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Signs of Learning: Child Nonnative Speakers in Tutoring Sessions With a Child Native Speaker
Author(s) -
Peck Sabrina
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1987.tb00584.x
Subject(s) - sophistication , psychology , session (web analytics) , conversation , phonotactics , language acquisition , linguistics , first language , communication , mathematics education , phonology , computer science , social science , philosophy , sociology , world wide web
Learning acts, which included conversation‐maintaining acts and language‐learning acts, were coded and compared in a group of native Spanish‐speaking children ( n = 9) during individual tutoring sessions with a native English speaker. In each session, an 8 year‐old NS of English tutored one kindergartener for about twenty‐five minutes at an elementary school. Three kindergarteners had been rated high, three average and three low in overall achievement by their teachers. For each child, the total number of words and number of unique words were computed. In the nine tape recordings, the high group ranked ahead of the low group in the quantity and sophistication of their English, and the number of learning acts produced. The medium group resembled the high group more than the low group on most features. Each group had a characteristic pattern of learning act use.