Náležitosti

1.5 
Language Development 
In the history of English language methodology there have been many 
discussions concerning both the question ´How children acquire their mother tongue?´ 
and the influence of mother tongue on the process of second language acquirement. As 
both the topics are very broad, for the purpose of the research they will be narrowed. In 
this thesis the suggestions by Opal Dunn, Wendy Scott and Lisbeth Ytreberg together 
with Carole Eller and Maureen Mulroy will be followed mostly.
Opal Dunn claims “Teachers first need to know the level of Language 1 
[
mother 
tongue
]
development of each child they teach as Language 1 reflects on his ability to 
acquire Language 2 
[
second language
]
.” (1983, 10) Scott and Ytreberg continue, “Eight 
to ten year olds are competent users of their mother tongue. By the age of 10 children 
can understand abstracts and symbols, can generalize and systematize” (1990, 4) Carole 
Eller and Maureen Mulroy provide examples “They 
[
young children
] 
enjoy models, 
diagrams and experiments involving the human body and its functions.” (1996, 15) For 
the purpose of the research, activity types and activities with the range of language 
structures that the children had already mastered in their mother tongue will be used. 

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15 
There are some more suggestions to be seen through various sources connecting 
with the topic of language development, for example the ideal number of lessons per 
week, the ideal lesson length, the amount of language structures taught and learnt in a 
lesson, or even cross-curricular links. 
The first suggestion concerns the number of lessons per week in school 
timetables. As Susan Holden argues “The ideal arrangement would seem to be about 30 
minutes of language learning every day, rather than a rigid hour or hour and half twice a 
week.” (1980, 7) Opal Dunn is of a similar opinion “ideally lessons for seven year old 
children should last 45 minutes and should be more frequent than once a week. (1984, 
29) The next suggestion concerns the amount of new language learnt in one lesson. 
According to Opal Dunn as learning everything within each lesson is not possible, 
teachers should include a revision of work to help learners to consolidate the previously 
exposed language forms. “If this regular revision does not take place, gradually 
accumulating not properly understood things lead to the feeling of ´not being good´.” 
(1983, 13) The last but not least suggestion concerns cross-curriculum links. “Language 
2 
[
second language
]
cannot be taught as an isolated subject, it has to be thought of in 
terms of the whole child and his individual educational needs and interests.” (Dunn 
1983, 8)
There is one more useful recommendation by Scott and Ytreberg concerning 
teachers “Have system, have routines, organise, and plan your lessons. Repeat 
situations.” (1990,6) All the recommendations above mentioned suggest that when 
children know what to expect and see carefully planned organization of the lessons, they 
can enjoy and look forward to them. For the purpose of the research, particularly the 
phase of planning, regular revision, repetition, and cross-curricular links will be taken 
into consideration.