THE TESTING OF SPOKEN ENGLISH IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Ten boys and ten girls in a nursery class, who were matched in age and in nursery experience, were each observed for a complete school day. Every response uttered by and to them was recorded in longhand. Their activities and the time spent on each were noted. The behaviour of the staff and the entire nursery environment were scrutinized. The responses and activities were categorized and analysed in relation to their social class and intellectual and verbal ability. However, no association appeared to exist between the use of certain language forms, such as the question, and certain types of behaviour and any of these dimensions. It was suspected that this was due to the minimal interaction between children and staff, for the same children, in a more structured situation, appeared more ready to use a variety of linguistic forms to explore and to seek to understand their environment. The result would suggest a re‐orientation of aims and a more structured approach to nursery activities, if pre‐school education is to have a beneficial effect on the linguistic and cognitive development of the young child.