1. CHAPTER 3 : LEARNING THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE
LING 322
CHAPTER 3 : LEARNING THE SPOKEN LANGUAGE

2. GUIDING PRINCIPLES MEANING MUST COME FIRST
PARTICIPATION IN DISCOURSE AND BUILD UP KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR PARTICIPATION

3. OVERVIEW WHY LEARN LANGUAGE FROM AN EARLY AGE?
WHICH IS HARDER – LISTENING OR SPEAKING, FOR A CHILD?
DESCRIPTION OF DISCOURSE
DIFFERENT TYPES OF DISCOURSE
IS PERSONAL MEANING IMPORTANT IN LEARNING LANGUAGE?

4. DISCOURSE – WHAT IS IT?
Contrasted with text – concerns use of language
Contrast of sentence – language longer than a sentence
Children able to use language in real life!!!

5. CHILDREN AND MEANING Desire to connect with others
Language as the primary tool
Have only partial understanding
Use social knowledge to understand new language

6. SPEAKING AND LISTENING
RECEPTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE?
INPUT AN OUTPUT?

7. TASK IN ACTION Changing/modifying the plan Teacher-learner interaction
Personal meaning is key

8. FORMULAIC LANGUAGE Formulaic sequences
Phrases broken down and combined
Formulaic phrases help discourse development

9. CONVERSATION
CONVERSATIONAL INTERACTION
EXTENDED TALK

10. DEVELOPMENT OF CONVERSATIONAL SKILLS
At 4-11 years
Discourse in classrooms
Training in communication

11. DEVELOPING CHILDREN’S DISCOURSE REPERTOIRES
NARRATIVES
DESCRIPTIONS
INSTRUCTIONS
ARGUMENTS
OPINIONS

12. NARRATIVES Not just a discourse but a mode of mental organisation
Key features include :
Organisation of events
Intentional actions of participants
Cause and effect
Resolution of problems
Thematic structure as well temporal structure

13. LANGUAGE OF NARRATIVE
Constructing cohesive narrative requires use of relative clauses, connectives, pronominal reference, adverbs, and verb tense
Children are able to use time words and phrases much earlier than understanding them
Contextual information facilitate comprehension of phrase meaning
Continuous exposure and uses help meaning become comprehensible to children
Eg: the reality of concepts and days will become comprehensible when a child reaches 8 or 9 years of age

14. DESCRIPTION
Paradigmatic mental organization – categorising the world, naming objects and characteristics
Found in early childhood social interaction (colours or name animals)
Can lead to formal, abstract concepts, logical arguments
Development can be traced through precision in use of language resources, and complexity of resources

15. DESCRIPTION
Eg : Appearance : feathers Structure : wings, beak, feet, head Habits : flies, nest Food : fruit Pet habitat : cage, bell, mirror, perch To describe : children need to access prior knowledge and language to describe them

16. THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS
Children as discourse participants search meaning and coherence
Discourse has different demands
Children need to participate in discourse
Children need to build up knowledge and skills for participation
Children need to learn the parts of a description and practise integrating them

17. WHAT CAN TEACHERS DO SUPPORT BY MAKING MEANING ACCESSIBLE
MAKE CHILDREN AWARE OF THE TYPES OF DISCOURSE
UNDERSTAND CHILDREN’S DEVELOPING COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND COGNITIVE ABILITIES
UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF WORKING OUTWARDS FROM THE FAMILIAR
UNDERSTAND THE PRIMACY OF NARRATIVES
UNDERSTAND THE EDUCATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PARADIGMATICALLY ORGANISED DISCOURSE

18. SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN FOREIGN LANGUAGE DISCOURSE SKILLS
1. Motivating topics – they must have something they want to say
2. Task structure - goal or purpose, what is going to happen at the different stages
3. Language practice – word, phrase or clause level, models of language use, practice, opportunities

19. SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES LISTENING AND DOING Listen and identify Bingo
Listen and take away
Find the odd one out
Listen and put
LISTENING AND SAYING
Look and say
Listen and choose
Listen and sort
Tennis game
Guess my animal – questions
Guess my animal - actions
SOUNDS IN DISCOURSE
Poems or chants
Tongue twisters

20. SPOKEN LANGUAGE AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE
Children find it easier to learn new language through listening and speaking compared to writing
Determine the needs of written English in classroom activities in line with language learning goals
Listening may provide models for discourse, and may prepare for reading and writing

21. IN SUMMARY Language is a tool for social interaction
Children use language to understand how people operate socially and mentally
Speaking demands more of the child, needs support for understanding and production
Meaning must come first to enable the child to complete a task
Up to age 11, children may not ask questions when they don’t understand
Goal to language learning is to use it in real life