ABSTRACT
Developments in linguistics, and particularly psycholinguistics, have had an impact upon the understanding of how children come to acquire language. This chapter deals with two factors. The first is the significance which may derive from the ways in which a junior-age child goes on subtly improving control of his first language. The second, and truly vital one, concerns the relevance of intellectual development to a child's learning, and particularly to his learning of a second language at school. Before focusing on French it is necessary to emphasize the general fact that many aspects of the behaviour of young children are based on an understanding of principle in practical terms. In primary education generally the growing understanding of children's characteristics at the various stages of their development has led teachers to consider the child's readiness for particular activities, ways of learning, and so on.
