From Difference to Disadvantage:
'Talking Posh'
sociolinguistic perspectives on the context of schooling
in Ireland
Dr Áine Cregan
Combat Poverty Agency
Working Paper Series 07/03
ISBN: 978-1-905-48545-1
June 2008
From Difference to Disadvantage
Aine Cregan
From Difference to Disadvantage
‘Talking Posh’
Sociolinguistic Perspectives on the Context of
Schooling in Ireland
From Difference to Disadvantage
Á. Cregan
Talk is the sea upon which
all else floats
(Britton, 1970)
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Acknowledgements
This report could not have been completed without the co-operation of the four
schools in which the study was undertaken. Sincerest gratitude to the principals,
teachers, staff and children, who welcomed me into their schools and facilitated the
research in every way possible. I would like to acknowledge also the support of both
the Centre for Educational Disadvantage Research, and management in Mary
Immaculate College, University of Limerick during this research process.
Áine Cregan
May, 2007
Disclaimer
This Working Paper was funded by the Combat Poverty Agency under its Poverty
Research Initiative. The views, opinions, findings, conclusions and/or
recommendations expressed here are strictly those of the author(s). They do not
necessarily reflect the views of the Combat Poverty Agency which takes no
responsibility for any errors or omissions in, or for the accuracy of, the information
contained in this Working Paper. It is presented to inform and stimulate wider debate
among the policy community and among academics and practitioners in the field.
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Contents
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………….. p.
5
Introduction ……………………………………………………………………..p.
7
Chapter One: Language Variation …………………………………………...p.
9
Chapter Two: Design of Study ………………………………………………..p. 36
Chapter Three: Findings – Profile of Schools ……………………………….p. 52
Chapter Four: Findings – Data Analysis ……………………………………..p. 67
Chapter Five: Conclusions and Recommendations ……………………… p. 175
References
Appendices A to J
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ABSTRACT
Recent reports in Ireland present stark findings of serious underachievement in
literacy among children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Eivers et al. 2004; DES,
2005). This research explores whether variation in patterns of language use may
contribute to educational disadvantage.
Success in school is associated with facility in ‘literate’ style patterns of language use
(e.g. ability to adopt an impersonal and expert stance, use explicit vocabulary and
present ideas coherently, Watson, 2002). The ability to use these patterns of
language expected in school is related to membership of social class (Schleppegrell,
2004). Children from ‘working-class’ backgrounds, unlike their ‘middle-class’
counterparts, often experience a ‘discontinuity’ between patterns of language use at
home, and school expectations for language use (Edwards, 1997). Children from
middle-class backgrounds are enabled to engage in ‘synchronous interaction with the
teacher’ (Schleppegrell, 2001, p.433), thus enhancing their academic development.
Conversely, children from working-class backgrounds are sometimes evaluated by
teachers as being deficient because of their language variety, and may underachieve
in school (e.g. MacRuairc, 1997; Vernon-Feagans, 1996; Wolfram et al., 1999).
Using designated disadvantaged schools, this study explores the link between social
class, facility in ‘literate’ style language, and children’s literacy development. The
purpose of the study, uniquely investigating this question in the context of schools,
pupils and teachers in Ireland, is to:
‰
investigate the prevalence of language variation by analysing the density of
‘literate’ style features in children’s oral language when engaged in school
talking tasks (e.g. narratives, definitions)
‰
develop insights into awareness of language variation among children and
teachers
‰
examine implications of the findings for academic and literacy success.
A case study of four schools (three designated as disadvantaged and one in a
middle-class setting) was undertaken. This generated a portfolio of oral language
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proficiency for 46 children (aged 5-13 years) for analysis, and used focus groups to
explore awareness of language variation among children and teachers.
Findings indicate less frequent use of ‘literate’ style in children’s patterns of oral
language in disadvantaged schools in Ireland, low levels of literacy skills for many of
these children, and an acute awareness by children of the different patterns of
language use valued by school. The research highlights the need to raise teachers’
awareness of language variation and its implications for academic and literacy
success. It recommends that in relation to language variation difference need not
necessarily mean disadvantage.
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INTRODUCTION
In language there are only differences (Ferdinand de Saussure)
The term language variation represents the fact that language is not uniform
(Wolfram et al., 1999). A close study of language quickly reveals that within any
language there is very considerable internal variation, and that as human beings we
exploit the many different possibilities offered to us within a language. No one speaks
in exactly the same way all the time. Our language use is remarkably varied. This
fundamentally reflects the fact that language is not simply an abstract construct but
something that real people use for real purposes in the real business of life. As a
consequence, language variation reflects differences in patterns of behaviour among
people.
There are constraints on variation, of course. For purposes of communication,
variation has limits. Patterns of language variation occur in accent – pronunciation of
words (dis/this; goin/going), vocabulary items (jumper, chemist, boot in Ireland
compared with sweater, drugstore, trunk in America), and grammatical patterns (two
year ago/two years ago; he didn’t do nothing/he didn’t do anything; she asked me
could she go/she asked me if she could go). There is also variation in patterns of
language use in social interaction. For example, in some speech communities
speakers overlap each other’s talk enthusiastically, whereas in others one speaker
will stop talking when another begins; one group may feel it appropriate to ask
questions openly about what may be considered personal or private matters by
another. Differences in language use are evident also in different settings, such as
the home, the community, and the school.
Language varies typically where people are either physically or socially separated.
Differences in language among groups of people (referred to as dialects) occur
predominantly on the basis of physical, social or cultural differences, or a
combination of these. The two most common forms of language difference are
regional and social. Regional language differences are manifest among people who
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live in different settings, and social language differences occur between groups of
people who differ in status, with age or gender distinctions evident also.
This study is concerned with social language variation and its impact on the
education of children.
The report begins with a discussion of some of the issues of concern around the
question of social language variation and the school experience of children, setting a
theoretical framework and a rationale for the study undertaken. The design of the
study, outlining and justifying the data-gathering process is presented next. Findings
from the data generated by the study follow. Finally the report documents a summary
of findings, and the implications of these for the education of children in our schools.
The report concludes with some recommendations for educators, based on the
findings of the study.
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Language Variation
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Language Variation
The impact of language variation on the lives and experiences of people has already
been the subject of much research. This opening section explores findings and
questions raised by such research in relation to language variation as it interfaces
with the educational experiences of children. The ‘vast mosaic’ (Kantrowitz, 2000,
p.4) of diversity currently presenting in schools worldwide makes it opportune for
educators to consider how language variation (one source of diversity) and education
interact so that each child benefits to the maximum from his/her school experience.
The concept of language variation will be considered first, followed by an exploration
of the language demands of the institution of school on children, and the particular
language challenges of becoming literate.
‘Correctness’
… the way people speak, the way they think they
should speak, and the way they think other people
should speak regularly differ (Spolsky, 2004, p.217).
‘Corrrectness’ of language use is a concept that developed with the advent of literate
societies. While pre-literate societies admired a ‘good speaker’ as one who could
speak persuasively in public, the notion of ‘correct’ speech was not evident. With the
advent of printing and education, however, the notion of ‘correctness’ became
increasingly important, with dictionary and grammar book writers describing and
defining what they considered to be ‘standard’ or ‘correct’ usage of language and to
prescribe these standards as required (Spolsky, 1998). The dominant prevailing view
until a few decades ago was that all native speakers of a language are competent
speakers, and that one nation meant more or less one language, with mother tongue
education and standard language education assumed to be broadly equivalent
(Ongstad, 2003). However, the field of sociolinguistics identified that variation exists
among speakers of a language. Correctness in relation to language variety is a
judgement made, usually on the basis of social, as distinct from linguistic,
acceptability (Wolfram et al., 1999) – “when it comes to ways of saying things that
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are not shared by all speakers of English … the notion of correct becomes … elusive
and, at the same time, controversial” (ibid., p.11).
Language and Social Class
Language variation can be associated with social class – ‘A whole body of
sociolinguistic research confirms that dialectal variation occurs according to a range
of largely socially constructed parameters’ (Carter, 1995, p.158), and ‘a social class
model based on conflict division and inequality best accounts for many of the
patterns of language variation uncovered by…sociologists’ (Milroy and Milroy, 1992,
p.3). The field of sociolinguistics has shown ‘systematic correlations between
variations in linguistic form (phonological, morphological, syntactic) and social
variables – the social strata to which speakers belong, social relationships between
participants in linguistic interactions …’ (Fairclough, 2001, p.6).
Learning to talk is an integral part of growing up for every child. Because using
language is the most common form of social behaviour (Fairclough, 2001, p.2),
linguistic competence is developed through use in social situations. Children learn
the language of those around them and within that language the child learns a
particular language variety which is linked to the speech community and embedded
in knowledge of how to engage in communicative practice (Eckert and McConnellGinet, 2003). Ongstad (2003, p.78) reports the existence currently of over 6,000
spoken languages in the world, with approximately 140 standardised languages,
clearly signalling the extent of linguistic variation which prevails.
The value ascribed to certain patterns of language variation is closely aligned with
the social status of people. Standardised forms of language consist of a formal
variety derived in the main from the written form, and an informal variety, derived
from a composite of the spoken variety of professionals and others in the educated
middle-class. Such standardised forms are referred to as Standard English and have
gradually become the accepted norm for the oral variety of language. They have
been accorded prestige, and have been prescribed as the ‘correct’ form, vested with
high value, power and authority – ‘Standard English is a collection of the socially
preferred dialects from various parts of the United States and other English-speaking
countries’ (Wolfram et al., 1999, p.17). The standard form of language has been
appropriated by the upper- and middle-classes, bringing into existence by default
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‘non-standard’ varieties of spoken languages and dialects which by implication have
become tacitly devalued.
Evaluation of Language Varieties
Countering the prevailing view that ‘non-standard’ varieties of language are inferior,
Labov (1966) demonstrated that they are highly structured and complex systems,
and not accumulations of errors caused by failure of the speakers to master Standard
English. Since the 1960s, researchers in the field of variationist sociolinguistics have
argued the inherent equality of the varieties of any language and that no variety can
be considered superior to another in terms of its structure (e.g. Baratz and Shuy,
1969; Bortoni-Ricardo, 1997; Wardhaugh, 2006). Gee (2002) articulates this point
cogently when he declares:
Barring quite serious disorders, all human children acquire the full
core grammar of their native language. It just does not happen that
Susie, a rich child, ends up having relative clauses in her grammar
and Alice, a poor child, does not. Furthermore, although there are
individual differences and dialect differences, from the point of view of
core grammar, these are irrelevant. Every speaker/hearer of …
English, regardless of dialect, has control of an equally complex and
rule-governed grammar (p.32). (emphasis added)
Despite these findings over a number of decades, however, speakers of ‘nonstandard’ varieties of language continue to be negatively evaluated and judgements
made about them based on features of vocabulary, syntax, accent and style – ‘what
is acceptable according to the standards of the dominant group in society is
considered correct; what is not acceptable to them will be looked on as incorrect’
(Wolfram et al., 1999, p.12).
Language and Power
There are some forces within society which are stronger than others, the influences
of which produce real effects, including linguistic effects, that have consequences for
the lives of ordinary people (Wardhaugh, 2006, p. 6). Increasingly it is the case that
‘language has become perhaps the primary medium of social control and power’
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(Fairclough, 2001, p.2). The construction of hierarchies between languages and
language varieties based on social differences was highlighted in the seminal work of
Bourdieu (1991) – ‘One must not forget that the relations of communication par
excellence – linguistic exchanges – are also relations of symbolic power in which the
power relations between speakers or their respective groups are actualized’ (p.37).
Bourdieu argues that the standard variety of the official national language becomes
the dominant language which is used as an instrument of power and functions as
‘cultural capital’. A strong theme in his work has been ‘the power of words to order
and command the world while concealing the material interests of those dominant
groups whose forms of spoken and written language have been made to count’
(Edwards, 1997, p.70).
Referring to how language is used in the give and take of social interaction as the
linguistic marketplace, Bourdieu (1991) highlights that language uses have symbolic
value – some uses of language are highly valued while others are not. Part of a
speaker’s linguistic competence is the capacity to know this and to produce
utterances that are valued in particular contexts. According to Bourdieu this
competence – linguistic capital – is unequally distributed among people from different
strata of society. The greater a speaker’s possession of linguistic capital, the more
that speaker can exploit the system of differences in linguistic terms to his/her
advantage. Equally, the less linguistic capital a speaker possesses, the greater
his/her disadvantage. Standard language use in English is more highly valued than
non-standard varieties – ‘high language forms are valued highly in diglossic
situations and low language forms are valued not at all’ (Wardhaugh, 2006, p.205).
Establishing a standard variety of language is a function of nation building (Ongstad,
2003) and is inevitably associated with institutions and with the global economy.
When the local meets the global a power struggle and conflict of interests ensues, an
opposition which is linked with socioeconomic class (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet,
2003). These researchers conclude:
While members of professional and elite classes are engaged in
globalizsing institutions (e.g. education, non-local government,
corporations), the lives of laborers, tradespeople, small business
people, etc. are embedded in local communities. While the local
language represents membership and loyalty to a local
community, and to the practices and relationships that make up life
in that community, the standard language represents
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disengagement from the local (Eckert and McConnell-Ginet, 2003,
p.276). (emphasis added)
The existence of language variety is inextricably bound up in issues of power, status
and equality. These issues associated with language variety come into sharp focus
when interacting with institutions of state. The school is an institution of state where
people who speak local dialects may be induced ‘to collaborate in the destruction of
their instruments of expression’ (Bourdieu, 1991, p.49). The education system has
been accused of being based on and committed to perpetuating inequality through
failure to recognize linguistic difference (MacRuairc, 1997).
Language and School
In terms of how languages are organised, no variety of a language is
inherently better than another. No speakers have a disadvantage in
their fundamental ability to function cognitively and expressively as a
result of the variety of language that they acquire (Wolfram et al.,
1999, p.19).
Discontinuity
School is an institution of the state which functions through the medium of standard
language and considers the teaching of the standard language to all as one of its first
and most fundamental tasks. For some children, this task may be complicated by the
fact that the spoken language of the home may not necessarily be the standard
language of the school (e.g. Schleppegrell, 2001, 2004; Spolsky, 1998; VernonFeagans, 1996; Wolfram et al., 1999). A mismatch occurs for these children when
attempting to access the education system, sometimes explained in terms of ‘the
concept of discontinuity’ (Edwards, 1997; INTO, 1994; MacRuairc, 1997) where ‘the
culture of the school, predicated on middle class language style and behavioural
norms, makes it appear an inhospitable place’ (INTO, 1994, p.29).
Schleppegrell (2001) concurs, asserting that the discontinuities experienced by
speakers of non-standard varieties of language when engaged with the language
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demands of the school system are significant. In a more recent publication she
develops this point:
Some children’s ways of making meaning with language enable
them to readily respond to the school’s expectations, but the ways of
using language of other students do not… many children lack
experience in making the kinds of meanings that are expected at
school, or with the kinds of written texts and spoken interaction that
prepare some children for school-based language tasks. This lack of
experience makes it difficult for these students to learn and to
demonstrate their learning (Schleppegrell, 2004, pp21-22).
Not only is the research unequivocal in relation to the discontinuity experienced by
some children when attempting to access the school system due to a mismatch in
terms of language experience, but it is also clear from research that the language of
these children is judged negatively, and sometimes their cognitive abilities are
misjudged on the basis of their language variety, leading to feelings of inadequacy
and failure to achieve their potential. Research conducted in an Irish context by
MacRuairc (1997) strongly supports this view, highlighting that:
The school manages the linguistic norm by imposing the socially
recognized criteria of linguistic correctness. The degree of harmony
between the language variety valued by the school and the
language variety of the child is central at this point. Children from
dominant classes find education intelligible. A feeling of marginality
develops among those whose culture and language variety are not
in accordance with that of the dominant group (MacRuairc, 1997,
p.70).
Sociolinguistic research which has focused on the language variety of minority
children and on differences in language use between home and school (notably
introduced by the research of Cazden, John and Hymes, 1972 and since then), has
identified schools as significant social institutions and classrooms as sites where
power and control of access are mediated through discursive practices (Pontecorvo,
1997). This research took a great interest from the outset in looking at cultural
differences in the school context on the premise that school as a social context
requires socialisation to its particular modus operandi.
The work of researchers such as Heath (1983), Duranti and Ochs (1986) and
Cazden (1988) concluded that the special register of classroom talk is very close to
what the Western-style caregivers use with young children during play, problem-
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solving and book-reading activities. For this reason, it has been called the ‘hidden
curriculum’ (Cazden, 1988) because it consists of discourse which is expected but
not explicitly taught at school, since most middle-class children have been familiar
with it from the very first years of their life. It explains the ‘communication difficulties
between teachers and children coming from different social and linguistic
backgrounds’ (Pontecorvo, 1997, p.172).
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Linguistic Variety and Educational Attainment
We know that children’s differences in language ability, more than any
other observable factor, affect their potential for success in
schooling… that language is the central achievement necessary for
success in schooling (Corson, 1985, p.1).
The link between a child’s language variety and his/her educational achievement has
been the subject of much research in the decades since the 1960s. High rates of
underachievement among ‘working-class’ children, in particular in relation to literacy
development, have been, and continue to be, a matter of serious concern for
educators. ‘Educational failure results from a mismatch between children’s language
and experience and the language and experience demanded by schools’ (Stubbs,
1980, p.143). Despite an awareness of this over a number of decades, the problem
prevails and to date there has been no clear solution identified which makes a
significant difference. Writing in 1999, Wolfram et al. express frustration at the
continuing situation:
The realities of the social situation … cannot be denied. Members of some
cultural and linguistic groups are at a disadvantage because of their less
favored or stigmatized status in society. They are viewed as deficient in
certain areas by members of the social groups that have more power and
authority in our society’s institutions and systems – education,
government, health care, employment, and so on. Members of the
powerful groups often believe that members of the stigmatized groups
must change in order to be accepted. Success in school for children from
these disenfranchised groups, for example, may depend on their changing
aspects of their language and language use, and adapting to school
norms – which are generally more like the norms of the powerful groups
than those of the stigmatized groups. For members of a mainstream,
powerful group, no change or adaptation is necessary. In this sense,
children from some groups may be at risk for school failure although they
are not intrinsically disadvantaged (Wolfram et al., 1999, p.19). (emphasis
added)
The children characterised as disadvantaged and at risk of failure have been
variously referred to in the literature as: children from low-income families, culturally
deprived, culturally different, urban disadvantaged, inner-city children, children at
risk, children from low SES backgrounds, working-class/lower-class children, or
children with educationally disadvantaged parents. Essentially what all of these
children have in common is a background where parent(s) are
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unemployed/uneducated, there is poverty/instability in the home, and cultural or
racial differences may be compounding the problem.
The linguistic skills of such children were seen in the first instance to be deficient
(Deficit Theory, e.g. Jensen, 1969) and reflective of an underlying cognitive
deficiency which impeded learning. This view was replaced by a Deprivation Theory
(e.g. Bereiter and Engelmann, 1966) which argued that such children were starved of
stimulation in the home and exposed to a poor linguistic model which resulted in an
inferior ability to express and communicate using language, thus resulting in massive
failure in the school system.
The social codes proposed by Basil Bernstein (1966; 1971) argued that the modes of
socialisation experienced in the home determined the form of language used, which
in turn impacted on school performance. Thus, homes where social control was
realised with little verbal detail were characterised as using ‘restricted’ codes. The
language of children using restricted codes was thought to be restricted in terms of
vocabulary, structure and style; to be context bound and particularistic; to assume
shared meaning inappropriately; and to lack explicitness beyond the context being
represented. Homes where social control was based on linguistically elaborated
meanings were characterised as using ‘elaborated’ codes. The language of
‘elaborated’ code was described as being explicit, universalistic, context-free and
comprehensible without inappropriate assumptions of shared understandings and
knowledge. Bernstein argued that an orientation to use elaborated codes was a
necessary prerequisite for educational achievement.
Theories such as these led to responses such as the Compensatory Approach to
language development being implemented in schools. This approach focused on
empowering the school to intervene in the life of the child in such a way that the
perceived deficits/deprivations experienced by the child could be redressed.
Led by the seminal work of Labov (1969; 1972) referring to the ‘myth of verbal
deprivation’ which ‘diverts attention from real defects of our education system to
imaginary defects of the child’ (1969, pp1-44), the modern consensus in relation to
the language of these children is that it is different – not inferior, not deficient, not
deprived and not restricted (e.g. Feagans and Farren, 1982; McGinness, 1982;
Schleppegrell, 2004; Snow et al., 1991; Tizard et al., 1988; Tough, 1982; Vernon-
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Feagans, 1996; Wells, 1985; Wolfram et al., 1999). It is now generally accepted that
culturally and linguistically different children are not non-verbal, do not lack
experiences and are not culturally disadvantaged. They have language but it is not
standard, middle-class English. They come to school with perhaps as many
experiences as other children but not the experiences that appear to be critical in
achieving academic success. For them the major difficulty is learning how to handle
the scholastic demands of the dominant culture that is significantly different in many
respects from their own. Edwards (1997) argues that:
The effect of standardization is to legitimate the norms of formal
registers rather than those of everyday language. Since working-class
people have less experience of those formal registers, there is a greater
distance between their language and that normally thought appropriate
for schooling. They are then disadvantaged by a tendency to denigrate
varieties of spoken language which depart markedly from the standard
dialect even when these present few difficulties of mutual
comprehensibility across social boundaries (p.69).
Thus he argues that what are in effect differences in terms of language variety lead
to disadvantage for these children in relation to accessing the education system,
resulting in underachievement. This is brought about essentially by the use of
monocultural schooling in multi-cultural societies (Edwards, 1997, p.71). VernonFeagans et al. (2002) characterise the current situation in terms of a ‘poor fit’ (p.193),
which is for many of the children created by the schools and the larger society.
Where the results of research in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s led to the
establishment of such approaches as the Compensatory Approach to intervention in
schooling – attempting to have the school compensate for the perceived deficiencies
in the child and the home – the focus now is on the need for the institution of the
school to acknowledge and take responsibility for the different language varieties and
to ensure equality of access for all children. The main problem, ‘is not language
difference but institutional racism’ (Bortoni-Ricardo, 1997, p.64).
This view is echoed in the work of Lynch (1999) who talks of equality as respect for
difference and calls for equal respect to be shown to all groups and individuals within
the education system, requiring:
that the culture, lifestyle and values of minority and other groups are
given full and equal recognition within a given education system and
that systems for equalizing the distribution of power are also
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introduced. The issue of equality is not just about getting workingclass or other marginalized groups and individuals ‘in and out of the
system’ successfully; it is about changing the nature of education itself
in both its organization and its curricular substance (1999, pp302-3).
(emphasis added)
What research has clearly articulated then can be summed up as follows:
‰
There is a difference between the language variety of working-class children
and that of middle-class children
‰
The language variety of middle-class children appears to match the language
variety used by the school system
‰
Working-class children do not achieve academically as well as middle-class
children
‰
This educational failure is linked critically with patterns of language use.
Given these findings, it is appropriate to focus on the question of the particular
language demands made of children in the school context, in an attempt to uncover
specifically where the source of difficulty in relation to language use in school may lie.
Language Demands of the School
The ability to operate institutionally… is something that has to
be learnt; it does not follow automatically from the acquisition
of the grammar and vocabulary of the mother tongue (Halliday,
1973, p.11).
Research findings are unequivocal in establishing that there is a difference between
the language of the home and the linguistic knowledge demanded by the school.
Evidence also points clearly to the link between this difference in language variety
and social class, indicating that the language demands of the school much more
closely approximate standard language use, the variety most familiar to middle-class
children. It has been identified that negative evaluations of children in relation to both
cognitive and linguistic ability are made on the basis of their language variety and
that children from some sectors of society fail to achieve at the same levels as other
children. This section looks at research that attempts to analyse the precise nature of
the difference in language use by children from different backgrounds and to outline
the particular challenges of the school system in terms of language for some children
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which may militate against them when striving to reach their potential within that
system.
There are language challenges for all children when interacting in the school context
and these challenges are in place from the very earliest days of a child’s schooling.
Schooling is a context in which the kinds of meanings
that are made are quite different from the meanings
made in more informal contexts of everyday life
(Schleppegrell, 2004, p.22).
In the school context children are required to engage in new and different kinds of
tasks, involving language use for new and different purposes, and interacting with
different types of audiences (e.g. Bearne et al., 2003). Expectations in relation to
language use in school are such that children are required to present information that
is structured in conventional ways (Schleppegrell, 2001). Teachers have
expectations in relation to typical speech events in school such as describing objects,
or ‘sharing time’ (news time), that objects will be named and described even when
these objects are plainly to be seen, that children’s talk will be explicit in terms of
time, space and location, that minimal shared background knowledge will be
assumed on the part of the child and that specific vocabulary, expanded
appropriately, will be used (e.g. Michaels and Collins, 1984, p.223).
A range of different language tasks typical of school interaction have been explored,
including, for example, sharing time narratives (Michaels and Collins, 1984), narrative
recounts (Heath, 1983), descriptions (Schleppegrell, 1998), definitions (Snow, 1990)
among others. Reviewing the findings of this research clarifies that school-based
language tasks share many common features which typically occur in the language
of school tasks but are less likely to occur in more informal uses of language.
Because language use in the classroom involves the sharing of ideas and knowledge
rather than the sharing of more personal experiences, activities and relationships, it
differs from language use in other situations (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.24). The
academic style of language expected in the classroom context is one that involves:
‰
authoritative presentation of ideas
‰
using apt vocabulary and
‰
complex grammatical structures which are
‰
expanded appropriately
‰
with a high degree of organization
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‰
are high in new information and
‰
adopt an impersonal stance with regard to both the speaker and listener (e.g.
Schleppegrell, 2001, 2004; Snow et al.,1989; Michaels, 1981; Halliday and
Hasan, 1989).
This style of language use has been referred to as a ‘literate style’ (Gumperz et al.,
1984) or as ‘academic language’ (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.25) and is characterised by
a high degree of condensation of information and relative abstractness of
presentation. The particular genre of language used for the purpose of teaching and
learning contrasts with talk used in interpersonal communication. It is described by
Wolfram et al. (1999, p.127) as less elliptical, less dependent on the surrounding talk
and other contextual factors. In academic talk meaning usually is made explicit
through words.
This genre of language may also serve different functions such as the display of
information in answering questions. Wolfram et al. (!999, p.127) conclude that ‘Some
explicit instruction about academic language conventions may be necessary,
especially in the early years and especially for children from non-mainstream
backgrounds’. Academic style of language more closely approximates written
language in style because:
It is the purpose of the text that most influences grammatical and lexical
choices. School-based genres typically structure information so that it
can be presented efficiently and arguments can be hierarchically
constructed for a non-interacting audience. This is reflected in the
grammatical features that typically occur in these genres, whether
spoken or written (Schleppegrell, 2001, p.435). (emphasis added)
These features of language are expected from the earliest encounters of children at
school and are required to be present in both oral and written form throughout the
school years (Watson, 2002, p.49).
Given that there are particular expectations in relation to language use in the school
context which undoubtedly challenge all school-going children, it appears that some
children enter the school context more prepared for those challenges than others
(e.g. Cazden, 1972; Heath, 1983; Philips, 1972; Scollon and Scollon, 1981;
Schleppegrell, 2001; 2004; Vernon-Feagans, 1996; Watson-Gegeo and Boggs,
1977; Wolfram et al., 1999). This level of preparedness is a function of their prior
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language experience – ‘some children’s ways of making meaning with language
enable them to readily respond to the school’s expectations, but the ways of using
language of other students do not’ (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.21) and ‘Children from
non-mainstream backgrounds have had different experiences and developed
different linguistic resources from those that are typically assumed in the school
setting’ (p.24). This lack of preparedness and inability to function readily in the
expected way may be critical for the learning of such children.
Language and Learning
Language is central to the whole process of learning and teaching. Measures et al.
(1997) argue that ‘language, in its different modes and genres, is the principal means
developed by human beings both for co-ordinating joint activity and for coconstructing knowledge about the world’ (p.21). Reviewing the theories of classroom
discourse of Vygotsky (1978, 1987), Bakhtin (1986), and Halliday (1978, 1993),
Measures et al. suggest that ‘all three place language at the heart of learning and
teaching’ (1997, p.21). In fact, Halliday (1993) believes that:
the distinctive characteristic of human learning is that it is a
process of making meaning – a semiotic process; and the
prototypical form of human semiotic is language. Hence the
ontogenesis of language is at the same time the ontogenesis
of learning (p.93).
All three theorists emphasise the social nature of language learning and language
use, highlighting the importance of creating in the classroom a community of learners
through joint, collaborative activity and a recognition of the value of diversity of
participation. This social constructivist perspective on learning with language at its
core is echoed again and again in the literature (e.g. Barnes and Todd, 1995; Brown
and Campione, 1994; Cazden, 1988; Lave and Wenger, 1991; Mercer, 2004; Tharp
and Gallimore, 1988; Wells, 2003). The importance of language as a teaching
mechanism and a learning tool, where the individual child constructs and coconstructs understanding in a community of learners operating in the context of a
scaffolded and supportive environment is manifest. The Vygotskyan (1987) view of
learning is that much of what is learned in school is an articulation of everyday
experience of the world in structured ways that abstract from, develop new
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perspectives on, and generalise from, that experience. This view requires learning to
develop through scaffolded interaction with more expert others (described by
Vygotsky as the zone of proximal development). A similar perspective on the role of
talk in learning is proposed by Mercer (2004) which suggests that:
for a teacher to teach and a learner to learn, they must use talk and joint
activity to create a shared communicative space, an ‘intermental
development zone’ (IDZ) on the contextual foundations of their common
knowledge and aims. In this intermental zone, which is reconstituted
constantly as the dialogue continues, the teacher and learner negotiate
their way through the activity in which they are involved. If the quality of
the zone is successfully maintained, the teacher can enable a learner to
become able to operate just beyond their established capabilities, and to
consolidate this experience as new ability and understandings. If the
dialogue fails to keep minds mutually attuned, the IDZ collapses and the
scaffolded learning grinds to a halt (p.128).
Through social interaction in the school context, children are challenged to learn,
grow and develop. Language plays a central and crucial role in this learning –
‘language is the primary means through which school activities are conducted and
students’ development is realised and evaluated’ (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.23). The
fact that for some children access to the patterns of school language use is
problematic, becomes a matter of grave concern.
As a result of their pre-school and out-of-school socialisation processes some
children even from the very earliest experiences of school display a competence with
language which closely approximates the expected ways of using language in a
school context. These children ‘are able to engage in synchronous interaction with
the teacher’ (Schleppegrell, 2001, p.433) while others who are unfamiliar with school
patterns of language use are not. Children who display the required register
appropriately in the school context are more likely to have constructive feedback and
elaborated interactions with the teacher as well as to be considered successful. The
quality of this interaction with the teacher has a profound impact on the nature and
effectiveness as well as the complexity and coherence of the language of the
students (Cazden, 1988).
For those children whose language use is different, unconscious but biased negative
judgements are made (e.g. Michaels and Cazden, 1986; Ramanathan-Abbott, 1993),
and these children are more likely to be considered disorganised by the teacher and
not as readily or easily guided forward in terms of their development of the requisite
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patterns of language use (Schleppegrell, 2001; 2004). Not only are those children
who lack knowledge of the expected ways of using language in school less likely to
be engaged in expanded interactions with the teacher, it appears that the teacher
seldom if ever articulates expectations of patterns of language use in the school
context explicitly to the children. Teachers focus instead on the substance of talk
rather than on the linguistic choices (both lexical and grammatical) necessary to give
expression to that content (Michaels and Collins, 1984; Schleppegrell, 2001; 2004).
This finding is echoed in the work of MacRuairc (1997) who argues that the institution
of the school in effect demands what it does not teach.
The implications of these differences in children’s ability to use language effectively
to access the school system to their advantage, and teachers’ effectiveness to
provide the necessary scaffolding to facilitate learning, are stark indeed. This
becomes most evident in relation to the implications of patterns of language variation
in the acquisition of literacy skills.
Language and Literacy
There is a strong correlation between membership of social class and reading
difficulties. Studies conducted in disadvantaged schools in Ireland have repeatedly
found that pupils attending these schools have significantly lower average reading
achievement scores than pupils in non-designated contexts (Cosgrove et al., 2000;
Hayes and Kernan, 2001; Weir et al., 2002). The likelihood of developing reading
problems is increased significantly when the learner uses a non-standard variety of
English (Wolfram et al., 1999; Schleppegrell, 2004). This does not indicate that
membership of social class causes reading difficulty, but it does suggest that it is
important to consider how language variation may relate to reading achievement.
Learning to read is a complex process for all children. Clearly, the more the language
variety of the learner matches that of the reading materials, the easier the process of
learning to read becomes. The language of most reading materials closely
approximates Standard English. Thus, speakers of that variety are more likely to
experience ease in the process of learning to read than are speakers of non-standard
varieties. (For example, where a speaker’s language variety involves the use of
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multiple negatives – I didn’t do nothing – that speaker will have to overcome the
double obstacle of becoming familiar with the particular characteristics of the written
word, and in addition, with the contrasting grammatical form of standard negative – I
didn’t do anything.) The relationship between language variety and learning to read is
important and needs to be explored.
What is Literacy?
Not only is knowledge of particular ways of using language important to ensure
continuity of experience of discourse use between home and school but critically this
continuity has been argued to influence the ease with which children acquire
cognitive and literacy skills (e.g. Heath, 1983; Scollon and Scollon, 1981; Watson
and Shapiro, 1988; Wells, 1985). A conventional definition of literacy characterises it
as the ability to read and write (Wasik et al., 2002). A broader definition proposed in
the report of the National Academy of Science Preventing Reading Difficulties in
Young Children (1998) includes along with reading and writing a facility with other
creative or analytic acts, and knowledge and skill in specific subject matter (Snow et
al., 1998). Some researchers characterise literacy as a social practice, its
development influenced by such factors as socioeconomic status, beliefs,
relationships to organisations in the family environment, and social and political
relations (e.g. Delgado-Gaitan, 1994; Street, 1984).
Grainger (2004) suggests that current conceptions of schooled literacy as reflected in
modern curricula represent ‘an autonomous model of literacy’ (Street, 1984, in
Grainger, 2004, p.5) which conceives ‘of literacy as little more than a set of
unidirectional cognitive skills’ (p.5). Such limited models are, she suggests, quoting
Millard, 2003, p.4, ‘based on a re-affirmation of a standard, written national language,
transmitted largely through a print based linear pedagogy’. Challenging this unitary
view of literacy, Grainger (2004, p.5) references other theorists who argue for the
existence of many literacies, deriving from different sets of social practices which are
associated with the written language of a culture (e.g. Barton, 1994; Barton and
Hamilton, 1998; Gee, 1996; Lankshear, 1987). Hannon (2004) concludes that ‘what
counts as school literacy at any particular time is not a given but the result of social
processes’ (p.24). Current perspectives on literacy identify that it involves mastery of
complex, multidimensional sets of skills, built upon developmentally in the course of
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the lifetime of the individual (Wasik et al., 2002). What is clear from the literature is
that the concept of literacy is not static but dynamic and evolving, changing and
being changed by literate individuals on an ongoing basis, mapping new and different
landscapes as we move into the future.
Social Influences on Literacy
There are many different forms of literacy and these forms appear to be influenced
by social context. School-based literacy, it is argued by some, is one particular
variety of literacy – intrinsically no better or worse than any other type of literacy. A
consistent finding in the literature regarding social influence on success in school is
that the socialisation contexts of children impact on their social behaviour, language
use, and academic success (e.g. Bernstein, 1960; 1971;1972; 1982; Heath, 1983;
Baumrind, 1989). The social context of school represents one particular type of
socialisation context in which one particular variety of language is used. As
discussed previously this variant of language is the one afforded high status in
society.
Children who have home literacy experiences which are similar in nature to school
literacy events are more likely to succeed in becoming literate (Cook-Gumperz, 1977;
Heath, 1983; Scollon and Scollon, 1981) since ‘the degree of similarity between
home and school literacy events predicts success in school-based literacy’
(Pellegrini, 2002, p.55) and ‘children are most successful in becoming literate when
their socialisation history is isomorphic to the socialisation practice of school’ (ibid.).
Mismatches in the definition of literacy between home and school often result in
compromising successful development of literacy skills and consequently academic
success in school (e.g. Heath, 1983; Au, 1993; Gee, 1996).
Just as there are different ways of working with oral language in different
sociocultural contexts, so also, according to Gee (2002), there is no such general
thing as ‘literacy’ but rather ‘ways with printed words’ which ‘vary within different
sociocultural practices for different purposes and functions’ (Gregory and Williams,
2004, p.30). Gee’s (2002) concept of literacy is based on the ‘New Literacy Studies’
(Gee, 1996, Street, 1995) which argue that literacy practices vary depending on who
you are – what Gee (2002, p.31) describes as socially situated identities (e.g. a Los
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Angeles Latino gang member writing graffiti on a wall, a young child reading her own
story to her class written in invented spelling) and what the purpose of the literacy
activity is (e.g. literary criticism or explanations of physics). It is integrally and
inextricably linked to ‘ways of talking, thinking, believing, knowing, acting, interacting,
valuing and feeling’ (Gee, 2002, p.30). Gee concludes that:
If someone wants to know about the development of literacy, he or
she should not ask how literacy and language develop. Rather, he or
she should ask how a specific sociocultural practice (or related set of
them) embedded in specific ways with printed words develops (Gee,
2002, p.31).
While all human beings acquire knowledge of the core grammar of a language, i.e.
that aspect of language acquisition which is biologically innate, how that language is
used in different social contexts varies from one situation to another, specific
varieties of English being customised to specific contexts. These ‘social languages’
as Gee calls them (2002, p.32) reflect socially situated identities (who is
talking/writing/acting) as well as specific socially situated activities (what is being
done).
Social languages differ from one another in terms of how they use the resources of a
language. For example, simple clauses may be used and relative clauses may not,
some aspects of the grammar of a language may be used more frequently than
others. Critically, the patterning of grammatical elements within a social language
helps to define that variety of language. In the context of social languages, oral and
written language are inextricably mixed:
Some social languages are written; some are spoken. Some have both
spoken and written versions, and written and spoken versions are often
mixed and integrated within specific social practices… what is important
is not the distinction between written and oral language but specific
sociocultural practices, social languages and genres. Within these there
is a complex interplay of written language, oral language action, and
interaction. In turn, the issue for early literacy is not ‘learning to read’ but
how the child – at home, in the community and at school – does or does
not acquire specific social practices, social languages, and genres that
involve ‘ways with printed words, along with much else (Gee, 2002,
p.35).
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Importance of Literacy
Clearly, defining the concept of literacy is a complex process. Nevertheless,
identifying the signal importance of mastering literacy and becoming a literate
individual is in absolutely no doubt whatsoever.
Learning to read is a key milestone for children living in a literate
society. Reading skills provide a critical part of the foundation for
children’s academic success. Children who read well read more and, as
a result, acquire more knowledge in numerous domains (Whitehurst and
Lonigan, 2002, p.11).
Reviewing research on the development of literacy skills from prereaders to readers,
Whitehurst and Lonigan (2002, pp11,12) present the following findings:
‰
Learning to read is linked to basic foundation skills of oral language,
phonological processing and print awareness
‰
More than one in three children have serious difficulties in learning to read
‰
Children from low-income backgrounds are at particular risk for reading
difficulties
‰
Many children from low-income families are not prepared to receive the
reading instruction received in school as a result of fewer experiences with
books, book-reading, writing, stories, rhymes and other types of ‘emergent’
literacy activities
‰
Children who experience difficulties in learning to read tend to develop
negative attitudes to reading
‰
Children who fall behind when learning to read will read less, thus getting less
practice and missing opportunities to develop important literacy skills
‰
Children with poor reading skills fall further and further behind other children
in both reading and academic development.
Referring to the development of literacy skills of low-income children, Whitehurst and
Lonigan (2002) believe that ‘they are likely to fail with catastrophic results. It is not an
exaggeration to say that the prevention of reading difficulties is a matter of survival
for many children’ (p.12).
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Relationship between Oral Language and Literacy
Oral language may have a broad-based influence on the acquisition of
the competence that is necessary to succeed in the institutions of a
literate culture. It gives children an understanding of how to recruit their
knowledge in ways that are relevant to text-based understanding
(Watson, 2002, p.52).
Research findings have consistently shown that the development of reading skills
relies on oral language proficiency. Children’s knowledge of language but, more
importantly for this research, their ‘orientation towards particular kinds of language
(such as the language found in books) are major determinants of their ability to
achieve in school’ (Eivers et al., 2004, p.8). Grainger (2004) claims that ‘spoken
language is an integral dimension of literacy, since all societies are fundamentally
oral… and our understanding of literacy must encompass and recognize such orality’
(p.8).
Clearly there are connections between facility with oral language and the
development of literacy skills on the basis that both use language as a medium of
expression, the purpose of which is to express and communicate meaning. The
precise nature of the relationship is complex but some consistent findings have been
reported in the literature. A strong relationship between vocabulary knowledge and
reading ability is in evidence such that, for example, in older readers the more
semantic knowledge children have the better they can comprehend text, while
children who read more frequently and more fluently are likely to have increased
vocabularies. In the case of younger children the relationship is between size of
vocabulary and phonological sensitivity. The larger a child’s vocabulary the more
developed that child’s phonological sensitivity will be, thus influencing the child’s
ability to decode text (for review of this literature see Whitehurst and Lonigan, 2002).
More important than just vocabulary knowledge, however, it appears that some
characteristics of oral language use are strongly correlated with higher levels of
literacy development:
The use of a specific oral language register… literate language, is
fundamental to becoming literate in school (Pellegrini, 2002, p.55).
Features of ‘literate’ language use, also referred to in the literature as
‘decontextualised’ language (where meaning is conveyed linguistically, having
minimal reliance on contextual cues and shared assumptions – Pellegrini, 2002,
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p.55) include, for example, a degree of detachment, represented by use of the
passive voice, avoidance of the first-person pronoun and the use of abstract subjects
(Chafe and Danielewicz, 1987). Literate style language requires that one treats one’s
self and one’s audience as generalised ‘others’ with minimal shared knowledge
(Scollon and Scollon 1981). Pellegrini (2002) argues that the implications of this are
that meaning must be ‘lexicalised’, stated explicitly in language leaving no room for
ambiguity or confusion. Such ‘literate’ style language use may also be characterised
by fewer use of deictics (such as ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘here’, ‘there’ – words that require
immediate context to be fully understood). The presence of relative clauses and
subordination are also features of literate style language use (e.g. Ong, 1982), using
linguistic devices for clarity in relation to foregrounding and backgrounding
information as is the presence of metaphors to make text more explicitly autonomous
(e.g. Halliday, 1987; Olson, 1977).
These features of ‘literate’ style language are strikingly similar to the features of
language identified earlier in relation to language style expectations in the school
context in general. While predominantly associated with written language, this
language style is not the exclusive domain of that medium of expression. Such
features are frequently found in more formal styles of oral language use (such as, for
example, delivering a lecture or a sermon) while the more interpersonal features of
oral language (characterised by the presence of more than one interlocuter and thus
not requiring the need to develop explicitness exclusively on the basis of language
but using in addition extralinguistic features to facilitate effective communication and
understanding) may be found in some circumstances of writing (such as writing a
personal letter to a friend, or using electronic mail or telephone texting).
Thus ‘it is not the modality that is used, oral or written, that determines the presence
or absence of these features. Rather, it is a pattern of language use, a kind of
discourse that can manifest in either oral or written modes of production’ (Watson,
2002, p.45, emphasis added). Facility with this particular pattern of language use
appears to be important in the development of literacy (Heath, 1983; Pellegrini, 2002;
Snow et al., 1998; Tough, 1977). Being familiar with and able to use literate style oral
language has been shown to be a developmental precursor to school-based literacy
learning (e.g. Pellegrini and Galda, 1998; Dickinson and Moreton, 1991; Olson, 1977;
Snow, 1983), as well as a strong predictor of early literacy development (Pellegrini et
al. 1998). Research reported by Dickinson and Sprague (2002) hypothesised that
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enabling children to use extended discourse to construct meaning outside of the
immediate context being communicated is particularly important for the development
of literacy skills:
Available data provide evidence that vocabulary is central to later
literacy, that growth in vocabulary is related to broader discourse skills,
and that engagement in extended discourse that requires
decontextualised language skills fosters literacy development (Dickinson
and Sprague, 2002, p.276).
Dickinson and Sprague further contend on the basis of data generated by their
research that the foundations of necessary language skills for development of literacy
are laid early on in the life of the child and that the associations between these earlyemerging oral language abilities and print-based knowledge are mutually facilitative,
a link that remains strong throughout the school years. As reported earlier in this
chapter, the very features of language use which are essential for ease of acquisition
of literacy skills appear to be the features least likely to occur in the language variety
of non-standard speakers.
Summarising the main findings from the literature in relation to language and literacy
one can conclude that:
‰
literacy development is a central and crucially important feature of all
schooling
‰
multiple literacies are currently in existence (Gee, 2002; Gregory and
Williams, 2004)
‰
these literacies have a social context
‰
schooled literacy is one form of literacy (Gregory and Williams 2004; Luke
and Carrington, 2004)
‰
facility with oral language is critically linked with the development of literacy
skills
‰
facility with literate style patterns of oral language use is strongly linked with
ease of development of literacy skills
‰
as with oral language use children from middle-class backgrounds experience
continuity in relation to literacy and literacy-related activities between the
home and school context (Grainger, 2004, p.6)
‰
many children experience difficulty in developing literacy skills to a requisite
standard
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‰
these children are often from low-income backgrounds
‰
difficulties with literacy development in the school context impacts on the
success with which the child negotiates his/her way through the system.
Goldenburg (2002, p.212) suggests that in attempting to ensure the greatest level of
success in relation to the development of literacy skills of the category of children
who would be defined as low-income or children of particular ethnic /cultural/linguistic
groups, a number of considerations need to be borne in mind. Among them are what
we see as the nature of literacy and how best it is promoted in the school context, the
impact of social status, language and culture on children’s experience of school, and
success of home-school relationships and co-operation. Despite the fact that much
research points to the fact that children from low SES backgrounds begin school less
ready to handle the development of literacy skills as a result of less experience with
book-reading, writing, hearing stories, rhymes etc. and seem to have less knowledge
of ‘emergent’ literacy skills, Goldenburg compellingly argues that family
socioeconomic effects on achievement are quite modest. The association is weak
when measured at individual family level. It only becomes a strong association when
measured at school or community level. This, he argues, is because of the variability
of family practices within any given social stratum.
Much research has outlined examples of situations where children from low-income
families experience relatively high levels of literacy experience in the home and how
these levels of experience increase when children begin school, suggesting a strong
parental interest in supporting the work of the school (see Goldenburg, 2002, p.217
for a list or relevant research). Goldenburg concludes that:
A low-SES child attending a low-income school and living in a lowincome community is at far greater risk for reading difficulties than is
the same child attending and living in a middle- or high-income school
and community (2002, p.217).
What is also clear from the research is that effective school interventions can and do
make a difference to the literacy levels of the children (Grainger, 2004; Goldenburg,
2002; Dickinson and Sprague, 2002; Gregory and Williams, 2004; Luke and
Carrington, 2004). Effective school variables associated with improved reading
achievement have been identified as: a school-wide focus on improved pupil
learning, strong school leadership, strong collaboration among staff, consistent use
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of data on pupil performance, a focus on professional development and innovation,
and strong links to parents (Taylor et al., 2002, in Eivers et al., 2004, p.13).
Conclusion
Findings from the studies reported in this chapter clearly establish that:
‰
Different language varieties exist which are equally complex and require
similar cognitive abilities to acquire and use
‰
Patterns of language use associated with language variety are linked to social
class
‰
There are particular expectations for language use in the school context
‰
These expectations are based on the standard variety of language, which is
valued, used and promoted by the institution of the school
‰
This variety is most closely associated with the variety used by children from
professional and middle-class backgrounds
‰
Some children enter the school system less familiar with the standard variety
than others
‰
These children are most likely to come from lower-class backgrounds and to
use a non-standard variety of language
‰
This may have implications for children’s ability to engage with the school
system in general and, in particular, to develop adequate literacy skills with
ease.
Given findings in international research as reported above in relation to the links
between patterns of language variation and success in school, this study sought to
investigate these links in the context of schools in Ireland. Studies of the reading
skills of children in Ireland reveal that children in schools in disadvantaged contexts
do less well on tests of reading achievement than other children, and these
differences are referred to as ‘substantial’ (Eivers et al., 2004; DES, 2005). Similarly,
teachers consistently report that children in disadvantaged contexts in Ireland come
to school with ‘a significant oral language deficit’ and that ‘the necessary oral skills
and competencies that are a prerequisite for the development of literacy skills have
not been developed by the pupils’ (DES, 2005, p.25; INTO, 1994).
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The relationship between language variation and children’s experience of school in
Ireland is the focus of this study. The aim of the study was to investigate the links
between language variety, social class and literacy development in the context of
schools and pupils in Ireland. Specifically the study sought to determine whether
language variation is evident in the completion of school talking tasks, and if so to
what extent it prevails, and if there is a social class perspective in evidence.
Additionally, the study investigated the implications of language variation for literacy
development in children in schools in Ireland. Finally, the research sought to uncover
levels of awareness among children and teachers around school expectations of
language use and patterns of language variation in school.
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Design of Study
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DESIGN OF STUDY
Oral competence is strongly associated with success in school. Given the clear
findings concerning the relationship between facility with academic, literate style oral
language use and success in school, notably success in developing literacy skills, the
purpose of the study was to investigate style of oral language use by children when
in school, focusing particularly on whether patterns of children’s oral language use in
school vary by social class and the implications of such variation for success in
school.
Findings in relation to variation in patterns of language use by social class have
already been well documented in international literature but have not to date been
investigated in the context of children and schools in Ireland. This study aimed to
analyse oral language samples from children in schools in Ireland in an attempt to
uncover the extent to which features of school patterns of language use are present
in the language of children when engaged in typical school type talking tasks,
comparing the presence of such features in the language patterns of children by
social class.
A heightened sensitivity to the contribution of speaking
competence to various kinds of effectiveness has
increased the demand for oral communication
assessment among educators (Rubin and Schramm,
1997, p.29).
Studies of oral competence predominantly focus on competence in second
language acquisition and development. However, the importance of linguistic
competence in the first language, oracy, is becoming recognised as ‘a skill domain’
worthy of consideration at both primary and post-primary level (Rubin and
Schramm, 1997, p.29). Studies of language in social context document the
emergence of a standard language ideology – an ideology which is reflected in
attitudes and behaviours biased against less ‘literate’ varieties of English (e.g.
Labov, 1994; Milroy, 1987; Wiley and Lukes, 1996). ‘Providing rigorous analyses of
language development in divided speech communities may help to bridge the
existing social abyss’ (Baugh, 1997, p.119).
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This study is concerned with patterns of oral competence among primary school
children, how such competence varies across social class, and the implications of
that variation. Documenting and analysing oral competence in different speech
communities is the underpinning focus of the study.
Research Design
A case study approach was taken in compiling data for this study. Case study
research focuses on a particular interest in individual cases (Stake, 1994). The focus
of interest in this study was on patterns of variation in language use by children in
school and the impact of such variation on school success. The cases of particular
interest in the study were schools designated as disadvantaged in the context of the
Irish school system. Specifically, an interpretive case study design (Faltis, 1997) was
developed where analytical descriptions based on observation and reflection on
particular cases are presented. The main interest in an interpretive case study is the
case itself – no intervention is attempted. This case study was exploratory in nature,
seeking to explore variation in patterns of language use in terms of degree and
impact across different social settings.
In an exploratory, interpretive case study, data collection can take two forms. One
form involves observation in the natural setting and the other involves elicitation of
specific predetermined information (ibid). The latter was the preferred technique in
this study. The interpretive case study design has been used many times in
classroom language research (e.g. Cazden, 1989; Cicognani and Zani, 1992;
Corson, 1990; Pease-Alvarez and Winsler, 1994). More specifically, interpretive case
study design has been the preferred method of many studies investigating links
between social factors and language in schools (e.g. Escamilla, 1995; Shannon,
1995). Case study methods have also been used by researchers to investigate the
nature of academic language and students’ developing ability to become competent
in the use of such language (e.g. Benson et al., 1993). For these reasons, it was a
particularly suitable design for the current study.
A feature of the case study approach is that results may not be generalised beyond
the immediate cases that are examined. However, the goal of interpretive case study
research is not to generate knowledge which is easily generalisable, but to uncover
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evidence which enables readers of the research to ‘make their own generalizations
based upon the particulars of the case’ (Faltis, 1997, p.149). The exploratory nature
of this study, where the focus was on the identification of issues and then raising
awareness of those issues among professionals in the field, meant that the goal of
interpretive case study research was particularly suitable as a research goal for the
study.
Internal validity in this study was established through triangulation. Results of a
nationwide survey of teachers in designated disadvantaged schools informed the
design of the study and the specific questions to be investigated. Quantitative data in
the form of standardised reading test results were used to underpin assumptions and
connections made. Data compilation involved using a range of elicitation techniques
to generate language samples from the children, seeking different perspectives
including those of the children, the teachers, the parents, and the principal,
documenting field notes to provide context for the data collected, and surveying
relevant international literature and national policy documents. Declaring
assumptions and orientations from the outset also contributed to the establishment of
internal validity.
Long-term observation is a feature of high-quality case studies and while long-term
observation was not an option in this research, intense submergence in the culture
and practice of the school over a period of time generated a wealth of anecdotal data
which supported the observations and scaffolded the reflections during the process.
Description of Data Collection
The objectives of the study were to investigate:
‰
Whether variation in patterns of language use are manifest among children in
primary schools in Ireland
‰
If so, to what extent such variation prevails
‰
The impact, if any, of age, gender, social background on variation
‰
The impact, if any, of variation on levels of literacy development
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In order to generate language samples for analysis, elicited production techniques
as developed by Underhill (1987) were used. This technique has been devised to be
deployed in schools and classrooms for the purpose of small-scale research to
produce samples of talk for documentation and analysis. In eliciting the oral language
samples for analysis from the children, a number of impediments to the research
process needed consideration. The act of speaking in the presence of others who
may not be familiar to them may cause anxiety to children (Rubin and Schramm,
1997). To reduce this anxiety it was very important that the children felt relaxed,
supported, comfortable and secure when engaged in the elicited production tasks.
Inter-rater subjectivity is another obstacle to the valid and reliable assessment of
speaking, where the assessor may be vulnerable to extraneous factors such as
appearances, behaviours, or personality (ibid). It was important to reduce such
subjectivity as much as possible. These factors were taken into account in devising
the most effective data collection strategies.
Arising from the movement towards authentic assessment of language skills which is
increasingly promoting the use of ‘portfolio’ assessment (Cumming, 1997; Purves,
1997), standardised literacy test results and language profiles completed by the
teacher were also compiled for each child. A portfolio of linguistic proficiency was
thus generated for each child participating in the study.
As well as compiling samples of language and a language portfolio for each child, it
was also deemed important to hear children’s voices in this study. The voice of the
children and their parents was actively sought in order to bring perspective to the
research question being asked and to bring depth to the data compiled in the study.
Too often the voices of those most affected by the issues raised in educational
research remain unheard:
The failure to incorporate a working class perspective on
educational inequalities experienced by working class people
has led to the impoverishment of academic analysis…. The
absence of a working class perspective has resulted in
policies designed to manage rather than eliminate inequality
in education (Lynch and O’Neill, 1994, p.303).
To redress this imbalance, focus group discussions were organised which
facilitated the articulation of a range of perspectives on the central question in this
study. The focus group discussions aimed to explore the experience of talk in the
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context of school and included documenting pupils’ and teachers’ experiences and
perceptions of language in the context of school. Focus group methodology was
selected as a complementary technique to be used as a research strategy alongside
other means of data gathering. In this study the technique was used as a follow-up to
the elicited production technique which generated data on patterns of variation of
language use among children. Its purpose was to explore more fully some of the
findings uncovered through the technique of elicited production and identified in the
national and international literature.
The focus group technique was selected because it is ‘based on the assumption that
group members have information and can formulate and express their opinions,
feelings, and behaviour in words, but that they need the researcher and the group
context to extract this information’ (Flores and Alonso, 1995, p.86). An advantage of
the focus group discussion approach is that it is a ‘nondirective technique that results
in the controlled production of a discussion of a group of people’ (ibid, p.85). It seems
to be a technique that will facilitate giving a voice to the various players involved in
this study. Focus group discussions were conducted with children and teachers as
part of this study.
Particular consideration needed to be given to engaging in focus group discussions
with the children since this technique is used relatively infrequently with children
(Hoppe et al., 1995). The factors identified for consideration included:
‰
Sample selection
‰
Size and composition of groups
‰
Moderators
‰
Development of questions
‰
Managing group discussions (ibid, p.113).
In as far as it was possible, recommendations of Flores and Alonso (1995) and
Hoppe et al. (1995) were followed in generating and conducting the focus group
discussions with the children and also with the adults.
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Sampling Procedures
The study was carried out in four schools. Three of the schools were categorised as
disadvantaged and one school was a middle-class school. Schools designated as
disadvantaged were randomly selected from a list of disadvantaged schools
identified by the Department of Education and Science (DES) for inclusion in the
Action Plan for Educational Inclusion (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools –
DEIS, 2005). This list of schools had been compiled by the DES in collaboration with
the Educational Research Centre, Drumcondra (ERC), using a standardised system
of ‘collection and analysis of data on levels of disadvantage in individual schools’
(DEIS, 2005, p.28). A stratified random sampling technique was used to identify
participating schools for this study. Variables taken into account in the process of
sampling included factors such as school location (urban/rural), gender
(boys/girls/mixed), and school size (number of teachers in the school). Accessibility
to the schools was also an important factor that needed to be considered.
The three participating disadvantaged schools were all designated as disadvantaged
and included by the DES in the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. One school
was categorised as rural disadvantaged; two schools were designated as urban
disadvantaged. One school was a girls only school from first class to sixth class and
had a combination of boys and girls in the infant classes; one school was a boys only
school; and one school was a mixed school of boys and girls. One school had
sixteen teachers (eight class teachers, two learning support teachers, one language
teacher, three resource teachers, one home-school liaison teacher and one
principal); one school had fifteen teachers (eight class teachers, four resource
teachers, one learning support teacher, one home-school liaison teacher, one
principal); and one school had three teachers (two class teachers and one learning
support teacher).
The middle-class school was in an urban location, had a combination of boys and
girls and had 22 teachers (seventeen class teachers, three resource teachers, one
learning support teacher, one principal). This school was located in a predominantly
middle-class area where the majority of parents were highly educated and in
permanent employment (as indicated by the school principal).
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All four schools were located in the south of Ireland, in the Munster region. A full
profile of each school is available in Appendix A. Henceforth the schools will be
referred to as School A, B, C (disadvantaged schools, status 1) and School D
(middle-class school, status 2).
Procedure
Each of the four randomly selected schools was contacted and an initial meeting with
the principal was sought. At the meeting with the principals the project was outlined,
its aims and modus operandi were presented. A one-page summary of the proposed
project was given in writing to each principal (see Appendix B for summary). All four
principals were immediately in favour of having the research undertaken in their
school. A letter was drafted and agreed with the principal to be presented for
consideration at the next Board of Management meeting of each school (see
Appendix B for a copy of the letter). In response to the letter, all four Boards of
Management agreed to allow the research to go ahead in the school.
A mutually suitable date for the research to be conducted in each school was agreed,
working around the many demands on schools, teachers, and principals, and a
schedule for collection of data was drafted. Data were gathered from children in
Senior Infants, Third Class and Sixth Class. A warm-up session with each of the
classes preceded the actual study. The purpose of this was to familiarise the children
with the researcher, to have lots of fun with the researcher, and to assure them that
the tasks to be completed at the next stage were also lots of fun and interesting. This
was designed to reduce any anxiety on the part of the children and to ensure as far
as possible that they responded well to the tasks set and were not afraid/reluctant to
talk. At the end of the warm-up session (which lasted approximately one hour to one
hour and a half in each class) a letter seeking parental permission for children to
participate in the research was distributed to each child in the class (see Appendix B
for a copy of the letter). The permission slip was to be returned the next day.
From those children whose parents agreed to have their children participate in the
research, four children were randomly selected from each class to participate in the
study. The children were taken in pairs from each class to complete the elicited
production tasks. The procedure and purpose of the tasks was explained to the
children and each child completed a form indicating his/her willingness to participate
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in the paired elicitation tasks (see Appendix B for form completed by children). This
part of the data collection took place in a quiet room in the school, where the testing
process was uninterrupted.
The completion of the elicited production tasks took between 45 minutes and one
hour. During this phase of the data gathering a research assistant was in place,
operating the tape recording equipment and taking field notes observing the children
as they completed the tasks. The children were accompanied back to their classroom
when the tasks were completed. The warm-up session with lots of fun activities
familiarised the children with the researcher (known to the children as Áine) and
meant that no child displayed any anxiety when taken out to complete the elicited
production tasks. The children all appeared to be comfortable and relaxed and at
ease during the process. In fact, most children wanted to stay longer and didn’t want
to return to class! To reduce the possibility of being influenced by appearances,
personality or behaviour of the children, the research assistant participated fully in
the process of gathering data during this phase. The researcher and the research
assistant collaborated frequently during the process.
The focus group discussions were completed only with children from Third Class and
Sixth Class, following best practice guidelines as outlined in Hoppe et al. (1995).
Sampling children for participation in focus group discussions took the form of
involving the four randomly selected children from each of the two classes in the
school. Group size is recommended at between 3 and 8 to ensure that there are
sufficient children to generate a lively discussion but not so many that the chat
becomes chaotic. Each focus group with one exception had four children. One group
had just three children because there were only three children in the class in total.
Focus groups were organised by age, the third class children grouped together and
the sixth class children together. It was not possible to maintain the same gender in
the group where there was a mixed gender school but same age and gender groups
were formed in the other schools as recommended by Hoppe et al (1995).
The researcher moderated the focus group discussions, using a predetermined set of
questions based on data from the elicited production tasks, and information in the
literature. These questions were used as guidelines to facilitate the discussion. The
purpose of the discussion was outlined to the children at the outset and children were
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encouraged throughout to respect each other, give everyone a chance, and
contribute as appropriate.
The procedure followed in each school was broadly similar. Availability of teachers,
parents and the principal as well as children necessitated minor amendments to the
plan and required going into another week in some schools to complete the process.
Data gathering took place in the months of May and June, 2006. The data gathering
took approximately one week in each school, following the plan below:
‰
Monday a.m. and p.m.: Warm-up sessions in each of the three classes
(Senior Infants, Third Class, Sixth Class)
‰
Tuesday a.m.: Paired Elicitation Sessions with Senior Infant Children
‰
Tuesday p.m.: Focus group discussion with the teachers
‰
Wednesday a.m.: Paired Elicitation Sessions with Third Class Children
‰
Wednesday p.m.: Focus group discussions with Third Class Children
‰
Thursday a.m.: Paired Elicitation Sessions with Sixth Class Children
‰
Wednesday p.m.: Focus group discussions with Sixth Class Children
‰
Friday a.m.: Compiling materials from each teacher to complete the profile of
language proficiency for each child
‰
Friday p.m.: Interview with Principal
Warm-up sessions with each class grouping were thematic, the themes then feeding
in to the introductory discussion of the paired elicitation sessions and forming the
basis for some of the elicited production tasks (see Appendix C for an outline of the
warm-up sessions for each class grouping).
Elicited Production Tasks
Loosely based on the theme for each class grouping, a series of elicited production
tasks was devised. The aim of the tasks was to encourage children to talk in the first
instance and further, to elicit particular kinds of talk from them. Specifically schooltype talking tasks were devised, i.e. the kinds of tasks that one would typically expect
children to engage in on an ongoing basis in the school context. These tasks were
designed to elicit children’s responses using oral language to such tasks so as to
identify the extent to which features of the language of school were evident in their
talk.
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Typical language tasks expected of children in school, identified by Schleppegrell
(2004) and Dickinson and Sprague (2002), include narratives as found in storytelling,
factual or expository type language use such as found in descriptions or definitions,
analytical talk as represented in explanations, and imaginative talk as used in
creative, open-ended imaginative school tasks. These categories of school-type talk
formed the basis for the development of the elicited production tasks.
The elicited production tasks were pilot-tested before being used in the study in a
pilot school where a dry run of the study was undertaken to test the efficacy of the
warm-up and elicited production procedures outlined above (see Appendix B for
letter to pilot school). Results of the pilot phase confirmed those warm-up tasks that
worked best with the different age groups and highlighted the most effective elicited
production tasks. The order in which the tasks were completed as well as the
directions given to the children were also amended based on findings from the pilot
phase of the study. A final list of tasks for each class was then compiled (see
Appendix D for Elicited Production Tasks used in the pilot phase and in the study).
Portfolio of Proficiency
In addition to the oral language samples generated by the elicited production tasks
and in order to get a full profile of the language proficiency of each child who
participated in the study it was necessary to compile a portfolio of language
competence for the children. Teachers contributed to this process by furnishing the
following data for each child:
‰
Most recent standardised reading test results
‰
Completed Drumcondra English Profiles
Pupil profile data were compiled to establish some contextual information in relation
to the children in respect of the following:
‰
Parent(s)’ – one or two – level of education; employment status
‰
Child’s date of birth
‰
Number of siblings
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‰
Position in family
‰
Attendance at pre-school/playgroup/Early Start
‰
Out-of-school activities
‰
Parental support/involvement
‰
Attendance at homework clubs
‰
School attendance rate/punctuality
‰
Energy levels at school
Focus Group Discussion – Guideline Questions
Questions for the focus group discussions were generated from findings in the
literature as well as from issues raised through responses to the elicited production
tasks. The questions were for guideline purposes only. Thus, if and when the
discussion veered away from central questions, this was facilitated in so far as was
feasible. However, the central purpose was kept very much to the fore throughout the
discussion. The main areas of interest for development through discussion with the
children included:
‰
children’s perceptions of talk as a learning medium
‰
children’s experiences of talking in school
‰
talking style in school
‰
teacher talk and
‰
literacy experiences in school and at home
Issues considered during the discussion with the teachers included:
‰
Perceptions of the importance of oral language in the classroom
‰
Pedagogic responses to developing oral language skills in the classroom
‰
Awareness of variation of language patterns required in the school context
‰
Opinions on the newly introduced Revised Curriculum and the accompanying
in-service education
‰
Planning strategies
‰
Home-school links
‰
Developing children’s literacy skills
(See Appendix E for full list of Focus Group Questions for children and teachers.)
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Framework for Linguistic Analysis
In order to assess the prevalence or otherwise of features of ‘literate’ style language
in the talk samples taken from the children, it was necessary to devise a framework
for linguistic analysis. This framework was based on the work of Schleppegrell
(2004), using a functional linguistic perspective drawn from the work of Halliday
(1985; 1994) and also based on work by Wolfram et al. (1999) and Bourne and Reid
(2003).
In schooling contexts, the overriding features of the situational
context are that students display knowledge, authoritatively, in
highly structured texts. (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.74; emphasis
added).
This is realised through the processes of:
‰
Presenting Ideas
‰
Taking a Stance
‰
Structuring Texts
The linguistic elements that are functional for these purposes are identified by
Schleppegrell (2004, p.74) and broadly form the basis of the framework which
follows. Each language sample was analysed for the child’s overall capacity to
present ideas clearly, taking a confident, authoritative stance and in an organised
and structured, coherent manner. Specifically the linguistic elements that scaffold this
type of presentation using academic style language in the context of the school are
as follows:
Lexical Features
1. Choice of generic vs specific lexis (everyday/specialist lexis)
2. Lexical subjects (focus on individual actions and personal viewpoints vs
presents new information and constructs new understandings)
3. Density of content words
Grammatical Features
1. Sentence structure – complexity of syntax, more frequent use of relational
processes (relationships of description/identification)
2. Mood – declarative vs interrogative/imperative
3. Clause linkage – chaining vs embedding/conjunctions vs nouns, verbs,
prepositions
4. Organisational structure – emergent vs hierarchical
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These linguistic features are explained in greater detail in the next section.
Presenting Ideas
School-based texts typically select complex nominal syntax
that draws on technical and abstract lexis and processes
through which logical meanings are instantiated…texts need to
be rich in information. (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.75; emphasis
added)
Aspects of school-based registers which characterise effective presentation of ideas
as identified by Schleppegrell and which were used for the purposes of analysis in
this study include the following:
‰
The degree of lexical explicitness as demonstrated through vocabulary
choice
‰
The extent to which information is presented and understandings of the
physical world are facilitated through the use of relational process as distinct
from having a focus on individual actions and personal viewpoint
‰
The inclusion of relationships of time, consequence, comparison and
addition
‰
The integration of conjunctive relationships into the clause
Specifically, language was analysed for evidence of a display of knowledge through
the
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
use of complex nominal syntax with
specialised technical and abstract lexis,
clause internal reasoning with
nouns, verbs, prepositions, instead of conjunctions
relational processes of description/identification
relationships of time, consequence, comparison and addition
This was accomplished by making comparisons across children in the study on the
basis of
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
number of content words used – nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions
quality of the word choice for explicitness
number of utterances
length of utterances
complexity of utterances
how conjunctions are used – integrated vs for chaining purposes
relationships of time, consequence, comparison and addition
focus on individual/personalised accounts vs accounts which present new
understandings about physical world
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Taking a stance
In academic contexts, students are typically expected to
project a noninteracting and distanced relationship with the
listener/reader in their writing and formal speaking
(Schleppegrell, 2004, p.58).
This is realised through choice of Mood (declarative, interrogative, imperative) and
through Modality, a resource which facilitates the expression of degrees of
probability, certainty and necessity.
the expert, authoritative role of the student is typically realized
in the choice of declarative mood and use of modality and
attitudinal resources instead of intonation to convey
speaker/writer stance toward what is said (Schleppegrell,
2004, p.68)
Adopting an authoritative, distanced, expert stance is realised through mood and
modality patterns, and was analysed by:
‰
Comparing the moods used – interrogative, declarative, imperative
‰
Comparing the level of assuredness and confidence of the presentation
‰
Comparing the levels of awareness of other in the presentation
Structuring a text
In academic texts the dense presentation of information means
that more integrated logical relations are typically more highly
valued (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.65).
Oral texts were analysed for evidence of the following to establish the internal
organisation of presentation according to the level of structure present:
‰
internal conjunction and
‰
other cohesive resources and
‰
clause-combining strategies of condensation and
‰
embedding along with
‰
effective exploitation of thematic position in the clause to highlight the
organisational structure of the text through
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‰
expanded noun phrases, nominalisation.
Findings generated in the study will be presented in the next section.
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Findings –
Profile of Schools
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Findings – Profile of Schools and Children
The completion of this study was dependent on the good will of the four participating
schools. As ‘part of the establishment’ for the duration of the data collection in each
school, contextual information about the schools was acquired. This chapter will
begin with a pen picture of each school, garnered in this informal and incidental way,
with a view to helping situate the schools in terms of atmosphere and particular
characteristics.
School A: A Profile
As in all of the schools, we were welcomed into this school and facilitated in every
way possible during our stay. The staff in this school is predominantly female with a
good mix of age groups ranging from quite young to more experienced teachers. This
inner-city girls’ school was built about sixty years ago and although the building is in
very good condition and the rooms are large and bright, much of the furnishing is outdated. This makes it difficult to implement the revised primary curriculum to its
potential because the desks are large and cumbersome, taking up most of the
available floor space in the classroom and allowing for very little flexibility in terms of
small group work, drama, discussions and other oral activities. The school has a
large indoor hall that facilitates indoor play and physical education. There is a huge
play area for the children outside which allows for lots of games and is extremely
safe.
Despite the social problems in the lives of many of the children in this school, the
children were bright, enthusiastic, and for the most part appeared very happy.
Teachers displayed deep concern for and commitment to the children and their
families – much of the talk during lunch and coffee breaks revolved around the
children in one way or another. Of the two hundred and twenty children in this school,
thirty are foreign nationals, bringing with them a whole new set of challenges for the
principal and teachers in addition to those already in place. While the school is
technically quite well resourced with computers and broadband access, there is no
central library. In an area where many social problems are manifest and links with the
children’s homes and families are of paramount importance there is only a part-time,
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shared home-school liaison teacher available to this school. There is widespread
evidence throughout the school of many extra-curricular activities, facilitated by the
teachers for the children, providing much needed expansion of experience for many
of these children.
As was the case in all of the schools, the principal and teachers are intensely
engaged in the work of this school – the interview with the principal taking place
during a ten-minute lunch-break where questions were answered while snatching a
bite to eat, and even then there were interruptions which needed attention. Life for
principals and teachers in these schools is hectic and intense, with little time for
thinking in the general course of the working day.
Table One: Profile of Children in School A
Performance
in School
Good
Attendan
ce
Punctual
ity
V. Good
No
Not good
V. Good
Fair
Yes
No
Not good
V. Good
Fair
Oldest
(2)
Middle
(3)
Yes
No
Not good
V. Good
Fair
Yes
Soccer
Art
Both
involved
Excellent
Younge
st
(3)
Younge
st
(2)
Yes
Soccer
Both
involved
Excellent
Yes
Dance
swimming
Athletics
Both
Involved
Excellent
Two. Both
employed
Younge
st
(3)
Yes
Kickboxin
g
Both
Involved
Excellent
Mother.
Employed.
One
brother
No
No
Both
Involved
V. Good
Able,
confident,
competent
Easy-going,
confident,
secure
Learning
Support,
confident,
enthusiastic
Learning
Support,
confident,
enthusiastic
Reading
problems.
Well
behaved
PreSchool
Attend
ance
Yes
Activities
Parental
Support
Dance
Yes
Younge
st (3)
Children
Parents
Position
in
Family
AS1:1F
Mother.
At home
unemploy
ed
One
parent.
employed
Two.
employed
Two
Younge
st
Oldest
(2)
A3 1:2F
Mother.
Employed
A3 !:3F
Two. Both
employed
A3 1:4F
A6 1:1F
AS1:2F
AS1:3M
AS1:4F
A3 1:1F
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A6 1:2F
A6 1:3F
A6 1:4F
Mother.
Stepfather
unemploy
ed
Mother.
employed
2 older
srs. New
baby
No
Singing.
School
completion prog.
Mother
good
V. Poor
Stressed
and troubled
Oldest
(2)
No
No
Mother
good
Good
Dad.
employed
Second
of two
No
Choir.
Altar
server.
School
completion prog
Dad good
V. Good
Moderate
ability – low
confidence
Panic
attacks.
Frustrated.
Cries a lot.
Interesting characteristics emerging from the profile of children in School A as
outlined in Table One include the following:
‰
Eight out of the twelve children (66%) live in one-parent families
‰
Four out of the twelve children (33%) are from families where there is no
employment
‰
Four out of the twelve children (33%) did not attend pre-school
‰
Five out of the twelve children (42%) are reported by the teachers as not
engaged in any out-of-school activity
‰
Three out of the twelve children (25%) have no parental involvement with the
school and another four (33%) have just one parent involved. Of those four only
one is a father.
‰
Only one child (8%) was reported as having poor attendance and punctuality.
Children’s energy levels and performance rates in school are characterised by the
teachers in School A using terms such as: quite good, fair, easy-going, moderate
ability, reading problems, stressed and troubled, frustrated, cries a lot. Terms such as
confident, competent, enthusiastic are used less frequently to describe these
children.
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School B: A Profile
This is an all boys’ school, located in an urban setting. The school building is modern
and bright with adequate resources, a large hall, and plenty of play space outside for
the children. The majority of the teachers are young, nine out of the fifteen teachers
being under the age of thirty. Unlike many schools located in disadvantaged contexts
the principal indicated that there is a low turnover of staff in this school and that
levels of absenteeism are low among teachers. There is a good mix of male and
female teachers on the staff. High levels of energy, enthusiasm, commitment and
motivation are very evident among the teachers.
Also manifest in this school is a caring ethos, where the needs of the children are
paramount. When an incident occurred during a coffee break, where a child was
thought to be at risk, every teacher ran from the staff-room and dashed outside to
see how they could help. It is clear that the families of the children are well-known to
the teachers who are aware of relevant background data on the children.
These teachers are under enormous strain when dealing with the children. Children
can be volatile and unpredictable, bringing with them the consequences of difficult
experiences at home into the school setting, often with little support from home to
help the teacher in the classroom. The children regularly throw furniture, refuse to
participate, and can be difficult and disrespectful in school. Simply containing the
children can be an all-consuming task for a teacher. Finding time without distraction
and a quiet space to engage with this research proved difficult for both the principal
and the class teachers involved, such were the demands being placed on them as
they worked to meet the needs of the children.
Table Two: Pupil Profile Data School B
Children
Parents
Position
in Family
BS1:1M
Mother.
At home
Two
Unemplo
Youngest
(2)
Only
child
BS1:2M
PreScho
ol
Atten
danc
e
Yes
Activitie
s
Parental
Support
Attendan
ce
Punctuali
ty
No
Fair
V. good
Yes
No
V. involved
Excellent
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BS1:3M
BS1:4M
B3 1:1M
B3 1:2M
B3 !:3M
B3 1:4M
B6 1:1M
B6 1:2M
B6 1:3M
yed
Two.
Unemplo
yed
Mother.
Employe
d
Mother.
Part-time
employe
d
Grandmo
ther
Unemplo
yed
Mother.
Part-time
employe
d
Two.
Father
Employe
d
Two.
Mother
works
Two.
Father.
Employe
d.
Two
Youngest
(4) Half
twin
Only
child
Yes
Rugby
Excellent
Excellent
Yes
No
Good
Excellent
Second.
Half-twin
(4)
-
-
Mother v.
good
Good
Second
youngest
(11)
Yes
-
V. little
Quite
good
Second.
Half-twin
(4)
-
-
Mother v.
good
Excellent
Oldest
(3)
Yes
Swimmi
ng
Mother v.
good
Quite
good
Oldest
(2)
-
V.
involved
in lots of
activities
Excellent
Excellent
Second
youngest
(4)
-
Not v.
supportive
Excellent
8 siblings
-
V.
involved
in lots of
activities
V.
involved
in lots of
activities
V. little
involvement
Excellent
Pupil profile characteristics of note in School B as outlined in Table Two include the
following:
‰
Five out of the eleven children in this school (55%) live in one-parent families,
one of these children living with a grandmother.
57
Sober
and
relaxed.
Asks
many
questions
. is
spoken
to a lot at
home
Tired,
moody,
afraid of
failure.
Lacks
confidenc
e
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‰
Four out of the eleven children (45%) are in families where there is no
employment. For one child this information was not available.
‰
While all of the younger children and two of the third class children (6) are
reported as having attended pre-school, there is no information available on five
of the other children.
‰
All of the older boys are reported to engage in out-of-school structured activities,
three out of the eleven children (27%) do not and there is no information for
another three of the children. At least 27% of the children do not attend
structured out-of-school activities and possibly 54% do not. Teachers cited
danger on the streets as one of the reasons why younger children would not be
able to engage in many out-of-school activities.
‰
For four of the eleven children (45%), teachers reported fair or very little
parental involvement.
‰
Attendance and punctuality is good for all children in the school.
Only one of the teachers commented on children’s energy levels and performance at
school. One child was described as sober but interested and asking lots of questions,
showing evidence of experiencing lots of talk at home, while another was described
as tired, moody, afraid of failure and lacking in confidence.
School C: A Profile
This school is a mixed gender school, located in an idyllic rural setting. The school
building is both old and old-fashioned and much of the furniture is out-dated, leading
to cramped conditions in the two classrooms, with little space for either the teacher or
the children to move around. There is plenty of play space outside for the children.
One disused prefab acts as a multi-purpose room. The school population is small
and the teachers both male and female, who have been teaching in the school for
many years, all live locally. This means that the families are well known to the
teachers.
Despite the scenic location of the school, many social problems are evident amongst
the children and their families, including lone-parent families, parents in second
relationships with young children in the school and older step-children also in the
family, unemployment, and substance abuse. Children from a wide range of religious
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backgrounds attend the school. Many of the children appear to have poor diets –
children were observed to have crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks for lunch, and
teachers report children as tired and lacking energy often, as a result of being up late
playing video games and watching TV.
A quarter (25%) of the children in the school attend either Learning Support or have
Resource hours and while all of the children reported having a wide range of up-todate technology at home in the form of playstations, gameboys, DVD players and so
on, some of the children don’t have money for school books. Many of the children
come to school by bus and so parental contact at the school is quite low apart from
incidental meetings with parents in an out-of-school context. Many children in the
infant classes remain an extra hour in school each day because they have to wait for
the bus to take them home.
Despite these problems, this was a warm, inviting, happy, friendly school. The
children were bright and pleasant and very eager to participate in the study.
Teachers were generous with their time and willingly shared their thoughts and
experiences.
Evidence from Table Three suggests a pupil profile for School C with the following
characteristics:
‰
This rural population had just two out of the eleven children (15%) living in oneparent families. However, some of the children are living in families where there
is a second relationship and only one of the parents is a birth parent.
‰
Four out of the eleven children (45%) are from families with no employment.
‰
Ten of the eleven children (90%) did not attend any form of pre-school.
‰
Three out of the eleven children (22%) are not engaged in structured out-ofschool activities.
‰
Six out of the eleven children (60%) do not receive adequate parental support.
‰
All of the children are good to attend school and are punctual.
Teachers report parental involvement in very negative terms for this school,
describing it as not good, minimal, don’t bother, slight interest, this despite the fact
that the majority of the children are living in two-parent families. Where there is
parental support for the children, in all cases but one that support is provided by the
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From Difference to Disadvantage
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mother. Teachers’ comments in relation to children’s energy levels and performance
in school are quite negative, describing children as being tired at school, lacking in
concentration, over-active, impatient, demanding attention, up late at night.
Table Three: Pupil Profile Data School C
Activities
Parental
Support
Youngest
No
Not good
Mother.
Part-time
employe
d
Youngest
No
Yes
Mother
good
Good
CS1:3M
Two
parents
Only
child
Yes
No
Mother
good
V. good
C3 1:1F
Two.
employe
d
Two.
Both
unemplo
yed
Two.
Father
employe
d
Two.
Both
unemplo
yed
Two.
Unemplo
yed.
Two.
Employe
Only
child
No
no
Don’t
bother
Excellent
Oldest.
Half-twin
(3)
No
GAA
Minimal
Good
Sometim
es tired
in school
Youngest
(3)
No
GAA
Father
involved
Good
Oldest
Half-twin
(3)
No
GAA
Minimal
Good
Sometim
es up
late –
lazy
Can be
tired in
school
Oldest
(2)
No
GAA.
Boxing
Minimal
Excellent
Youngest
(2)
No
GAA
Mother
slight
Excellent
Parents
Position
in Family
CS 1:1F
Father.
Unemplo
yed
CS1:2M
C31:2M
C3 !:3M
C31:4M
C61:1M
C61:2M
60
Attendan
ce
Punctuali
ty
V. good
Performa
nce in
School
PreSchool
Attendan
ce
No
Children
Bubbly
and
happy.
Poor
concentr
ation
Tired at
school.
Lacks
concentr
ation.
Likes to
read
Overactiv
e,
impatient
.
Demands
attention
Can be
tired in
school
Up late at
night
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C61:3 F
C61:4F
d
Two.
Employe
d
Two.
Employe
d
Oldest
(2)
No
Music
Third of
five
No
Music.
GAA
61
interest
Mother
supportiv
e
Mother
intereste
d
Excellent
Excellent
Lots of
energy at
school
Plenty of
energy
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School D: A Profile
This is a large, bustling school in a modern building that continues to be developed
and modernised. The classrooms are bright, spacious and well equipped. The
children are very well-behaved, orderly, articulate and enthusiastic. There is a good
mix of both male and female staff in this school, spanning a wide age-range. Unlike
some of the other schools, most of the permission slips were returned, they were
returned promptly without reminders, and the vast majority of parents were aware of
the study and willing to allow their children participate. The school has a vibrant
nerve centre with a number of ancillary secretarial staff, a library and many
computers and other resources.
The teachers in this school, as in other schools, were most accommodating in
allowing their classes to be used for the study, and very meticulous in putting the
profiles of the individual children together. Out of a population of four hundred and
ninety-one pupils, only 2.5% have special needs or receive resource hours.
Table Four outlines the general pupil profile for this school and highlights the
following findings:
‰
Three out of the twelve children (25%) in this school come from one-parent
families.
‰
None of the children (0%) is reported as being in a family where there is no
employment.
‰
One of the twelve children (8%) did not attend pre-school. There is no available
information on this for another three children.
‰
One of the twelve children (8%) does not attend structured out-of-school
activities.
‰
Ten of the twelve children (85%) are reported as having supportive parents who
are committed, supportive, involved in their schooling.
‰
All of the children are reported as being very good to attend school and punctual.
‰
Just one child is described as being tired and a daydreamer in school. The other
children are characterised by the teachers as enthusiastic, participative, having
high energy levels, lively, focused, having good application and being normal.
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Table Four: Pupil Profile Data School D
Children
Parents
Position
in Family
DS2:1M
Two.
Both
employe
d
Oldest
(2)
DS2:2M
Two.
Father
employe
d
Two
Father
employe
d
DS2:4F
D3 2:1F
DS2:3F
D3 2:2F
D32:3M
D32:4M
D62:1M
D62:2M
PreSchool
Attendan
ce
Yes
Activities
Parental
Support
No
V.
Supportiv
e
Youngest
.
(3)
-
Rugby
-
Excellent
Oldest
(2)
-
Brownies
V.
Supportiv
e parents
Excellent
Mother.
employe
d
Youngest
(2)
No
Ballet.
Piano
-
Excellent
Two
Father
employe
d
Two.
Both
Employe
d
Oldest
(2)
Yes
After
school
club
Both
involved
V. good
Eldest
(4)
Yes
V.
supportiv
e
Excellent
Two.
Both
employe
d
Single
Parent.
Lives
with
grandpar
ents
Two.
Both
Employe
d.
Two.
Both
Employe
Oldest
(2)
-
Harp.
Basketba
ll. Piano.
Speech
& Drama
GAA.
Soccer.
Piano
Excellent
Excellent
Oldest
(one halfbrother)
Yes
Soccer
V.
committe
d
V. good
Youngest
.
(4)
Yes
Soccer.
Tennis
Good
support
Excellent
Middle.
Two
sisters
Yes
Music.
Soccer.
GAA.
V.
supportiv
e
Excellent
63
Attendan
ce
Punctuali
ty
Excellent
Performa
nce in
School
Can be
tired and
tends to
daydrea
m
Enthusia
stic.
Participat
ive
High
energy
levels.
Enthusia
stic
V. lively
and
enthusias
tic
Focused.
Good
applicatio
n
Very high
energy
levels at
school.
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D62:3F
D62:4F
d
One
parent.
Both
parents
employe
d
Two.
Employe
d
Youngest
(2)
Yes
Second
of two
Yes
Reading
Swimmin
g.
Music
Dancing.
Music
Support
there if
needed
Excellent
V. good
V. good
Observations while in the schools of most interest to this study include the fact that
the teachers and principals in the disadvantaged schools appear to be under severe
pressure while in school. Dealing with the problems the children bring with them into
the school context is intense, at times leaving little space to attend to the manifest
educational needs of the children. Children having poor diets, lacking energy due to
lack of sleep, and over stimulation of children due to unsupervised, over-use of
modern technical toys also emerged as issues of concern in these schools.
It is clear that in some of these disadvantaged schools the building in which the
school is housed is drab and old-fashioned when it should be colourful and attractive.
Sometimes conditions in the classrooms are cramped and often, adequate resources
are not in place to ensure a high-quality educational experience for the children.
Delivering the targets set in the Revised Primary School Curriculum can be
particularly challenging in some of these schools. Specifically, the lack of a central,
well-stocked library, a large classroom space with potential for working in different
areas with a range of designations, modern furniture which is easy to re-arrange,
classroom assistants to oversee group work and prepare materials, and an ample
supply of appropriate technology such as computers, interactive white boards, TV
and DVD player, make it difficult to deliver an oral language programme that would
appropriately enrich and meet the needs of children.
All of these inadequacies were observed to varying degrees in the disadvantaged
schools in this study. Significantly, none of these inadequacies was evident in the
school located in the middle-class setting, which owes much of its facilities to the
generosity of the local community.
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Pupil Profiles
It is evident from the pupil profiles in this small sample of children that stark lifestyle
differences exist between the children from the schools designated as disadvantaged
and those in the middle-class setting. In the urban disadvantaged settings many
more children are likely to live in one-parent families. In all disadvantaged settings,
urban and rural, considerably more children live in families where there is no
employment. More children have not attended any form of pre-school and many
more children do not engage in structured out-of-school activities. Children in
disadvantaged schools can be more tired, have more learning problems, experience
more frustration, lack confidence, have poor concentration, be more troubled. These
children generally are less likely than the children in the middle-class context to have
adequate parental support in terms of their schooling.
All of these factors combine to militate against children maximising their potential for
development in school. Despite this, the overwhelming majority of children in the
disadvantaged schools attend school on a regular basis and are punctual.
Linking these findings with those of Oxley et al. (2001) as reported in Ending Child
Poverty (Combat Poverty Agency, 2005) that children most at risk of being in poverty
are those in ‘work poor’ (neither parent in employment), lone-parent households, it is
clear that five of the children in this sample fall into this category. Also at high risk of
poverty are children in ‘work poor’ dual parent households which accounts for
another five children in this sample –‘children whose parents are unemployed and/or
dependent on social welfare are at a far higher risk of poverty than other households’
(CPA, 2005, p.46). Data from the Central Statistics Office (2005) indicate that 32.6%
of lone-parent families are consistently poor and this is the group that demonstrates
the highest risk of poverty (CPA, 2005, p.46). Children from poor households are
found to be at increased risk of, among other things, ‘doing poorly at school’ (United
Nations, 2000, in CPA, 2005, p.49). Such findings suggest that in this sample, ten out
of the forty-six children, almost 20%, are at significantly increased risk of not fulfilling
their potential in school.
There is a strong link also between access to pre-school education and later success
in school – ‘pre-school education contributes to intellectual and social development in
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From Difference to Disadvantage
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childhood and consequently education and economic success in adulthood’ (CPA,
2006, p.10). This is corroborated by proposals to expand access to early childhood
education as set out by the National Economic and Social Forum (NESF, 2005). Yet,
despite these findings and proposals, 90% of the children sampled in the rural
disadvantaged context, 33% of the children in School A, and a possible 55% of the
children in School B did not have pre-school experience. And now all of these
children are in designated disadvantaged schools where teachers are faced with
huge challenges on a daily basis trying to contain and educate children in difficult and
unsupportive circumstances.
All of these characteristics highlight the fact that it is very difficult for these children to
engage fully with the school system and equally it is very difficult for the school to
deliver its targets in terms of child development. The children who most need strong
educational intervention appear least likely to get it.
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Findings –
Data Analysis
67
From Difference to Disadvantage
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Findings
The focus of this study was to investigate at first hand the situation in schools in relation
to one important aspect of children’s school experience – their experience of language.
The underlying purpose of this investigation was to gain information which would help
sharpen that experience so that the child’s engagement with the school system can be
as successful as possible. Because a child’s experience of school and the curriculum is
mediated predominantly through language, it is vital to ensure that children have the
required language facility to access that experience effectively. This study seeks to
investigate children’s language skills as manifested in the context of school and also
examines teachers’ attitudes to and pedagogic responses to perceived language needs
in school.
To that end this chapter will document and analyse actual samples of children’s oral
language use when engaged in school-type talking tasks – elicited production tasks –
and will compare them across social class for linguistic features of ‘academic’ or ‘literate’
style language, that style of language most important for success in school. The chapter
will then present findings from the focus group discussions with children and teachers,
probing perceptions of ‘school’ language. Finally, children’s language and literacy skills
as presented in a profile of linguistic competence to include results of standardised
tests will be examined and possible links across all three sets of results will be offered
for consideration.
Elicited Production Tasks
As indicated previously, the elicited production tasks focused on generating oral
language samples from the children while completing school-type talking tasks, requiring
the use of ‘literate’ style language. This style of language is evident in the four main
types of language task typically required in the school context – Factual, Analytical,
Narrative and Imaginative (Schleppegrell, 2004). It is characterised (ibid.) as:
‰
presenting ideas in a clear, explicit, unambiguous manner
‰
taking an authoritative, expert, confident stance, realised through appropriate
mood and modality, and
‰
structuring the presentation so that it is coherent, organised, and integrated.
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Bearing these strands broadly in mind in the process of analysis (presenting ideas,
stance, structure), language samples will be presented and analysed according to
category of language style (factual, narrative, imaginative, analytical). Samples taken
from the youngest children will be presented and analysed first. Children are identified
by code. The code is made up as follows:
School: A, B, C, D
Class: S (Senior Infants), 3 (third class), 6 (sixth class)
School Status: 1 (disadvantaged), 2 (advantaged)
Child number: Each of the four children from a class group was given a number 1, 2, 3, 4
Gender: M (male), F (female)
AS1:2F – indicates a child from school A in senior infants, disadvantaged school, the
second of the four children selected from that class, female.
Senior Infants
Factual Language Samples
Odd-One-Out
A series of pictures was shown to the children in senior infants where one
picture was an odd-one-out. The instruction given to the children was:
Tell me which one is different and why
In all cases the odd-one-out was quite easy to identify. The purpose of the task
was to determine how well children could use language
1. to state explicitly which one was different, and
2. to explain precisely why it was different.
The children took turns to identify the odd-one-out. For this task the children
were asked not to point to the pictures but to tell, using words, which one was
different and to indicate why they thought it was different.
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Sections in bold highlight where the children used lexically explicit and
appropriate language, typical of the kinds of descriptions expected in a school
context. Items in bold italics draw attention to particularly good vocabulary
choice or complex syntax being used for clarity by the children. Sections
underlined point to where there is a level of vagueness, lack of clarity or
inappropriate use of language evident in the children’s contributions.
Item One – Scarf
(Interjections in brackets are by Researcher)
AS1:2F
a scarf
(and why do you think it is the odd one out)
because am, because am you see that's supposed to, that that cos you see that
that that's supposed to be there that is and that is and that is
(The use of the indefinite article, along with the hesitations and repetitions in this
contribution suggests a lack of confidence here – this lack of confidence is evident in
contributions from all status 1 children but not evident in those of status 2 children)
AS1:3M
Am am am that one with the with the the with the am that ah this thing on it
(Why do you think that one is the odd one out)
cos it's because that's not the same
(Obvious difficulty retrieving vocabulary to adequately express difference evident here)
BS1:1M
the two, them ones next to the hats
(and why is it different)
cos the scarf is different
(Poor vocabulary, vague reference)
DS2:2M
the scarf
(and why)
cos it's ah every other one is a hat – one's a hat for a baby and one's a
summer hat and one's a cowboy hat and a scarf is ah not shaped like a hat or
it's not it's not a thing that you wear on your head but you wear around your
neck.
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From Difference to Disadvantage
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(Strong, confident reference to the odd-one-out using definite article for clear reference.
Clear, expanded, elaborate explanation of difference evident here. Wide vocabulary readily
accessible, clear awareness of needs of listener in completing this task)
DS2:4F
The scarf because it has nothing to do with your head
Only one child in this example followed the directions as given to tell which one is
different and why. All other children needed to be prompted to give the explanation
which was longer, more elaborate and used more explicit vocabulary in the case of the
status 2 children. Also worth noting here is the clarity of the language used by children in
the status 2 school (School D) as compared with the vague reference used by children in
the status 1 schools. One child (DS2:2M) gave a very elaborate explanation (when
prompted) as to the reason for the difference, in this expansion presenting a wide range
of very explicit vocabulary to make his point. No such clarity or elaboration is evident in
the examples of Status 1 children, who use deictics (that, this, there), characteristic of
informal, casual language use, much more frequently than status 2 children. While the
identification of the odd-one-out in this case presented no problem to any of the children
involved, it is possible that children’s experience of the particular types of hats in the
picture may have required specific prior knowledge on the part of the children, prior
knowledge which may have introduced a cultural/gender bias into the task, making it
more difficult for some children to give an elaborated explanation of the nature of the
difference in question in this task.
Item Two: Carrot
AS1:1F
the carrot
(and why do you think the carrot is the odd one out)
cos they're all fruit and that's a vegetable
(Clear, elaborate explanation given using precise and correct vocabulary to denote the
classes in question. Appropriate use of pronoun to refer back to named object and maintain
coherence in presentation. Explanation of difference made with reference to other items for
clarity. Conjunction used to combine but not to integrate clause unlike the more complex
use of integrated conjunction in DS2:1M below)
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AS1:4F
carrot
(and why do you think the carrot is the odd one out)
cos it has a thing on top of it
(Reference to object excludes article – suggestive of lack of confidence. Vague reference
using the word ‘thing’, because precise term not immediately available. Double use of ‘it’
resulting in confused reference)
BS1:3M
the carrot
(why do you think it's different)
cos the one beside it is roundy and that's pointy
DS2:1M
the carrot
(because?)
because it grows out of the ground but all the others grow in the trees
(Use of co-ordinating conjunction ‘but’ evident here, suggestive of more complex syntax)
DS2:3F
the carrot because it isn't a fruit
(Clear, concise, accurate, using definite article for clarity, showing confidence, using ‘it’ to refer
back to carrot later on, using class to explain difference, appropriate and precise. Could probably
benefit from more elaborate expansion in explanation)
Again, here the need for intervention to clarify the explanation is evident among all the
children but one. However, when prompted, one status 1 child (AS1:1F) gives an
excellent explanation, clear, concise and correct using appropriate vocabulary with no
need for prompting to clarify. Strong use of appropriate vocabulary without hesitation is
notable also in status 2 children here. Noteworthy here also is the fact that one of the
status 1 children didn’t use an article of any kind to specify the object – just named the
object – ‘carrot’. The subsequent explanation given for the difference by this child is
vague and lacks the explicit vocabulary needed for clarification of his ideas.
Item Three: Frog
AS1:2F
Am I think the odd one out is the frog.
(Why?)
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because you see them ones them ones are all flying but but frogs can't fly
(This child shows confidence with the use of the phrase ‘I think’. She also gives a full
statement in her answer to the question and a clear, elaborate explanation when prompted.
Integrated use of the conjunction ‘but’ is also in evidence, suggestive of literate style
language use. Vague and unclear reference to other items pictured – ‘them ones’. Her use
of the phrase ‘you see’ also suggests that she is aware of her audience and conscious of
communicating effectively)
CS1:3M
the frog
(and why is the frog different)
because it can't fly
(Very same answer as status 2 below but needed prompting to give reason)
DS2:2M
the frog is different to every other one cos it's it's am it's it can't it can't fly and it can
only jump and it can't and it can am and it can swim but every other thing can't
swim and …
(Wide range of clear vocabulary evident here and no need for prompting to give full explanation.
Conjunctions ‘and’ and ‘but’ used to combine clauses. Many relationships of comparison in
evidence)
DS2:4F
the frog because it can't fly
(Concise, clear and to the point – no prompting or scaffolding needed. Clear, explicit vocabulary
used, coherent anaphoric reference – ‘it’ referring clearly to the frog mentioned earlier in the
sentence)
Item Five: Third Dog
This item challenged the children a little more because naming the odd-one-out is not an
option here as all the pictures are of the same dog. It is necessary to use more explicit
references to identify which dog. This is done with varying degrees of success. Some
children can give explicit answers when prompted. Status 1 children bring the
vocabulary ‘collar’ and ‘medal’ better than status 2 children in this item. Clear differences
in specification are evident in this item, status 2 children being much more able to
specify clearly and unambiguously the item which is different.
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AS1:2F
that one
(is it the first one, the second one, or the last one)
the last one
(and why do you think he's different)
because the collar the collar is black and he has no circle there
(Needs prompting to specify which dog is different – able to use the term ’last’ when
scaffolded. Has the word ‘collar’ but not the word ‘medal’. Talks about ‘the’ collar when it
would be more coherent to link with dog using the term ‘his’. Uses pronoun ‘he’
appropriately linking back to question asked. Conjunction used to combine but not
integrated. Lots of use of deictics – ‘that’ ‘there’ leading to lack of explicitness in
explanation)
AS1:3M
that one (pointing)
(which one)
the last one
(why)
cos he has no chain
(This child is having difficulty using language instead of gesture to specify which dog is
different. Has the term ‘last’ without scaffolding but needs prompting to use it. Vague use of
pronoun ‘he’ when there is no antecedent to clarify who is being referred to. Uses the word
‘chain’ instead of collar and medal)
BS1:1M
the one with the black collar and no circle thing
(Vague reference – the ‘one’, lacking the word ‘medal’)
BS1:4M
them two
(which one)
that one and that one
(which one is different)
the one with the black collar
(why is he different)
because he has no am (partner supplies word here – medal) medal
(Lots of scaffolding needed here for vague response)
CS1:2M
that one there
the last one
(and why is he different)
cos he has no he has no am medal
DS2:2M
the one at the left is different cos, it's ah, no the one at the right is different cos
am it is it's a lead, it has no am circle thing for for its am neck and it's and the thing
on its neck is black.
(Explicit directional terms in use here. However, the word ‘lead’ is used instead of ‘collar’
and the word ‘medal’ is not evident either)
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DS2:4F
the last one because it doesn't have a little roundy thing on its lead
(Missing the words collar and medal)
This task was quite challenging linguistically for all of the children and some of the
status 1 children clearly had vocabulary at the tip of their tongues which was not as
readily available to the status 2 children. Status 2 children needed less prompting
and were much more at ease using language instead of gesture as well as clearly
specifying without intervention which dog was different.
Item Six: Middle Doll
AS1:1F
her, because she has boots (which one is she. Tell me which one she is. Don't
point, tell me which one she is) oh, because she has boots and the two of them
have shoes (and which one is she) she's the odd one out (she's the one in the
middle isn't she – no response).
(No difficulty identifying which is the odd-one-out but great difficulty pinpointing in words
which doll she is referring to – ‘her’. In her explanation she refers to the ‘two of them’ with
no antecedents to clarify who she is referring to. Gives clear reason as to why this doll is
different, and does this without prompting)
AS1:4F
the middle one
(why is she different)
because she has white shoes
(Locates appropriately but uses the vague term ‘one’. Correct explanation but uses the term
‘shoes’ instead of the more correct term ‘boots’ for clarity)
BS1:2M
all the dolls with the shoes … two that ... with the shoes (Hand coming out to point)
the girl with the shoes on and one is not different
(It is clear that this child knows which one is different and why but is having enormous difficulty
presenting that information in language. Vague and incoherent)
BS1:3M
the one with the black shoes … the … the one with … the two of em with black shoes
(why)
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cos she has wellies on and they have shoes on
(Clear explanation given when prompted, but very vague reference to which doll is different)
CS1:3M
the wellingtons
the middle
(and why is she different)
the Wellingtons
(Short, staccato phrases used which are highly contextualised and need reference to the
pictures for clarification – no expansion proffered)
DS2:1M
the one in the middle
(because?)
Because she's wearing boots and all the others aren't and the boots are taller
(Needs prompting to give explanation and uses vague reference ‘one’ instead of more explicit
reference ‘doll’. Explanation is clear and expanded. Conjunctions used to combine rather than to
integrate. Explains difference in relation to other items in the series for clarity)
DS2:3F
the middle one because she has boots instead of shoes
It is clear from these language samples that the status 1 children tend to use
language which is more context bound, relying on the presence of the pictures to
expand their contributions rather than using language alone for communication,
use less explicit vocabulary, less expansion in terms of explanation. This confirms
Wolfram et al.’s (1999) suggestion that in school children are often asked to display
information which is clearly known to the teacher. For some children this pattern of
language use is not familiar so where information is available through another form
(in this case the picture) language may not be used to display that information.
Children from middle-class backgrounds are more readily able to respond
linguistically to requests to display information because of their pre-school and out
of school experiences of language (p.107). The status 1 children needed a lot more
scaffolding and prompting during the process of elicitation and found it much more
difficult to refrain from using gestures and instead to use language to clarify which
was the odd-one-out. Explanations of status 1 children of why the odd-one-out was
different also proved problematic for some of these children. It was clear that the
children knew why each one was different, but sometimes it was difficult for the
children to explain the difference clearly or adequately. This corroborates findings
reported by Vernon-Feagans (1996) that some children find answering ‘why’
questions more difficult than other children because they have fewer experiences
of interactions requiring answers to such questions (p.25). Vernon-Feagans (1996)
suggests that this often poses problems for teachers who expect children to know
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that a causal explanation is required as a response to such a question and are at a
loss as to how to respond to children for whom this is problematic. For the oddone-out task the following findings emerged:
Presenting Ideas – Clear differences are evident in terms of the children’s use of
clear, explicit, appropriate vocabulary to specify difference and to explain those
differences. Status 1 children required more intervention, prompting and
scaffolding to generate explanations and to specify differences. Status 2 children
were more inclined to give expanded explanations for differences using a wide
range of appropriate vocabulary and linking explanations with comparisons across
items in the series. However, there were instances when status 1 children
demonstrated vocabulary knowledge that was not immediately available to status 2
children and occasions when their explanations were more than adequate for the
purpose of the exercise.
Taking a Stance – status 1 children appeared less confident, more hesitant, used
more pausing and more repetition than was typical of status 2 children during this
exercise. Strong, confident declarative statements were much more likely to come
from the children in School D.
Structuring Text – The contributions of status 2 children were consistently more
complex, coherent, organised and clear than those of the status 1 children in this
task. More integrated use of conjunctions was evident, though again this was
evident at times among the status 1 children. More scaffolding and prompting was
required by the status 1 children to elaborate. Vague references using deictic terms
inappropriately with pronouns used to make reference where no obvious
antecedents were in place were often to be seen.
It is clear from this example that all children were challenged by this task but
differences in language skills to complete the task were manifestly obvious – the
need for prompting to expand and clarify, the urge to use gesture instead of words
at every opportunity, the lack of knowledge of explicit terms when needed, the lack
of awareness of the need to be explicit, clear, confident and coherent in expression
characterised the contributions of status 1 children during this task. It was clear
that many of the status 1 children had the ability to express effectively when
prompted for more, but this was not always the case.
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Factual Language Samples
Clown Clothes Description
Senior Infants
In this task a divider was placed between the two children so that one could not
see what the other was doing. Each child was given picture of a clown and three
different sets of paper clothes to put on the clown. The clothes consisted of three
each of the following items – jumpers, pants, shoes, hats, and ties. Each child in
turn dressed the clown, giving instructions to the other child who had to select the
same items of clothing and dress the clown following instructions. All pictures were
in black-and-white so that colour terms could not dominate the descriptions. The
descriptions instead needed to focus on pattern and design for each item so that
they could be clearly identified. (Copies of materials distributed to the children are
in Appendix F).
AS1:1F
This above his neck. (partner interjects saying – you have to tell me) This above his
neck (partner – what above his neck – AS1:1F ignores this intervention) and the the big
shoe and the small shoe the small one with triangles on and the big one with triangles on
(referring to shoes with a diamond pattern)
(what else are you going to put on) I'm going to put on (picks up a hat … tell her which
hat) the hat with the flowers on it. Am I'm going to put on these stripy pants. (not really a
stripy pants, what is it) A circle pants (referring to a pants with large spots on it). (what
else are you going to put on) I'm going to put on (a jumper? which jumper will you put
on). I'm going to put on the sparkle jumper (referring to a jumper with big stars on it).
(Not showing much awareness of needs of partner here. Because AS1:1F can see what she
is doing she is not able to put herself in her partner’s shoes to understand what information
she needs to complete this task. Needs to be reminded to name items she is putting on and
gives unclear, undiscriminating information about the items, making it difficult to identify
which to select. However, it is clear that when scaffolded and prompted clearer vocabulary
is readily available – ‘circle pants’)
AS1:3M
(what clothes will you put on) Am a hat. (pick a hat) That one. (tell … which hat she's to
put on her clown – don't show her, tell her) This one. (tell her what it looks like so that
she knows which one to pick). It has feathers on it and it's black. (what are you going
to put on next). Pants. (which pants will you pick) That one. (tell her which pants) It has
circles on it and it's black. (what will you put on next). Shoes. Those ones (tell her which
shoes you are going to put on) Am it's black and it's white. (has only one shoe) (diamond
pattern shoes). (what will you put on next) A tie. (which tie) That one. (which tie are you
going to put on) This one. (you tell her which tie you are using). Am it has loads of dots
and ah it's am it has stripes on it. (you have to put on a jumper on him) That. (you tell
her which jumper you're putting on) It has stars on it and it has triangles and the triangles
are white and there's black on it and there's more triangles on it and there's black on it
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and there's more stars on it. (none of the jumpers has triangles and stars on so it's not
clear which jumper he is referring to)
(Needs lots of scaffolding to complete this task. Clear difficulty using language to specify
exactly which items are being referred to. Can elaborate when prompted but elaborations
are often not sufficiently discriminating and are unclear)
BS1:2M
(tell him what you are putting on) Shoes. (which shoes are you putting on) These
shoes. (tell him which ones to pick – don't show him, tell him) Am… pick these
shoes. (don't show him) Pick those shoes. (partner asks – what shoes) Those
shoes up there. Trousers. (tell him which trousers to put on) trousers (tell him
which trousers to put on) Pick spotted trousers. (picked a jumper – which jumper
do you want him to put on – tell him which jumper) Pick square trousers (jumper).
Hat. (which hat) This one. (you tell him which hat – don't show him just tell him)
Am… pick a hat. (which hat should he pick – can you tell him) Pick a long hat.
(what's next). (what are you going to do next) That (what's that) a thing with a ...
(tell him what that is) am am pick this. (partner – what) (and you put it at the bottom
of the jumper? – picked ruffle collar) (now the tie – tell him which tie to pick)
(Very vague and unclear but uses the imperative appropriately throughout)
BS1:4M
(what are you picking first – what's that – 3 times asked to name it) A jumper. (tell him
which jumper he is to pick – don't show him just tell him) The one with all the stars. (what
are you going to pick next) The tie. (which tie are you picking) This one (tell him which tie
to pick) The one with all the lines and the little ones. (what are you picking next – what's
that) His pants. (tell him which pants to pick) The one with the circles. (the big circles)
(and what will you pick next) This. (what's that ... no that's a tie – pick one of the hats)
tell him which hat to pick) The white one. (two of the hats are white) (then you have to
pick shoes – which shoes will you pick – you tell him which shoes to pick) The ones with
the line – no actually them ones, they don't match. (tell him again – what shoes should
he pick) The one with the line on the big one.
CS1:1F
(what are you going to start with) Shoes. (tell him which shoes you are putting on) I'm
putting on white shoes and there's black around the bottom. (What are you putting
on him next) I'm putting on a jumper. (which jumper are you putting on) I'm putting on a
jumper with kind of triangles and black ones and white and black. (what are you
putting on next) Two flowers and a hat, a clown's hat. (and what are you putting on next)
I'm putting on a tie. (which tie) It has circles and black things (referring to dots in the tie).
It has circles and black stripes (when asked for clarification – no tie fits this description)
(what trousers are you putting on). Black and white. (all the trousers are black and white)
(Clear reference to items but descriptions are imprecise and at times unhelpful because
they are not sufficiently discriminating).
CS1:2M
(tell her what you're doing) I'm putting on a stripy pants. (two pants have stripes) And I'm
putting on black and white shoes. (all the shoes are black and white) And I'm putting on
a jumper that has triangles and stripes. I'm putting on a tie, collar ruffle (this word was
supplied) and I'm putting on a hat that has flowers at the top of it I don't know what it's
called (hat has feathers).
(Used clear descriptions when referring to each item and needed almost no prompting to
do so. More aware than others of need for clarity and using confident declarative
statements. Descriptions of items could have been more precise)
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DS2:1M
(what are you going to put on first) There's black shoes with with white on the
bottom. (what are you going to put on him next) A jumper with stars. (what next)
A pants with dots, big huge dots. (this pants has big white circles). (what next) A
tie with stripes across em like a daddy's. (what have you left to put on him now)
A hat with feathers.
(Very little prompting required. Clearly aware of partner’s needs and has requisite
vocabulary to describe effectively. Descriptions are clear, many items have expanded
descriptions. There is evidence of clause internal reasoning using both the preposition
‘with’, and the preposition ‘across’ to express an area of distribution. Confusion is evident in
the anaphoric reference ‘em’ referring to the tie but used in the plural form, no doubt
distracted by the plural form ‘stripes’ which comes between ‘tie’ and its reference.
Comparison is further expanded with reference to what a daddy’s tie would look like, and
the more generic ‘a’ is used to make this appropriate to all listeners)
DS2:2M
(what are you going to put on him first) Shoes. (tell him which shoes to put on) They are
black and they have white on them on the bottom of them. (what are you going to
put on next) I'm going to put on a white, it's white, it's it's am it's kind of like (tell him first
of all what it is) It's a hat. It's kind of like a policeman but it's a clown one and it's
you can you can am it has white it has black white and black white (repeated a
number of times) going across. (what are you going to put on him next) I'm going to put
on him (what is it) a jumper (which jumper) it's ah it's it has triangles on it and it has
stripes it has stripes on it. (what will you put on him next) I'm going to put on a tie. (tell
him which tie to put on) It has circles and with dots in them and it has and it has
lines and it has (what have you left to put on now) A pants. (tell him which pants you
are putting on) They have stripes with dots on them
DS2:3F
(what are you going to put on the clown first) It's something like a collar but it's a bit
different. (referring to a ruffle collar – so it's like a tie is it) Yeah though it isn't a tie – it's
something it's something what you could put around your neck but isn't like a collar or
tie. It's something like ... around the clown's neck you might see it not very often in
a circus (what other one are you putting on) Well, it has it's a jumper and it has some
little am and it has little am buckles on the sides little buckles on the sides and it has little
white triangles on either side and it has a star stars on it. (what are you putting on next)
I'm going to put on trousers. (which trousers) It has a a they are like they have some little
you could find them green on a clown and they have little stuff, they're like
dungarees. Am and in the Molly stories jack had them on. (so which pair should we
be putting on) Am the one with the little squares and stripes and stuff. (what are you
putting on next) Iit's a hat and it has flowers on it. (what's next) Shoes. (which pair of
shoes will you put on) They are plain shoes. (two pairs fit this description)
These examples demonstrate that status 2 children are much more readily able to
respond in expected ways to the demands of typical school type talking tasks than
the status 1 children. They show an awareness of partners’ needs, name items
readily and normally without being asked to do so. They have the requisite
language knowledge to describe items effectively, sometimes expanding the
descriptions with more than one adjective, sometimes comparing items using
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similes, and at times embedding all of this information in quite complex structures
(‘a tie with stripes across ’em like a daddy’s’ – item named, integrated use of ‘with’,
descriptive term ‘stripes’ used and comparison made with ‘daddy’ who is referred
to in the generic sense – ‘a’, including all daddies, not just his own, with correct
reference to the daddy in the genitive case inferring the inclusion of tie – a daddy’s
(tie)).
Senior Infants
Analytical Language Samples
Word Definition
Asking children to give definitions is a task that teachers often request of children
during the course of lessons (Bloome, 1987; Snow et al., 1989). The task of giving
definitions is one that ‘reveals how expectations for linguistic performance are
different in the school setting from what they would be in ordinary language use
and how students’ different socialization experiences prepare them in different
ways to respond to the school’s expectations’ (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.36).
Research conducted by Snow (1990) found that all children are capable of giving
word meanings but that children vary in how they do so according to their social
experience. Prior experience with the definition genre dictates how a child will
respond linguistically to this task, children from middle-class backgrounds being
more inclined to give the highly valued formal definition which incorporates
‘autonomous, well-planned, lexically specific information about the word meaning’
(Snow, 1989, p.239). Other children, by contrast, ‘treat the request for a definition
as the introduction of a new conversational topic, and …provide information but no
definition in response’ (ibid.).
Watson (2002) suggests that the valued definitional form required in the school
context is one typically used by ‘literates’ (p.46). It includes taxonomic classification
(using a superordinate term followed by a restrictive complement), whereas
‘nonliterates’ (ibid.) define words according to functions (giving functional or
descriptive information about the word). While the communicative value of formal
and informal definitions is equivalent, it appears that their value in academic
contexts differs, the formal format being the more valued, and that expected by the
teacher (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.38). Some children can readily respond to these
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expectations given their prior experience of using the genre, whereas other
children respond differently as a consequence of their previous experience.
In this study, all of the children were asked to define a word. In all cases the word
was associated with the theme of the warm-up session and the request to define
the word was woven casually into the conversation so that no pressure to perform
was felt by the children. In the case of the Senior Infant children, the main focus of
the warm-up session was a story called Harry’s Home (Catherine and Laurence
Anholt). In this story, Harry lived in a city, and went to visit his granddad on the
farm for a holiday. The children, in the course of re-visiting the story during the
elicited production session, were asked to say what a ‘city’ or a ‘farm’ was. All
children were able to define the word given. Below are their responses.
What is a CITY?
AS1:2F
A city it has has has all shops what you can go to and buy clothes and shoes
AS1:1F
It's bigger than all the world and it's bigger than this size of the world, it's bigger …
BS1:1M
It's a huge, it's huge, kind of like a country, a different country ‘cept that there's all
buildings and windows
BS1:3M
It's a big town
CS1:3M
A city is a very busy city. There's fire engines, ambulances, there's am police cars,
police cars and ah there's a lot of hotels and there's am a train station and am …
DS2:1M
It's a place with all ah noise where animals don't like it but a few people do
What is a FARM?
AS1:1F
It's like am oh my god (began to sing Old McDonald had a farm together with great
gusto!!)
Oh am its am that takes care of the animals
It's all there's all animals like pigs and sheep and cows
AS1:4F
There's lots of animals and a farmer
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BS1:2M
A farm is where you see all the animals
BS1:4M
A farm that can work with animals
CS1:1F
Ah there's cows in the farm and sheeps and lambs and
DS2:2M
It's where all animals are ah like cows, ah sheep and ah sheepdogs and lambs and
horses and ah
DS2:4F
Where animals live and am there's a farmer on it that has to take care of the animals
It is clear that the status 2 children in all cases begin the definition with a
superordinate, thematic fronting process – ‘it’s a place’; ‘it’s where animals live’;
‘where animals live’; followed by a complementary clause elaborating on the
explanation using lexically explicit vocabulary - ‘with all ah noise where animals
don't like it but a few people do’; ‘there's a farmer on it that has to take care of the
animals’. It is equally clear that this structure is only evident in the contribution of
one of the status 1 children, the rest of whom clearly demonstrate knowledge of the
word meaning but choose to define by describing, focusing on function, or viewing
the request as the introduction of a new topic of conversation ‘it has has has all
shops what you can go to and buy clothes and shoes’; ‘a farm that can work with
animals’; – ‘It's like am oh my god (began to sing Old McDonald had a farm
together with great gusto!!)’.
Senior Infants
Narrative Language Samples
The narrative form is familiar to children from a very early age. Children acquire the
ability to construct narratives at home during infancy and the pre-school years as
they engage with parents who discuss past events with/in front of their children
(McCabe, 1992). This familiar pre-school interactional process is exemplified in the
words of Mrs Rabbit (Beatrix Potter) who warns her children of the dangers of Mr
McGregor’s garden, ‘Now, my dears …you may go into the fields or down the lane,
but don’t go into Mr McGregor’s garden: your father had an accident there; he was
put in a pie by Mrs.McGregor.’
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Narrative is an important part of the development of all children contributing in a
fundamental way to their capacity to organise their experiences and understand
their lives (Golden, 1997), as well as being a discourse genre in which children
learn from an early age to speak publicly (Michaels, 1981). Machado (2003)
suggests that for children storytelling is ‘a complex, cognitive endeavor that
involves a kind of “story sense” and “story grammar”’ (p.316). The linguistic
features of narrative storytelling are developed over time for children as they
experience storytelling around them, both oral and through stories read aloud
(ibid.). In the context of school, narrative takes on added importance since
‘because narratives involve decontextualised language they can facilitate students’
transition from oral to literate language’ (Westby et al., 2002, p.235).
That children vary in terms of their construction of narratives is well-established
(e.g. Heath, 1983; Westby et al., 2002) as is the finding that ‘narrative variations
may influence academic performance of children from non-mainstream
backgrounds’ (Westby et al., 2002, p.235). These researchers advocate that
‘understanding children’s development of mainstream narratives can be useful in
planning educational strategies to facilitate students’ literacy success’ (ibid.).
Narrative style typically conforms to six stages, according to Eggins and Slade
(1997) – Abstract, Orientation, Complication, Evaluation, Resolution, Coda (p.236).
Conventional expectations of a good story follow typical story grammar format as
proposed by Mandler and Johnson (1977) where there are six major story
elements: setting, beginning, reaction, attempt, outcome and ending (Lewis, 2005,
p.92). This structure is characterised by McCabe (1992) as children
1. beginning by orienting the listener in relation to the who, what, where and
when
2. followed by a build up of a series of events leading to a high point which
3. may sometimes be the solution to a problem
4. after which events are resolved (McCabe, 1992, p.15).
While children from different cultural backgrounds may produce excellent
narratives which differ in form from that outlined above, the conventional
expectations for narrative structure are those most valued by teachers (Michaels,
1981).
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Two forms of narrative were taken from the senior infant children in this study. The
first was where children were given story sequences in picture format (four pictures
per story) and asked to tell the story. This resulted in the Teddy stories from some
children and the Doggy stories from others. In addition, the children were asked to
retell in pairs the familiar story of the Three Little Pigs again with pictures to help
them remember the details of the story.
TEDDY STORY
DS2:4F
1. It's Christmas time and Santa is at the house.
2. He comes up to the Bear's bedroom. The bear puts his stocking … his stocking is
... stocking onto the side of his bed. And then, since Santa go ... came, he
poured them all out.
3. So so am he found all the toys.
4. This was at night and now it's morning.
Story Title: Christmas Time
AS1:2F
1. A little teddy bear was going to sleep.
2. And when Santa came then he went in he went in to the Teddy Bear's room.
3. And then he put some toys in to into the stocking because he was fast asleep.
4. And then the next morning when the Teddy Bear woke up he found all the toys.
BS1:1M
1. Santa was coming to the Bear's house.
2. The bear was getting ready.
3. The bear had the socks, sock beside his bed and he fell asleep.
4. And Santa came and gave him presents.
Story Title: Santa Clause goes to the Little Bear's House
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DS2:2M
1. Santa came in
2. and ah he put the toys in his in the so ... in his sock
3. and then he threw them out
4. and I think he played with them.
Story Title: Santa
All of the above stories follow the conventional narrative structure as outlined in
McCabe (1992) and others. These children are clearly oriented in the ways of
structuring narratives in expected ways. However, as one reads down through
them it becomes apparent that in terms of clarity of expression following
Schleppegrell’s (2004) outline there is some difference between the stories. The
first story (status 2) presented uses clear, explicit vocabulary, introduces time,
place and characters early on in the story, has events unfolding clearly, uses
appropriate anaphoric reference – ‘Santa is at the house. He comes up’, shows an
ability to use the conjunction ‘since’ to integrate clauses, and uses the dramatic
present – ‘he comes up’ for effect. The second story (status 1), which is very well
constructed, shows evidence of complex syntax (‘when Santa came then he went
in he went in to the Teddy Bear's room; he put some toys in to into the stocking
because he was fast asleep; the next morning when the Teddy Bear woke up’) but
the clarity of reference and amount of expansion is not as developed as that of
story one. Other stories are less descriptive, use less complex syntax, and include
less expansion and elaboration. One of these stories is produced by a boy from a
status 2 school (DS2:2M), whose story is not as clearly constructed as that of the
girl from a status 1 school (AS1:2F).
Other stories didn’t quite follow the narrative format and were less explicit, used less
complex syntax and included less expansion of reference:
BS1:3M
1. Santa was in somebody's house.
2. And he went up to the bedroom.
3. And then he found the boot and he spilled all the things out and then he got a
sock then and he saw all the toys.
Story Title: Santa in a House
BS1:2M
1. Santa came in.
2. He was going to the Bear's house and the bear get ready ad then he got ready
and then he went to the bear's and he went to the Bear's house
3. and gave all the toys.
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CS1:2M
1. Santa came one night
2. and he put toys into the stocking
3. and the next morning the Bear emptied the, he found the thing and he emptied it
open.
Story Title: Nice Little Santa
AS1:4F
I don't know that one
(use the pictures to help you make the story – who climbed into the house)
1. Santa (what's happening in this picture)
2. He's giving out the toys.
3. And now the Teddy Bear woke up to get the toys.
Similar findings emerge from the Doggy story, stories varying quite a bit in terms of
presentation of ideas and cohesive integrated structure.
DOGGY STORY
DS2:3F
1. The dog was bouncing along
2. and he tripped over a can of black paint.
3. And then he got his paws all black
4. and he made pawprints all over the floor
Story Title: Mess
CS1:3M
1. It's about a little dog.
2. He was looking at paint. He spilled all the paint. Then it was on the floor and then
he stands in the paint.
3. Then there's paw tracks.
Story Title: Little Doggy
BS1:1M
1. The dog was running towards the am pot.
2. And then he knocked all the paint.
3. And then he then he didn't know what to do.
4. And then then he was very sad and then then he ran away.
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Story Title: The Dog
The Three Little Pigs
For this task a well-known familiar story was presented in picture format to the
children and they were asked in pairs to retell the story. No intervention was made
while the children were retelling the story except to encourage each child to
participate fully and to help children move on in one case where they were unable
to construct a story unscaffolded.
AS1:1F/AS1:2F
The Three Little Pigs
A – Once upon a time there was three little pigs.
K – Once upon a time there was three little pigs
A – They had they made three houses. One full of straw, one full of wood and one full of
bricks. (Clear opening showing familiarity with traditional tale format and an ability to work with it,
time, place and character introduced)
K – The wolf, the wolf came and he blowed down the house, the house of straws.
A – No I will not let you in he said not by the hair of my chinny chin chin. (This contribution
skipped a large part of the story getting on to what this child obviously felt was the more
significant part of the story)
K – The wolf couldn't blow down the house of, the wolf could blow down the house of
sticks.
A – He blowed down am the house of bricks and then he went down there and he
couldn't so he went like that and then he went like that and then he jumped in there and
then he got arrested. (Lots of vague use of deictic here leading to lack of clarity. Introduces an
aspect of the story that she feels should be included at the end as punishment for the wolf)
AS1:3M/AS1:4F
The Three Little Pigs
E – The three little pigs. The wolf blowed down the house and ah (long pause)
(Anthony, do you know what happened)
A – The wolf blowed down the house and the pig was eatin food he and he went
into the chimney.
(now Erika you tell me another bit)
E – They builded a house.
(what were the houses made from) (needed help –straw and )
E – Timber.
(and bricks; and who came along)
A – The wolf.
(and what did he try to do)
A – He tried to blow down the house.
(and was he able to blow down all the houses)
A – No cos they were covered in bricks.
(and what happened him in the end)
A – He went away.
(Needed lots of intervention and scaffolding to complete the story even with the support of
pictures. These children demonstrated no confidence during this process. Clearly not
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comfortable with the task. Lots of vague reference and lack of expansion and incoherence
evident)
BS1:3M/BS1:4M
The Three Little Pigs
A – There was there was three little pigs and the wolf wanted to eat them and they
made up the house. They made one with sticks and one with straw and one with
bricks. (Strong opening, presenting clearly all the main points needed to follow the story)
D – Am the wolf, the wolf blowed down and then the other pig he had a brick house so
they couldn't blow it down. (Reference becomes vague and unclear and important sections of
the story are omitted)
A – Then he he goed mad he went down the chimney and he burnt himself. (Long
pause here)
(is that the end)
No he could have just blowed the door down (introducing personal opinion).
CS1:1F
The Three Little Pigs
The mother said go and build your own house. The three little pigs went off to ... and
built the houses. Then the fox came and blew down the house. Then the pig ran over to
the other house and then they then they then they the fox went, tried to blow down the
house. Then they went then he went down the chimney he jumped into the ah pot.
(Clearly knows the story but is having difficulty organising it and retrieving the appropriate
vocabulary to present it explicitly)
DS2:1M/DS2:2M
The Three Little Pigs
T – There was once three little pigs but one he did the, that one was the
cleverest because he he builded his house out of bricks, he builded his house
out of sticks and he builded his house out of straw. But then the the the the am the
wolf could blow the sticks the sticks and the straws down but then he thought up
of an idea that he wanted to that he that he put them on his plate and eat
them up.
P – He he ah he blew am the straw house down and ah ah stick. And the guy the
pig who built the am house with brick – he kept on, he was knocking on the
door and he and am the pig came out and he he said no more knocking on my
door and then he got tired of it and
T – He he jumped down the the ah thing to get the (chimney supplied by partner) to
get the pig and then but then then he they builded a fire but they fell into the fire
and then he went around howling with his bum bum and then and then the pigs
had their supper. (Longer and more elaborate version of the story than is evident from the
other children with clear organisation and structure apparent. However, reference is vague
and unclear at times and necessary vocabulary is not always at the ready)
Once again, the presence of ‘literate’ style language features is stronger and more
apparent in the recounts of the status 2 children. The stories of these children are
consistently more organised, coherent, complex, longer than those of the status 1
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children. The reference is generally clearer and more explicit and there is greater
expansion of reference in evidence. The status 2 children consistently relish these tasks,
displaying a confidence and ease with the form of the challenge, whereas children from
status 1 schools can often feel overwhelmed by the request and begin by feeling unable
to complete the task. Status 1 children frequently responded to this task by saying, for
example, ‘I can’t make a story’; ‘I don’t know that one.’ Sometimes the child would sit
back and let the partner complete the task and would need encouragement to become
engaged. One child demonstrated a total unfamiliarity with the technique of storytelling
and needed a lot of support. These children also generally needed more prompting and
intervention to sustain the storytelling process right through to the end, which was
manifestly not the case with the status 2 children.
Senior Infants
Imaginative Language Samples
Telephone Conversation
The world of the imagination as exemplified through children’s play is one where
appropriate use of language is of paramount importance, in that it is a world which
is mediated predominantly through language (Machado, 2003). In the imaginative
world things are rarely as they appear and need to be articulated clearly through
language so that the creator of that world can successfully embrace others in
his/her play. This need for clarity, organisation, coherence and explicitness means
that the language of the imagination used in play is similar to more formal, literate
uses of language required of children in school (Galda and Pellegrini, 1985).
Effective communication in the world of the imagination is dependent on choice of
words as well as skill in communicating effectively (Kempe, 2001). Setting up a
make-believe situation through drama, where children can interact naturally and
express themselves both intellectually and emotionally is a strategy that will not
only enable children to use language meaningfully and purposefully but also will
enhance children’s facility with language such that their ability to communicate
effectively in a range of situations is developed (Dyson, 1990).
The use of drama as a strategy to enhance and develop ‘literate’ language skills is
becoming increasingly recognised – ‘Drama is becoming a vital tool in the literate
classroom’ (Clipson-Boyles, 2005, p.180) since ‘drama is an ideal means of
providing experiences that contribute towards meaningful models of language
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development and learning … and to empower children as decision makers and
users of language and literacy’ (Clipson-Boyles, 2005, p.178).
To elicit samples of children’s imaginative language use, a dramatic strategy,
dynamic duos (ibid., p.181) was used. Children were asked in pairs to have a
make-believe telephone conversation – the scenario was briefly described to the
children and roles were assigned and then the children improvised a telephone
conversation. In the case of the children in senior infants, they were asked to call
up a friend and invite the friend to a birthday party or to imagine that there was an
emergency in the house and to telephone a friend. The object of the exercise was
to ascertain the extent to which children would give details of the scenario in
question in an effort to clarify their intent to the listener and successfully establish
and sustain an imaginary situation through language.
Telephone Conversations
(Birthday Party Invitation)
AS1:1F/AS1:2F
A: Hello K
K: Hello A
A; Would you like to go to my birthday?
K: Yeah
A: Five o’clock now. It will be on now at seven
K: OK
A: Bye
K: Bye
(Good knowledge of the conventions of talking on the telephone. Greeted each other
appropriately and identified who they were talking to. Question asked clearly and appropriately
using the interrogative mood correctly. Details proffered in relation to the time of the party and
related to current time for clarity. Each child responded well to the other, picking up accurately on
the contingency pairs offered)
AS1:4F/AS1:3M
E: A, I'm having my birthday party today. Will you come?
A: OK
E: Bye
(Not great at imaginative creative tasks. Very little elaboration and lots of scaffolding needed.
These children did not engage in the formalities of talking on the phone to the same extent as
other children – no initial greeting, and only one child said goodbye. No clarification details
provided in relation to the party)
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BS1:2M/BS1:1M
M: ring, ring
G: Hello
M: Hello. It's me, M. It's my birthday today
G: Yeah
M: And will you give me some balloons
G: Ok
M: and then give me some cake
G: Yeah
M: and then give me some presents
G: Yeah
M; That's all
(Reasonably good knowledge of convention of talking on telephone. M didn’t actually invite G to a
party but did talk about the features of a party and asked if G would give them to him. No parting
good bye from either boy).
BS1:3M./BS1:4M
D: Hello
A: Hello D, do you want to come to my birthday party?
D: OK
A: K. Bye
D: Bye
(Followed brief to the letter with no expansion of reference at all. Were able to initiate and close
conversation on the phone appropriately)
CS1:2M/CS1:1F
E: Hello
G: Hello
E: Are you coming to my birthday party?
G: You didn't invite me
E: Yes I did. I gave you a birthday card
G: Yeah. But I lost it
(This conversation opens appropriately but is closed down by remark in relation to not being
invited instead of more appropriate response of acceptance followed by a request for more
details)
DS2:4F/DS2:3F
J: Hello
R: Hello
J: Who is it?
R: R
R: Do you want to come … I called because Do you want to come to my party?
J: Yes please
R: Please wear fancy clothes, very fancy clothes, OK?
J: OK
R: Not too fancy but a bit am from whatever you like around the house
J: OK
R: Goodbye. It's at three o'clock
J: Bye
(Clear knowledge of telephone conventions. Request for clarification when identity not given –
this child was able to suspend disbelief and pretend that she didn’t know who was calling and ask
the necessary question for clarity; aware of the conventions even though she doesn’t require this
information in reality. Some elaboration in relation to appropriate dress code for the party followed
by advice on what to do. Detail of time also given)
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Telephone Conversations
(Emergency in the House)
AS1:3M/As1:4F
A: E, there's an emergency in my house
E: Ok. Bye
(Tell her about it)
A: It's … my house is on fire
(Poor response with little elaboration)
BS1:1M/BS1:2M
G: M, I ... there's an emergency in my house. ‘Tis on fire
M: Oh (sounds really shocked) I'll come right away. Bye (in a very cheery tone!!)
G: Bye
(No questions asked or details given to clarify the situation.Tone much too cheery when ringing
off!!)
BS1:3M/BS1:4M
A: Hello
D: Hello. There's an emergency in my house
A: OK I'll be down there
D: Bye
A: Bye
(Very little elaboration here)
DS2:3F/DS2:4F
R: Yes, what is it?
J: There's an emergency at my house
R: What is the emergency?
J: Am,
(is it a fire)
J: Am There's a fire and ... and …it's ... in the garden and someone is in the garden and
they didn't see it
R: Are they OK
J: I don't think so
R: Why don't you come to my house until the fire goes away. It might be safer.
J: OK
(Lots of important details about the emergency emerge here both in terms of information given
and questions asked for clarification. Consequently, the drama lasts longer and develops more
using more explicit language and resolving the difficult situation)
Very clear differences are evident in these conversations between status 1 and status 2
children, the status 2 children being more able to establish and sustain the make-believe
situation effectively through language. These children ask appropriate questions of each
other, ask questions to which they clearly know the answer but in the world of
imagination need to be asked and answered for the sake of the play, are able to develop
the situation giving important relevant details and to follow on from one another in a way
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that keeps the play going and does not shut it down (e.g. ‘there’s a fire and … and … it’s
… in the garden and someone is in the garden and they didn’t see it; are they OK? Vs.
‘are you coming to my birthday party; You didn't invite me; Yes I did. I gave you a
birthday card; yeah, but I lost it). In this second example the responses shut down the
play and make it difficult to sustain and develop the make-believe situation.
Another interesting difference emerging from these samples is in relation to gender.
Many of the girls show a greater facility with language than boys when engaged in an
imaginary telephone call scenario in both status 1 and 2 contexts. Girls use language
more effectively to establish information, ask relevant questions, develop points and in
general communicate more successfully than the boys in a similar situation. It is
important to acknowledge that interactions on the phone may be culturally relative. The
function, tenor, and register of a phone call can differ for children as a function of their
cultural experience. This may account in part for the stark differences in response of the
children to this task.
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Elicited Production Tasks
Third Class Children
Factual Language Samples
Odd-One-Out
As was the case with children in Senior Infants, these children were shown some series
of pictures where one picture was different in some way from the others. The children
were asked to say which one was different and to explain why it was different. It was
emphasised that pointing was not allowed and the children were encouraged to use
language to complete the task. Below are the children’s responses to this task. As
before, sections in bold highlight where the children used lexically explicit and
appropriate language, typical of the kinds of descriptions expected in a school context.
Items in bold italics draw attention to particularly good vocabulary choice or complex
syntax being used for clarity by the children. Sections underlined point to where there is
a level of vagueness, lack of clarity or inappropriate use of language evident in the
children’s contributions. Responses are grouped by item and listed for children by school
from school A to school D. (See Appendix G for pictures.)
1. Christmas Tree/Truck/Bauble/Santa’s Hat
1. The last one ... (pause) because on the second one there's a dot, there's two
dots on em but on that one there's only one
2. The last one has am only four and the rest of em have 5
3. The one with the four (and why is it different) cos all them has five and
he has four
4. Some of em are small and some are big
5. That one the last one because it has it has only am it only has four balls in it and
the other one has five
6. The last one is different because that only has one dot in the middle and
the others have two dots in the middle
7. Probably the third one because it doesn' ... it only has one
Christmas decoration on the third row
Two of the children failed to identify specifically which picture was being referred to in
their response. One child began with a vague reference (that one) but immediately
clarified which one was being referred to. Each of the first five responses (all from status
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1 children) have quite a number of vague elements making it difficult to interpret without
reference to the picture and even then at times it is still not clear what the children may
be referring to (‘the one with the four, cos all of them has five and he has four’). The item
in question on the Christmas tree is a bauble, variously named by the children as a dot,
a ball, a Christmas decoration, or not named at all as is the case in three of the
responses. Responses 6 and 7 (from a status 2 school) are considerably clearer than
the others, the specific picture is identified and clearly named, the reason for the
difference is given without additional prompting, demonstrating that the children
understand the task and are familiar with this type of request to display knowledge
explicitly and formally, the item is named (dot and Christmas decoration), and elaborated
language is used to describe the differences (one dot in the middle, the others have two
dots; it only has one Christmas decoration on the third row). Similar results are apparent
from the other items in this task as presented below.
1. The second one because there's no bag with strings comin out of em
2. (Began by pointing – no don't do that, tell me). Middle one. (why?)
Because that's not a box, a square, like the top bits, and there's points
sticking out
3. They have loads of things in the back end of that one. They have more
than the last fella.
4. One of the trucks has a big bag in the back (can you tell me which one) the
middle one
5. The middle one because there's am a big bag on the back of it
6. It's the middle one because the middle one has this ball thing sticking out of the
top
7. The middle one because it has a round sack in the middle and the rest of
them only have square packages in them
8. The middle one because it has an extra box and extra bag
1. The second one because it had a black line on the thing underneath
the dot
2. That has two lines and that has white things
3. The second one has two black lines and the other one has white lines
4. The second (why is it different) because I think there's spots on the top of it
(correct one but wrong explanation)
5. It's the … it's the second one cos the two stripes are black
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6. The one just after the first one because it has a black line instead of a white
line
7. The pattern is different – the second one has two black lines
instead of a black line and a white line
1. The second one because it has a fluffy ball on his hat and the other ones
don't
2. That one, the middle one (and why is it different) because there's stuff comin out
of it
3. (Which Santa is different – no… tell me which one) he has a spike on the back of
his suit
4. The middle one has all spikey things going up on the end of his hat
(where) the roundy thing on the end of his hat
5. The middle one because of the lines
6. The middle one (and why is the middle one different) he has fluff on his bell
7. The middle one cos am the ball thingy off his hat is furry and the rest of
them is just round
8. The second one because it has things sticking out of the bottom
2. Snowmen/Parcels
1. The third one cause he's looking that way instead of that way
2. The snowman's head one's that way and the rest of em are that way
3. That one there, the third one cos his nose is that way and the other ones are that
way (moving head to show different directions)
4. They're all looking that way and he's looking that way
5. The middle one,(there are four) The second (referring to the second last
but omits the word ‘last’ – and why is he different) because he's the one
that's pointing that way
6. The second last one because his head is turned the other way to the different
ones
7. The second last one because his head is turned to the left and all
the other heads are turned to the right (other way round!!)
8. The second last one because it's turned the wrong way
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1. The second one (needed to be prompted to explain why) because the other
ones have long ribbons but that one don't
2. That one there, the last one because it's fatter than the rest – the second one
(because?) because the bow is shorter
3. That ribbon is cut (which one is it) the, the second last (correct reference is the
second) no that one there
4. All the things are the same point except the second one
5. The second one cos it has one short and one
6. The second one after the first because the ribbon, the part of the ribbon at
the left is shorter
7. The second one because all the others are even bows, the shapes at the
end, and the second one is uneven
4. Churches/Policemen/Arrows
1. The third one because it has a flag instead of a cross
2. It's the third one (and the reason?) because that's a flag on the top of the
church which there's not allowed be
3. The third one cos that has a thing like that (using the hand to show
direction of flag)
4. The flag and all the rest of em are a cross
5. The third one because it's a flag
6. It's the second last one because it has a flag on the top instead of a cross
7. The second last one because it has a flag instead of a cross
8. The second last one because it is a flag instead of a cross
1. I think there's something on his hat, yeah, the first one. (and what's the
difference). He has a diamond on his hat instead of a circle. (very
elaborate response given when prompted for it but not forthcoming without
prompting)
2. That ... the first one. There's a diamond on the top
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3. He has a diamond hat and he has a circle one
4. They have circles on the head and the first one has a diamond
5. It's the first one (pause) the diamond on the top of his hat and all the others
are circles
6. The first one because it has a diamond instead of an oval on it
7. It's … am, the hats. It’s the first one – it's a diamond instead of a circle
1. The second one because it's pointing left instead of right
2. (Pointed to odd one out – why?) cos the rest that … one's facing left
and the others are facing right
3. That one (and why) …’cos that's going that way and the other one is
going that way
4. All the arrows are going left and the other one is going right (right idea but
opposite directions used!)
5. The second one (because?) they are all turned a different way
6. Second one because it's facing the other way
7. The second one after the first one because the arrow is pointing to the left
Children from the status 2 school (responses 6 and 7) are consistently (though not
constantly) more explicit and coherent in their responses to this task. They use a wider
range of appropriate vocabulary to explain the differences (e.g. The pattern is different –
the second one has two black lines instead of a black line and a white line; all the others
are even bows, the shapes at the end, and the second one is uneven; it has a round
sack in the middle and the rest of them only have square packages in them). Their
explanation of the differences is made typically with reference to the other items in the
task (e.g. The middle one because it has an extra box and extra bag; because it has a
black line instead of a white line; because his head is turned to the left and all the other
heads are turned to the right; because the arrow is pointing to the left). They complete
the task without much intervention or prompting. They don’t hesitate as much as other
children, finding the words and structuring them effectively with ease.
Children from status 1 schools tend to be more vague and ambiguous in their
reference than those in the status 2 school (e.g. that one, that one there,
they’re all, the other one, all the rest of ‘em). These terms are used much less
frequently by status 2 children. Naming items is sometimes a problem also for
status one children (e.g. ‘loads of things, this ball thing, on the thing, there’s
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stuff, spiky things, roundy thing, the different ones, one short and one, a thing
like that’). The status 1 children are less likely to expand their references by
using adjectives or other embellishing vocabulary in their descriptions (e.g.
where status 2 children say ‘round sack’ and ‘extra bag’, the status 1 children
either don’t identify it at all or call it a ‘bag’, or a ‘big bag’; where a status 2 child
says that ‘all the others are even bows, the shapes at the end, and the second
one is uneven’ status 1 children say things like ‘it's fatter than the rest’ or ‘the
bow is shorter’, and ‘all the things are the same point’). More complex syntactic
structures are in evidence in the responses of status 2 children with greater
frequency than in the case of status 1 children (e.g. ‘it has a diamond instead of
an oval’ where a status 1 child says ‘he has a diamond hat and he has a circle
one’; or status 2: ‘because the arrow is pointing to the left’ and status 1: ‘the
other one is going right’ or ’cos that's going that way and the other one is going
that way’). There are unquestionably examples from status 1 children where
more complex syntax and more elaborate vocabulary are in evidence (e.g. ‘the
two stripes are black’; ‘a fluffy ball’; ‘long ribbons’; ‘the bow is shorter’; ‘a
diamond hat’; ‘diamond on the top of his hat’) clearly signifying that this form of
language use is available to them, but these examples are considerably less
frequent than is the case for the status 2 children.
In eliciting these language samples from the children it was evident that the
status 1 children experienced considerably more frustration at not being
allowed to point and often attempted to use chins and foreheads and elbows to
indicate which was the odd one out. They also demonstrated difficulty retrieving
the best vocabulary to express themselves. It was necessary to remind the
children constantly about using language only in response to this task. This
was not the case with the status 2 children.
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Third Class
Factual Language Samples
Where are my Glasses?
(Prepositions)
For this task, a divider was placed between each pair of children. They both received the
same picture of a living room (See Appendix H). Each picture was missing a different set
of items. Items missing from one picture were visible in the other picture and vice versa.
The missing items were drawn at the bottom of each picture. Each child in turn had to
ask his/her partner to indicate the location of the missing items.
Children’s responses are presented below. This task was designed to elicit a range of
prepositions from the children as they identified the location of the missing items in the
room. Children’s facility with language use to accurately and explicitly describe where
each item was located such that it could be readily identified and not confused with the
location of other items was the focus of the analysis. Responses are from each pair of
children, listed by item and presented by school.
School A
A31:1F/A31:2F
cup – on the ground near the table
glasses – (confused with drinking glass) on the ground near the table
purse – handbag (corrected by partner to purse) on the chair next to the table
pipe – on the coffee table near the couch
knitting – (had to be told what it is) next to the handbag on the chair
radio – on the coffee table
basket – on the floor next to the chair
cushion – (called it a pillow) on the couch
slippers – on the floor next to the table
newspaper – on the floor near the bin, near the sofa
teapot – down near the fire
umbrella – on, next to the couch
Three different prepositional terms are used throughout this task. Three of the responses
gave only one descriptor, eight gave two descriptors, one gave three descriptors. The
only embellishment evident is where the table is referred to as a coffee table.
A31:3F/A31:4F
Cup – on the telly
Glasses – on the table beside the lamp
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Purse – (bag) on my am chair
Pipe – (pipe needed to be explained to partner) oh there am it's on the table
Knitting – on the couch
Radio – on the table
Basket – on the ground
Cushion – (pillow) on the couch
Slippers – (called slippers shoes) on, in front of the couch
Newspaper – (called it paper) am in front of the one-seater couch
Teapot – (called teapot kettle) by the fireplace
Umbrella – beside the ball
Four different prepositional terms are used here. Eleven of the responses give just one
descriptor to locate the items. One gives two descriptors. The descriptor for two items is
‘on the couch’ and ‘on the table’ is used for another two. The only embellishment evident
is where the couch is referred to as a one-seater couch.
B31:1:M/B31:2M
comb – it's ... the comb? on the chair
brush – on the chair (wrong)
book – the book? on the ground
pen – pen? on the table yoke (wrong – on TV)
glass – (called it a jug, mug; had to be told glass) television (no preposition used at all
here, correct answer is: in front of the coffee table)
cigarettes – (fags) on top of the fire
socks – on the chair
soccer ball – over by the books
hat – on the chair
CD – by the ... coming out of the thing
handbag – (called it a purse) (no preposition used here at all) couch
Four different prepositional terms are used here. All of the responses give just one
descriptor to locate the item. Two items are described without any prepositional term.
The descriptor ‘on the chair’ is used four times without any attempt at differentiating for
different item locations. Minimal references used and in some cases no words are
available – ‘on the table yoke’, ‘coming out of the thing’.
B31:3M/B31:4M
glasses – on top of ah ... table
cup – on the telly
basket – on the ground
pipe – on top of the table
knitting – (knitting things) on the chair
radio – on the table
teapot – down on the ground
pillow – on the chair
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slippers – on the ground
paper – on the ground
handbag – on the chair
umbrella – it's standing up by the couch
Four different prepositional terms used here. All items use only one descriptor. The
descriptor ‘on the ground’ is used for three items without differentiation. One
embellishment evident – ‘standing up by the couch’.
C31:1M/C31:2F
Glasses – on the table next to the lamp
Cup – on the television
Pipe – on the table
Purse – on the couch (handbag on the couch; purse on the armchair)
radio – on the table
pillow – on the couch
knitting – (called sewing needles) on the couch
basket – on the floor
newspaper – on the floor
slippers – on the floor
umbrella – next to the couch
teapot – on the floor next to the fire
Two different prepositional terms used here. Ten of the items get one descriptor and two
get two descriptors. No items are embellished in any way. The descriptor ‘on the table’ is
used for two items, ‘on the couch’ three times, and ‘on the floor’ three times without
qualification or extension each time.
C31:3M/C31:4M
Glasses – on the table next to the lamp
cup – down on the floor near the table (this is where the glass is. Á says, that is the
glass, where is the cup) on the television
pipe – on the table beside the radio
handbag – (self-corrects: no it's a little purse) on the on the what is it again oh the
armchair (only child so far to use this term)
radio – on the table next to the lamp
knitting – on the couch
pillow – on the couch
basket – on the floor
newspaper – on the floor under the ... in front of the chair
slippers – under the ... in front of the couch
umbrella – leaning against the couch
Eight different prepositional terms used here – one of them incorrectly but the child selfcorrects and uses a more accurate preposition. Seven of the items have one descriptor
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and five of the items have two descriptors. Two of the items are described as ‘on the
couch’. No differentiating qualification details are given. The final item is described as
‘leaning against the couch’.
D32:1F/D32:2F
mug – on the top of the telly
sunglasses – (sunglasses? or the glasses) next to the couch on the locker next to the
lamp (embedded and elaborated information for clarity)
purse – on the couch or on the on the on the armchair
pipe – on the locker next to the lamp and the stereo (embedded and elaborated
information for clarity)
knitting stuff – on the couch
radio – on the locker next to the lamp
picnic basket – on the floor next to the books and the chair (embedded and elaborated
information for clarity)
pillow – on the couch
slippers – under the couch
newspaper – it's next to ... in front of the armchair
teapot - beside the fireplace
umbrella – it's leaning against the couch next to the bookshelf (embedded and
elaborated information for clarity)
Seven different prepositions are used here. Seven items use one descriptor, two items
use two descriptors and three items get three descriptors. Vocabulary use that is not
evident in other responses include: locker, stereo, bookshelf. The umbrella is described
as ‘leaning against the couch next to the bookshelf’.
D32:3M/D32:4M
comb – on the chair beside the purse
hairbrush – on the floor next to the basket and very close to a chair and a TV
(embedded and elaborated information for clarity)
book – in front of the couch
pen – (qualifies by calling it an ink pen) on top of my television
glass – near the coffee table
chalk – on top of my mantelpiece
pair of socks – on the chair close to the TV
gloves – on top of the chair very near my purse (embedded and elaborated information
for clarity)
football – it's near the bookcase
handbag – on top of my chair
record – near my chair
hat – on top of my chair
Nine different prepositional terms are used here. Eight of the items get one descriptor,
three get two descriptors and one is described with three descriptors. Explicit vocabulary
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choice evident here includes: mantelpiece, inkpen, bookcase, pair of socks. The terms
‘very close’ and ‘very near’ are used here also as discriminating qualifiers.
It is clear from the examples above that the status 2 children use a wider range of
prepositions to locate the items in this task than do the status 1 children with one
exception – the second pair of children from school C. It is noteworthy that one of the
children in this pair is very widely read and demonstrated a facility with literate style
language during many of the tasks. Status 2 children consistently describe the location
of the objects, not only with a wider range of prepositions but also with more information
and more explicit vocabulary than is evident from the descriptors of the status 1 children.
The descriptions given by status 2 children clearly differentiate between the location of
the objects in the picture and reduce any confusion on the part of the listener as a result.
This was not always the case in the responses of status 1 children who regularly used
the same descriptor without differentiation to locate different objects, thereby causing
confusion in relation to the exact location of the object.
Here again it is manifestly obvious that the status 2 children are more aware of the
expected ways of using language in the school context. Their language is more clear
and explicit, more varied, more complex; vocabulary choice is wider and more specific.
They are acutely aware of the needs of the listener and have the requisite language
skills at the ready to rise to the linguistic challenges of the task. While all of these
characteristics are apparent in the contributions of the status 1 children, they appear
more infrequently and sporadically than is the case with status 2 children.
Third Class
Factual Language Samples
What’s Wrong with the Picture?
In this task the children were shown a picture with a number of deliberate errors. Each
child in turn was asked to identify an error and explain what was wrong. As before, it was
emphasised that children should not point to the errors but identify them using language
only. Responses from some of the pairs of children are included below for analysis. The
purpose of this exercise was to ascertain the extent to which children could clearly and
explicitly explain the deliberate errors in the picture, leaving one in no doubt as to what
they were talking about.
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The instruction given to the children was to:
Look at the picture and tell me what you see in the picture that's wrong and why it is
wrong.
A31:3F/A31:4F
1. The boy is feeding an apple to a cat or a dog, I don't know which
2. There's a woman out the window in a swimming suit and it's snowing
3. It's snowing there and it's sunny there
4. There's a boy with a pig, half a pigtail and one without there and a bit of a pigtail
5. The girl has a welly on and a shoe on
6. The cat doesn't look like a dog or a cat
7. The fish is on the table for a dinner
8. There's abc on the clock, half the clock
9. There's a chair, there's a chair there and there's a thing
10. There's a curtain half open and there's a curtain not open
11. There's a lamp on the table
There is evidence of quite a lot of vagueness in the children’s response to this task (‘It's
snowing there and its sunny there’; ‘The girl has a welly on and a shoe on’; ‘The cat
doesn't look like a dog or a cat’). Almost all of their expressions are vague and assume
shared knowledge (‘There's a curtain half open and there's a curtain not open’). The
children had great difficulty not using fingers to point out errors and relying on language
alone to express.
B31:1M/B31:2M
1. The snowman holding the girl outside the window
2. The fella is feeding the cat a apple (thought this was hilarious and laughed an
awful lot)
3. The sun outside the door
4. There's a kettle over there and there's a kettle over there
5. He has a pair of soccer boots on. He has one pair of soccer boots on and he has
a pair of slippers on
6. There's a plate on top of a cup
7. The woman look, the girl, she has a shoe and she has no shoe on
8. A bit of flower onto the carrots
9. That tap is going up like that and the other tap is going up like that
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10. aba look at the numbers on the clock – different
11. That one has one like that the two of em has one like that and the other one has
a big circle one on the clock down there
12. A fish on the table
13. There's a biro, a fork. No, no, no, no that was wrong, that was wrong, ah I see
the chair has no back and the other one the other two, three of em has a back
14. There's a snowman and a girl out there
15. The curtains (what about the curtains?) One's small and one of em is knackered
…one of em is thick and one is skinny
16. The flowers (referring to the flowers growing outside the window)
17. The boy is wearing soccer boots and socks
18. He has on a short pants and a long pants
19. The woman has one, one, one one cut and the other and she has and she has
one straight
Lots of vague descriptions are given by the children in this example. These children
display poor ability to express themselves clearly. The tap description is very unclear
and contextualised. The children were very animated during this exercise – and
concentrated well. The children sometimes pointed out the error in a way that didn't
clarify the error – ‘the flowers’ but no elaboration given. At times the children found it
difficult to express the differences (‘The woman has one, one, one, one cut and she has
the other straight’ – referring to the length of the girl's hair in the picture).
D32:1F/D32:2F
1. The cat has mouse ears
2. The table has a wheel on one of its legs
3. The cat's eating an apple
4. The chair the top chair of the table doesn't have a top
5. The boy has a ponytail, a pigtail
6. Over there, in the door it's sunny but out the window it looks like it's winter
7. The little girl is playing outside in the snow with swimming togs on
8. The girl on in in the door is one one is wearing a shoe and the other one one
foot has a shoe and the other foot doesn't
9. One of the taps in the sink is facing in the opposite direction
10. The clock has letters and numbers (using superordinates – evident in some of
the status 1 children)
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11. There's a fish bowl on the table
12. One leg on the girl is shorter than the other leg
13. One leg on the boy that's feeding the cat has am one leg has a soccer boot
on and the other has a high heel on
14. The snowman's hat is upside-down
15. There's a furry chair under the sink
16. There's flowers in the winter
17. The curtains are upside-down
18. The girl has carrots with flowers on the top
19. There's curtains under the sink
20. Looks like she's floating with a piece of wood on a river
21. The chair has no top
22. The cup is upside down with a plate on it
23. The cooker has drawers on it
24. There's a teapot on the cooker
It is evident that these status 2 children are much clearer and more elaborate in their
labeling of the errors and their explanations in relation to the errors. Each error is clearly
named. They use a wider range of appropriate explicit vocabulary (e.g. opposite
direction, letters and numbers, fish bowl, floating like a piece of wood on a river,
drawers), more complex syntax (e.g. ‘one leg on the girl is shorter than the other’; ‘one
leg on the boy that’s feeding the cat…’; ‘the girl has carrots with flowers on the top’; ‘the
cup is upside-down with a plate on it’). The errors are clear to anyone even without
reference to the picture, which is not the case in the descriptions given by the status 1
children.
Third Class
Analytic Language Samples
Word Definition
Cooking/Shopping
Words for definition at Third Class level were drawn from the story Cloudy with a Chance
of Meatballs (Judi Barrett) in which the townspeople never had to cook or shop for food
because food dropped from the sky already cooked. As a consequence, the people of
Chewandswallow didn’t know what cooking is. Children were asked to tell people in
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Chewandswallow what Cooking is or to define Shopping, another concept that would
be unfamiliar to the townspeople.
Cooking
A31:2F
Cooking means like that you can make a dinner like if you have carrots and
they're not fre… if they're fresh you can put em into am a pot and you can boil
em.
A31:3F
Am, you ... I don't know how to explain. I don't know what to say. (imagine I have no idea
what cooking is – how would you help me to understand). You have to you have to you
hav… You have to make a nice dinner So (laughs). What do you want for dinner. (I'd like
spaghetti bolognese). Oh, I know how to get that. (so what's cooking). You hav… you
have to put the meat on the the you have to put the meat on the what's it called the pot
(this word is supplied for her by her partner) and then then ah then then you have to wait
you have to put it on the cooker and you have to go like that…
B31:1M
Cooking? Frying pan. (reminded again about the people of Chewandswallow when they
had to learn to cook. What did they have to learn?) with their hands – cook the food.
B31:3M
You'd be cooking food.
C31:1M
Cooking means you've to cook stuff, cook your food.
C31:4M
Am you put something in the oven you want to cook and you just you turn it on and leave
it for an hour or half an hour and then you put it on a plate and then you eat it.
D32:2F
You have food but you can't eat cos you have to stick it in the oven, put it on
put it on to the correct heat that it says on the package and leave it there for
maybe an hour or a few minutes.
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D32:3M
Mainly involves turning a switch to put on what temperature you want and
cooking raw meat and pots and pans.
Most of the children once again gave a functional description of cooking in their
definitions. The definitions consisted predominantly of describing what one does when
one cooks. This varied in detail and specificity, status 2 children generally giving clearer
and more elaborate details in relation to the process of cooking. One status 2 child
began appropriately by saying that cooking is ‘where you have food but you can’t eat …’
The other status 2 child who completed this task made reference to raw food in his
definition (‘cooking raw meat’) but this came in the middle of the definition rather than at
the beginning. Thus broadly these definitions conformed to findings in the literature that
some children include a superordinate term followed by a restrictive complement. The
final two definitions are reasonably elaborate in terms of their expression. Some
definitions from status 1 children were vague and general, and all definitions from these
children are descriptive. All children appear to have struggled with this task.
Shopping
A31:1F
Where you have to go into a market and you have to look around for what food you
want.
A31:4F
You just go to shops well you'd have to show them where the shops are first
(tell them what shops are) and you go in and there's loads of food. If you want
to go into a vegetable shop you can go into the vegetable shop and buy
whatever you want. If you prefer to go into a supermarket you can go into a
supermarket and buy stuff.
B31:2M
Lifestyle Sports out by …(named a nearby shopping centre).
B31:4M
Getting messages … getting food
C31:2F
Am shopping is when you go shopping and you buy stuff. You can buy
clothes or you can buy jewellery or you can buy food.
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C31:3M
Well you go into this big giant shopping store and you've all this kind of food and
bread, bread and all this cereal and you you buy stuff that you want and you have to get
money to buy it or else you can't buy anything.
D32:1F
You have to go to the supermarket. (and tell them what shopping is) Buying food off
the shelves and am bringing it home and cooking it.
D32:4M
Am shopping would be am picking … choosing the food of your variety that you'd
like and am they probably wouldn't understand but after a few years they'd probably
understand shopping and paying for food and understanding how to see the labels and if
they're in date.
Almost all of the children when defining ‘shopping’ began with the concept of going
somewhere to get something, which is a good way to begin. However, in all cases but
one the children included references that required an understanding of shopping to
begin with (go into a market, go to shops, get messages, go shopping, go into this big,
giant shopping store, go to a supermarket). One status 2 child understood this and
began the definition with the superordinate, setting the context – ‘shopping would be
picking, choosing the food’. What followed in some instances was a functional
description of shopping (you have to look around for what food you want; you go in and
there’s loads of food; you’ve all this kind of food and bread). Others defined the concept
more generically, distancing themselves appropriately from a purely functional way of
describing the task (buying food off the shelves and taking it home and cooking it; you
buy stuff … you can buy clothes or you can buy jewellery or you can buy food; you buy
stuff that you want; buy whatever you want). Status 2 children were more clear and
explicit in their definitions, including reference to the fact that food is on shelves, that
shopping involves paying for food and understanding labelling of food and ‘use by’ dates
for food. One status 1 child included appropriate reference to the need for money – ‘you
have to get money to buy it or else you can't buy anything’.
It is clear from this that unlike the children at Senior Infant level, there is very little
difference between children in terms of their ability to define common concepts. All
children were familiar with the concept of shopping and all included important references
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in their definitions. However, some children in status 1 schools and some in status 2
schools gave clearer, more elaborate and more explicit definitions of the concept than
other children. Some status 1 children gave short, unexpanded and vague responses to
this task. The lack of difference here may be a function of the words being defined.
Unlike the words for definition in Senior Infants, these were action words and perhaps all
of the children found it difficult to define the action without reference to a functional
description which pervades the definitions given by the children here.
Third Class
Narrative Language Samples
Picture Stories
For this task, the children were shown a series of pictures telling a story and were asked
to recount the story as presented in the pictures. Having recounted the story the children
were asked to give their story a title. Below are some of the children’s responses to this
challenge. (See Appendix I for pictures – Cat and Dog story.)
Cat up a Tree Story
B31:4M
1. The dog was running after the cat
2. and the cat climbed up a tree and the boy went in to get a ladder
3. and the boy climbed up the ladder to get the cat
4. and the cat drank the milk.
Story Title: The Boy who Saved the Cat
(Note: characters are introduced using definite articles as if they were already known to
us. When ‘tree’ is introduced it is correctly referred to using an indefinite article since the
specific tree is not yet known to us; when ‘ladder’ is first introduced an indefinite article is
again correctly used and the definite article is then used when referring to the ladder
later on in the story. While this story has all the requisite stages of a narrative and shows
evidence of some awareness of introducing unfamiliar objects in a story by using the
indefinite article, the recount is short and unelaborated. No expansion of noun phrase is
evident and there is no evidence of complex syntax, apart from the excellent title given
to the story which uses an integrated structure in the form of a relative clause, and
summarises the focus of the story succinctly)
C31:4M
1. There's a dog chasing the cat
2. and the dog chased the cat up the tree and the boy seen the cat and the boy
went to the shed and got the ladder and ah put it up against the tree and climbed
up the ladder
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3. and got the cat down, brang the cat down
4. and give the cat some milk.
Story Title: The Cat and the Dog
(Note: In this correctly constructed narrative the first character is introduced using an
indefinite article, appropriately recognising the need to introduce the character before
making reference using a definite article. However, this is not sustained with the
introduction of the other characters who are referred to as if the listener already knew
them. Some elaboration is evident in this story – ‘put it up against the tree’ but very little
and there is no expansion of noun phrases or complex syntax used. The title is
unimaginative and reveals very little of the focus of the story)
C31:3M
1. The dog was chasing the cat am around the garden
2. and the dog was chasing him and the cat climbed up the tree and the dog
couldn't get him because dogs can't climb trees. And then the boy came over
to the tree and the boy saw the cat in the tree and that he couldn't get down
and then the boy ran to the shed and he looked and he got the ladder and he
walked and he got the ladder and he walked over to the cat and he climbed up
the ladder and then ah
3. and then he saved the cat from the tree
4. and am then he and then he then he gave the cat am milk in a bowl.
Story Title: The Cat got Stuck in the Tree
(Note: Not only is this a well-constructed narrative but it uses clear, explicit and
appropriate vocabulary and complex syntax to communicate effectively with the listener.
This story shows evidence of having encountered and produced many narratives before.
Use of indefinite articles to introduce characters is not yet evident in this recount. There
is evidence, however, of appropriate anaphoric reference – in stage two the cat is first
referred to as ‘him’ having already been introduced in stage one, and subsequently is
renamed as ‘the cat’ to avoid confusion for the listener, demonstrating a keen awareness
of the needs of the listener by this child. This is a child who reads widely)
D32:3M
1. There's a dog chasing a cat.
2. The cat is very smart so it runs up a tree. A boy comes along and sees it. He
runs into a shed, gets a ladder, puts it up against the tree, climbs up,
3. gets the cat, climbs down
4. and treats it to some milk.
Story Title: A Day in the Life/The Cat and the Dog
(Note: This correctly constructed narrative appropriately introduces all characters using
indefinite articles and subsequently refers to characters, now familiar, with the definite
article. There is evidence of coherence in the form of anaphoric reference, e.g. ‘a
cat’…’the cat’; ‘a boy’…’He’; ‘gets the cat … treats it …’. Explicit and appropriate
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vocabulary is used throughout – chasing, very smart, against the tree, treats, some milk.
Complex syntax is evident – ‘the cat is very smart so it runs up a tree’)
It is evident from this set of narratives that all the children are capable of producing
correctly constructed narratives, although the presence of the pictures as a scaffold may
have supported this. Their efforts to construct a narrative in an unsupported context are
not always as well structured, as will be seen in the next section. There is quite a
difference among the children, however, in terms of their effectiveness in presenting the
narratives with appropriate expansion and elaboration, use of appropriate vocabulary,
complexity of syntax and coherence of structure. Story three and story four are clearly
much more effective than the first two stories. Story four is told by a child in a status 2
setting. Story three is that of a status 1 child. This child has had great exposure to the
world of literature and clearly has absorbed a capacity to use literate style language in
his narratives.
Alien Story
(See Appendix J for Alien Story Pictures.)
A31:3F/A31:4F
1. There was an alien and he was coming wherever they are and he was landing
2. and he comes out and then he comes out with boxes and they the hedgehog or
something like that (laughs) runs away and the alien is going over to them. And
then they're running up the tree and they broke the tree and then they were
hiding up in the tree. Then they were looking at the alien
3. And then they he goes like that the alien goes like that (makes a gesture) Stop.
And the robot whatever
4. And the robot goes and then he says 'Bye'.
Story Title: The Robot and the Scared Children
(Note: Good start, appropriately introducing one of the main characters and correctly
referring back to this character with pronoun ‘he’. Other characters are introduced
vaguely using pronoun ‘they’. Evidence in this narrative of difficulty retrieving appropriate
vocabulary, no expansion or elaboration, no complex syntax evident. Good, effective
story title given)
B31:3M/B31:4M
1. They they saw the ship landing and the the robot came out
2. and he said STOP and then they all scattered and they ran away cos they were
afraid of him. They all ran up the tree to hide on him and the robot walked
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across it. The tree broke and they all fell and the robot saw them and then the
robot came out with shock and they got afraid
3. He said don't be afraid I have presents for you
4. The spaceship took off.
Story Title: The Robot that brought the Present to the Mouse and Hedgehog
(Note: Poor introduction of characters, setting, context. Poor structure. Very little
evidence of coherence in this narrative. Some evidence of explicit vocabulary and
complex syntax)
C31:1M/C31:2F
1. They see the spaceship coming and then the spaceship lands and the robot
comes off
2. and then they climb up on a tree and the branch they're up on the branch and the
branch snaps. They they're up on a tree and the thing, the robot's walking and
the tree breaks and then they fall off and the robot sees em and they run away
and then the robot says stop
3. He says why are you running away and then they all give him presents
4. and then he goes away.
Story Title: The Mad Bunch
(Note: Very poor introduction of main characters, setting and context in this narrative but some
evidence of appropriate vocabulary and some effective use of indefinite article and anaphoric
reference as highlighted)
D32:1F/D32:2F
1. One time some creatures, a hedgehog, a mouse and a rabbit saw a spaceship
coming down
2. And then they saw a robot alien coming out (of the spaceship is implied). So
they got really scared and ran up a tree. While they were looking out of the
tree the am branch broke and they fell and the robot spotted them and they
were scared. But then he said not to be scared. (all other children have used
direct speech for this) So he went inside (the spaceship implied)
3. He went inside and got a few boxes, some treats for them, and they were all
happy then
4. And he flew away then in his spaceship (referring to spaceship for effect and
clarity here).
Story Title: The Nice Alien
(Note: Very clear introduction, setting the time, the main characters and events
appropriately, using general reference and assuming no familiarity on the part of the
listener. Many examples of anaphoric reference giving coherence to the structure of the
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presentation. Some examples of complex syntax, in particular the tactic of thematic
fronting (stage 2: they …’ran up a tree’. Next sentence begins by fronting the location –
‘while they were looking out of the tree’. This form of integration condenses much
information in a very short space – the creatures were up in a tree, they were looking
down, during this time something happened. Indirect speech used instead of repeating
the words of the robot – this is more complex to produce linguistically and this story is
the only one showing evidence of this. Clear and explicit vocabulary used throughout,
e.g. robot alien, really scared, spotted, he went inside, some treats, happy, flew away.
Information which can be implied from the context is implied, resulting in no redundant
language being used here)
This final story shows clear evidence of literate style in all aspects of its presentation as
indicated already. Stories from status 1 children, while following the format of narrative
style correctly, often are more inclined to describe what they see in the pictures than
actually tell the story, at times use local, colloquial language rather than literary style
language, demonstrate considerably less awareness of the needs of the listener, and
are more vague and incoherent, disorganised and lacking in clarity and explicitness.
Third Class
Narrative Language Samples
Open-Ended Stories
For this task the children were given a story title and asked to complete the story orally.
The title was The Sad Story of the Giraffe who had a Short Neck. Below are some
responses to the task. In some cases the children spontaneously opted to collaborate in
the telling of the story and in others children took on the task of completing the story
individually.
The Sad Story of the Giraffe who had a Short Neck
A31:3F/A31:4F
Right, the giraffe was born and he was teeny and he was the smallest and the most am
(argument about who will start and who will finish – getting stuck when trying to continue
the story).
There's am a little giraffe, right, a baby giraffe with a small neck and he's growing up, he
starts growing up and growing up and his mom and dad hates him
and his mam and dad wish he was going away
no his mam and dad are
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died, one of them died and he was very sad and then his dad was working every day
and he had to stay with his granny and his granny had no time because she was
washing, making dinner for him and everything
and people slagging him over he had a small neck and am he started crying one day
and then am no his mam and dad didn't die
no his mam died over being very sick
over eatin something
no his mam was sick right
yeah his mam was sick in hospital
and am then he …one day he wakes up and his little neck gets longer and longer and
then he am goes out and people look at him and he says you can't make fun of me now
and then his mam and dad come over and he goes over to his granny's and then his
granny hugs him and then he goes down to his mammy and daddy and brings the two of
‘em together and the mammy got better and they all hugged each other. The End.
(Note:The story as presented displays characteristics of being rooted in children's own
life experiences and is expressing their worldview as identified by Westby et al. (2002). It
has little evidence of narrative style throughout or evidence of literary style language
apart from the final phrase which clearly indicates that this ‘fictional’ story is at an end.
The story lacks coherence, structure, organisation, awareness of audience, explicit
vocabulary)
C31:1M
That's the story of the giraffe who had a short neck.
Ah…once upon a time there was this giraffe that was born and his mam never noticed
he had a short neck. And everybody laughed at him every day cos he had a short neck.
And then when he grew up he still had a short neck, and then ... (pause) I don't know
(what do you think happened in the end)
he got a big neck then.
(Note: This story has a good introduction, showing evidence of having experienced
literary stories in the past, but having introduced the main character, the story doesn’t
develop in the narrative style and includes no literate style language)
C31:4M
Am … well there was once a giraffe with a really short neck and he was really sad
because all the other ones mocked him because they had really big necks. And they
could reach up to higher trees and he could only reach down to you know little tiny
trees. And he was really sad. And he got and he got so sad … ah and then am and
then one day am after he woke up from sleep his neck … his neck was really long.
(Note: Clear narrative structure in evidence here as is quite good vocabulary use in
places and some evidence of complex syntax. The story could be developed much more
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though but it is clear that this child has encountered literature and has absorbed some of
its qualities such that he can produce a story that follows an organised format in a
coherent manner using some explicit vocabulary)
D32:1F
There was a giraffe who was once … he was a happy giraffe until one day he saw more
giraffes and he then he got a bit upset because he realised he was being teased by
the other giraffes because …
Then he looked in a mirror one day of his cage and he saw that he had a shorter neck
than the other giraffes.
His mother said that he was just unique but he knew that he … it was wrong to have
a short neck and he was very upset about it cause he couldn't reach the leaves on
the high trees, he couldn't play with the other giraffes, he couldn't do anything the
other giraffes could do because he had a short neck.
And one day he was playing along on his own again when he … when he …ah … when
the older boys came over to him and said why are you on your own like this
and he said because I have a shorter neck than all the other giraffes and they don't want
to play with me because I'm different
and he said why, why are you different
and he said because I have a shorter neck
and he said but there's nothing wrong with having a shorter neck and just different than
the others doesn't mean … it’s not … you don't deserve to am be excluded from the
games
and he was very nice to the giraffe who had a short neck which made the giraffe
feel less upset.
The older giraffe went away and he went to his mother and said mom can I go play with
the others and his mom said yeah but she was quite unsure in case he came home
upset again
So he went over and played with the others. When they started teasing him he said I
should be … you shouldn't be teasing me
I could easily tease ye for having long necks but I won’t because it's wrong so why are
ye doing it to me
And then they started to realise that it was (emphatic was) wrong
and he started to get a little bit happier because he had taught a lesson to the
others to not be mean to him
and then for the rest of his life as he grew older he got a longer neck. (Slowed down for
dramatic effect to indicate that this was the end of the story)
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(Note: Lots of evidence here of narrative structure and literate style language, in a very
lengthy story – given that this is done orally and completely off the top of the head,
coherence, organisation, awareness of audience, ability to readily retrieve a wide range
of appropriate vocabulary, switching from direct to indirect speech seamlessly and without
effort, use of a variety of techniques including pace and emphasis to add to the
effectiveness of the storytelling)
It is clear from the children’s stories presented above that all children have knowledge of
the storytelling genre but some children are more familiar and comfortable with it than
others. The child in school C who has had a lot of exposure to literature and the status 2
child from school D present stories that are more organised and developed than the
other stories and the story of the status 2 child is much more elaborate and detailed in its
presentation than any of the other stories. The characters are well drawn and the scene
is set. The status 2 children demonstrated a facility with this task that was not evident in
the case of the other children.
Status 2 children were comfortable and relaxed and thrilled with this challenge, eager to
undertake the task and at times arguing over who should tell the first story!! When they
began the stories they continued uninterrupted with very few hesitations until they
reached the conclusion of the story. All of their stories were organised in a clear
narrative style. No intervention was needed. As with Senior Infant children, status 1
children found all creative and open-ended tasks more daunting, protesting that they
couldn’t do it, or that they didn’t know that story, and many needed some cajoling to
continue the task. When asked at the beginning of this task what they were like at telling
stories, one status 1 child sighed wearily and said, ’Bad!’
Third Class
Imaginative Language Samples
Telephone Calls
The children were asked to make imaginary telephone calls as in the case of Senior
Infant children. One telephone call involved calling a friend in an emergency and the
other was calling a friend to invite him/her to a birthday party.
1. B31:4M calling B31:3M
There's an emergency in my house.
Wait there so and I'll call ... is it a fire?
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Yeah.
Wait there so and don't panic and I'll call the fire brigade.
(Note: no greetings, farewells or introductions from either of the children. The nature of
the emergency was not given by the caller until the listener asked the question and then
the response just confirmed what the listener asked. The needs of the caller in relation to
the emergency were not articulated. However, the appropriate question was asked in
relation to the emergency and a good, elaborate response was given helping to sustain
the make-believe situation)
2. C31:1M calling C31:2F
Hello.
There's an emergency at my house.
What's the emergency?
There's a fire.
Will I come over?
Yeah.
Right, Ill see you.
Bye.
Bye.
(Note: this is a much clearer conversation. There is a greeting to begin and farewells to
conclude the exchange. The listener immediately asked the pertinent question in relation
to the emergency, to ascertain the problem. The listener then asked how the caller could
be helped. The success of this call rests with the listener who used language
appropriately to establish the imaginative context successfully. However, very little
elaboration is evident and the make-believe scenario is shut down pretty quickly)
3. D32:4M calling D32:3M
Hello.
Hello.
There's an emergency at my house.
I'll be back over in a minute. I'm just putting on my shoes.
Hurry, it's burning.
(Note: Even though these status 2 children began the call with a greeting, the
imaginative scenario is not well established or developed during the brief conversation
and irrelevant information is introduced into the conversation which doesn’t take it
anywhere)
4. B31:3M calling B31:4M
Hello.
J… do you want to get invited to my birthday party and go out today … about two?
Yeah, I'll be over in about ten minutes.
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(Note: some information needed to establish the imaginative scenario is proffered by the
caller without needing to be asked. However, the listener fails to move the conversation
beyond this point and shuts down the role-play)
5. C31:2F calling C31:1M
Hello.
Hello. I rang to say will you come to my birthday party?
OK.
It’s … it’s on at two o'clock to six at M…. We are going to … (named a fun play place)
and we're going to the cinema and we're going to MacDonalds after
OK. I'll be there.
6. D32:3M calling D32:4M
C… do you mind coming to my birthday party, please? I've no other guests. You're the
only one that's as desperate as I am to go to a party. Will you please come?
OK.
Thanks.
The most successful telephone calls in terms of clarity of format and purpose and use of
clear, direct language in the course of this task are those involving a girl who manifestly
demonstrates her ability to accurately build an imaginative scene by asking the right
questions and giving the appropriate information (calls 2 and 5). Telephone calls made
by status 2 children are no more elaborate or clear in their establishment and
development of the imaginative context than calls made by other status 1 children.
Very clear and significant differences in terms of use of literate style language are
evident at Third Class level between status 1 and status 2 children in relation to factual
language use and narrative style of language. Again and again status 2 children produce
language where ideas are presented clearly, using a wide range of vocabulary,
elaborating and expanding on information given, and using complex syntactical
structures appropriately. They approach tasks with great enthusiasm and confidence
and display this confidence in strong forms of expression, with few hesitations and
needing minimal intervention or support. Their presentations are organised and
coherent, following formal structures so that their communication is clear to the listener.
This is true far more frequently in the case of status 2 children than for status 1 children.
The language of the status 1 children is frequently more vague, disorganised, incoherent
and unelaborated and consequently more difficult to follow. They repeatedly indicate a
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lack of confidence and a reluctance to engage with the tasks set, feeling that they will
not be able to complete them. Interestingly, however, at this level, responses to the word
definition task show only minor differences between the two groups of children. Even
though the definitions of the status 2 children include reference to superordinate
concepts, the status 2 children give definitions that are predominantly functional
descriptions of the words as do the status 1 children, but give more detail and
elaboration in their responses than typically found in the responses of the status 1
children. In the case of imaginative language use, the difference manifested between the
children is in terms of gender at this level, the response of the girl to this task shows
evidence of language being used to establish, develop and sustain the make-believe
context considerably more effectively than is the case of the boys either in a status 1 or
status 2 setting.
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Elicited Production Tasks
Factual Language Samples
Sixth Class
Draw-a-Cat Instructions
One of the tasks designed to elicit factual language samples from Sixth Class
children was the ‘Draw-a-Cat’ task. For this, a divider was placed between each
pair of children. One child was given a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and was
asked to follow the directions given by the other child. The second child was given
a series of pictures illustrating how to draw a cat’s head. This child was asked to
instruct the other child to draw the picture, following the sequence in the diagram.
The focus of the task was on the children’s facility with language to give directions
clearly and unambiguously, taking the perspective of the listener into account.
Children were asked not to mention what the final picture was. Below is the
response of some of the children giving the instructions.
‘Draw-a-Cat’ Task
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B61:3M
Circle face.
Pointy ears. Ah (needs to be reminded here to give partner time to do the drawing)
a kind of neck, roundy neck (what, a roundy neck? partner asks). (needs to be reminded
to give time again here – very poor awareness of other)
A square down between his eyes. (a square? down his eyes? or down between)
You've to tachk black on to the end of it.
pointy end.
am two eyes.
draw a line down, line down and then draw two things and they come out. (line down
where?)
A line down, the top of the nose down.
And draw squiggly things in between his mouth
and then you draw whiskers.
Presenting Ideas:
Clear lack of explicit vocabulary used here – kind of neck, roundy neck, square down
between his eyes, tach black on to the end, top of the nose down, squiggly things. No
new understandings constructed, no relationships of time, consequence, comparison.
Addition is included – then draw … and … No evidence of integrated, embedded
relationships.
Taking a Stance:
This child shows evidence of a distanced and non-interacting relationship with the
listener only in so far as he seems oblivious to the existence, let alone the needs, of his
partner who unsuccessfully seeks clarification more than once throughout the exercise.
While an imperative mood needs to be adopted, the mood is predominantly declarative,
describing, staccato style, what he sees resulting in a modality that expresses
uncertainty and lack of confidence, displayed through clipped expression, haste of
description, lack of concern for partner. Imperative mood is only in evidence some of the
time – ‘draw a line down’ – and only emerges halfway through the task.
Structuring Text:
There is no evidence of dense presentation of ideas and there is a distinct lack of
coherence – ‘square down between his eyes’ – what eyes, whose eyes? ‘You’ve to tach
black on to the end of it’ – of what?; ’line down’. There is very little evidence of expanded
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phrase or elaboration of ideas, using only one or two adjectives throughout the task. Lots
more elaboration, coherence and clarity needed.
A61:4F
The first one you draw am a circle and there's two ears coming out of it.
And then you have a little kind of square at the bottom of the head and then there's a
triang… not a triangle, but a rectangle coming out.
And you draw the, you draw a triangle coming out of the rectangle. Then you draw two
eyes and then you draw two lines, three lines, three lines coming, one coming out of the
nose and then two down the square out the head. (asked to repeat by the other child;
repeats and then continues)
The line, there's a line coming out of the nose and then there’s two lines at the, do you
know the square at the bottom of the head, you draw two lines to that and then you draw
some teeth inside it
and then you draw whiskers.
Presentation of Ideas:
Here again there is a lack of clear, explicit vocabulary in evidence. There is evidence of
time relationships with the opening – ‘the first one you draw’, and the repeated ‘and
then’. No integrated, embedded relationships apparent.
Taking a Stance:
No imperative statements – all declarative – ‘you draw’ and ‘you have’ and ‘there’s ...’
Incomplete statements and self-correction suggest lack of confidence and uncertainty in
modality.
Structuring Text:
More expansion evident than in previous sample – ‘at the bottom of the head’, some
teeth’, ‘little square’. Some evidence of anaphoric reference – ‘the square at the bottom
of the head, you draw two lines to that and then you draw some teeth inside it’. First
reference to rectangle is correctly introduced with an indefinite article and subsequent
reference to it is using a definite article.
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A61:2F
Do a circle with points on the top.
Do a mouth and a jaw.
It has a rectangle coming down to the middle. (a rectangle, is it?) There's a triangle
underneath the rectangle.
There's a 6 and a backward 6 on the bottom of the line.
There's a line from the triangle to the other triangle. (request for clarification)
The triangle that's coming from the rectangle.
There's a line coming from that triangle and there's another triangle.
There's squiggly lines inside the mouth.
There's eight lines on each cheek.
Presenting Ideas:
Needs more use of explicit vocabulary. No relationships of time, consequence,
comparison and addition in evidence. Has used some prepositions indicating physical
position – ‘underneath’, ‘inside’.
Taking a Stance:
No imperative statements.
Structuring Text:
Reasonable evidence of clear organisation and appropriate referencing used but very
little expansion and elaboration for clarity. Connections are not made clearly from one
set of instructions to another so that confusion quickly arises in relation to which triangle
is being referred to and which line is being referred to and where the two sixes are
located. Need more coherence and more thematic fronting for clarity.
D62:4F
Draw a circle.
And do two triangles at am coming out at either side of the top of the circle.
And now at the bottom of the circle do a little ah it's kind of like a square coming out of it.
And now in between the two triangles at the top, inside the circle do a rectangle coming
down from the top.
Am at the bottom of the rectangle do another triangle coming pointing out from it.
and colour it in with the pencil.
On either side of the rectangle below the two triangles do two circles, small circles.
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And do two smaller circles within those two circles.
Now you know the rectangle below, I mean the triangle below the rectangle, you have a
line coming down from it just a tiny one and then there’s two lines coming down
gradually on either side of the line coming down.
Now inside those two lines there are kind of squiggly things joining them together.
Like a zigzag.
And at either side of the lines you have some lines coming out with a bit of curl on them
curling up and down.
About four at either side.
Presenting Ideas:
Evidence of clear vocabulary – either side of, the top of, like a square, coming out of, in
between, inside the circle, small, smaller, colour it in, pointing out, within, just a tiny one,
coming down gradually, joining them together, bit of a curl …
New understandings constructed by expanding and clarifying instructions throughout the
exercise. Relationships of time – ‘and now’, ‘and then there’s’; comparison – ‘it’s kind of
like a square’, ‘like a zigzag’, ‘a bit of a curl’. Lots of evidence of addition ‘and colour it
in’. Integrated, embedded relationships are evident also – ‘in between the two triangles
at the top, inside the circle’, ‘on either side of the rectangle below the two triangles’,
‘smaller circles within those two circles, ‘at either side of the lines you have some lines
coming out with a bit of curl on them curling up and down’.
Taking a Stance:
Strong, confident opening using imperative mood – ‘Draw a circle’. Imperative mood
used many times throughout the presentation.
Structuring Text:
There are many examples of dense presentation of information in this text – e.g. ‘two
triangles coming out at either side of the top of the circle’, ‘on either side of the rectangle
below the two triangles do two circles, small circles’. The text is organised, clear and
coherent – appropriate use of definite and indefinite articles, anaphoric reference, clear
repetition of content words when needed and this within highly dense text with
embedded clauses. All references are clearly marked and expanded on appropriately.
This text repeatedly uses the strategy of thematic fronting for coherence and clarity –
beginning the sentence with reference to a previous sentence and moving on from there,
e.g. ‘at the bottom of the rectangle’, ‘inside those two lines’.
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D62:2M
First of all draw a circle.
Then draw two triangles coming out from the top of it.
Draw a small rectangle coming out of the bottom of it.
And draw another rectangle coming from the top on the inside of the circle.
Draw a triangle pointing downwards at the end of that.
Then draw two eyes at either side of the rectangle.
And from the triangle draw an upside down y that goes down to the bottom of the circle.
Ah, inside of the bottom of that Y, you know the kind of V part of it, am draw a squiggly
line coming across it.
And draw two straight lines coming out from the side of the circle. And then on the other
side as well.
And then on either side of those two squiggly lines, or those two straight lines draw two
curly ones.
Presentation of Ideas:
Clear and explicit – ‘upside down Y’, ‘pointing downwards’, ‘two curly ones’ ‘coming from
the top on the inside of the circle’, ‘draw two eyes at either side of the rectangle’. New
understandings clearly constructed, introduced, explained and expanded on
appropriately. Relationship of time well established – ‘first, then, and then….’;
Relative pronouns – ‘draw an upside down Y that goes down to the bottom of the circle’
Taking a Stance:
Strong, confident use of the imperative mood, with clear expression of confidence
throughout.
Structuring Text:
Lots of evidence of density of information – e.g. ‘Draw another triangle coming from the
top on the inside of the circle’.
Clear organisation and coherence with appropriately expanded reference.
Evidence of integrated, embedded relationships – ‘Draw a triangle pointing downwards
at the end of that’. Evidence here also of the thematic fronting for clarity – ‘from the
triangle …’; ‘inside the bottom of that Y …’.
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It is clear that the presentations from the children in the middle-class school much
more closely approximate ‘literate’ or ‘academic’ style language in terms of their
presentation of ideas, stance and structure. They are more explicit, choose more
appropriate vocabulary, clearly construct understanding on the part of the listener,
are strong and confident in stance and involve a dense presentation of ideas using
complex syntax, organised coherently and expanded appropriately. This is the
language style expected of children by teachers in the school context.
Analytical Language Samples
Sixth Class
Word Definitions
Hair Conditioner/Hair Stylist
The theme of the warm-up sessions with the sixth class children was broadly
based on topic of Hair. During the discussions with the children for the Elicited
Production Tasks they were asked to define the terms Hair Conditioner and
Hair Stylist. As with the younger children this task was woven casually into the
conversation so that children wouldn’t feel under pressure when completing the
task. As before, the criteria for analysis of children’s definitions followed
recommendations by Schleppegrell (2004, p.37) derived from findings of
studies by Snow (1987,1989,1990).
Definitions were judged on the basis of being formal or informal and on their
communicative adequacy. Formal definitions are those which draw on a
language use that has both lexical and grammatical expectations: expands
and elaborates a noun phrase to incorporate information, and structures the
clause in such a way that the expanded noun phrase defines the target
word. Informal definitions are those which contain mainly functional or
descriptive information (Schleppegrell, 2004, p.37). Below are children’s
responses to this task.
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Hair Conditioner: Definition
A61:2F
Conditioner is sort of … am it’s sort of …ah …ah a hair care product that helps your
hair better ‘cos conditioner is better than shampoo ... makes it softer and makes it
shinier.
A61:3F
Well conditioner is like …it's like white thing … you take it out of the bottle and it makes
the knots come out of your hair, like when I'm using conditioner I'd use half a bottle to
get out the knots.
B61:1M
Keeps your hair … am soft.
C61:1M
It's to make your hair soft.
C61:4F
It's ... you put it on after shampoo
D62:1M
You put it in after you put in shampoo – it's kind of to make it softer.
D62:3F
Well, when you wash your hair you wash it with shampoo and then afterwards you wash
it with conditioner to make it go all nice and smooth and detangled.
Only one of these definitions contains a superordinate term to begin the definition (a hair
care product). This requirement of a formal definition is evident in the definition given by
a status 1 child. An expanded noun phrase defining the target word is in evidence in
almost all of the definitions but the lexical choices made by the children vary quite a bit in
terms of communicative adequacy. Effective choices include, e.g. ‘makes it softer and
shinier’; ‘to make it go all smooth and detangled’). More ordinary choices are ‘to make it
softer’; ‘to make your hair soft’; ‘it makes the knots come out of your hair’; ‘keeps your
hair soft’. One child gives a purely functional definition of the term: ‘you put it in after
shampoo’. This definition fails to express clearly what ‘it’ is and where you put ‘it’ after
shampoo. With the exception of this definition which clearly shows an understanding of
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the term by the child but fails to present that understanding in a way expected in the
school context, all children present a definition that is at least moving towards what
might be categorised as a formal definition, but only one child fulfils all the requirements
of a formal definition and that is a status 1 child.
Hair Stylist: Definition
A61:3F
People who do hair and do it up whatever way they want and they can do twisters or
curls.
A61:4F
A hair stylist is what … you can talk to 'em whatever way you want your hair and they'll
do it for you and see what way it turns out.
B61:3M
Hair stylist? People who put their hair in different am different conditions is it?
C61:2M
You ask … if you ask him to do something like he'd be able to do it. Like … if you ask
him if you want something done like we'll say you want bits cut off here or bits there or
there.
C61:3F
Am someone who designs your hair or does your hair.
D62:2M
A person who styles your hair, like Conrad …(Names a famous stylist). A person
who comes up with something like that ... (referring to picture of hairstyle designed by
children).
D62:4F
A hair stylist styles your hair. Can keep up to date with the new fashions for hair
and can do colour, or can, just through drying, can do a different style to it
without cutting it.
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For the definition of this word, five of the children used superordinate terms to begin the
definition (people who do hair, people, someone, a person who styles your hair, a hair
stylist styles your hair). Three of these were status 1 children. Three children (one of
whom was a status 1 child) followed the superordinate in the introduction with an
expanded noun phrase which defines the target word, again with varying degrees of
communicative effectiveness. One definition with very good lexical choices and complex
grammatical structures is from a status 2 child: ‘can keep up to date with the new
fashions for hair and can do colour, or can just through drying, can do a different style to
it without cutting it’. Another definition with good lexical choices is: ‘someone who
designs your hair’.
Some of the status 1 children included superordinate terms and used expanded noun
phrases in the definitions. However, others showed evidence of neither and produced
definitions which were purely descriptive in nature: ‘they can do twisters or curls’; ‘you
can talk to ’em whatever way you want your hair and they’ll do it for you and see what
way it turns out’. And others made lexical choices that were vague and failed to
communicate adequately the definition of the target word: ‘different conditions’; you want
bits cut off here or bits there or there’.
There is a clear developmental difference apparent here in terms of children’s response
to the word definition task. Children in Senior Infants produced definitions which
indicated that they understood the terms, but the definitions of status 2 children more
closely approximated the formal definition structure. At Third Class level, very little
difference was evident between the definitions produced by status 1 and status 2
children, many of the children producing a more formal style of definition, with varying
degrees of expansion in the definition. At Sixth Class level there is more evidence than
at other levels across status 1 children of a greater facility to produce formal definitions,
the type of definition expected in the school context. Some responses from the status 1
children were superior to those produced by status 2 children in terms of formality and
lexical choice. Many of the children used superordinate terms to introduce their
definitions and many offered expanded noun phrases in defining the target words. Status
2 children generally made good lexical choices resulting in enhanced communication,
while this is true also of some status 1 children. There is evidence still, however, that
some of the status 1 children struggle to produce formal definitions and make lexical
choices that are communicatively inadequate. The difference across social class in
relation to producing formal definitions appears to be that while most of the children in
the advantaged setting can do so with relative ease and reasonably good lexical
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choices, this is true for only some of the status 1 children who increase in ability to
produce the type of definition valued in the school context as they move up through the
school.
Imaginative Language Samples
Sixth Class
Telephone Conversations
Complaint to the Hairdresser
Arising from the theme of the warm-up session and some of the introductory discussion
during the elicited production tasks, the imaginative telephone call for children at this
level took the form of a call to a hairdresser making a complaint. Below are some of the
children’s responses to this task. It is worth noting in these samples of imaginative talk
that:
‰
Status 2 children appear to be able to develop and sustain the imaginary context
through language more effectively and their role-play lasts longer and is more
elaborate than is the case for status 1 children.
‰
The language register used to make a complaint is more circumspect and more
deferential in the case of status 2 children than status 1 children (compare in
particular the responses of A61:2F/A61:1F with those of D62:3F/D62:4F). Status
1 children may be more inclined to make assertions without thought for the
implications or consequences of what they are saying.
‰
The language skills of status 2 children appear to enable them more readily to
counter arguments and accusations made, such that the role-play is enabled to
move on, as compared with other children who find it more difficult to retrieve the
requisite language readily in order to make counter arguments, and as a
consequence cannot move the role-play forward in any meaningful way.(‘You did
something wrong to my hair’ – ‘I’m sorry’; and ‘I’ll do what I want’ – ‘Right, bye’;
as compared with – ‘Well, I'm very unhappy and I would like to have my
money back and I'll be coming in in two hours … I'm afraid we don't do refunds
… well you will not get my service ever again’).
‰
Children in the status 2 school generally are more adept at using appropriate
language with complex syntactical structures to generate and sustain the
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imaginative scenario in a way that is easily comprehensible to others (e.g. ‘Hi,
am I'm one of your am customers and I was in a few hours ago and I got a wash
and blow dry and colour and actually I'm not really satisfied’ as compared with
– ‘Yeah, it's my daughter, her hair isn't done and it's her communion day’).
‰
Often in the case of the status 1 children, the complainant becomes passive as
the conversation unfolds, leaving it up to the person receiving the phone call to
lead the exchange.
‰
When the children were asked to undertake this task, all of the status 2 children
without exception were excited by the challenge, felt confident that they could
complete it and entered into the make-believe context quickly and without
scaffolding. In the case of the status 1 children there was a palpably different
response to this task. Many felt unable to rise to the challenge, most were
reluctant to engage in the task when it was put to them initially, and many
needed support, encouragement and intervention to continue.
Role-Play – Imaginative Telephone Call – Complaint to Hairdresser
A61:2F/A61:1F
E – Ring, ring
L – Hello.
E – Yeah, it's my daughter, her hair isn't done and it's her communion day.
L – What?
E – Her hair isn't done and it's her communion day and we're five minutes late for the
church.
L – She told me that she didn't want anything done.
E – Yes, but it's her communion day. You should have known better.
L – I didn't know it was her communion.
E – Well just rush over and do her hair quick before I get thrown out of this house.
L – OK, I'll be over in ten minutes.
E – OK so, you'd better hurry up … and don't charge me.
L – Don't speak to me like that.
E – I'll do what I want.
L – All right. Bye.
E – Bye.
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A61:3F/A614F
T – Hello. Hair salon down the road. Can I help you?
E – I was there a few minutes ago and you did something wrong to my hair.
T – I'm sorry. Can I just take your name there please? We are so busy today.
E – (Gives name)
T – Yeah. Go on. You were there at 12.
E – Yeah. You cut it SO short. You did it too short.
T – Oh, sorry about that. Would you like to come into the salon and I'll give you back
your money or a refund or a gift voucher. I'm so sorry about that now. But, anything we
can do for you we'll do it, I swear. I'll just … do you want to go on to the girl who cut your
hair?
E – Am no it's grand.
T – OK, so. Will you be back around one?
E – Yeah.
T – Right so. Bye.
E – Bye.
C61:1M/C61:2M
D – Hello.
I – Hello.
D – I've a serious complaint against your hairdressing even though I wouldn't call it that
because my hair is so bad after you.
I – Ah, can you tell me who did your hair?
D – You!
I – (Laughs). I did not do your hair.
D – You did.
I – am... (thinks for a second) your hair looks worse than what I made it.
D – I'm going to get my lawyers on to you and I'll make sure that I get my five euro back.
I – You do that so.
C61:3F/C614F
Ring, ring, ring, ring
Y – Hi K
K – Am … I went home and I looked in the mirror and my hair wasn't that nice. Ah, you
dyed it the wrong colour.
Y – Ah, which hairdresser did you go to?
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K – Am, you.
Y – Oh, maybe I wasn't in that day. Am … Which assistant was it?
K – Am, Mary.
Y – Am, I'll have a word with Mary the next day. Come in … ah, come in to me tomorrow
and I'll give you a refund and I'll dye the hair colour that you want and if you … next time
you come in make sure that you make an appointment with myself, not anyone else.
K – OK
D62:1M/D62:2M
RING, RING, RING, RING
D – Hello (Italian accent and broken English used throughout this activity for effect!)
T – Hello, D?
D – Yes.
T – Is that you? … yeah you own the salon that I went to today? Do you remember me?
D – Yes. You were boy with terrible hair.
T – No, no I had BETTER hair actually before I went in.
D – No, no, no, no.
T – No, yeah listen.
D – No, I'm sorry. Okay, okay, okay, you let me explain. The roots? They coming out, so
I make it better, more noticeable.
T – I'm bald!!!!
D – At least you won't be alone. You will you will make friends who are also bald.
T – Yeah.
D – If… if… I like...
T – I'm twelve, they'll be 42!!!
D – But I like it this way. It …it makes you stand out from the crowd.
T – But I'm going to have to wear a hat.
D – I like hats!!!
T – Like I want ... people will be asking why I'm wearing a hat!
D – But you can explain that your hair is nice. It was not nice when you came. I make it
nice.
T – But you didn't.
D – But I deed!! Look at this from a money-making point of view. I don't care about your
hair. All I want is your money.
T – Yeah I see that but …
T – Do you have the number of the ah
D – No
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T – wig place
D – Yes. It's 444-you're bald.
T – Thank you
D – Okey dokey.
T – Do you fit wigs for bald people?
D – No, we don't usually have bald 12-year-olds. You are a special exception because
your hair is so disgusting before.
T – But what was so disgusting about it?
D – It was a big mess not nice at all too greasy your roots were coming out.
T – Right. Goodbye.
D – Bye, bye.
D62:2F/D62:4F
Ring, ring, ring, ring
C – Hello?
F – Hi, am I'm one of your am customers and I was in a few hours ago and I got a wash
and blow dry and colour and actually I'm not really satisfied.
C – Oh, why not? (uppity tone used here – going on the defensive straight away)
F – Am well I was just brushing my hair … and I started scratching because ... and so I
started looking through my hair and I discovered lice in my hair and I did not have it
before I went so obviously it must be from your hair brush.
C – Well, you maybe have had them before you went. They are very common. Am,
someone from your work … they probably got passed on.
F – Am, well I'm nearly sure because I checked my children's hair yesterday because
we got a note home from school and I checked my own and I did not have lice before I
went.
C – well I, … thi … this is a top class (spoken slowly and with emphasis) hair styling
salon. I doubt we have lice (spoken in derisory fashion) on our brushes.
F – Well, I'm very unhappy and I would like to have my money back and I'll be coming
in in two hours.
C – I'm afraid we don't do refunds.
F – Well you will not get my service ever again.
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Imaginative Language Samples
Sixth Class
Devise a Catalogue
Hair-Care Products for a Witch!
For this task, the children, collaborating in pairs, were asked to devise a catalogue of
hair-care products suitable for a witch. The focus of this task was to investigate the
extent to which children used appropriate language (in particular, lexical choice) to
generate novel ways of expression. The originality and communicative adequacy of the
responses was examined.
A61:1F/A61:2F
Green Dye, Hair Control, Hair Jewellery, Glitter Beads, Spider Clips, Hair Webs, Turn
Hair Wavy
A61:3F/A61:4F
The Dye is Black, Red Go-Gos, Longer Hair
C61:1M/C61:2M
Spider Shampoo, Snail Gel, Creepy Crawly Conditioner, Wicked Wart, Extra Dandruff
Shampoo, Flea Protector Shampoo
C61:3F/C61:4F
A Pike, Ghoulish Shampoo, Knot-Free Conditioner, Stay Smooth all day long Gel, Small
Iron for Damaged Hair
D62:1M/D62:2M
Wart-be-Gone; Moustache Wax (‘to get rid of that stubborn stubble’), Green Dye (‘spray
your cleanliness away!’), Black Cat Hair Spray, Dye, Dye, Dye!, On my way to a
Conditioned Hair Day!, Sticky and Sweet Conditioner, Growing, Growing, Gone (growth
enhancer), Brush up, Mess up Hair Brush, Brooming Big Hair Mirror, Scare Dryer
The responses as listed above are as the children presented them, with the spellings
corrected. It is clear that in most cases the children have a facility to play with language
and to use language creatively to generate novel ways of expressing themselves. The
status 2 children, once again, however, produce language that is strong, confident, bold,
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and innovative, using a wider range of interesting vocabulary choice and organising that
vocabulary in exciting ways to enhance communicative adequacy (e.g. On my way to a
Conditioned Hair Day!; Growing, Growing, Gone!). Particularly noticeable is the
confidence of these children not just to organise language in novel ways, but to use their
knowledge of language to generate new words and phrases (e.g. Brooming Big Hair
Mirror; Scare Dryer). This type of word-play is not in evidence in the responses of the
status 1 children.
Narrative Language Samples
Sixth Class
Creative Storytelling
At Sixth Class level the narrative language samples were generated in two ways. The
first was having the children recount a story read to them during the warm-up phase –
The King with Dirty Feet (Pomme Clayton, in Tales for Telling from Around the World).
The second narrative task was creative storytelling. For this, the children were shown
pictures from a book called The Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Chris Van Allsburg) – a
book containing pictures accompanied by the title and the first line of the story going with
the picture. The children were asked to select one of the pictures and to tell the story as
they thought it might be. Some of the children opted to collaborate in the creative
storytelling while others told the story individually. Below are the responses of children to
two of the pictures in the book – Mr. Linden’s Library, and The Harp.
Mr. Linden’s Library
‘He had warned her about the book. Now it was too late.’
A61:3F/A61:4F
T – Well, I probably think like it was like a haunted book and she probably opened the
book and something came out and killed her and he warned her like not to open the
book before he went away.
(Á – so tell us the story)
Both children react negatively to this request.
E – So start the story … and then...
T – Oh god.
T – Her husband, he had warned her about the book but now it’s too late. She had
opened it. She had died … like the book was haunted wasn’t it? Someone came out of
the book and strangled her while she was reading it and all.
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(Á asks E to come in here – not showing any inclination to participate in this.)
E – And when he strangled her she was just lying … and when …when she was just
lying there and he was just stood …and but now … now it’s too late. I told you not to
open the book.
T – What was your last line again?
E – repeats last line
T – I told you not to open the book because you knew it was haunted. You knew I didn’t
want you to open it. I … I op … your mother opened it once. She’s gone. Now it’s you
gone and I’m all on my own at the moment.
(Long pause).
(Á – is that it?)
E – Yeah, that’s all we have now.
C61:4F
She might have left the book open and the leaves or something was inside. She fell
asleep and she never read anymore.
She left it there when she was sleeping and the light was on.
(Pause)
(Á – can you think of any more?)
Am …
(Long pause)
(Á – What do you think might have happened in the end?)
K – In the end someone might take the book.
D62:4F
Well, this little girl, she likes reading and she's always gone to this library and this old
man Mr. Linden owns it. And he's good friends with her. And… am he's really good
friends with her and …am she's read all the ... she said that ... One day, she said ‘Mr.
Linden, I've read all the books in … am the library, and I …I want to move up a level. I
want to read a more interesting book.’ And he said, ‘Well, I have one room full of more
enchanting kind of books.’ And she go ... she went, she went to a corner that's kind of
… he forbids most people to read the books. They are forbidden. And she says, ‘I
wouldn't ...’ She … she picked out this book cos she thought the cover was so … it was
all very kind of natural. It had all these leaves and bits of flowers and everything. He told
her not … ‘You're not allowed to read that book, Katherine.’ And she said, ‘Why?’ But he
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would not tell her. And … am but am … she said, ‘Look, I'll just take this one.’ But she
really actually took the book she was so interested in it. And when she came home she
started reading it at night. Halfway through the book she opened the middle page and all
these kind of ivy started curling out, as if it was growing. But it was so fast … like a
mile a minute. And the next thing it choked her.
It is evident again at Sixth Class level that there is a great difference in the way children
produce narratives. The narrative of the status 2 child is longer, more organised, and
more coherent than the other narratives. This story follows a typical narrative structure
more closely than the other stories where structure is minimal. The characters in this
story are more clearly drawn, as is the relationship between the characters. The
vocabulary choices made are varied and interesting (e.g. ‘enchanting kind of books’;
‘they are forbidden’; ‘ivy started curling out’). No intervention or support or
encouragement was required to complete the story, unlike the other children who
needed much exhortation to continue and to complete the story. The same comments
can be made about the second story, The Harp, presented below.
The Harp
‘So it’s true he thought, it’s really true.’
C61:3M
He …he was in bed and he woke up. And he found that his dog was missing. So he
went to the woods … am to look for his dog. And he didn’t look. And he got caught in
bushes and all and got filthy. So he went to the stream and he found … am he spotted
… am a harp and he looked over at it.
D62:4F
Am it's about this boy and when he was young his grandfather used to tell him stories
about an enchanted place where you've a magic harp. And … am, he said the father
used to tell him it was all nonsense. ‘Don't believe any of it.’ But he always thought it
was true. And when his grandfather died … am he … he … they were like … going to
the house and he kind of found some clues. And he thought, what if this place were
really true. So he starts following all the clues and … am he comes to a place behind the
bookshelf – a magic secret passage like. He goes in and there's a portal or whatever.
And he goes through it and there's a magic place with the harp and everything and all
fairies and pixies. And he meets his grandfather there again.
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Narrative Language Samples
Sixth Class
Story Retelling
The King with Dirty Feet
Considerably greater confidence is evident in the story retelling by one of the status 1
children, as can be seen from the samples below.
A61:2F
It was about a king and he wouldn't wash for a week, then it turned into a year, then a
month. And then the smell, then one day the … but then one day he got the bad smell
and he went into the water and he washed himself with the royal soap but when he
got out his feet got dirty. Went in again and he washed his feet and then when he
came back out his feet was dirty. And then, and then he went up to the castle and
then he said (I can't remember his slave's name – a – Gabu) Gabu, and he said, ‘Gabu, I
want the land rid of dust.’ And then he started sweeping the land. But the dust was going
into the air causing black clouds. Then he tried water. Then he tried filling the land with
water but then it just ended up flooding. And then … then he tried … then he covered it
up with leather, but then, then an old man with a long white beard and a stick said
how are we supposed to get food cause the land was covered in leather. And
nothing could be grown. Then the man, then the old man got some scissors. Then
the old man cut two oval shapes round the King's feet and got two laces out of his
pocket and made sort of slippers out of them.
A61:4F
The king was very fussy about his feet getting filthy after he got it washed. And … am
he said put a carpet over the whole world, well. And he's … and then a person came and
he goes, ‘My majesty, ... am you can't cover the whole world cause no crops or anything
can grow.’ And then the King, the King just put down … and he cut it with a scissors and
am the fella got am this piece of kinda leather and put it onto the King's fe.. feet. First the
king was fu ... furious about it but still after a while then he … he got used to it and
goes, ‘That was a good idea.’
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B61:3M/B612M
Am he had an awful smell in his feet. And he went into the river to wash 'em. When he
came out I think there was all dust or something. And then he asked a fella to get rid of it
or something and then he did. Am so he said if he didn't do it he would kill him.
They put leather down first and then that no plants would grow and all the animals would
die over it on the grass they have no grass. So a man came and he just made shoes or
something for him.
D62:1M
This king, he was going down to a river and he was washing, he was getting
washed. And then when he stood up on the ground dust went on his feet. So he got one
of his slaves to get rid of all the dust. So in the end they decided to cover it with
leather but then this old guy with a long beard came up and he started saying that am
there'd be no food or water or anything because the plants couldn't grow through
the leather. So he made him a pair of shoes. He cut off bits of the leather so then
the whole ground could still grow and his feet wouldn't get dusty.
While the story retelling of the first status 1 child in this sample is quite clear, wellconstructed and elaborate, those of the other two status 1 children are not. They are
vague, brief, unelaborated, and poorly constructed. The retelling of the status 2 child,
though brief, is clear, explicit and well-organised such that the gist of the story is very
clear to the reader without having reference to the actual text of the story. Again,
features of ‘literate’ language style are more clearly in evidence in the contributions of
the status 2 children.
It is evident from the oral language samples presented in this chapter that the language
patterns of status 1 children consistently display fewer features of the ‘literate’ language
style expected in the school context. In terms of presentation of ideas, taking a stance,
and structure of text, their talk is more vague, lacking in confidence, shows less
awareness of the needs of the listener, and is more disorganised and lacking in
elaboration than is the case in the talk of the status 2 children.
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Findings
Focus Group Discussions – Children
As outlined previously, focus group discussions were undertaken with the children in
Third and Sixth Classes as a means of triangulating the data in this study. The purpose
of the discussions was to get an insight into:
‰
children’s awareness of language in the school context, their
‰
perceptions of language variation in school, and their
‰
experiences of language (oral and literate) in an in-school and an out-ofschool context.
The discussions followed a semi-structured format where the children’s views and
perceptions were solicited on:
‰
Talk as a Learning Medium
‰
Talking Time in the Classroom
‰
Talking Style in School
‰
Teacher Talk
‰
Experiences of Literacy
Findings from both Third and Sixth Class children were remarkably similar and will be
presented together under the headings outlined above. Excerpts from the children’s
contributions appear in italics.
Children Focus Group Discussions: Talk as a Learning Medium
Children in all schools associated talking with illicit, covert, undercover behaviour, which
takes place without permission, and is not at all associated with learning or ‘work’ or the
business of school. Children’s responses to the question of when they talk in school, all
indicated a perception of talk as something done outside of the formal context of
schooling – before school, at break time, when the teacher leaves the classroom, when
the teacher is talking to someone who comes into the classroom, when the subject is
difficult/boring, out in the yard, at home-time, in the morning.
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One child says that they talk in every subject pretty much, naming a long list of subjects
and finishing off with ‘novel’. Another child intervenes indignantly saying No, we don't
talk through novel - we love novel!! (i.e. one only talks in school for light relief during
those subjects that are dull and boring!!!). Another child sums up the prevailing attitude
in relation to the role of talk in school saying We’re not really meant to talk in school.
Asked when you talk if the teacher is in the classroom, another child responded We
never talk.
The status 1 children appear to have a very poor understanding of talk as a legitimate
and educationally valuable exercise. Having clarified the difference between informal
chatting in the classroom and more organised legitimate talking experiences, the
children found it difficult to identify examples of times when formal, organised, legitimate
talking activities or opportunities for learning through talk presented in the context of the
classroom. These children seemed to have absolutely no concept of such activities.
When asked to identify times in the classroom when the teacher would ask them to talk
as part of the learning that is going on, children suggested If you're asking the teacher
can you go to the toilet, when you are reading aloud, when you are doing Irish, when you
are saying the answer in maths, when you are answering questions, when you are doing
phonics activities. Some children identified talking activities where one person would talk
and everyone else would listen – e.g. soapbox talk on a topic, answering questions in a
quiz. Formal talking activities with one another as an important learning strategy were
not perceived to take place. Status 2 children were clearer in relation to this, citing the
following examples of legitimate talking activities for learning in the classroom context:
when you are talking about a topic, when you are doing chatterbox activities, when you
are doing drama, when you are doing creative activities, when you ask each other
questions.
Children’s perceptions of the importance of talk were revealing also. The question was
posed as follows: Talking, and reading and writing are all very important – would you say
that one is more important than the other. A clear difference between status 1 and status
2 children emerged here. While all children agreed that talking is important – about
300% (!!!) – children in disadvantaged schools almost all thought that reading and
writing are more important. The importance of literacy skills was linked directly to
employment – you can’t get a job if you can’t read and write. One status 1 child argued
that talking is more important because you can’t read if you can’t talk, linking the
importance of talk directly to the acquisition of literacy skills. Status 2 children, on the
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other hand, all think that talking is very important and variously suggested that it is either
more important than or equally important to the acquisition of literacy skills.
Children Focus Group Discussions: Talking Time in the Classroom
In relation to time spent talking in the classroom, all children in Sixth Class and some of
the Third Class children expressed the view that they spend more time on reading and
writing activities than on talking activities in the classroom – a lot more. The majority of
children declared that they prefer to talk than to read and write in school. They preferred
to do talking activities because they are fun and creative and you are able to come up
with whatever you want, because your hand doesn’t get sore, because you can sit with
friends during these activities, because when you are talking you are not doing ‘work’,
because you don't have to do homework while you're talking, because it hurts your
hands when you have to write loads, because you get to hear the news people have,
you get more crack, it's enjoyable instead of doing work. Despite this expression of
preference for talking, however, the overall perception was that more time was spent on
reading and writing in school than on talking.
Children Focus Group Discussions: Talking Style in School
The following question was posed in order to elicit children’s level of awareness and
perceptions of variation in talking style in the school context:
Do you think the way you talk in school is different to the way you talk outside of school?
From their responses it is abundantly clear that children are acutely aware (particularly in
disadvantaged schools) that they need to change their language style quite significantly
in the school context. When asked if they thought how they speak in school is different to
how they speak outside of school, all status 1 children readily agreed that it was – both
in Third and in Sixth class. Focus groups in these schools at both class levels
immediately responded yeah or definitely in unison to this question. Encouraged to
articulate how they think their talk is different in the school context compared to outside
of school, the following views were offered by Third Class children:
We talk better at school
You kinda talk pure posh in school
I'm talking pure posh in school like (using high-pitched tone)
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(and what does talking posh mean?)
You have a posh voice
You go like this – (puts on accent)
Sometimes at school we talk like tinkers and (principal) corrects us and says ‘talk
properly’
(what do you think (principal) means when (principal) says ‘talk properly’?)
Don't talk pure tinkers, just talk normal.
The views of Sixth Class children in relation to how they think their talk is different in the
school context compared to outside of school as presented by the children include the
following:
You have to pay more respect
You have to watch your mouth like ... (teacher would) get mad at you
You have to watch what you say in case it may get you in trouble
You couldn't curse, you know you couldn't say stuff like that's bad words like
You kind of calm down your voice
You wouldn't be as loud, or you wouldn't be shouting or you wouldn't talk as fast
It changes when we are outside school
When you are in like there is barely any air like and when you go out then it's full of it
Your voice changes because you have more energy out in the yard
When you get into a fight your voice changes – (indicated that this is more likely to
happen at home)
At home you'd be roaring
Your voice is quieter because you can't roar like because it's a rule of the class
When you go out to the yard, you leave out all your energy out there and when you go
back into school you're all right
Fundamentally these children were suggesting that they talk less, they talk more quietly,
more politely, and they talk more slowly and respectfully when they are in the classroom
context. They use the terms ‘knacker-talk’, ‘tinker talk’, and ‘normal’ talk to describe talk
in the out-of-school context as compared with ‘talking posh’ in an in-school context.
Focusing on talk in an out-of-school context to enable the children to articulate the
perceived differences in talking style more effectively, the children responded to the
question How is talking outside of school different to talking in school? – in the following
ways:
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I don't talk posh at home
Same with me
I talk more at home (all agree – except one who says I don't talk at home)
You can talk all you like at home
Cos you're learning inside school and you're not learning at home
Yeah because you can do more cos you're not allowed talk when you're doing your work
Use different words at home (can you give me an example) curses
Some of the Sixth Class children indicated that they don’t talk a lot at home.
We don't talk at home
I never talk – I'm always up in my room
I don't really talk – I'm sitting, watching telly, or on my bike
Sometimes I don't talk at home at all
Children recognised that when talking out of school they could talk about what they liked,
when they liked in any way they liked, to whom they liked, and for as long as they liked.
Many children indicated that they don’t talk a lot at home. Many children identified
shouting and fighting as ways that talking at home are different to talking at school.
Children indicated that they talk to mothers, parents, siblings, grandparents, family,
friends at home. Girls identified their mother as the person they talk most to at home,
and boys identified friends as the people they talk most to at home.
Responses from status 2 children to these questions were somewhat different to those
presented above.
Do you think the way you talk in school is different to the way you talk outside of school?
Third Class
Not really because you talk different I'm not really sure – you talk about the stuff in
school at home and the stuff at home in school
Like you wouldn't be complaining if you put too much sauce in your dinner or such and
such – you don't complain as much in school
It's like talking in school and outside because you talk different ways – like when you're
outside you shout and you would you'd call people names whereas inside you'd be not
trying to run around and being careful about stuff, keeping your mouth shut
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Sixth Class
Different
In some contexts, I suppose, the same. If we're talking about ... like sometimes we just
start talking about something that's happening
If the teacher is out of the room or something. But if we're answering questions I
suppose it would be different really. (How?) Well like you only want to give the answer.
You're not exactly going to have a chat
It would be a bit the same because sometimes when you get home your parents or your
sister they ask you like what did you do at school and stuff like that and then you have to
get into the whole school thing
But you are more relaxed, you'd be more chatty with your parents and your family and
your friends than you would be with your teacher
(how do you change how you talk?)
You talk more slowly and properly about different subjects
Use more slang language when you are talking to your friends
Talk to your teacher is more respectable
When you're talking to the teachers at school you have to be kinda you have to
pronounce your words and be respectful. When you're talking to your friends at school
you don't have to do that
But then when you're at home talking to your parents if they kinda if you say something
but you mean another thing they kinda know what you're trying to say
They'd understand you but they'd still correct you again
Only have to speak properly at home when there are visitors
Difference in what you talk about at home
You talk about whatever you are told to talk about in school … you talk about anything at
home
While these children identify the differences in the content of their talk (you talk about
whatever you are told to talk about in school … you talk about anything at home), and
the level of formality of their talk (but you are more relaxed, you'd be more chatty with
your parents and your family and your friends than you would be with your teacher; you
talk more slowly and properly about different subjects), and the degree of respect in
their talk (when you're talking to the teachers at school you have to be kinda you have to
pronounce your words and be respectful. When you're talking to your friends at school
you don't have to do that) in the school context, they can readily identify situations where
these language styles cross over the home-school boundary, e.g.
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It would be a bit the same because sometimes when you get home your parents
or your sister, they ask you like what did you do at school and stuff like that and
then you have to get into the whole school thing
You talk about the stuff in school at home and the stuff at home in school
‰
They'd (parents) understand you but they'd still correct you again
‰
Only have to speak properly at home when there are visitors
And one child very accurately articulated the formal/informal variation in talking style
evident in the home-school comparison saying But then when you're at home talking to
your parents if they kinda, if you say something but you mean another thing, they kinda
know what you're trying to say. The comfort of being understood and communicating
effectively in a context where you don’t need to articulate everything explicitly, coherently
and in an organised fashion is evident to this child. Compare these responses with those
of some children in status 1 schools for whom there appears to be little comparison
between the content, formality and style of talk in school and that at home, e.g.
What do you talk about in school that you don't talk about at home?
‰
Maths, work
The work goes out of your head at home
Don't talk about work at home at all
Cos you're learning inside school and you're not learning at home
We don't talk at home
‰
I don't talk posh at home
At home you'd be roaring
‰
Use different words at home (can you give me an example) curses.
You couldn't curse, you know you couldn't say stuff like that's bad words like
Children Focus Group Discussions: Teacher Talk
When the children were asked the question Do you think how your teacher talks is
different compared to your talk? they responded as follows:
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(Children often changed pitch and tone of voice when demonstrating how teacher talk is
different).
Yeah – ‘Nicely’ (in a high-pitched, hoity-toity tone)
Yeah, she doesn’t talk in a knacker voice, does she? No, she has a quiet, sweet voice
She talks quiet and gentle
Talks nicer
She talks more properly like she's got elocution lessons
(what does talking properly mean)
Try and pronounce your words more
Don't be going down and talking into your chest
The way she speaks … She speaks different to us
We speak different to her and she speaks different to us
She has a different voice
(how is her voice different?)
I think she's from a different country
(Others agree) – Probably, I'd say probably
She was born from a different family
All children were very much of the view that teachers’ talk is different to the way that they
talk. In the case of status 1 children, that difference was perceived to be much greater,
e.g. She doesn’t talk in a knacker voice; We speak different to her and she speaks
different to us; I think our teacher is from a different country; She was born from a
different family. While status 2 children perceive teacher talk to be different from theirs,
e.g. Teacher has a different accent, talks about things that happened in the ’50s, very
much different – boring, shouts at us, they also recognise that in an out-of-school
context there are similarities between teacher talk and how they talk, e.g. maybe not at
home but in school, yeah, and probably talks about the same things at home.
All children readily agreed that teacher decides who should talk in the classroom, what
they should talk about, how long they should talk for, and who they should talk to. It was
agreed that when they talk for legitimate learning purposes it is mainly with the teacher.
There was agreement all round also that teacher talks most in the classroom, talks about
different stuff, she talks about homework and maths and we talk about different stuff - we
talk about boys, and whenever the teacher is explaining she puts on a different voice.
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Children Focus Group Discussions: Literacy Activities
The questions in relation to literacy activities sought to establish children’s perceptions of
their reading and writing ability, their feelings about/attitude to reading and writing, and
their experiences of reading and writing both in and out of school.
Children’s perceptions of their reading and writing ability
Status 1 children were not particularly confident in relation to their ability to read and
write. They used terms such as OK, all right, getting better, improving to describe their
ability to read and write. These children generally felt that their parents were happier with
their reading ability than their teachers. This was reflected in the animation with which
they described their parents’ feelings about their ability. One child said that her mother
was happy with how her reading was improving but (teacher) …always lets you down.
She says: ‘that writing is horrible!’ Some status 1 children said they found reading hard.
Other children indicated that they found writing hard. Almost none of the status 1
children indicated that they liked reading and writing.
By contrast status 2 children have a much more positive perception of their reading
ability – they all think they are good at reading and writing, and all without exception
indicated that they like reading.
Reading and writing at home
All children indicated that they like reading and writing better at home because they can
read what they like, as much of it as they like, they don’t need to write if they don’t want
to. One child indicated that the books at home are better because they are just one
story, which is more interesting than books at school which have lots of stories in them.
There was very little evidence of writing at home from children in disadvantaged schools.
Status 2 children indicated that they write at home using e-mail, texting, and on the
computer. All of these children have computer, internet, e-mail at home and suggested
that they preferred writing at home because often it involves using shorthand.
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Books at home
While most status 1 children responded positively to the question Have you books at
home? some said I don’t know, or no, or I don’t like books. One child said he had five,
another said thousands, while another said he had to burn some he had so many!
Despite this declaration, when pushed to identify favourite authors or titles of interesting
books, children in disadvantaged schools were completely at a loss to name them, other
than novels being read at school. They suggested that they mainly read newspapers,
magazines, or sports books at home. It was evident that almost no reading takes place
at home for the majority of these children.
The vast majority of children in disadvantaged schools never get books as presents for
birthdays, or Christmas. None of the Sixth Class children got books or book tokens as
gifts or for their confirmation and indicated that they would not use any of their money to
purchase a book. When asked where the books at home come from children answered
Sometimes you might win a book and one child knew a book delivery person who gave
some books. Most children couldn't name a family member who would buy a book for
them other than their mother and then only on rare occasions. It was clear that many of
the children would neither value nor appreciate a gift of a book or a book token.
However, this would not be true of all status 1 children. One status 1 child in Third Class
indicated that he reads a lot at home, gets books regularly as presents, and prefers to
read at home because he can read long books with more than 100 pages!!
Status 2 children by contrast all indicated that they read at home as well as in school
and like reading because in reading you get to go to a different world pretty much
like if you're reading a star wars book you could be in a different galaxy or something.
All have many books at home. When asked to describe their bedrooms at home the
majority of these children mentioned books and bookshelves and relatively few
mentioned technology such as TV or playstations. This contrasts radically with the status
1 children, only two of whom included a reference to books in the bedroom, but all of
whom mentioned technology in their bedrooms. The status 2 children all say that they
enjoy reading very much. All get presents of books and book tokens at Christmas and
birthdays. Sixth Class children got book tokens for confirmation and bought books and
read them.
Many children (both status 1 and status 2) see their parents reading at home – books,
newspapers, magazines. Children variously described parents reading mainly in bed, or
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on holidays. One child suggested that his mother only liked to read thin books!! Children
seldom talked to their parents about what they are reading although one status 1 child
indicated that her mother pays her a fiver to tell her about the book she is reading in
school. This status 1 child produced quite good narratives in that task and was also good
on the word definition task.
It is clear that there are considerable differences in relation to children’s exposure to,
appreciation of, enjoyment of literature and engagement with literacy activities in an outof-school context. It is clear also that children’s perceptions of their literacy abilities are
very different across status 1 and status 2 schools in this study – the latter having far
more positive attitudes in relation to their abilities than the former.
Focus Group Discussions – Teachers
In each of the four participating schools, one afternoon was devoted to a discussion with
the teachers. In most cases focus group teachers were those from whose classes
children had been randomly selected for the study. In some, where it was not possible
for these teachers to be released for the discussion, other teachers who were available
participated in the discussion. In all cases teachers involved spanned the range of
classes from infants, through middle classes to senior classes, so that a representative
view of teaching all age groups could be generated. The purpose of these discussions
was to get a teacher perspective on language experience in the school context.
Given recent major curricular changes in terms of emphasis on developing oral language
skills at all levels in Irish primary schools – the introduction of a revised curriculum in
English (1999) which champions the centrality of oracy, in-service education in English,
the review of the revised English curriculum (2005), as well as other national policy
reports and research initiatives which address questions of language and literacy
development in Ireland, and in particular in the case of children in disadvantaged
schools in Ireland (e.g. DES, 2005; Eivers et al, 2004; Eivers et al. 2005), it was critical
that the experiences and practice of teachers would be documented and factored into
the discussion. As with the children, teacher focus group discussions followed a semistructured format focusing broadly on eliciting teacher perspectives and insights in
relation to the following:
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Perceptions of the importance of oral language, with reference to children’s oral
language abilities
‰
Pedagogic responses to perceived oral language needs
‰
Awareness of variation of language patterns in the school context
‰
Opinions on the newly introduced Revised English Curriculum and the
accompanying in-service education and planning strategies in the school
‰
Home-school links
‰
Children’s literacy skills
Findings from teachers in status 1 schools will be presented first.
Teacher Focus Group Discussion: Importance of Oral Language in the
Classroom
All of the teachers in the status 1 schools readily agreed that oral language is a very
important aspect of what goes on in the classroom. While all teachers were in
agreement in relation to its importance in the infant classroom – one senior class teacher
expressed the view that oral work was of most importance in the infant classroom – its
importance beyond the early stages of schooling was identified predominantly in terms
of its contribution to the development of children’s literacy skills. Oral language was
viewed as important by many of the teachers because it is the basis of writing and
reading. This view was expressed again and again. Oral language was firmly seen as a
stepping-stone to developing reading and writing skills (e.g. oral language is very
important because if they can't speak and they haven't got the language they cannot
read. They need it orally before they can read it). This was the only value of oral
language articulated by teachers.
When asked to comment on the oral language abilities of the children in general, teacher
responses were quite negative. All teachers have a perception of children’s language
skills as being very poor due to their disadvantaged backgrounds. This perception
extends to the general ability of the children, which is often represented as weak. The
general perception of children’s oral language skills was that they are poor, very weak,
oral abilities are low. Very few of the children were characterised as having good
language skills and no children were perceived as having very good language skills.
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Poor language skills are manifested in poor knowledge of language, limited vocabulary,
inadequate vocabulary, children lacking vocabulary, taking a while to express
themselves. Poor listening skills, lack of ability to co-operate with one another, and poor
knowledge of language structures were suggested also as signs of children’s weak
language skills. The out-of-school experiences of talk were cited by all teachers as the
major reason for the children’s poor language skills Many children are not spoken to at
home – all they hear is ‘go away’, ‘shut up’, ‘sit down’, ‘be quiet’; at home it’s shouting,
one word sentences, 'no', 'you'; children don't have much practice speaking orally at
home; Not being listened to at home enough; When children are going home many
parents don't talk to them – they are rushing off to somewhere else. Children at home
are told to shut up and watch television. One teacher suspects that the mother is talking
to someone and the child tries to get attention but is fobbed off quickly with a short
response and mother continues what she is doing – child is not getting much attention
and not getting a chance to say a big long story of what happened in school. Lack of
parental education was cited as a factor in the poor language experiences of many
children at home. In one of the schools, all the teachers agreed that the majority of the
children in the school don't come from homes where they have parents who listen to
them and talk to them and provide them with the kind of support that would facilitate
success in school.
Children whose language skills are better (none of the children was described as having
very good language skills) were those from supportive backgrounds, characterised as
stable, where parents are interested and stimulate children, broaden their experiences,
talk to and listen to the children, support them in relation to the work of the school, and
supervise homework. Children from these backgrounds are described as brighter than
other children. The perception of the general ability of the children in these schools is
that it is behind where it would be if they were reared in a middle-class context because
of lack of opportunity – teachers agreed that the priorities for these parents are different
They're not as able because they don't get the same opportunity – if these children were
compared with children in a similar class in a middle-class school they would be way
behind – lots of important development takes place before the child starts school – that's
all happened before they even come to school so they've missed out already; not as
able when they start school because they haven't had the same opportunities – they are
world's apart! And another teacher believes their general ability is weaker because they
are not surrounded by as many books or newspapers – 80% would have no experience
of books.
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Teacher Focus Group Discussion: Pedagogic Responses
Teachers were asked to identify how they taught oral language in their classes. In
general, teachers appeared reluctant to respond to this question and largely were very
vague in relation to what they do to develop oral language in the classroom. While all
teachers are clear that oral work is done in the classroom, pin-pointing exactly the form
that oral language development takes was less clear. This vagueness is mirrored in the
children’s inability to give clear examples of formal talking activities done in class. In all
of these schools teachers indicated that they do not have formal, dedicated oral
language time but approach oral language development through other subjects (such as
English reading or SPHE) or use it as a precursor/preparatory work in other subjects
(such as creative writing). Teachers of infant classes cited circle time news and
integrating oral language into story time as approaches to oral language used. In some
cases oral language work takes the form of phonics lessons. Teachers source their
ideas for oral language development from the published English Language Schemes,
topics of interest to the children, and material for developing writing skills.
Difficulties in having formal, dedicated, targeted, focused time for oral language
development in the classroom would seem to arise from a number of different sources.
Teachers in general in these schools are extremely concerned with the development of
children’s literacy skills, and appear to work more towards the development of these
than developing oral language skills, perceiving oral language development as a means
to an end but not necessarily equally important, or meriting an equal amount of time.
Behavioural problems in classrooms in disadvantaged contexts make control of
paramount importance. One teacher remarked that literacy activities are much easier
because during these lessons they are quieter. Another teacher defined children with
good language skills as those who are good to listen to the teacher (mentioned twice)
when teacher is talking - they wouldn’t be out of control.
Maintaining control is very
important in these classrooms and dealing with significant behavioural problems in a
classroom makes it very difficult to manage large numbers of children engaged in talking
activities. Teachers repeatedly expressed frustration with children’s inability to wait for,
respect or listen to one another, as well as children taking a long time to express
themselves and get to the point as factors which make engaging in talking activities
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prohibitively difficult. One child, however, felt she had the solution to this problem, when
asked If you were the teacher in your classroom, is there anything you would change about
talking in your classroom? she replied indignantly:
Yeah, I would let them talk actually, and whenever the principal comes just say we are
doing work!
Teachers also suggested that children are often not interested in talking despite trying to
engage them in topics of interest – even though the children in the focus group
discussions all expressed a preference for talking rather than reading or writing in
school. Perhaps, teachers are picking up on children’s lack of awareness of the learning
potential of talking activities (clearly evident in the children’s contributions to the focus
group discussions) and therefore children may not value such activities to the same
extent as they value writing and reading activities in the process of learning. Dealing with
the challenge of multi-class teaching was also perceived as a huge difficulty. Attempting
to engage a large number of children with widely varying age profiles in talk activities in
the classroom context was thought to be nearly impossible, especially without the
assistance of classroom aides.
Teacher Focus Group Discussions: Variation in Language Style
Do you think the way the children use language in school is different to how they use
language outside of school?
When prompted, all teachers agree that there are school expectations for language use
that are different from language use in an out-of-school context. One teacher referred to
this as school language. All agree, on reflection, that children change how they use
language in the school context for this reason. Many teachers paused to reflect when
asked this question and their initial response in many cases was that children don’t in
fact change how they use language when in school. This is in stark contrast to the
response of the children who unanimously and spontaneously in every case responded
with an emphatic ‘Yes’ to this question. Clearly, since they are the people making the
major register shift, they are more aware of it. Though perhaps not initially, all teachers
on reflection demonstrated an awareness of how the children have to change register to
engage in classroom activities and many gave excellent examples of expectations in
relation to school language use.
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One teacher suggested that children use more street language outside school,
describing their out-of-school language as so fluent they're almost rapping. A child
described as reticent to talk in class could be heard giving lip in the yard at playtime,
suggesting greater confidence in interacting with peers outside the classroom context.
Another teacher suggests that they probably use less bad language in school than they
would at home.
Asked to elaborate on expectations of what school language involves, one senior class
teacher suggested that in school when they talk, the more interesting they make their
sentences the better they are; whereas when they are with their friends at home it's the
cooler you are and the cooler your language is, and they won't use any descriptive
words because they would be laughed at. Getting attention at home to speak wouldn't
involve the use of the same kind of language. When children are at home language use
is much more to the point, just say what they want, not elaborated. Another teacher
expressed the view that the oral language we do with them in school is different to the
oral language they're hearing at home because the language they're hearing at home is
monosyllabic. Most of the parents lack further education and therefore don't have the
language skills. Another teacher characterises school language as flowery language but
some children are more adept at doing this than others. Such children are described as
coming from backgrounds where they are listened to and talked to.
In general, infant teachers were of the view that there was no difference in language use
between home and school but some teachers suggested that they acquire school
language as they go on; they know the things that are accepted in school. Teachers in
the boys’ only school, while acknowledging the existence of school language, were not
convinced that the children change how they use language in the school context – they
use less bad language in school but talk to their friends the same way: because children
are surrounded by 'their own' they don't feel the need to change how they talk in the
school context. Teachers in this school noted that when these children get angry they
revert back to how they talk at home. Teachers in this school indicated that there was
more evidence of change of language use when the children attend out-of-school
functions, such as playing away-matches, where they would encounter children from
other schools – when they go to the posher schools children say ‘I'm not going over
there, I'm not talking to them, they would be only laughing at me’! In these contexts
teachers feel that children are very aware that how they use language is different from
others. Interestingly, in the children focus group discussions the boys in this school,
while aware of the existence of differences between talk in school and out of school,
were less well able to articulate these differences in language style than other children.
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This may be a function of gender where the degree of change is not as great for boys as
it is for girls, or it may reflect the fact that boys are not as aware of, or as able to
articulate, the differences as much as or as well as girls.
Teacher Focus Group Discussion: Revised Curriculum
The teachers were asked to comment on the recently introduced Revised English
Curriculum. A major shift from the previous iteration of the primary school curriculum in
Ireland evident in the revised curriculum is that oral language is seen as central in the
experience of the child throughout primary school. In the English curriculum, oral
language is represented as having equal importance as reading and writing at all levels
of the primary school (Primary School Curriculum, English, 1999, p.3). The focus at this
stage of the discussion was to elicit teachers’ views on this shift and to ascertain the
extent to which they find the curriculum as it is now presented supportive in their day-today work.
Teachers were all au fait with the revised curriculum but many admitted to having
grappled with it or spent a lot of time trying to figure out the curriculum and found it
impossible, while some never look at it. All of the teachers agreed that the increased
emphasis on oral language in the curriculum is both necessary and desirable. Teachers
generally agreed that the revised curriculum is better than it was before revision.
However, many of the teachers expressed the view that the curriculum as presented is
difficult to follow, too wordy; uses ‘big language’, and some teachers found it generally
unhelpful and detached from the reality of the classroom; and not really connected to
work done in the classroom – whatever comes up often comes up spontaneously and
can’t be planned for. All of the teachers expressed the view that the English curriculum is
too broad, and many felt that the objectives are unrealistic for many children, or too
ambitious, particularly for children in disadvantaged schools. This view was expressed
particularly strongly by teachers of infant classes. Teachers in a multi-class,
disadvantaged context indicated that the curriculum is not an easy thing to implement in
the classroom – because of the multi-class challenges. Particular challenges for these
contexts cited include: different levels; too many children; not enough help. In one
school, teachers expressed the view that the curriculum does not adequately cater for
the needs of disadvantage.
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Not all of the teachers were aware of the recent decision by the National Council for
Curriculum and Assessment to switch the framework of the English curriculum as
originally presented by flipping the strands and strand units, but where they were aware
of this change, teachers were supportive of it and felt that it made it easier to plan
following the curriculum.
In one school, none of the teachers had attended the in-service programme
accompanying the introduction of the revised curriculum. In another school, only one
teacher had attended but couldn’t remember it very well, recalling only that an awful lot
was just thrown at us and I'm only getting my head around it now. In a third school all of
the teachers had attended the in-service programme and while they found it good, it
didn't focus at all on disadvantage, which they felt it should have done.
Teachers were asked about their school plan for English, a requirement by the
Department of Education and Science. All of the schools reported having a plan as
required. However, many of the teachers had not been involved in devising the plan, and
many of the teachers have never seen the plan developed for their school. Some of
these teachers, particularly the younger teachers, indicated that they rely on the
curriculum when generating their own classroom schemes for English, using the
objectives to identify course content. Other teachers, responding to a question about the
connection between the school plan and classroom planning for English, indicated that
they don’t follow it literally.
Teacher Focus Group Discussion: Literacy
Teachers were asked to comment on the literacy skills of the children in their schools
and to indicate their perceptions of children’s out-of-school literacy experiences. Again,
as with the children’s oral language skills and experiences, teachers’ views were quite
negative in relation to these questions (e.g. there are particular problems with literacy in
this type of school). All agreed that many of the children experienced literacy difficulties
in school, and in particular literacy was most problematic for weaker students. Teachers
commented also that as children move up along the school, the gap widens and they
experience failure early on and for a long time. This was attributed to the fact that most
children are not read to at home – they don’t know the fairytales when they come into
school; they don’t have a love of reading instilled in them at home – reading becomes
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part of what goes on in school because that’s the only time they ever do it; I don’t think
there are many books at home – all I ever hear about is playstation and games (all
teachers in the discussion agreed with this view as expressed by an infant teacher, for
all levels of the school). Teachers generally were of the opinion that most of the parents
would not read very much.
Another factor that contributes to children’s reading difficulties identified by teachers was
that children are starting school too early; being pushed to achieve things before they
are ready; children are coming into school in the middle of the school year when they
turn four years of age. Parents are thought to send children to school at an early age
because it’s longer than pre-school and parents are not in favour of children repeating a
class in school if they are not progressing because they think it is more important for
children to stay with their friends than that they would get the benefit of the extra year to
consolidate learning where that is needed.
Teacher Focus Group Discussion: Home-School Contact
Given the crucial importance of the home in the development of oral and literacy skills
necessary for success in school as perceived by teachers, it was important to establish
the nature and extent of teacher-parent liaison in relation to these developments
throughout the child’s experience in the primary school. For this reason, teachers were
asked about home-school contact practices and policies in their schools.
In all schools it was identified that contact with parents is most frequent at infant level
where informal contact occurs daily as parents drop and collect children, but diminishes
considerably as children move up along the school. The main form of formal contact with
parents in relation to children’s learning in school takes place during the parent-teacher
meetings, which are held either once or twice yearly in each of the schools, and where
again there is a higher attendance by parents of younger children than those of older
children. Teachers go to great lengths to encourage parents to attend these meetings,
with varying degrees of success. In the rural disadvantaged school, incidental
encounters with parents may occur from time to time, but these are unplanned, sporadic
and informal.
Teachers indicated that very few parents approach them to talk about the academic
progress of their child or about what the teacher is doing in the classroom, or about the
curriculum. On those occasions where a parent makes contact with a teacher, the issues
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discussed are generally social or behavioural, rather than queries about a child’s
learning. Teachers expressed the view that parents are not particularly involved in their
children’s learning, having concern where they are concerned, only with children’s
written homework. All teachers agreed that parents are concerned for and interested in
their children’s success in school, but many can’t sustain interest due to unrest or
difficult circumstances at home, or because parents may feel ill-equipped to help their
children academically. The younger age profile of the parents, the prevalence of singleparent families, and different priorities for parents were cited as reasons for poor
parental support for children’s learning – children are often missing books but always
have new pencil cases, nice communion dresses; money is being spent the wrong way,
prioritising different things.
Teachers expressed the opinion that many parents don’t share equal responsibility with
the teacher for the education of their children, as teachers feel they should. They agreed
that with support from the school, parents would be in a better position to take more
responsibility. However, while all teachers felt that it is important to reach out more to
parents in relation to children’s learning in the classroom, many difficulties were
identified in actually implementing this ideal. Many examples of home-school projects
were cited in each school, all of which had very positive results in terms of supporting
children’s learning at home, but all of which involved huge time and effort on the part of
the school, and most of which were unable to sustain parental involvement in the long
term.
Teacher Focus Group Discussion: Status 2 School Responses
The responses of the teachers in the status 2 school to the issues considered above
were somewhat different to those represented by the teachers in the status 1 schools.
As with the teachers in the status 1 schools, these teachers readily acknowledged the
vital importance of oral language for children, and while appropriately situating the
importance of oral language in terms of its contribution to the development of literacy
skills, also identified oral language development as important in its own right for the
development of the children. There was unanimous agreement among these teachers
that the oral language skills of the children were outstanding. Because of this it was
thought that oral language development for these children may be less important than
developing literacy skills. However, all teachers reported having focused, targeted time
for the development of the children’s oral abilities (70% of language time is oral in infant
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classes, 50% in middle-classes. In senior classes more time is devoted to developing
literacy skills but discrete oral language time is also factored into children’s school
experience). Developing children’s oral language skills in this context was described as
the icing on the cake.
These teachers characterised the children’s talk as quite formal in both the school
context and the out-of-school context and were aware of the demands that school
expectations for language use place on children – in the classroom it would be textbook
stuff but at home it would be communicating in the language of the TV, the
Americanisation of our children. You know in a comprehension type question in school,
where in reality we would say yes, no in real life, but in school you must … full sentence
please … you know they're able to do that. But naturally they are able to do that.
The general feeling was that these children speak very well even outside school in terms
of the words that they choose to use. They speak very well in school and still carry that
outside school – they may speak in their own peer group language but if you were a
stranger standing beside them you would be impressed by the way they speak and the
language they use. One of these teachers who had previously taught in a disadvantaged
setting reflected on how surprisingly well status 1 children are able to express
themselves – with fluency and confidence – in an out-of-school context, but suggested
that the language used by such children would be predominantly slang words and music
terms. Teachers suggested that in the case of these status 2 children while the children
have to use a more descriptive type of language in the school they don't need to change
style as much as other children might.
As with the teachers in the status 1 schools, these teachers find the curriculum very
broad and too wordy and indicated that the main problem with curriculum is the way it is
presented. One of the teachers suggested that she would not use the curriculum book to
inform teaching. Another teacher considered that the curriculum makes what you are
doing anyway appear unwieldy. There was wide agreement that the flipping of the
strands and strand units in the English curriculum was a better approach. All of the
teachers were aware of the school plan for English, were involved in its development
and ongoing review, and all followed and consulted it regularly. Sources of ideas for oral
language planning included published materials, which are particularly targeted at oral
language development, as well as other language materials in use in the school.
Teachers were very clear on specific oral activities undertaken in the classrooms as
distinct from oral activities that arise as a consequence of teaching other subject areas.
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All of these teachers participated in the in-service programme for English and found it
very helpful.
Teachers indicated that parents in this school regularly read to children, take them on
trips and broaden their experiences, talk to children, listen to children – that the general
lifestyle of children involves a broad range of experiences. A majority of children are
exposed to lots of books and reading outside of school and enjoy reading. The children
experience parents reading at home. The children have access to reference books at
home and bring them into school at appropriate times. A majority of children have
access to internet at home and are familiar and comfortable with exploring websites for
reference. The general feeling was that there is excellent home support for the
development of children’s oral and literacy skills.
Parental contact practices resembled those reported in the status 1 schools insofar as
contact is greater at infant level and less as the children get older. Formal teacher-parent
contact takes the form of parent-teacher meetings on a once yearly basis. Incidental
meetings may take place also as reported in some status 1 schools. Where informal
contact occurs, the focus is on procedural and social issues and less on academic
performance of the children, apart from the fact that if children have missed out on work
done in class, for whatever reason, these parents are very anxious to make sure that it is
made up so that the child does not fall behind.
Outreach practices to parents in relation to the work being done in the classroom take
the form of a homework diary, school reports, letters to parents explaining what is
expected in class, what to look out for, pointers for supporting children, ongoing
materials sent to parents of children in the infant classroom.
All teachers believed that the parents probably would like a lot more communication from
the school in terms of how they might support the work of the school, but teachers feel
there is enough communication already and the lines of communication are there where
necessary for extra support. The time factor involved in outreaching to parents any more
than is currently the case was thought to be prohibitive.
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Portfolio of Linguistic Proficiency
Teachers completed an outline of the linguistic proficiency of each child who participated
in the study. The purpose of this was to generate an overall picture of the children’s
linguistic profile, both oral and literate. The profile was compiled drawing on information
from the Drumcondra English Profiles and the most recent reading standardised test
scores available for the children. The data for each school are presented in the tables
below.
School A
Table Two: Drumcondra Profiles: Standardised Reading Scores – School A
Children
AS1:1F
Profiles
Oral
Languag
e
Very
keen to
contribut
e to
class
discussi
on
AS1:2F
Has
difficulty
choosing
words to
describe
AS1:3M
Can
relate
news
AS1:4F
Reluctan
t to
contribut
e
Contribut
es easily
A31:1F
A31:2F
A31:3F
A31:4F
Appropri
ate
Contribut
es easily
Contribut
Profiles
Oral
Pres.
Can tell
story in
sequenc
e. Can
combine
simple
sentence
s
Can
repeat
sentence
s
modelled
by t
Can
describe
personal
experien
ces
Lacks
confiden
ce
Confiden
t
Compete
nt
Appropri
ate
Ideas
not
thought
out
appropri
Profiles
Meaning
Vocabul
ary
Is
confident
in
expressi
ng
herself
ST
Score
ST
Readi
ng
Age
ST
Chron.
Age
ST
Perce
ntile
Comments
5.06
Is interested in
picking up library
book in free time
Average
5.10
Limited sight
vocab
Needs
encoura
gement
with
vocab
Needs to
expand
vocab
5.09
Enjoys reading.
On target for age
group
6
Is interested in
reading
Appropri
ate
Sten 6
8.08
50%
Will read in free
time – good
comprehension
Above
average
Needs to
read
more
98 –
Sten 5
80
Sten 3
8.02
45%
8.07
12%
Good fluency and
comprehension
Rarely reads in
free time
Needs to
90
8.03
34%
167
Rarely selects
From Difference to Disadvantage
es well
ate
A61:1F
Contribut
es when
asked
A61:2F
Not keen
to
contribut
e
Eager to
voice
opinion.
Needs
help to
organise
Reluctan
t to
participat
e
Can
summari
se,
answer
q’s,
discuss
books
Can do
oral
reports
A61:3F
A61:4F
Á. Cregan
read
more
Limited.
Sten 4
reading
88
9:07
12.03
Reading difficulty
Struggle
s with
vocab
83
Less
than
9.0
11.09
Very low interest
in reading
Can
present
ideas
well
Fair –
needs to
read
more to
extend
81
9.0
12.02
Needs to read
more. Lack of talk
at home
Needs a
lot of
time and
support
Good
81
9.0
12
Would benefit
from more
reading
Six of the twelve children (50%) are identified as having some form of difficulty in
engaging in informal classroom language. These difficulties include a reluctance to
contribute, difficulty in choosing words and problems with the organisation of ideas.
Three of the twelve children (25%) are described as having some difficulty with oral
presentations in class, including a lack of confidence, poorly developed ideas, and
requiring more time and support.
Seven of the twelve children (58%) are thought to have some problems with meaning
vocabulary, which is variously described as fair, limited, needing expansion, and a
struggle.
75% of the children in third class have standardised reading scores below the fiftieth
percentile. All of the children in Sixth Class (100%) have a reading age below their
chronological age, standard scores that are in the Low-Average range.
Seven of the twelve children (58%) are commented on as being problematic readers in
one way or another, described as needing to read more, lacking interest in reading, or
having reading difficulties.
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School B
Table Two: Drumcondra Profiles: Standardised Reading Scores – School B
Children
Profiles
Oral
Languag
e
Well
able to
express
Can find
it hard to
express
Profiles
Oral
Pres.
BS1:3M
Very
good
BS1:4M
V. quiet
B31:1M
Quite
good
B31:2M
V. poor
listening
skills
Good
Can
describe
events
and
news
well
Won’t
speak in
front of
group
Good
compare
d to
peers
Poor
BS1:1M
BS1:2M
B31:3M
Loves
newstelli
ng
Enthusia
stic but
not great
Good
compare
d to
peers
Difficult
to
understa
nd –
speech
problem
s
B31:4M
Quite
good
B61:1M
Confiden
t.
Speaks
in sober
voice
Uses
lots of
slang
Has
confiden
ce
Uses
lots of
slang.
Gets
frustrate
d
B61:2M
B61:3M
Profiles
Meaning
Vocabul
ary
Good
ST
Score
ST
Readi
ng
Age
ST
Chron
.Age
ST
Perce
ntile
Comments
6.7
OK –
difficulty
with
compreh
ension
Quite
good
5.04
Has developmental
problems
6.07
good
5.09
Below
average
V. little reading
outside school.
Comprehension
poor
Short concentration
span. Weak
reading skills
No interest in
reading. Weak
reading and
comprehension
V. weak at reading
Poor
vocab
Below
average
V. weak
Poor for
his age
Sten
4
9.10
21
Gets
frustrate
d. Uses
gestures
to get
meaning
across
Sometim
es gets
very
Sten
4
9.09
19
Sten 1
Less
than
9.0
2
169
Experiences lots of
talk at home. Likes
to ask questions.
Enjoys library
books
Not interested in
reading. Needs lots
of support
Lacks confidence.
Afraid of failure
From Difference to Disadvantage
Á. Cregan
confused
Gets
confused
in
sentence
s
(didn’t
regist
er)
Five out of the eleven children in School B (44%) have some problem with informal
classroom language use. These difficulties include poor listening skills, use of slang,
difficulties in expression, confusion with structures.
Five of the eleven children (44%) manifest difficulties in relation to oral presentation
skills in the classroom, including a reluctance to speak in front of the group, poor
speech leading to difficulty understanding what the child is saying, frustration on the part
of the child when presenting.
Eight of the eleven (72%) children are thought to exhibit problems in terms of
meaning vocabulary which is described as very weak, poor, below average, leading to
confusion, frustration and at times a need to resort to gestures on the part of some of the
children.
All of the Sixth Class children (100%) in this school have standardised reading scores
well below average, the highest being in the 21st percentile. Standardised scores were
not available for the other children.
Seven of the eleven children (63%) are thought to have reading difficulties, or a lack of
interest in reading described by teachers in the following terms: poor comprehension,
weak reading and comprehension, not interested in reading, needs lots of support, lacks
confidence, afraid of failure.
School C
Table Two: Drumcondra Profiles: Standardised Reading Scores – School C
Children
Profiles
Oral
Language
Profiles
Oral Pres.
CS1:1F
Needs a
lot of
encourag
ement to
contribute
Poor at
presenting
ideas
Profiles
Meaning
Vocabular
y
Needs
more
participati
on in oral
language
170
ST
Score
ST
Readin
g Age
ST
Chron.
Age
Comments
76
5.09
6.02
Likes to read
From Difference to Disadvantage
CS1:2M
Likes to
talk. Has
confidenc
e
CS1:3M
Very
confident
C31:1F
Will
contribute
in class
discussion
. Limited
vocab
Well able
to express
C31:2M
C31:3M
C31:4M
C61:1M
Contribute
s to class
discussion
s
Needs a
lot of
encourag
ement
Overpowe
ring. At
times
dominatin
g.
Good.
Able to
argue
point of
view
Good.
Can
present
ideas well
Shy.
Speaks
only for a
short time
Willing to
contribute
Presentati
on skills
excellent
Shy.
Would not
participate
voluntarily
Tells
stories
with a
keen
awarenes
s of plot
and
character
Excellent
at oral
presentati
on
C61:2M
Well able
to express
C61:3F
Shy but
well able
to express
Ideas
Very good
if given
time to
prepare
C61:4F
Slow to
take part.
Shy.
Limited
vocab
Doesn’t
contribute
unless
asked
Á. Cregan
Good to
Very good
73
5.06
6.01
Enjoys reading
Receptive
vocab.
Fair to
good
Restricted
vocab
74
5.06
7.03
Loves to read.
Good
comprehension
94
9.00
9.11
Likes reading.
Finds difficulty with
new words.
Reasonab
ly wide
vocab
Very
strong
95
8.11
9.01
95
9.02
8.11
Likes reading.
Interest comes and
goes
Very interested.
Good skills
Limited
91
8.07
9.01
Poor reader. Weak
skills
Use of
general
vocab. Is
restricted
111
14.02.
13.04
Reads but doesn’t
like it
Has a
wideranging
vocabular
y
Hasn’t an
extensive
vocab
given that
she reads
a lot
Limited
Vocabular
y
115
14.08
12.06
No reading
problems
104
13.02
12.03
Interested and
reads well
79
10.10
12.06
Poor
comprehension.
Reads a book a
week.
Five out of the eleven (44%) children in this school have problems identified by
teachers in relation to informal oral language in the classroom. These are
characterised as limited vocabulary, reluctance to participate, and needing lots of
encouragement.
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Four of the children (36%) have problems presenting ideas orally, being reluctant to
present, speaking only for a short time, and described as ‘poor’ at presenting ideas.
Six of the eleven (54%) children are described in negative terms with regard to their
meaning vocabulary. Their difficulties are mainly described in terms of ‘restricted’ or
‘limited’ vocabulary.
In Senior Infants and Third Class, all of the children (88%) but one have reading ages
below their chronological age. All of the senior infant children have standard reading
scores in the low range. Reading ages for three of the four Sixth Class children,
however, appear good, all above the chronological age and with standard scores in the
high average and average. One Sixth Class child has a reading score in the low range.
Three of the children are identified as exhibiting some reading difficulties and two others
are characterised as not having much interest in reading.
School D
Table Two: Drumcondra Profiles: Standardised Reading Scores – School D
Children
DS2:1M
Profiles
Oral
Languag
e
Good
use of
languag
e
DS2:2M
Good
use of
languag
e
DS2:3F
Excellent
use of
vocabula
ry
DS2:4F
Good
use of
vocabula
ry
Profiles
Oral
Pres.
Clear
speaker.
Good
sentence
structure
Good
sentence
structure
Good
sentence
structure
and use
of
grammar
Can be
slow to
form
sentence
Profiles
Meaning
Vocabul
ary
Has
extensiv
e vocab
ST
Score
ST
Reading
Age
ST
Chron.A
ge
120
7.09
6.04
Loves to
read.
Excellent
reader.
Wide
vocab.
114
7.04
6.03
100
6.10
6.11
Enjoys
reading
Reads
confident
ly and
compete
ntly
Excellent
, fluent
reader
122
7.11
5.10
Has
wide
ranging
vocab.
172
ST
Percentil
e
Commen
ts
Likes
books.
Reads
beyond
From Difference to Disadvantage
D32:1F
D32:2F
D32:3M
Excellent
contributi
on
Very
Good
Excellent
Á. Cregan
s
Excellent
ability
V. Good
145
9.09
99
Very
good
Confiden
t at
presenti
ng to the
class
Very
good
Good
store of
vocab to
draw
from
123
9.05
94
122
9.06
93
D32:4M
Very
good
Very
good
Very
good
132
9.02
98
D62:1M
Very
chatty,
lively
and
enthusia
stic
Good,
chatty,
confident
and
clear
Enthusia
stic and
animate
d
Very
good
107
13.02
68
Loves
oral
languag
e
classes
Excellent
129
13.08
97
D62:3F
Quiet but
chats
comforta
bly with
friends
Very
good.
Clear.
Lovely
vocal
expressi
on
V. good
122
11.09
93
D62:4F
Polite,
clear,
wellspoken
111
12.02
77
D62:2M
her age
Very
good
reader
Avid
Reader
Very
high
interest
and v.
good
reader
Reads
with
fluency
and
compete
nce
Good
reader.
V. good
compreh
ension
Loves
books.
Reads at
home.
Excellent
compreh
ension
V.
intereste
d. Reads
for
pleasure
at home.
V. good
reading
skills
Reads
for
pleasure
at home.
Likes
reading
As can be clearly seen at a glance from Table D, the linguistic profile for all of the
children in school D is overwhelmingly positive. Children are described as very good at
all aspects of oral language and reading, scoring in the high percentile ranks in the case
of all children. Interest in and ability to read are high for all children.
Clearly, once again, though perhaps not surprisingly, the profile of the children varies
quite substantially across social class. The status 1 children are more likely to be
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described as exhibiting difficulties, problems, lack of confidence, lack of interest, lack of
ability in relation to oral language use in the classroom context, considerably more of
them manifest reading difficulties, or poor reading skills, and teachers make many more
negative comments in relation to their success in literacy than is the case for the status 2
children.
Findings generated in this study clearly indicate that in the case of children in these
designated disadvantaged schools in Ireland a number of common characteristics
prevail across the majority of the children. All of these status 1 children were eager and
willing to participate in talking activities. All enjoyed the opportunity of engaging in these
activities, although they perceived some of the activities to be more challenging for them
than others, and all of the children were able to complete the tasks set, with varying
degrees of success. In their responses to the tasks, however, they displayed different
patterns of language use to their middle-class counterparts, exhibiting fewer of the
characteristics of expected patterns of school language.
The awareness of variation in styles of language use in school and outside of school is
very acute among the status 1 children, more so than among their teachers. Their
exposure to formal, targeted oral language development in school appears to be less
than their experiences of literacy development. Teachers seem to focus more on the
development of literacy skills than oracy skills in these schools, and have predominantly
negative views of the oral and literacy skills of the children.
Results from the completion of the Drumcondra oral language profiles, and standardised
reading tests bear out teachers’ opinions in that a large number of the children have low
ratings and very low scores on these tests, where familiarity with and proficiency in the
use of ‘literate’ or ‘academic’ language use is a prerequisite for success. Given the link
between facility with ‘literate’ patterns of language use and the development of literacy
skills expressed consistently in international research findings, perhaps variation in style
of language use is a factor that needs consideration in enabling children such as these
to enhance their school experience and to improve their literacy skills.
A summary of all the findings generated by this research will be presented in the next
chapter, and implications of the findings for educators and policy-makers will be
considered.
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CONCLUSION
The central questions of interest in this study were to investigate:
‰
Whether variation in patterns of language use are exhibited among children in
primary schools in Ireland
‰
If so, to what extent such variation prevails and in what form it is manifested
‰
The impact, if any, of social background, age and gender, on variation
‰
The impact, if any, of variation on levels of literacy development
The exploratory, interpretive case study design used in this research enabled the
investigation to explore issues in relation to patterns of language use in the school
context on site in four schools, but limits interpretation of findings to the particular
schools in which the case study was conducted. It is not possible, therefore, to
generalise findings from this study beyond the immediate schools in which the data
were generated. However, it is possible to use the data to raise issues of importance
concerning the questions of interest in the study, to make recommendations for
future research, and to identify possible implications of findings for policy-makers and
practitioners in the field of education. This concluding section will begin with a
summary of the findings from the data generated in the study. Implications of these
findings will then be considered. And finally the report will conclude with some
general recommendations suggested by the findings.
Summary of Findings – Elicited Production Tasks
In line with findings in international research, there is clear and compelling evidence
of variation in patterns of language use by children in the primary schools in this
study.
Variation in patterns of language use occurs according to social class, children in the
three designated disadvantaged schools exhibiting clear differences in language use
as compared to patterns of language use by children in the middle-class setting.
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The differences in patterns of language use are related to children’s facility with
‘literate’ or ‘academic’ style of language, that style of language expected in the
school context.
Children in disadvantaged contexts consistently display fewer features of this style of
language use than their middle-class counterparts when engaged in school-type
talking tasks.
Differences in patterns of language use evident in the language of children emerge in
all categories of typical school-type talking tasks – factual, analytical, narrative, and
imaginative.
In interpreting the findings it is important to bear in mind that in school, children are
expected to ‘display knowledge, authoritatively in highly structured texts’
(Schleppegrell, 2004, p.74) and this is realised linguistically by:
‰
Presenting ideas, choosing explicit vocabulary which constructs new
understandings and includes relationships such as time, consequence,
comparison or addition, and is organised using integrated, embedded
relationships
‰
Taking a stance which projects a distanced relationship with the listener using
appropriate mood (declarative, interrogative, imperative) and modality
(expression of certainty and confidence) and
‰
Structuring the text so that there is a dense presentation of information
organised in a coherent manner and expanded and elaborated on
appropriately.
Findings in this study indicate that the contributions of children in designated
disadvantaged contexts when engaged in school-type talking tasks requiring the
characteristics outlined above, instead display characteristics such as the following:
Presentation of Ideas:
These children generally used reference that was more vague than that of status 2
children. They often displayed evidence of using a narrower range of vocabulary
than the status 2 children, whose lexical choices were more specific, more
appropriate, and more elaborate than those of the status 1 children. These children
were often stuck for words and unable to find the vocabulary necessary to express
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explicitly what they wanted to convey. Often the presentations of status 1 children
were insufficiently elaborated or developed, making understanding more difficult for
their listeners. At times their presentations consisted more of personal reference
(requiring an intimate knowledge of the speaker on the part of the listener) than an
attempt to construct new understandings in a way that would be clear to the listener.
While relationships of addition were in evidence in the presentations, relationships of
time, consequence and comparison did not feature as often and when they did they
were often not sufficiently clear (see for example responses to the ‘odd-one-out’
tasks). Integrated, embedded relationships featured considerably less frequently
than in the presentations of the status 2 children.
Taking a Stance:
In the responses of the status 1 children to the tasks undertaken there was less
evidence of an ability to distance themselves in their presentations appropriately,
taking on an authoritative and expert stance. These children displayed considerably
less confidence in their expression than was evident in the presentations of the
status 2 children. They had more hesitations, more repetitions, more incomplete
statements, more clipped and unelaborated contributions. They were more reluctant
to complete some of the tasks, notably where they perceived they would encounter
difficulty. Their own perceptions of their ability to engage with the tasks was often
poor. This was particularly striking in their responses to imaginative, open-ended,
creative tasks. They were uncomfortable when asked to complete tasks of this
nature, perceiving that they lacked ability to do so. Where status 2 children
repeatedly produced strong, bold, confident responses to tasks set which they
undertook with delight, the contributions of status 1 children were often brief,
hesitant, reluctant and barely adequate or at times quite inadequate from a
communicative perspective. Awareness of the listener and the needs of the listener,
and the importance of communicating effectively with the listener was often poor in
the contributions of the status 1 children. Using the imperative mood was particularly
problematic for these children.
Structuring of Text:
Responses of status 1 children to the tasks set generally were more disorganised
and less coherent than that of the status 2 children. Their responses were usually
shorter and less well developed. Considerably less internal complexity was in
evidence in the responses of the status 1 children. There was less evidence of
facility to condense large amounts of information into short, dense, complex
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constructions. Using superordinate terms was less in evidence in much of the talk of
the status 1 children as also was evidence of thematic positioning, where the focus
of the talk needed to be clearly fronted in the presentation.
An important and interesting finding in this study is that all of the features of ‘literate’
style language as outlined by Schleppegrell (2004) were present in the responses of
the status 1 children at times, sometimes spontaneously, more often when modelled
or when the children were scaffolded in their responses. However, these features
were used considerably less often than in the case of the status 2 children, and
generally required more intervention before the children displayed them.
Children in the status 1 schools required considerably more scaffolding and support
to complete the talking tasks than their status 2 counterparts.
They were not comfortable at all with the open-ended tasks, and with the tasks
requiring creative, imaginative language use.
All of these findings were evident across the whole range of language tasks
set, across all age groups, across both genders, in single class groupings and
in multi-class groupings, in both urban and rural schools, and in both large
and small schools.
There was evidence, however, that age differences may exist in relation to facility
with ‘literate’ style language use in that differences became greater as children
became older. The differences in terms of presentation of ideas, taking a stance, and
structure of text were greater and more pronounced as children became older. There
was one exception, however, in the word definition task, where there appeared to be
some evidence that status 1 children improve in their ability to provide a more valued
form of word definition as they move up through the school.
Gender differences were evident in the imaginative language tasks set in the status 1
schools, with girls in those schools, at times, showing greater facility with language
use in the context of the imaginary telephone call than boys. This echoes the finding
of Cheshire (1978) whose research in Reading in England suggested that lowerclass boys use more non-standard syntax than girls in their quest to appear ‘tough’
and non-conformist. This certainly appeared to be the case for some of the status 1
boys when engaged in the telephone conversations. It was evident that they used
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the opportunity to use language that was informal and at times indiscreet and giddy,
lacking elaboration and failing to contribute to the task in a way which would develop
the drama.
Summary of Findings – Focus Groups (Children)
Findings from the focus group discussions with the children revealed that, while the
intricacies of language variation were not available to the children, they displayed an
impressive awareness of the existence of language variation, the extent of that
variation, and the value placed on school language use (especially that of the
teacher) in terms of the content, level of formality, and style (expressed in terms of
levels of respect). All of the status 1 children were acutely aware that talk in school is
different to talk outside of school. The school talk was variously characterised as
‘posh’, ‘better’, ‘talking properly’, ‘quieter’, ‘calm’, and showing ‘respect’. While
awareness of difference between talk in school and talk outside of school was
displayed by also by the status 2 children, more evidence of a crossover in types of
talk between the home and school context was exhibited. This crossover was
expressed in terms of times when the content of the talk was similar, the level of
formality of talk required was similar, and the style of language used was similar in
both contexts. This was not expressed at all by the status 1 children, who saw a
clear divide between the content of talk in school and at home (no talk of ‘work’ or
‘learning’ takes place outside of the school context), levels of formality (you have to
‘watch your mouth’ and ‘pay more respect’ when talking in school), and style (at
home ‘you’d be roaring’ and you ‘use different words at home – curses’).
Clear differences between the talk of the teacher and that of the children were
perceived also by children in the status 1 schools – ‘we speak different to her, she
speaks different to us’. Again the status 2 children acknowledged differences in the
style of teacher talk in school, but were aware of times when teacher would use
language in a way that is similar to their language use. This was not expressed at all
by the status 1 children.
All of the children expressed the view that the teacher dominates and controls talking
time in the classroom and some indicated that most of the classroom talk they
engage in is with the teacher.
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None of the status 1 children perceived talk as a legitimate learning medium in
school.
Status 1 children were completely unable to give meaningful examples of legitimate
talk as a learning medium in school, suggesting that either they don’t have such
experiences or, if they do, they are unaware of their value. Status 2 children were
readily able to identify a range of such experiences.
The majority of status 1 children valued literacy development more than the
development of talking skills. This value was expressed in terms of the need to be
literate in order to gain employment. Status 2 children recognised the importance of
developing talking skills and valued them either equally or more than the
development of literacy skills.
All children felt that more time was spent in school on development of literacy than
oracy skills.
The majority of children in both contexts expressed a preference for talking activities
in school.
The discussion around home and school literacy experiences revealed that status 1
children are not confident in relation to their literacy skills. They do not like reading
and writing, and many felt that their teachers had poor views of their literacy skills. All
of their reading and writing is done in school. There are very few books available to
them at home and very little or no reading/writing is done at home. There is no book
culture at home in the sense that books never feature as presents in their lives and it
would appear that for most of these children there aren’t very many books at home.
All of these children indicated, however, that popular forms of technological games
culture featured strongly in their lives. Most of the children said that they saw their
parents reading at home. This contrasts strongly with the responses of status 2
children to this discussion. They exhibited confidence and a very positive attitude to
reading, often read and write at home using a wide variety of tools to do so. There
was a strong culture of books at home and books often featured as presents in their
lives. They appear to have access to many books at home. They too indicated that
they saw parents reading at home.
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Summary of Findings – Focus Groups (Teachers)
Findings from focus group discussions with the teachers revealed that variation in
language style and school expectations for language use don’t immediately spring to
teachers’ minds as potential language challenges for children in school.
On reflection, however, all teachers demonstrated an awareness of the existence of
school expectations for language use and many teachers articulated these
expectations with some precision.
It was clear from the discussions with the teachers that they were not as acutely
aware as the children of the shift in language register required of children in school.
This is hardly surprising, given that the change in language style is one which the
children have to make to a much greater extent than the teacher.
Teachers were unanimous in their agreement on the importance of oral language
development in the school context, but teachers in the designated disadvantaged
schools were of the view that it was most important in the infant classrooms and
characterised its importance only in terms of its contribution to the development of
children’s literacy skills.
Teachers’ perceptions of the oral language skills of the majority of children in the
status 1 schools were very negative, describing their language as ‘poor’ and ‘weak’.
This corroborates findings by the Department of Education and Science (DES) that
teachers often remark on ‘the fact that children come to school with a significant oral
language deficit’ (2005, p.25). The poor language skills of the children were
attributed to the types of language experiences in the home, parents’ lack of
education, and different priorities for parents.
No formal, dedicated, targeted, focused oral language lessons were taught by
teachers in the designated disadvantaged schools. Teachers in these schools all
indicated that oral language development takes place in their classes but not in the
form of discrete oral language lessons. The exact nature of the oral language
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development that takes place was unclear. The lack of clarity was reflected in the
children’s lack of awareness of formal oral language activities in the classroom in the
status 1 schools. This contrasts with the practice in the school in a middle-class
setting where formal oral language teaching takes place at all levels of the primary
school and children are aware of this aspect of their school experience.
Teachers broadly welcomed the renewed emphasis on oral language development in
the Revised Curriculum (1999), but indicated that they found the English curriculum
difficult to follow. This was the case for teachers in both types of school. The recent
decision by the NCCA (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment) to switch
the framework of the English curriculum so that the strands and strand units are
flipped was welcomed by those teachers who were aware of it. Not all teachers were
aware of this change. There was a feeling among the status 1 teachers that the
curriculum for English does not sufficiently support teachers developing oral
language skills in disadvantaged contexts. Of the teachers who attended in-service
support for English, there was again a general feeling that the particular challenges
faced by teachers in disadvantaged contexts were not addressed.
Findings by the DES that ‘teachers experience a lack of engagement with the
planning process’ (2005, p.61) were evident in this study also. Teachers in the status
1 schools exhibited disengagement with the whole-school planning process. While all
of the schools had a school plan for English, many teachers in these schools were
not involved in developing that plan, many were not familiar with the contents of the
plan, and many did not refer to the school plan when planning classroom activities in
English. This was not the case in the status 2 school, where teachers were aware of
the plan, involved in its ongoing review and development, and regularly referred to it
in the course of classroom planning.
In the status 1 schools, teachers expressed negative views of the literacy skills of
many of the children and again cited poor home experiences as the source of the
difficulty for many children.
Home-school contact diminishes as children move through the school in both types
of school. Formal contact takes the form of parent-teacher meetings which only
occur once or twice yearly, and in the status 1 schools there is often difficulty
encouraging parents to attend, especially parents of older children and, as reported
by the rural disadvantaged school, parents of boys. Outside of this, contact with
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parents is predominantly around social and behavioural issues that arise. Teachers
in status 1 schools reported that parents almost never ask about the academic
progress of their children outside of parent-teacher meetings and teachers don’t
contact parents to inform them of academic content in the classroom and how
parents might contribute to ongoing work in the classroom. All status 1 teachers
agreed that this type of communication with parents would be desirable. The DES
suggests that ‘schools should explore more actively ways of supporting parents in
becoming involved in the education of their children’ (2005, p.9). Time factors and
lack of sustainability on the part of the parents were cited as major difficulties in
status 1 schools in achieving this. There was evidence of more communication with
parents in the status 2 school and some communication outside of formal parentteacher meetings in relation to academic content of the classroom so that parents
would be aware of and able to contribute to ongoing work in the classroom. As with
the status 1 schools, however, teachers in the status 2 school agreed that increasing
levels of communication between the school and the parents would be welcomed by
parents, even though the teachers felt that there was sufficient communication in
place already. Time factors were again cited as obstacles to facilitating this process.
Summary of Findings – Portfolio of Language Proficiency
Teacher rating, using standardised oral language profiles, of the oral language ability
of many of the children in the classroom context was that language skills were poor.
Using the Drumcondra English Profiles of children’s oral language skills, teachers
reported that the classroom oral language skills of many of the children in the status
1 schools were poor, citing difficulties for many children in terms of informal
classroom language use, oral presentation of ideas, and meaning vocabulary. This
was not the case for any of the children in the status 2 school.
Many of these children who display lack of facility with ‘literate’ style language also
present with below average literacy scores on standardised reading tests. Many of
the children in the designated disadvantaged school scored poorly in standardised
reading tests, large numbers of them scoring below the average, and below their
chronological age. This was not the case for any of the children in the status 2
school.
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Implications of Findings
In the case of the three designated disadvantaged schools in this study, it seems that
many children are entering our school system without having proficiency in the type
of language expected and required to engage effectively with that system.
The children in these schools place greater value on the importance of literacy skills
than on the importance of oral language skills, suggesting that oral language may not
be considered seriously as a legitimate and worthy learning medium.
There is a clear divide for these children between their home and school
experiences, particularly in relation to oral language use and the development of
literacy skills. The lack of crossover of experience between the two contexts for the
child may reduce the effectiveness of the child’s school experience.
The relatively low level of conscious awareness by teachers, of language variation as
a potential source of difficulty for some children in the school context suggests that
this perspective on language development may not receive sufficient emphasis in
school.
Teachers’ views of oral language in the designated disadvantaged contexts as
having importance only in relation to the development of literacy skills could imply
that the status of oral language in its own right as a significant foundational skill for
children may not be as high as it needs to be.
The lack of formal oral language classes in the designated disadvantaged schools is
concerning as it implies that these skills are not receiving the attention they should in
these contexts, contexts where such development is of paramount importance.
Teachers’ poor perceptions of children’s oral language and literacy skills may result
in lower expectations for these children.
The difficulties teachers reported in accessing the revised curriculum English
documents suggests that they are not being guided or supported sufficiently in their
understanding of how and what the teaching of oral language entails. This appears
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to be particularly the case for the teachers in the more challenging disadvantaged
contexts. The lack of support has the knock-on effect of reducing the effectiveness of
teachers’ planning in relation to the development of oral language skills.
Citing difficulties in the home as sources of oracy and literacy problems may indicate
that teachers currently are not taking any responsibility where children experience
difficulty in the school context.
Inadequate teacher/parent contact, particularly in relation to the academic progress
of children, the academic content of classroom teaching, and the role of parents in
supporting the work of the teacher suggests that effective teacher/parent
collaboration for the benefit of the child is not featuring sufficiently for the maximum
development of oral and literacy skills.
Many of the children in these schools are already statistically at risk of school failure
by virtue of their background characteristics and experiences. Now they risk further
alienation, feelings of inadequacy, and potential failure perhaps due in part to their
patterns of language use in the school context. For many of them, development of
literacy skills is difficult and problematic. Poor reading skills are the norm for these
children as well as lack of confidence, enjoyment and interest in the process of
reading and writing. Given the established connection between proficiency in the use
of ‘literate’ language and ability to engage with the school system and to acquire
literacy skills, the implications of the findings of this study are clear.
Children will continue to fail to achieve their potential while in school unless
the existence of language variation is highlighted and its implications for
success in school addressed.
The situation presenting in the schools in this study suggests that teachers in the
disadvantaged schools have negative perceptions of children’s language skills – both
oral and literacy skills. These perceptions are based on children’s ability (or lack of
ability) to engage with school expectations of language use – ‘literate’ patterns of
language use. Despite these negative perceptions of children’s language skills, very
little formal, explicit teaching of oral language skills is in evidence in these schools,
with teachers concentrating more on the development of literacy skills. A teacherparent partnership approach to the academic development of the children is not well
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developed as a consequence of poor parental support and the significant time factor
involved in establishing and sustaining such a partnership.
It has been well documented in research that children in disadvantaged contexts
generally have fewer opportunities to engage in the types of experiences (cognitive
and linguistic) that appear to be important for success in school (Vernon-Feagans,
1996, p.16). This does not imply that these children do not have experiences
requiring high levels of reasoning and language use. But when children fail in school,
that failure is attributed to such factors as ability, family background, or motivation
(Martin, 1993) and the ‘focus is often on “fixing” the child’ (Parsons, 2005, p.188). In
the case of language variation this has led to an ‘unequal burden [being] placed on
vernacular speakers in language accommodation’ (Wolfram et al., 1999, p.115). This
means that:
The need for linguistic adjustment is placed squarely on vernacular
speakers when there should be an equally strong moral responsibility
placed on the mainstream population to alter its prejudices and respect
dialect differences for what they are – a natural manifestation of cultural
and linguistic diversity (ibid.)
It is crucial that all involved in education take responsibility for the implications
of language variation for children’s success in school.
Up to now, responsibility has fallen on children to alter their language style to replicate
that expected and valued by the school and to do so without any formal instruction or
support. It is clear that all involved in the education of children have a role to play in
dealing with this reality. Because the drive for standardisation marches on, it is
important to reach out to both children and their parents in an attempt to maximise the
success of their school experience and to enhance their chances of achieving their
potential while in school. On the basis of the findings in this study and the implications
for our children of these findings, the report makes the following recommendations.
Recommendations
Future research needs to take the form of a large-scale project to establish more
clearly and precisely the scale and significance of the link between variation in
language use and success in school, particularly in the development of literacy skills.
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In the meantime, to reduce the impact of language variation on children in designated
disadvantaged contexts in Ireland these recommendations are made to all involved in
the education of children. Because ‘consciousness is the first step towards
emancipation’ (Fairclough, 2001, p.193) it is necessary to:
‰
Develop an awareness of the existence of language variation and
‰
Establish clearly an understanding that language variation does not imply
inferiority, either cognitive or linguistic
‰
Embrace all children and their language variety equally as contributing to
the richness and diversity of the school community
‰
Highlight the implications of language variation for success in school,
particularly in relation to the development of literacy skills, for children in
disadvantaged contexts
‰
Reach out to children and their parents in a supportive manner to facilitate
the development of crucial language skills for success in the school context.
This means that:
ƒ
All those involved in the preparation, induction and inspection of teachers
must focus attention on the existence of language variation and its impact on
the education of children.
ƒ
Teachers need to plan more carefully and systematically for targeted, focused,
developmental oral language teaching in school, with particular emphasis on
those aspects of language knowledge which appear crucial for success, i.e.
‘literate’ style language.
ƒ
More time than appears currently to be the case needs to be given to oral
language development in school at all levels, but particularly at middle and
senior class level.
ƒ
Language learning time in school needs to be more equally balanced between
oral and literacy development
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Teachers need to articulate clearly, model appropriately, and intervene and
scaffold effectively desired uses of language in school in an attempt to teach
such language skills where necessary.
ƒ
Children need to have more opportunity to talk in school as part of legitimate,
purposeful learning tasks.
ƒ
Teacher-parent partnership needs to be promoted so that parents are aware
of, take responsibility for, and become involved in the learning of their children.
ƒ
Home-school partnership must focus on the need for parents to talk to and
listen to their children, particularly about what goes on in school, and to support
the development of literacy with more encouragement and facilitation of
reading and writing outside of the school context.
To implement these recommendations for inspectors, teachers, children, and parents,
the Department of Education and Science needs to work towards:
o
Continued support for teachers in implementing the Revised English
Curriculum, with particular reference to the specific needs in terms of language
variation and all its concomitant challenges for teachers of children in
designated disadvantaged schools
o
Reduced pupil-teacher ratio in these schools
o
More classroom support in the form of teachers’ aides
o
Greater access to resources to facilitate the development of oral language and
literacy skills
o
More home-school liaison support and programmes designed to support these
parents in working in partnership with the school for the benefit of their children.
Only when all involved in the education of children become aware of, acknowledge
and celebrate the diversity of language variation and work together to support the
acquisition of requisite language skills for school success can all of our children move
towards achieving their potential in school.
Ignoring the difference that differences make, or pretending they do not exist, certainly
is not in the best interests of children
(Wolfram et al., 1999, p.25)
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To ‘ignore the difference that differences make’ can only compound disadvantage.
Difference, if acknowledged, accepted, celebrated, and incorporated into children’s
experience of school can only liberate.
189
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APPENDIX A
SCHOOL PROFILES
(Data and comments provided by the principal of each school)
School A
‰
Status: Disadvantaged (1)
‰
Location: Urban
‰
Gender: Mixed in the Infant Classes, Girls only from First Class to Sixth
‰
Size: Sixteen teachers (eight class teachers, three resource teachers, two
learning support teachers, one language teacher, one home-school liaison
teacher, one principal)
‰
Ancillary personnel: Five Special Needs Assistants, one secretary
‰
Number of children: Two hundred and twenty, of whom thirty are foreign
nationals
‰
Programmes in place in the school: Home-School Liaison; Delivering Equality
of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS)
‰
Facilities in school: Computers, Broadband. The school has no library and
has very old and old-fashioned furniture in the classrooms
‰
Extent of Home-School Interaction: Quite low
‰
Level of Parental Support throughout the school: Described by the principal
as poor – parents display a poor commitment to the children’s learning.
‰
Degree to which recognition and support for schools with disadvantaged
status have changed over time: Principal believes that this is improving, most
notably with the reduction of class size
School B
‰
Status: Disadvantaged (1)
‰
Location: Urban
‰
Gender: Boys only
‰
Size: Fifteen teachers (eight class teachers, four resource teachers, one
learning support teacher, one home-school teacher, one principal). Ancillary
personnel: Eight Special Needs Assistants, one secretary
‰
Number of Children: One hundred and nineteen
‰
Programmes in place in the school: Home-School Liaison; Delivering Equality
of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS). The Principal indicated that being part of
DEIS has as yet had no impact on the school – the First Steps writing
programme has been introduced and the teachers are looking forward to
introducing the oral language programme this year. Would like to have a
Reading Recovery teacher on board
‰
Facilities in School: Each classroom has two computers
‰
Extent of Home-School interaction: Described by the Principal as low,
sporadic and only in connection with behavioural issues
‰
Level of Parental Support throughout the School: Poor
‰
Degree to which recognition and support for schools with disadvantaged
status have changed over time: Principal indicates that the main change over
time is that now all the children have literacy skills when they leave the school
and all the children go on to secondary school
School C
‰
Status: Disadvantaged (1)
‰
Location: Rural
‰
Gender: Mixed
‰
Size: Three teachers (two class teachers, one learning support teacher)
‰
Ancillary Personnel: One Special Needs Assistant
‰
Facilities in School: Computers in each classroom. Small, crowded
classrooms, old-fashioned furniture
‰
Programmes in place in the School: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in
Schools (DEIS)
‰
Extent of Home-School Interaction: Limited – most of the children come to
school by bus so many parents rarely come to the school
‰
Level of Parental Support throughout the School: Poor, due to lack of interest
‰
Degree to which recognition and support for schools with disadvantaged
status have changed over time: Apart from the Disadvantaged grant nothing
has changed – no improved staffing as in urban schools, no other supports in
place
School D
‰
Status: Advantaged (2)
‰
Location: Urban
‰
Size: Twenty-two teachers (seventeen class teachers, three resource
teachers, one learning support teacher, one principal)
‰
Number of Children: Four hundred and ninety-one
‰
Ancillary Personnel: Seven Special Needs Assistants, one secretary
‰
Facilities: Computers in the classrooms, school library, no gymnasium, bright,
modern building
‰
Programmes in place in the School: None
‰
Extent of Home-School Interaction: Constant communication between the
school and the parents. Parents are encouraged to contact the school when
they need to and are always made to feel welcome. There is a very strong
interest on the part of the parents in the academic progress of the children.
Teachers communicated to parents about the children’s learning in school
‰
Level of Parental Support throughout the School: Very high
‰
Degree to which things have changed in the school over time: Facilities and
resources have improved greatly. Reduction in class sizes would be
welcomed.
APPENDIX B
Project Summary for Schools
Linguistic Difference and Educational Disadvantage:
The Irish Context
This study proposes to explore the relationship between linguistic
difference and educational disadvantage and to begin to identify how
the school might respond to the language needs of children in
disadvantaged settings. Previous research highlights the fact that
children in disadvantaged contexts experience a discontinuity on entry
to the school system in terms of language experience, a factor that
may adversely affect literacy attainment for some of these children.
This study aims to identify the language needs of children from
disadvantaged backgrounds when engaging with the school system
and particularly when developing literacy skills, and to begin to
examine ways in which the school can respond to these needs.
Knowledge of language is crucial for success in teaching and learning.
Oral language knowledge is particularly important for success in
school and has been shown in research to be strongly linked with
successful literacy development. The language demands of the school
and the curriculum require knowledge of one specific type of
language, sometimes referred to as ‘decontextualised’ language
knowledge, to ensure success. It appears that this patterning and use
of language is more familiar to and used more frequently by children
from advantaged backgrounds, making their experience of school
more congruent with their pre-school experience. Bourne (2003)
suggests that ‘the special register of classroom talk is very close to
what the Western style caregivers use with young children during play,
problem-solving, and book-reading activities.’
The use of Standard English in school can disadvantage those whose
language variation is different from this type of language use. Edwards
(1997) indicates that ‘the existence of systematic social class
differences both in the patterning of speech and in what speech is
used to do has been thoroughly documented as has the very uneven
distribution of those modes of communication which seem strategic for
educational success’. Knowledge of this decontextualised language
appears to be critical for successful development of literacy skills.
Goldenburg (2002) finds that ‘children from low-income families are
more dependent on school experiences for their academic literacy
development than are middle-class children’. He concludes that the
children who most need school support for the development of
academic literacy skills are least likely to get it.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the extent to which
children from disadvantaged backgrounds may be further
disadvantaged in school by virtue of their linguistic knowledge and
how that knowledge prepares them for the language demands of the
classroom. The research will focus also on teachers’ response to this
in terms of pedagogy with a view to informing best practice.
Letter to Principal and Board of Management
Dear Principal,
I am currently on research leave from my academic post in Mary Immaculate College
to carry out research on the language needs of children in disadvantaged contexts in
Ireland. This research is being funded by the Combat Poverty Agency. The focus of
the research is to identify the language needs of children in disadvantaged contexts
with particular reference to how this impacts on literacy development.
The research involves an analysis of some language samples from the children in
order to identify specifically what language skills they have and what skills they need
to acquire in order to engage successfully with the school system and to improve
literacy levels. The research will also involve having an opportunity to chat with
children, parents and teachers about the experience of talking in the context of
school. The research will take approximately three days to conduct. Three other
schools will also participate in this case study. Results of the study (where complete
confidentiality and anonymity is guaranteed) will be published in the form of a report
by the Combat Poverty Agency.
I would appreciate if I could have permission from you and your staff, and from your
Board of Management, to use your school to generate data for this research. I would
need to random sample approximately four children each from senior infants, third
class and sixth class. I will have a research assistant working with me and we will
take the children in pairs outside the classroom (to facilitate tape-recording) to
complete a number of oral tasks. An example of the kind of tasks the children will be
asked to do could be to construct a piece of lego, to retell a story, to make an
imaginary telephone call. The children’s talk will be tape recorded as they complete
each task. The purpose of this exercise is to use a number of elicitation techniques
so as to generate an oral response from the children. These samples of talk will then
be used for analysis in the study. With the permission of the relevant teachers, I
would take each of these classes for a warm-up session of about one hour to get to
know the children and to enable them to become familiar with me. This warm-up
session will take place on a separate day prior to the paired elicitation session.
Having compiled samples of talk from the children, a focus group approach will then
be used involving open-ended questions to gain insight into the perceptions of
children, parents and teachers as to the experience of talk in the context of
schooling. Each group will be interviewed separately.
If you agree to allow this project to go ahead in your school, I will draft a letter to the
parents of each child selected to participate, seeking parental permission and
explaining the purpose of the activities and the procedure involved.
If you have any queries in relation to this I will be more than happy to talk it through
with you at a time that is convenient for you.
Go raibh míle maith agat.
Is mise, le meas
Áine Cregan
Letter to Parents
(Printed on school headed notepaper and signed by the Principal)
Dear Parent,
Dr Áine Cregan, lecturer in Education in Mary Immaculate College, University of
Limerick, has been granted permission by the Board of Management of our school to
carry out some talking activities with the children as part of a research project.
The project is looking at children using language when talking, reading and writing.
The aim of the project is to identify ways in which schools can best respond to
children’s language needs so as to ensure the development of successful literacy
skills for all children. For this study, a language profile of some randomly selected
children will be developed focusing on oral and written language. These data will help
to identify children’s language strengths as well as those aspects of language
development that need to be emphasised.
The children selected will be taped in pairs (in a separate room outside the
classroom to facilitate recording) as they complete a number of talking tasks, such as
telling a story based on a picture, or making an imaginary telephone call, or
constructing a piece of lego. Dr Cregan and her research assistant will lead these
activities. It is anticipated that the activities will take approximately 45 minutes.
Samples of the children’s writing completed in class, as well as their most recent
reading test scores will be taken also. This will enable the research to generate
information about the language skills as well as the language needs of each of the
children. All information will remain completely confidential at all times. Neither
the school nor the children will be identified in the research.
If you are willing to allow your child to participate in this project, please complete the
form at the bottom of this page and return it to the teacher by tomorrow morning.
Children will be randomly selected (names drawn from a hat) from those who wish to
take part and whose parents have sent back this consent form. Any child who is
selected to participate will be assured that they don’t have to take part if they don’t
want to and can leave at any time if they so wish. The class teacher has undertaken
to ensure that any work they miss while out of the classroom will be made up.
As always, thank you for your continued support and co-operation.
Is mise, le meas
Please complete:
I am willing to allow my child to take part in the research project led by Dr Cregan.
I am not willing to allow my child to take part in the research project
led by Dr Cregan Signed:
Date:
Permission Form for Children
(Completed by each child before undertaking the paired elicitation activities)
Name:
Class:
I would like to take part in more fun talking
games with Áine.
I would not like to take part in more fun talking
games with Áine.
Letter to School for Pilot Test
Dear Principal,
I am currently on research leave from my academic post in Mary Immaculate College
to carry out research on the language needs of children in disadvantaged contexts in
Ireland. This research has been approved by and is being funded by the Combat
Poverty Agency. The focus of the research is to identify the language needs of
children in disadvantaged contexts with particular reference to how this impacts on
literacy development.
It is necessary as part of the research to analyse some language samples from the
children in order to identify specifically what language skills they have and what skills
they need to acquire in order to successfully engage with the school system and to
improve literacy levels. As my research is in the very early stages, I need to pilot
some approaches to ascertain which will work best to elicit talk from the children.
I would appreciate if I could have permission from you and your staff, and from your
Board of Management, to use your school to pilot test approaches for this research.
I would need to random sample approximately four children each (some from
advantaged and some from disadvantaged backgrounds) from senior infants, third
class and sixth class. I will have a research assistant working with me and we would
take the children in pairs outside the classroom (to facilitate tape-recording) to
complete a number of oral tasks. An example of the kind of tasks the children would
be asked to do would be to construct a piece of lego, to retell a story, to make an
imaginary telephone call. The children’s talk will be tape recorded as they complete
each task. The purpose of this exercise is to use a number of elicitation techniques
so as to select those which generate the best response from the children. These
techniques will then be used in the study later on.
This pilot phase is designed to determine what strategies will be used to generate
data later on in the study. The talk produced by the children in this phase will not
form part of the study. The children’s talk will remain completely confidential and will
be analysed only to decide what elicitation techniques will be used. If you agree to
allow this pilot test in your school, I will draft a letter to the parents asking permission
for their child to participate.
If you have any queries in relation to this I will be more than happy to talk it through
with you at a time that is convenient for you.
Go raibh míle maith agat.
Is mise, le meas
______________
Áine Cregan
Appendix C
WARM-UP LANGUAGE SESSIONS
Senior Infants
Theme: Houses and Homes
CIRCLE TIME
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My name is … and I am … years old
One sentence about the person sitting beside you
I like …
Granny went to the market and bought …
The postman’s cat is a … cat
If I were a toy, I’d like to be … because …
Rhyme – Mrs. Magee
Mrs. Magee
Climbed into a tree,
And she only came down to go shopping.
A branch was her bed,
With a leaf on her head
And whenever it rained, she got sopping
(Dennis Lee)
There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
Which wasn’t too bad when the winter winds blew.
But the strong summer sun was too hot to handle,
So she packed up her things and moved into a sandal
‰
‰
‰
‰
‰
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Story – ‘Harry’s Home’
Questions and activities based on the story
Poem – ‘The Poor Snail’; ‘The Postman’
Story – ‘Please don’t chat to the Bus Driver’
Questions and activities based on the story
Storytime – ‘Laura’s Star’; ‘Let’s go Home Little Bear’;
‘Lullabyehullabulloo’; ‘The Jolly Postman’
Third Class
Theme: Food
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Remembered experience – share with partner (who with, purpose, where,
atmosphere, things on table, menu, describe the food, drink, identify items on
menu, most positive/negative thing)
I like … food in alphabetical order (add adjective)
Food word chain – chocolate, egg, gulp, potatoes …
Word web – eating/drinking words
Word association – restaurant
Metaphor game – If I were a food, I’d like to be … because ...
Favourite food – ask your friend what is his/her favourite food; tell the class
what you discovered; what is winnie the pooh/three bears/teletubbies
favourite food; what is a baby’s favourite food; name the favourite food of a
mouse/rabbit/horse/squirrel/cow. Where does your favourite food come from?
When do you eat your favourite food? What would happen if we only ate our
favourite food?
Name a food that you crunch/peel/must cook before you eat it/you eat with a
spoon/that you can spread on bread/that grows on a tree or in the ground/that
humans and animal like to eat (cheese, carrot, nut)
Finish the sentence – a
loaf/can/cake/glass/bottle/tube/pot/jar/abox/tin/packet/carton of
A …of beans/cornflakes/sugar
Tongue twister – ‘yellow butter’ pick a pea, betty bought a bit of butter
Rhyme – the peanut, mix a pancake
Circle time game – identify items that would be found in the kitchen and
describe each item using one adjective, a sharp scissors, a wooden table, a
hot cooker, a whistling kettle …
Pair work – think of things/food we find in the kitchen that come in pairs
Silly sentences – make one up
Kitchen kreature
Poem – ‘Here is the Nose’, ‘The Sandwich’, ‘Sounds Good’
Story – ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’
Group Work – Make up a menu for your new
restaurant/crossword/advertisement for new food or drink/role-play a problem
in a restaurant.
Sixth Class
Theme: Hair
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Story: People; Hairy Fairy
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Discussion on Difference
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Back-to-Back descriptions of Hair
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20-Questions Guessing Game based on hair of a celebrity
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Label the Hairstyle
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Class brainstorming of vocabulary on topic of Hair – focusing
on:
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Length
Colour
Texture
Style
Treatment
Decorating
Problems
Getting hair done
Elements of Hair
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Compound words and idioms associated with hair
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Poems: A Tragic Story (W. Thackeray); My Inside Self (R.
Field)
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Class discussion on stereotyping based on hair – image and
stereotyping
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Group Work
ƒ Make up a price list for a new hairdressing
establishment to include the name of the salon
Appendix D
ELICITED PRODUCTION TASKS
(PILOT PHASE)
SENIOR INFANTS
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Introduction: talk about your friend – name, a few interesting things about
him/her
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Tell me about a TV programme/movie that you like
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Tell me about your favourite toy
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Recap on Harry’s Home and Lullabyhullabulloo – Describe your house on the
outside/inside/bedroom
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20 questions – think of a room; they ask questions
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The woman who lived in a shoe/the crooked man
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Give instructions to draw the crooked house
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Spot the difference and explain why
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Dress the clown – barrier game
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Telephone call – emergency in the house/birthday party invitation
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Retell the story of The three little pigs
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Stories from a series of pictures
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Construct a Lego house together. Explain how they did it
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Word definition – CITY; FARM
THIRD CLASS
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Introduction – pair discussions
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Elementary Communication Activities:
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Where are my Glasses?
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Wallflowers
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Feelings
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How does it feel?
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What’s wrong with the picture?
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Re-tell a story – Goldilocks and the Three Bears/Hansel and Gretel
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Storytelling from a sequence of pictures
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Tell a sad story about a giraffe with a short neck/a monkey who was allergic
to nuts
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Construct something from a set of Lego. Explain how to do it
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Word definition: COOKING. SHOPPING
SIXTH CLASS
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Introduction – pair discussion (holiday destination)
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Draw a Cat activity
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Draw the Park activity
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Show Hair styles – design a new hair style, name it and give instructions on
how to achieve it
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Make a catalogue of hair care products designed for a witch
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Make a TV advertisement for a new hair product
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Re-tell the story of Rapunzel
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Tell an angry story of a girl and her hair
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Storytelling using a picture stimulus
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Role-play conflict situation involving hair
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Word definition: CONDITIONER; HAIR STYLIST
ELICITED PRODUCTION TASKS
(STUDY)
SENIOR INFANTS
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Recap on Harry’s Home and Lullabyhullabulloo (Narrative)
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Word definition – CITY; FARM (Definition – Factual)
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Tell me about a TV programme/movie that you like (Description – Factual)
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Tell me about your favourite toy (Description – Factual)
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Describe your house on the outside/inside/bedroom (Description – Factual)
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Naming Objects and Homes (Naming – Factual)
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Spot the difference and explain why (Description and Explanation –
Analytical)
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Locate the object in the picture (Description – Factual)
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Narrate a story from a series of pictures (Narrative)
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Retell the story of The three little pigs (Narrative)
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Dress the clown – barrier game (Giving instructions – Factual)
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Telephone call – emergency in the house/birthday party invitation
(Imaginative)
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Name the Shoes (Naming – Factual)
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Construct a Lego house together. Explain how they did it (Imaginative;
Descriptive)
THIRD CLASS
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Retell the story: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Narrative)
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Word definition: COOKING. SHOPPING (Definition – Factual)
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How to Make: Food (Description/Instruction – Factual/Analytical)
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Describe your home – outside/bedroom (Description – Factual)
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Where are my Glasses? (Giving specific locations – Factual)
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Wallflowers (Making specific descriptions – Factual)
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Feelings (Using Adjectives – Factual)
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How does it feel? (Using Adjectives – Factual)
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What’s wrong with the picture? (Spotting mistakes – Factual/Analytical)
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Find the Tool (Describing location – Factual)
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Label the Shoes (Naming – Factual)
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Tell a sad story about a giraffe with a short neck/a monkey who was allergic
to nuts (Narrative/Imaginative)
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Emergency Telephone Call (Imaginative)
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Construct something from a set of Lego. Explain how to do it
(Imaginative/Analytical)
SIXTH CLASS
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Retelling a story (Narrative)
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Description of TV/Movie (Description – Factual)
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Tell the story of a favourite book (Narrative)
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How to make…Food (Instructions/Description – Factual/Analytical)
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Description of Home – Location, Outside, Bedroom (Description, Directions –
Factual)
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Bingo Game (Adjectives – Factual)
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Draw a Cat activity (Instructions – Factual)
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Draw the Park activity (Instructions – Factual)
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Show Hair styles – design a new hair style, name it and give instructions on
how to achieve it (Imaginative/Factual)
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Make a catalogue of hair care products designed for a witch (Imaginative)
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Make a TV advertisement for a new hair product (Imaginative)
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Storytelling using a picture stimulus (Narrative)
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Name the Shoes (Naming – Factual)
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Role-play conflict situation involving hair (Imaginative)
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Word Definition: CONDITIONER; HAIR STYLIST (Definition – Factual)
APPENDIX E
Focus Group Discussion – Questions for Children
I’m interested in finding out about talking in school.
What questions do you think I should ask to find out more about this?
What information do you think I should know in order to know more about talking in
school?
A. Feelings about school
• Do they like school
• What do they like most/least about school
• If they could change anything about school what would that be and why
B. Talking in school
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When do they talk in school
Where do they talk most
What do they talk about
Who do they talk to
C. Talking in the classroom
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How often do they talk in the classroom
Are there different kinds of talk in the classroom – describe
What do they talk about
When do they talk
Who do they talk to
Who decides who should talk
How long do they talk for
Who talks most in the classroom
Tell me about the teacher talking in the classroom
Is there anything different about how the teacher talks and how they talk
If you were the teacher would you change anything about the way talk
happens in your classroom – explain
Do they like talking in the classroom – why
What kinds of talking activities do they like to do best – why
Does the teacher help them when doing talking activities – how
Are they ever unsure about what they should do during a talking activity –
explain
How important do they think it is to be able to talk – why
How good do they think they are at talking
How good does their teacher think they are
How good do their parents think they are
Is talking at school different from talking at home – how
D. Talking at home
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When do they talk at home
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Where do they talk most at home
What do they talk about
Who do they talk to
When do they talk
Do they ever change how they talk – when and how and why
E. Literacy in the Classroom
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How important do they think it is to be able to read and write
Describe some of the reading/writing activities they do in the classroom
What kinds of reading/writing activities do they like to do best – why
How much of school time do they spend at reading/writing
How good do they think they are at reading/writing
How good does their teacher think they are
How good do their parents think they are
Which is more important – to be good at reading/writing or to be good at
talking – why
F. Literacy at Home
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•
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Do they read/write at home – describe – what they read; when; where; how
many books at home; when they get books; who/where they get books from;
if they had money to spend would they buy a book or what would they buy
Do they ever talk about the books that they read at home – describe
Do they think that reading books helps them to talk – how
Do other people in their family read/write – describe
Have they favourite books/types of books – explain
Is reading/writing different from reading/writing at home – how
Which do they like to do best – talk, or write or read – why
Focus Group Discussion – Teacher Questions
A. Oral Language Development
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Your views on the importance of oral language for success in school
Comment on the language abilities of the children in your school – expand as
much as possible in relation to expressive, receptive; comprehension, range
of vocabulary, complexity of syntax, ability to change style, use different
registers, present ideas cogently and coherently, use explicit vocabulary,
communicate effectively to different audiences
What specifically do you think are the language needs of the children in this
school
What do you perceive as the role of the school in addressing children’s oral
language needs
What do you do in your classroom to enhance children’s oral language skills
What aspects of oral language do you think are particularly important for
children to develop/in order to succeed in school
Have you a school plan for oral language – describe
How was this plan devised
Where do you source your ideas for the school plan
To what extent do you implement this plan in your classroom
Where do you source your ideas for oral language development in your
classroom
What resources do you use to develop oral language skills in the children
What strategies do you use
What difficulties do you find in developing oral language skills in the
classroom
How useful are the published materials in the reading schemes for developing
oral language skills
How much of your teaching time is devoted to developing oral language skills
Does this change as children move up along the school
How often would you speak to your colleagues/the principal about work on
oral language in your class
Have you a classroom assistant and if so do you ever use that person to
develop the children’s language skills
Most common patterns of conversation in your classroom – topics (varied and
challenging), vocabulary development, teacher-child/child-child, visitors,
excursions, first-hand experiences, intentional introduction of new vocabulary,
exposure to high quality literature/poetry
Is language development confined to the classroom
Have you had experience of teaching in another school and how does the
language of the children in this school compare
What are your goals for the children in your class in relation to oral language
development
How useful is the Revised English Curriculum in helping you develop the
children’s oral language skills
What other forms of support have you received in developing a plan and
implementing it in relation to oral language development – curriculum/inservice/pcsp/sdps/pre-service education
How useful have these supports been
What supports do you feel you would need in order to help you accomplish
this task more effectively
•
•
•
•
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•
Do you think the curriculum could be modified in any way
What are your feelings in relation to the strands and strand units in the
English curriculum and the recent flipping of these
How do you think the children’s language use in school is similar to/different
from their language outside of school
Do you think the children are aware of these differences
What do you think are the children’s view on these differences/the
significance, importance of these differences.
How important is it that the children would be able to use language in
appropriate ways in school
How important do you think oral language skills are in the development of
literacy skills/achieving potential/succeeding in school – expand
B. Role of the Home in Oral Language Development
•
•
•
•
Do you see parents having a role in the oral language development of the
children – how
What types of oral language experiences do you think the children have at
home
How does this influence their ability to function effectively in the school
context
How does this influence their ability to succeed in the world at large
C. Developing Home-School Links
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
How often do you meet/communicate with parents
For what purpose
Have you difficulties in establishing partnerships with some parents – explain
What steps do you take to communicate with parents – prior to children
starting school, during the school year, as children progress through the
school
Have you ever talked to parents specifically about developing children’s oral
language skills – expand – when, how, at what level, what was communicated
How important do you think it is to establish partnership with parents
What steps has the school taken to encourage parents to become actively
involved in the education of the children, and has oral language ever been the
focus of such steps
What do you perceive as the parents’ strengths/weaknesses in terms of
developing children’s oral language skills
D. Developing Literacy Skills at School
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•
•
•
•
•
Define what you mean by the term ‘literacy’
Do you think there are any problems in developing literacy skills in this school
– explain
How do you approach the teaching of literacy
What are your goals for the children in relation to the acquisition of literacy
skills
What supports have you received and what supports do you feel you need
Do you think the curriculum/in-service etc. has offered you adequate support
in developing literacy skills
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Number of books in the classroom/location/accessibility/school
Amount/nature of book reading in school (shared, independent, silent, reading
aloud)
Conversation/activities related to book reading
Writing area in classroom
Environmental supports for writing – alphabet/word cards/dictionaries
Genres
Audiences
Teacher support for the development of children’s writing skills
Classroom resources for the development of literacy skills
E. Developing Literacy Skills at Home
•
•
•
•
Do you see the home as having a role in the development of the child’s
literacy skills – explain
What role is played by the parents in this school
Has their role ever been explicitly outlined – when and in what way – what
information were they given
How supportive are parents
Appendix G
Odd-One-Out 3rd Class
Appendix H
Prepositions – 3rd Class
Appendix I
Cat and Dog Story
Appendix J
Alien Story Pictures