ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of the educational practices concerned with language teaching in special schools within the eight local authorities in Wales. Since language is essentially a social activity it follows that social interactions available to a child will influence the speed and course of language development. The question of language assessment is also directly tied to theoretical considerations. Linguistic theory has expanded to include a rich and complex set of descriptive tools for the analysis of child language. The heads reported that some 80% of teachers possessed initial teacher training qualifications while of the 88 teachers who completed questionnaires nearly 90% had initial teacher training qualifications. The number of pupils within a class and the extent, to which their needs and abilities are seen as disparate and requiring individual attention rather than group activities, will also place constraints on classroom organisation and the possibilities for introducing different learning experiences.
