Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners
This chapter focuses on the development of young learners’ ability to communicate in a foreign language. An empirical study was carried out to determine whether, after four years of learning English as a compulsory school subject, children are ready to engage in oral interaction in a semicontrolled ...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Ljubljana
2012-09-01
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| Series: | Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/377 |
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| author | Magdalena Szpotowicz |
| author_facet | Magdalena Szpotowicz |
| author_sort | Magdalena Szpotowicz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This chapter focuses on the development of young learners’ ability to communicate in a foreign language. An empirical study was carried out to determine whether, after four years of learning English as a compulsory school subject, children are ready to engage in oral interaction in a semicontrolled task and produce answers and questions in English. A convenience sample of ten-year-old children was selected from 180 participants in ELLiE2 in Poland. Six learners from one class of each of seven schools were selected on the basis of teachers’ reports to ensure equal proportions of learners with low, medium and high ability. Schools were chosen to represent different socio-economic milieux. The results of the Year Four oral test (an interactive task) showed that almost all the participating children
could respond to questions but only half were able to ask questions. Considering generally positive attitudes to speaking activities, the results suggest that ten-year-old children are already developing their interactive skills and could benefit from more interaction-focused classroom activities. Further experimental classroom-based studies are necessary to gain better insight into potential oral achievements in this age group. The results are discussed in the context of national curriculum requirements, drawing on the Common European Framework of Reference level descriptors. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d2ad55c531fb437a8fe73eead6d2bd82 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1855-9719 2232-2647 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-09-01 |
| publisher | University of Ljubljana |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-d2ad55c531fb437a8fe73eead6d2bd822025-08-20T02:13:45ZengUniversity of LjubljanaCenter for Educational Policy Studies Journal1855-97192232-26472012-09-0123Researching Oral Production Skills of Young LearnersMagdalena SzpotowiczThis chapter focuses on the development of young learners’ ability to communicate in a foreign language. An empirical study was carried out to determine whether, after four years of learning English as a compulsory school subject, children are ready to engage in oral interaction in a semicontrolled task and produce answers and questions in English. A convenience sample of ten-year-old children was selected from 180 participants in ELLiE2 in Poland. Six learners from one class of each of seven schools were selected on the basis of teachers’ reports to ensure equal proportions of learners with low, medium and high ability. Schools were chosen to represent different socio-economic milieux. The results of the Year Four oral test (an interactive task) showed that almost all the participating children could respond to questions but only half were able to ask questions. Considering generally positive attitudes to speaking activities, the results suggest that ten-year-old children are already developing their interactive skills and could benefit from more interaction-focused classroom activities. Further experimental classroom-based studies are necessary to gain better insight into potential oral achievements in this age group. The results are discussed in the context of national curriculum requirements, drawing on the Common European Framework of Reference level descriptors.https://ojs.cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/377instructed contextsoral productionspeaking taskstask achievementyoung learners of English |
| spellingShingle | Magdalena Szpotowicz Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal instructed contexts oral production speaking tasks task achievement young learners of English |
| title | Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners |
| title_full | Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners |
| title_fullStr | Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners |
| title_full_unstemmed | Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners |
| title_short | Researching Oral Production Skills of Young Learners |
| title_sort | researching oral production skills of young learners |
| topic | instructed contexts oral production speaking tasks task achievement young learners of English |
| url | https://ojs.cepsj.si/index.php/cepsj/article/view/377 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT magdalenaszpotowicz researchingoralproductionskillsofyounglearners |