ABSTRACT
The importance of language There are many interconnected ways in which language can be seen as a central component of the educational process. Perhaps most importantly, language is the major way of forming and developing concepts, and using these to express understanding and to communicate with other people. Language therefore depends on, and is a basis for, learning and memory, as well as general thinking abilities. Because of its central role in education, English is a core subject in the National Curriculum of England and Wales, and children’s progress is assessed at the end of the various Key Stages by means of SATs and the GCSE examinations. Traditionally, at school, the emphasis tends to be on developing competency with written forms of language, and less emphasis is put on competency in oral communication. However, there is an increasing recognition of language as the basis for cognitive development and problem-solving, and research has examined the impact that teaching children to ‘think together’ through spoken language can have on their academic attainment, as you will see.
