Title: Producing a framework of developmental sequences for the validation of language curricula: issues and early findings
There has been widespread concern among language educators regarding the need for theoretically motivated guidelines for language and literacy proficiency throughout the middle childhood years. This paper will discuss issues arising from a large scale project being undertaken in Australia to develop a framework of language development sequences. The research design will be discussed, including an exploration of how development is being conceptualised within three broad domains:
The interaction between the various domains will be highlighted, with comparisons made between classroom and home data. Preliminary findings from the project will be discussed, including the development of logico-semantic relations and the development of grammatical metaphor across a range of text-types.