Emphasis on Language Form and Function — Group Work and the Development of Linguistic Knowledge

Abstract

Chapter Six focuses on lessons in which the development of linguistic (mainly lexicogrammatical) knowledge is the primary aim. The zone of proximal development is the key theoretical construct used to analyse at the micro level the talk in small groups that supports the development of linguistic knowledge. Collective scaffolding, internalisation and imitation are elaborated upon further, together with an argument for group zones of proximal development. A specific form of imitation, persistent imitation, is presented as a significant process in the internalisation of new knowledge.