National curriculum: ESL in primary education in England: A classroom study

Abstract It has been generally accepted that a child‐centred approach to curriculum and classroom organisation in primary education provides, inter alia, a conducive environment for second language acquisition. This view is implicitly endorsed in the National Curriculum. This paper reports a small‐scale empirical study of classroom interaction between teachers and ESL pupils. The findings suggest that while there was a good deal of teacher‐pupil interaction, it was not always the kind that would promote second language acquisition. This paper opens with a brief discussion on the child‐centred approach and its pedagogical relevance to classroom second language acquisition. This is followed by a detailed account of the empirical study. Finally there is a discussion on implications of the findings within the context of the National Curriculum.