Learning About Language

What kinds of things do children know about language, and how is that knowledge developed in the primary years? How can primary teachers make use of contemporary linguistic and educational theory in their teaching about language? How can teachers use authentic examples of the spoken and written language around us to meet the requirements for 'standard English and language study' in the 1995 English National Curriculum?
The topics of 'standard English and language study' form a recurring strand in the revised (1995) version of the English National Curriculum, presenting primary teachers, in particular, with new challenges. At the same time, there is increasing international interest in what children know about language and how that knowledge can he developed without returning to unsatisfactory, decontextualized grammar exercises. This book addresses a number of issues related to these themes. It places current curriculum requirements in a historical context and reviews evidence for how children's knowledge about language develops during the primary school years. Above all, it presents a wide range of practical suggestions for using many different kinds of texts, both spoken and written, as a basis for teaching children about real language.

Alison Sealey is a lecturer in English Studies in the Institute of Education at the University of Warwick.