Defining issues in Ed Ling

[Dick Hudson]

Dear Dan,
I'm not sure what you mean by this:
>  The bottom line is understanding the nature of language use in the
> educational context, it seems to me, and, as you suggest, tests can be
> used to encourage teachers to discover the complex language systems
> pupils already control.

You seem to be assuming that educational language is just a particular way
of using a child's existing language resources. While agreeing that there
has been a tendency for teachers to underestimate these resources, I also
think there's a danger of overestimating them. One of the foundations for
language work (in L1 English) over here in England is the (Hallidayan)
belief that those resources need to grow - schools teach new language, in
fact a very great deal of it. New vocabulary, new syntax and new meanings
that the children wouldn't have without schooling. Maybe you wouldn't
agree, but if you do, would that be covered by your "language use"?

Dick

Richard (= Dick) Hudson

Phonetics and Linguistics, University College London,
Gower Street, London WC1E  6BT.
+44(0)20 7679 3152; fax +44(0)20 7383 4108;
http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/home.htm