Learning the spoken language: guiding principles

Following the division of language skills set out in section 1.7, this chapter deals with the development of children's skills in using the spoken language. The chapter is built around two ‘guiding principles’ for teaching.

• Meaning must come first: if children do not understand the spoken language, they cannot learn it.

• To learn discourse skills, children need both to participate in discourse and to build up knowledge and skills for participation.

Central to the chapter is an analysis of children using their foreign language in a real classroom task-in-action (section 2.9); we will see how the teacher and task construct an environment for the use and learning of the language.

The chapter begins by establishing how the term ‘discourse’ will be used. Section 3.3 turns to meaning in discourse; a child's search to find meaning in language can drive language learning but will need support from the teacher. The differing demands of speaking and listening as a discourse participant are set out. In section 3.4, the talk of pupils and teacher on a classroom task is analysed in some detail, using the concepts of demand and support. Section 3.5 draws on the literature about children's discourse development to explore the discourse skills that we might expect from child language learners. Section 3.6 presents ways in which classroom activity can support children's discourse skills development in the foreign language. Examples of short language practice activities that can be developed from a single set of pictures are given in section 3.7.