accounted for by the information
we build up over time about statistical probabilities of which words are used with which other
words
> [ZPD] = the adult tries to mediate what next it is the child can learn
> [LEARNING AS INTERNALISATION] = the new language is first used meaningfully by
teacher and learners, later transformed & internalised to become part of the
individual child’s language skills or knowledge

BRUNER
> language as the most important tool for cognitive growth
HOW DO ADULTS USE LANGUAGE TO MEDIATE THE WORLD FOR CHILDREN?
> [SCAFFOLDING] = talk that supports a child in carrying out an activity
[experiments with American mothers and children] = it made the children interested in the task
+ simplified the task + kept the child on track towards completing the task + pointed out what
was important to do + controlled the child’s frustration + demonstrated an idealised version of
the task
> TUNED TO THE NEEDS OF THE CHILD + ADJUSTED AS THE CHILD BECOMES
MORE COMPETENT

WOOD 1998
TEACHERS CAN HELP CHILDREN TO
attend to what is relevant
adopt useful strategies
remember the whole task and goals
BY
suggesting
praising the significant
providing focusing activities
encouraging rehearsal
being explicit about organisation
reminding
modelling
providing part-whole activities

> this can be applied to language teaching = helping children attend to what is important =
learners are not able to do this themselves, so the teacher does it on their behalf = the
teacher does MOST OF THE MANAGING OF JOINT ENGAGEMENT ON A TASK
> [FORMATS & ROUTINES] = features of events that allow scaffolding to take place +
combine the security of the familiar with the excitement of the new = parents reading
bedtime stories to their children [routine] → as the child gets older, the type of book & the roles
of the adult and the child & the language CHANGE →
the basic format REMAINS + the scaffolding is REDUCED = SPACE FOR GROWTH

[ROUTINES IN THE LANGUAGE CLASSROOM]

> classroom routines provide opportunities for language development
> in classroom management = giving out paper and scissors for making activities = the teacher
talking to the whole class, organising distribution, using children as monitors, keeping the
scissors in a box and the paper in a cupboard, using language that suits the task and the learners’
level
> the context & familiarity of the event provide an opportunity for learners to predict
meaning & intention + it offers a way to add variation & novelty that can involve more
complex language
> as language becomes more complex, the support to meaning that comes from the routine
and the situation helps the children continue to understand = SPACE FOR LANGUAGE
GROWTH = if the new language is within a child’s ZPD, they
will make sense of it & start the process of internalising it

[FROM LEARNING TO LANGUAGE LEARNING]

> L1, L2 & FOREIGN LANGUAGES
+ use of theory and research of L2 learning with care, extracting what is transferable,
because L2 =/= FOREIGN LANGUAGE
+ [FOREIGN LANGUAGE] = very little exposure outside the classroom + some
exposure from media [EXOLINGUAL CONTEXT]
+ the teacher has to provide exposure to the FL + provide
opportunities for learning through classroom activities

[LEARNING THE L1]

> formal literacy skills are still in the early stages of development at 5/6 years of age & can even
be traced back to experiences in infancy
> some structures in spoken language are acquired late because of their connection with
the written language = relative clauses with ‘whose’ or ‘in which’ in English [Perera] + co-
ordinators like ‘but’ and ‘yet’ – 11 y/o + clauses introduced with ‘although’ or ‘unless’ – 15 y/o
= it makes sense not to include them on syllabuses for child learners of English as a FL
> discourse skills in L1 continue to develop throughout the early school years = they are still
learning how to create thematic structure through language + the full range of uses of PRNs and
Ds
> L1 PROFICIENCY does not develop as a single, global phenomenon = different domains of
language use develop differently = extended discourse seems to develop differently from
conversation + there is a connection between children’s early experiences with language use in
their families & their language development in various domains = from the same language
lesson, it is likely that different children WILL LEARN DIFFERENT THINGS, depending
partly on what they find easier
to learn = DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE WILL HAVE DIFFERENT ZPDS

[LEARNING A L2]
> CRITICAL PERIOD HYPOTHESIS = young children can learn a L2 effectively before
puberty because their brains are still able to use the mechanisms that assisted L1 acquisition +
older learners can never achieve the same levels of proficiency
> [Lightbown & Spada] = evidence for & against the hypothesis = teachers have to attend to
the different needs, motivations & contexts of different groups of learners + if native-like
proficiency in L2 is the goal, then learning benefits from an early start BUT if the goal is
communicative ability in a FL, the benefits are much less clear
> the brain activity patterns of early bilinguals, who learn two languages at the same time from
infancy, differ from those of learners who being learning a language after 7/8 years of age;
different parts of the brain are used for language recall &
activation = EARLY SIMULTANEOUS BILINGUALISM =/= FL LEARNING

[THE INFLUENCE OF L1 ON THE L2]

> the COMPETITION MODEL OF LINGUISTIC PERFORMANCE THEORY
> L1 learning may affect L2 or FL development = different languages have different ways of
carrying meaning, like word order in English and Italian, endings that show tense & plurality in
English = sometimes one source of information reinforces another & sometimes they
conflict
> children become sensitive to the reliability of cues in their L1 = they TRANSFER these L1
strategies to make sense of L2 = learners have to be helped to notice &
pay attention to the salient cues of the L2 or FL

[AGE & L1]

> the CUE effect is COMPOUNDED by an effect OF AGE = younger children – 7/8 – seem to
pay more attention to sound and prosody, older children are more attentive to cues of word
order
> younger children are generally less able to give selective & prolonged attention to
features of learning tasks than adults & are more easily diverted and distracted by other
learners
> teachers can help learners by FOCUSING THEIR ATTENTION ON USEFUL SOURCES
OF INFORMATION IN THE L2 or FL = the cues, which need to be explicit, will vary with
the L1 of the learners = DIRECTING ATTENTION [key principle with many applications in
the young learner classroom]
> COMPETITION MODEL of understanding a L2 + empirical findings that support the view
that L1 experience influences L2 use = in learning a FL, learners are learning
both THE WHOLE & THE PARTS [tiny aspects of grammar/phonology]

[INFLUENCE OF TEACHING ON L2 LEARNING]

> evidence from FL learning contexts of the influence of TEACHING METHOD ON WHAT
IS LEARNT = the range of language experiences that children get in their FL lessons is
likely to influence how their language develops
[Mitchell & Martin] = children produce certain types of language rather than others because of
the teaching styles & beliefs of the teachers
[Weinert] = learners reproduce in their talk the language types used by their teachers
> current knowledge reinforces an intuitively obvious notion: FL learners who depend on their
teachers & texts for most of their exposure & input WILL NOT DEVELOP ACROSS THE
FULL RANGE OF THE FL = talking at length, writing at length
= THEREFORE, if we want children to tell stories or recount events, they need to have
experience of how this is done in the FL = MODELLING of language use by
teachers [an important step in scaffolding] needs further to be genre-specific

[ADVANTAGES TO STARTING YOUNG WITH FOREIGN LANGUAGES]

> [UK] language learning in primary schools was not as positive as expected = now it is though
that is was likely to be due to how it was implemented & the lack of attention that planners paid
to what would happen at secondary level [mixed classes of beginners & more advanced
learners]
> studies of different SOCIO-POLITICAL CONTEXTS would be useful in investigating these
influences & their impact
+ [native English speaker in French-speaking context & vice versa] = early start shows
development & maintenance of some advantages in SOME areas of language skills = listening
comprehension, pronunciation [restricted to learning language in naturalistic contexts, not
necessarily applies to school-based learning] BUT grammar is learned slower by younger
learners
> learning a L2 through IMMERSION =/= learning a FL as a subject lesson several times a
week
> it is UNLIKELY that the difference in quantity of language learning experience will affect the
balance of benefits = in FL too, receptive skills are likely to remain ahead of productive skills &
grammatical knowledge is likely to develop more slowly due to cognitive development

[THE FL: DESCRIBING THE INDIVISIBLE]

> [over the last decades, in applied linguistic] division of language into the FOUR SKILLS +
grammar, vocabulary, phonology
> other syllabuses deal in topics, functions, notions = describing language in terms of how it is
used in communication rather than seeing it as a linguistic system or a set of skills
> children who start learning a FL very young encounter nothing but the spoken language for
several years, the customary division seems somewhat inappropriate
> the author postulates the following division:
+ [LITERACY SKILLS] = learning to read & write in a FL presents distinct learning
tasks that require teaching = literacy skills development should be supported by specific
knowledge & understanding of literacy issues + it should be integrated within spoken
language development
+ [SPOKEN LANGUAGE] = the medium through which young learners encounter,
understand, practice and learn new language = the spoken form is the prime source and site
of language learning = since children seek out meanings for themselves in language, there
should be a focus on words & interaction [Vygotsky – words label concepts & are an entry
point into thinking and networks of meaning] development of words & meaning =
[VOCABULARY]
+ [DISCOURSE SKILLS] = interaction = how they learn to interact in the FL
+ [GRAMMAR] = as emerging from the space between words & discourse in
children’s language learning + important in constructing & interpreting meaning accurately
> this division reflects the real experience of young learners & the structure of some of the
course books written for them

LEARNING THE FL
LEARNING ORAL SKILLS
VOCABULAR DISCOURSE LEARNING THE
Y EXTENDED TALK CONVERSATION WRITTEN LANGUAGE
GRAMMAR