This corpus-based study provides a baseline of complex word usage patterns in the spontaneous speech of English preschool children to ascertain the characteristics of their derivative vocabulary before literacy development affects language skills. Frequencies of suffixed derivatives produced by (N = 243) children aged 2-5 and their caregivers were…

Recent years have witnessed a strong and increasing interest in the incidental learning of second language grammar. While much of this research has focused on the acquisition of second language word order or noun-determiner systems, relatively fewer studies have examined the learning of second language morphology. Results of studies that have…

There has been a long-standing debate about how 'English' can be defined. Educational policy changes have typically been driven by differing representations of the subject, and have ranged from broad 'aesthetic' definitions to more narrow 'functional' views. The present study aims to analyse areas of consensus and contention in stakeholders'…

In 1998 the regulatory body for the National Curriculum, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, acknowledged that there was "widespread uncertainty" over the grammar requirements of the English Curriculum. In this paper I argue that the QCA still has not addressed this uncertainty. I analyse the 1999 and 2011 Primary English…

This article attempts to recontextualise the dimensions of teacher language awareness (LA) highlighted by Svalberg ((2007) "Language awareness and language learning." "Language Teaching," 40, 287-308) by emphasising the role of pedagogy in achieving coherence in language education across the subjects of English (L1) and Modern…

This cross-linguistic comparison of metalinguistic development in French and English examines early ability to manipulate derivational suffixes in oral language games as a function of chronological age, receptive vocabulary, and year of schooling. Data from judgment and production tasks are presented for children aged between 5 and 8 years in…

Describes the outcomes of an investigation into the misconceptions and difficulties encountered when learning grammar. The study is based on evidence collected from a class of 12-year-olds who were engaged in a work scheme focusing on grammar, and two cohorts of PGCE English students undertaking an intensive grammar course. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the advantages of the use of large natural language corpora in promoting grammatical awareness among language teachers and students, focusing on word classes and prescriptive approaches to language as they relate to Britain's National Curriculum at the elementary level. (13 references) (MDM)