1 USE OF VERB COLLOCATIONS BY PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN SCIENCE ASSESSMENT TASKS: A STUDY OF ENGLISH NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE SPEAKING CHILDREN

This article examines the productive use of verb collocations in assessment tasks in science by English language learners (EALs) and English native-speaking (ENSs) children in five state primary schools in England. Learner test data from Years 4 and 5 at Key Stage 2 (8-10-year olds) in each school w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European Journal of Applied Linguistics and TEFL 2024-01, Vol.13 (2), p.3-28
Main Authors: Afitska, Oksana, Buendia-Castro, Miriam
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
British English
Child language
Children
Collocations
Curricula
Educational Assessment
Educational Needs
Educational Practices
Elementary education
Elementary school students
Elementary Schools
English
English (Second Language)
English as a second language
English language
English Language Learners
Language Acquisition
Language of Instruction
Language Role
Language usage
Learning
Learning Problems
Learning Processes
Linguistic Competence
Linguistics
Literature Reviews
National Curriculum
Native language acquisition
Native Speakers
Nouns
Primary Education
Science Curriculum
Science education
Science Instruction
Science Tests
Teachers
Verbs
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Summary:This article examines the productive use of verb collocations in assessment tasks in science by English language learners (EALs) and English native-speaking (ENSs) children in five state primary schools in England. Learner test data from Years 4 and 5 at Key Stage 2 (8-10-year olds) in each school were analysed to answer the following questions: In assessment conditions, what verb collocations do EALs and ENSs rely most on? and To what extent docs the learners' use of verb collocations differ from that found in subject-specific primary dictionaries, science study books, and general corpora? The results revealed that both groups of learners produced collocations with general rather than specialised verbs and that differences within the two groups were not significant. Drawing on these findings, it is our assertion that in subject-specific classrooms, the use of specialised language should be encouraged from an early age so that children's academic and discipline-specific language competences start developing and maturing.
ISSN:2192-1032