Why is language development
important?
Second Language Acquisition
HD FS 340
October 10, 2002
Components of language
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Phonology (Sounds)
Vocabulary (Words)
Grammar (How the words go together)
Discourse (How sentences go together to tell
stories, make an argument, explain how
something works)
• Pragmatics (Social rules for use of language)
What about second language
acquisition?
• Some children learn two languages from birth
• Others learn home language first, and then
begin to acquire a second language
• Concern for loss of home language in this
situation
• Why be concerned? The number of second
language learners is increasing!
• Children need to understand and use language
to make sense of the world.
• Children need to understand and use language
to establish social relationships with others
• Children need to understand and use the
languages they will be learning to read.
Curriculum & Language/Literacy
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Vocabulary
Phonological Awareness
Book and Print Concerns
Discourse Skills
Alphabet Knowledge
Bilingual Children
• Potential
– Family and community non-English speaking
• Incipient
– Family non-English; community English
• Emergent
– Family and caregiver speak English and nonEnglish
• At-risk
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Family: non-English; caregiver: English
Community English
Push to monolingual
Loss of contact with parent and grandparents
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At-risk language development
Home language Inventory
Mother
Mostly
Arabic
Both
Mostly
English
Only
English
X
Father
X
Older sib
X
Grandparent
X
Total vocabulary
Conceptual
Spanish
English
Number of Words
Only
Arabic
12
20
28
Age (Months)
Stages of acquisition
• Home Language
• Silence
– Data gathering
– Sound experimentation
• Telegraphic/formulaic speech
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Imitations
“No”, “More”, “Me”
“Shut up!”
“Get out”
“Be careful
Developmental Path of Bilingual
Development
• Highly volatile
– Grammar
– Vocabulary
• Individual Differences
– Age
• Myth: Younger is better!
– First language not established
– Second language requires cognition!
• Personality
• Production/language use
– Risk Taker?
– Reserved
– Frames/slots
– Constructions/deconstructions
– Similar to first language acquisition
Facilitating Second Language
Acquisition
• Buttressing
– Make sure child understands (gestures, objects,
visuals)
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Repetition (greetings, routines)
Focus on here and now
Expand and extend child’s language
Up the ante
– Demand more language for communication
• Learning greetings & survival words in
child’s/parent’s language
• Motivation
• Exposure
Classroom
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Provide safe haven
Familiar classroom routines
Ensure inclusion in group activities
Get help from English speaking children
Avoid “satellite children”
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Invisible
misunderstood
remain on fringes
Treated as younger children or “dumber”
• Bring in adult speakers of child’s language
– Expose to vocabulary, books
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Effective classrooms
• Have routinized and consistent organizational
structure
• Language-rich: adults use supportive methods
of communication
• Include discussions that help English speakers
understand and help second language learners
• Have a curriculum that helps second language
learners actively participate
Extended discourse
• Child can continue to have higher level
conversations with parents if they are held in
the language that parents know best
• Skills that can be transferred from home
language to English later:
– Learning how to tell stories,
– make explanations
– Form opinions
– Make arguments
Vocabulary in the home
language
• Words used to describe the world
• Each word refers to a particular concept
• Having a vocabulary item for a concept is the
first important step in the process
• Having a second vocabulary item (for the same
concept) in English will add to the child’s ability
to communicate in English
Home language and literacy
• Critical piece in the puzzle for young children’s
language and literacy development
• Most effective if carried out in the language that
the adults know best
• Can be the foundation for children’s later literacy
development in first OR second language
Home support for literacy in the
home language
• Getting used to the idea that books are
interesting and important
• Enjoying being read to and wanting to begin
to read oneself
• HavinG enriched conversations during
reading
• Seeing that other members of the household
use reading and writing in their lives
• None of these is LANGUAGE SPECIFIC!
Incorporate home language and
literacies of second language
learning children
• Why?
– Socially useful
– Second language learners are the experts
– Build pride in their languages and cultures
– Other children begin to understand about other
languages
• Cognitively challenging
– Developing metalinguistic awareness
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Integrating language and literacy
experiences for all children
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Start slowly
Add features of integrated curriculum over time
Recruit parents or community members to help
If there are no second language learners in the
classroom, think about incorporating anyway for
metalinguistic awareness
Why support second language
acquisition?
• Supporting home language keeps family in
child’s life
• Child cannot learn concepts while learning
language
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