Language Mosaic and Its Place in Developing Young L2 Learner Operational Thought

The article is intended to highlight the educationally neglected young learner potential for operational thinking about language and discuss language mosaic as the tool conducive to accomplishing this aim. It begins with a psychological and empirical justification for drawing children's conscious attention to formal properties of the L2 as opposed/compared to the L1. Consequently, language mosaic is shown as providing opportunities for contrastive linguistic instruction which has been subsumed by the present author within the framework of the sociocultural theory stressing the importance of assisted performance and prolepsis in assimilating a foreign language with reliance on the native language learning experience. The advantages of language mosaic–driven exploratory talk in L2 classroom are presented with reference to the concept of personal-social equilibrium. Overall, language mosaic appears to encourage children to function as little scientists and analysts concerned with examining L1/L2 rules.