Second Language Acquisition – English Language Learner stages

 

 

Ø       Pre-production/Comprehension Stage: Students communicate with gestures and actions. They build receptive vocabulary and refine their listening skills. During this phase, called the “silent period,” students try to make sense of what they hear, but they do not engage in language production. Even though they do not speak, language acquisition has begun.  

 

A child cannot be forced out of the silent period.  It can be very damaging to try.  The silent period can take 3 months – 1 year or more depending on the child’s personality

 

Ø       Early Production Stage: Students speak and/or write using yes/no answers, one or two words, lists of words, or short phrases. They continue to expand their receptive vocabulary. 

 

Think of a toddler learning words and rules.  Students also learn chunks of words.  Just because they say a phrase (Stop it!, Cool man! Shut up! or I don’t know.) don’t assume they speak and understand.

 

Ø       Speech Emergence Stage: Students' speech production improves in both quantity and quality. Students speak and/or write in longer phrases and complete sentences and they use a wide range of vocabulary.

 

 Think of a kindergartener learning new words and sentences.

 

Ø      Intermediate Fluency Stage: Students engage in conversations and produce connected narratives orally and in writing. 

 

Ø      Advanced Stage: Students speak and write in connected and unified paragraphs about most situations. 

 

Even though an ELL is at this stage they still need much support and help.  They are by no means fluent.

 

 

 

Teaching an ELL is much like teaching a toddler how to speak.  We go thru the same steps.  The ELL, however will learn faster because they have their first language to build upon (scaffolding).

If they continue to learn their home language it is easier to learn their second language.  They have that scaffolding knowledge to build on.  Please encourage them and their parents to read in their home language at home and to continue to learn in their home language at home.  A person who is bilingual is more marketable than a person who is semi lingual in two languages

 

  A lot of these students think they are stupid because they don’t understand what is going on in class when it is so easy for the others.  They don’t realize that they are really working twice as hard, learning at home in their home language and learning English at school. 

  They don’t understand what you are saying but they can read body language.  That is pretty much universal.  Be careful what your body says.

 

Telling them they need to speak nothing but English at home is damaging in so many ways.  This forces them to:

Lose the their ability to communicate with their family;

Lose, be ashamed of their heritage;

Lose, be ashamed of their identity;

Devalue, be ashamed of their families;

Lose half of themselves.

 

We are educators and are here to help students learn and grow, why would we encourage them not to learn and grow?

 

There are two types of language that we learn and use.  There is BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) and CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. 

 

BICS is common everyday spoken language.  It is learned first and easier.  This is when you hear them talking to friends in the hall and they sound fluent but in class they are lost and just ‘don’t get it.’ 

CALP is academic language and takes anywhere from 3-5 years to develop.  This is the classroom language and concepts.  Again, think of a typical English-speaking child.  Are they ready for school language at the age of 3 or 4?  Most aren’t.  We are required to start testing ELL’s before they are developmentally able to handle the academic language.

 

 

The best way to teach ELL students is by modeling, pictures, realia, hands on and lots of repetition.  Give them as much hands on as possible.  Games are great if possible.  What better way to teach colors, numbers, sequencing and some simple tenses etc than playing UNO or one of those types of games.  Memory games made from flashcards are great for vocabulary.

 

Making accommodations for Non English Speaking students is not cutting down questions from 20 to 10 and having them do a sheet or test. It is giving them appropriate work to do and/or a helper to do it with.   It is evaluating the students in different ways.  For example, orally and with pictures; ask a question and allow the student to point at the correct picture answer. 

 

Trust yourself to be able to reach the student.  They are intelligent and most of the older students have a base of knowledge in their native language that can help them make the connection. 

 

Straight lecture is the least favorable way to teach.  They don’t understand and you will soon lose them to their own devises.  That will more than likely mean behavior problems because they are bored.  And they don’t understand why you are yelling at them.

 

 

 

 

 

PUT YOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES.