Cloze Procedure as a Technique for the Investigation of Social Class Differences in Language Usage

Abstract

Cloze procedure was used to investigate the nature and extent of the differences in verbal behaviour of working and middle class boys. Words were deleted in sentences taken from ‘formal’ and ‘informal’, middle and working class letters and from middle and working class oral utterances. The results showed that the middle class boys used a wider range of words and preferred different words in this situation. The working class boys showed more conformity in their responses than the middle class boys, especially for the written materials. \ Fruitful lines for further research on ‘restricted’ and ‘elaborated’ codes are discussed.