Language functions and their implications for a child\u27s performance in English: A comparative ethnography of verbal interactions

Spontaneous verbal talk was explored in the two linguistic environments of a learner in Grade V. The purpose was to determine how language functions that occur naturally at home compare to those occurring at school. The study explored verbal communication exhibited in its natural context, the daily happenings in home life and the interactions involving curricular subjects in the classroom. Among other findings, this study shows that those Q-markers generally considered to contribute significantly to the development of a child\u27s higher levels of intellectual processing are not necessarily the only ones that do. The creative use of the Q-marker what is found in this study to motivate a child to participate successfully in the cognitive transactions of curricular topics. Another finding with significant implications for teaching includes the responding style exhibited by Julie, the focus of this study. Julie\u27s true responses (i.e., the kind of response that logically or directly answers a given question), are always preceded by short spoken utterances regarding episodes of her personal or learning experiences. These short episodes occurring before the true response itself involve details that point to the true response that is being expected by the communicator. This sequence of thought organization is the opposite of the paragraph structure used in journalistic writing (i.e., topic sentence followed by detailing). This type of responding which is consistent with Julie\u27s style of responding at home could interfere with her formal literacy training at school where a given task may require the topic-headed organization of ideas in writing