Oral Language Development for Young
Dual Language Learners
And Its Impact on Literacy Development
Barbara Zurer Pearson, Ph.D.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Westfield State College
June 12, 2010
S
Workshop: Closing the
Early Literacy Gap:
Strategies for Action
and Reflection on
Current Practices for
Literacy Development
(Birth to 8)
Barbara Zurer Pearson
bpearson@research.umass.edu
www.zurer.com/pearson
Sponsored by:
MA Department of Early Education
and Care (EEC)
MA Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education (ESE)
Pioneer Valley Readiness Center
with
EEC’s Coordinated Family and
Community Engagement programs
Massachusetts Head Start Assoc.
Head Start State Collaboration Office
Dual Language Learner (DLL)
Focus on Relationship
between Oral and Literate Language
S
What are you hoping to learn
today?
Strategies:
Exchange ideas on “what to do on Monday”
Reflection:
Providing evidence base for “evidence-based practice”
(what make evidence useful? Or less useful?)
Three themes for today
1.
Oral and Literate Language
2.
Dual Language Learners
3.
Research into Practice
My relevant background
S MS TESOL
S Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics (language acquisition)
S Coordinator UMiami Bilingualism Study Group
S BSG: Longitudinal study of 24 BL-learning infants, 3 mos
to 3 years
S Cross-sectional study of 1,000 children in 10 elementary
schools at K, 2nd, and 5th grades—ORAL and LITERATE
Language, narrative (published in 2002, Oller & Eilers, Eds.)
My relevant background - 2
S Dissertation advisor, “Discourse analysis of children’s
language in small group settings in preschool”
S Peer reviewer for several journals, incl. “Early Education
and Development”
S (Associate Director Composition program UMiami)
S Project Manager for development of language test for
African American English speakers, published in 2005 by
Harcourt/ Assessment issues in bilinguals as well
Mixed Audience
S Not “one-size-fits-all” (aka “fits-none”)
S Rather, smorgasbord—(I hope) to have something for
everyone.
(which I may leave to the
end, but ask them when they occur—or write on your
card).
S Please stop me to ask questions
The Gap:
How early do we see it?
Not babbling.
Not first words.
By about 18 months.
S
Measurable differences emerge
In vocabulary
S
In processing
(Hart & Risley, 1995)
S
Ann Fernald, “looking while
listening.”
S
Follow/track child’s eyes
S
Janet Werker, Chris Fennell
S
First “notice” minimal pairs for
novel words (17 vs.20 mos)
Theme 1:
Oral and Literate Language
S
CONTINUUM
w/ Two dimensions
(E. Finnegan, Language, 1994)
LITERATE (written)
FORMAL/
de-contextual
INFORMAL
(in context)
ORAL
CONTINUUM
w/ Two dimensions
LITERATE (written)
literature
email
comics
letters
Legal documents
FORMAL/
de-contextual
INFORMAL
(in context)
conversation
speeches
ORAL
Characteristics of literate language
S
Longer words
S
1st and 2nd person pronouns
S
Longer sentences
S
Contractions
S
Lots of adjectives
S
Demonstratives (this, that)
S
3rd person pronouns
S
Emphatics
S
Abstract language
S
Wh-questions
Start with “transcribing talk.”
Which genres can be used to scaffold which other
ones?
Snow et al. (1990) Oral narrative the bridge into
literacy.
Rhymes / chants / Mother Goose
Danling Fu (2003) An Island of English
Use drawing integrated with writing
Early writing incorporate L1—they write it, not you.
Theme 2:
Studies of Bilinguals
Dual Language Learners
As different from each other as they are from
monolinguals.
S
DLL Glossary
S Simultaneous
S Sequential
Code-switching
Critical (sensitive) period
S L1/ L2
S Dominant language
Heritage language speaker
S Balanced bilingual
Communicative competence
S Interdependent/ independent
BICS/ CALPS
S Passive bilingual
Formulaic speech
Research on Bilinguals (DLL)
1.
Large study of “language and literacy in bilingual
children” (LLBC)
2.
Dissertation on child and teacher talk in preschool settings
3.
Cross-cultural ethnography (Korean & U.S. preK teachers)
Take-home messages
S Short-term versus long-term (K versus 5/ Collier & Thomas)
S Oral language independent (within languages)
vs. literacy interdependent (across languages)
S “Profile effect”—relationships between vocabulary and
literacy skills are different for children learning more than one
language than for those learning only one language
S Distributed characteristics
S Conceptual vocabulary
Take-home messages – 2
S Talking AND LISTENING to a child makes a measurable
difference in quality and quantity of speech from the child
S Children’s most mature sentences were in their personal
narratives.
S (use non-fiction as well as fiction/ narrative versus
exposition/ information texts, from Korean study)
Bilingualism Study Group / University
of Miami
S Infant Study 25 babies 3 months to 3 years,
S Language & Literacy (LLBC) 960 children 5-11
D. K. Oller
Vivian Umbel
Ana Navarro
Rebecca Eilers
Rebecca Burns*
Sylvia Fernandez
Maria Fernandez
Alan Cobo-Lewis
Virginia Gathercole
Barbara Zurer Pearson
NICHD 5R01 HD30762 to D.K. Oller & R. E. Eilers
NIDCD Bilingualism Supplement to Longitudinal Infant Vocalizations
Project
Nested factorial (@ 3 grades)
(Core Design-LLBC, Oller & Eilers, 2002)
Monolinguals
Bilinguals
Only Spanish
Home Lang: English & Spanish
School:1-way
SES: Hi
Lo
Hi
Lo
2-way
Hi Lo
1-way
Hi
Lo
2-way
Hi Lo
SES
(Replicated at Kindergarten, 2nd and 5th Grades)
Measures—in English & Spanish
S 9 Standardized (sub)Tests
S Woodcock Johnson & Woodcock Munoz (picture
vocabulary, oral vocab, analogies, letter-word, word attack,
passage comprehension, proofing, dictation)
S PPVT/ TVIP
S 3 Probe studies
S Narrative, Grammatical judgments,
Phonological translation
Short-term versus long-term
studies
PPVT Scores by Grade
110
Score
100
90
ML
BL
80
70
60
K
2nd
5th
From LLBC, 2002
Interdependence versus
independence of two languages of
DLL
S Can one language be used to scaffold the other?
S Can one language be a foundation for learning in the other?
Factor Analysis of Bilinguals’
English (blue) & Spanish (orange) Data
Factor 1
Factor 2
Factor 3
–.01
Word Attack
.82
.71
Letter–Word
Rdg Comp
.79
.64
.82
.61
.35
.25
.37
.28
Proofing
Dictation
Picture Vocab
.70
.61
.66
.70
.32
.34
.48
.40
.80 –.05 –.00
.78
.69
.74
.74
.61
.78
.72
Analogies
Oral Vocab
PPVT
.38
Inter-dependence - 2
S (in fact, children who learned to read in both
English and Spanish outperformed those who
learned to read only in English)
Profile Effect
Relationships between vocabulary and other language skills
are different for children learning more than one language
than for those learning only one language
S
Makes the wrong “prediction.”
S Low vocabulary score in monolingual child—
S Processing problem?
S Inability to learn at same pace as peers
S Low vocabulary score in bilingual child—
S Lack of exposure, not poor processing
S (plus it’s “distributed” across languages)
—Vocabulary weakest in general
Proofreading Scores by Grade
110
110
100
100
90
ML
BL
80
70
Score
Score
PPVT Scores by Grade
90
80
70
60
K
2nd
5th
From LLBC, 2002
60
K
i.e. other skills NOT weak
2nd
5th
Why might vocabulary be
weak?
S Depends on quantity of input (and as we’ll see
later, also the quality).
S Single language measure is inadequate.
S Looks at only a part of what the child knows;
compares it (through standardized score) to the
totality of the monolingual child’s vocabulary
Why might vocabulary be
weak?
S Distributed Characteristic
Some vocabulary in one language and not the
other
S Total Conceptual Vocabulary –
“how many things or actions can the child name?” A
reasonable sign of language capacity more generally
Generally know some words in
one language only.
S Miami Infant Study (1/25)
S Doublet studies
S Infants about 30%,
S K 50%,
S 1st 60+%
S College  90%
S Most BLs’ vocabulary is “distributed” (in both languages)
S Even 2 tests, don’t give the full picture
Vocabulary is not just numbers.
S It’s organization, too.
S Antonyms, synonyms, category relationships
(a rose is a flower, a flower is a plant, etc.)
S (We found these not to be a problem for BLs,
even with somewhat lower vocabulary.)
Make the wrong predictions for
BLs
•(Pearson, 1993)
•Lower SAT
“predicts” equal
success in
coursework after
4 semesters
Research on
Talking with children:
Children need adult language
modeling
•Children need lots of opportunities to practice
talking--doing “co-constructing” stories and
conversations
Requires a balance
S
Do you know how much time
children get to talk?
“Observational Experiment”
S Experiment done by Gathercole
S Children in Scottish preschool;
S 3 sets of 4 children recorded in 2 situations
with 4 different teachers.
Burns-Hoffman, 1992
Teacher-Child Proportion of Talk
(words/minute)
160
Average Words
140
120
100
TeacherW ords
80
ChildW ords
60
40
20
0
T1
T2
T3
T4
Burns, 1992
Child-Teacher Proportion of Talk
(adult words x 10)
Av. Words per Hour
900
TeacherWords
750
ChildWords
600
450
300
150
ChildWords
0
T1
T2
TeacherWords
T3
T4
Clearest message?
S Teachers 1 & 2:
TALK LESS
S Teacher 4:
TALK MORE
S Teacher 3:
Tell us your secret!
The Secret: Children’s
Personal Stories
S Children told more personal stories with
Teacher #3
S With all teachers children used their most
complex language when telling personal stories
Another language secret:
stop quizzing
Children did the least amount of talking with teachers
who did the most amount of quizzing.
Quizzing is not warm, nurturing communication.
Issues of Quality
(from Hart & Risley, 1995)
Positive versus Negatives
Responses versus Initiations*
*questions versus commands looks
the same
PRACTICE
What are the “take-away” messages?
S
How to keep kids from talking??
S
(NOT TELLING THEM NOT TO--THAT USUALLY DOESN’T WORK)
S RESPONDING NEGATIVELY
S CORRECTING FORM
S CONSTANTLY DISAGREEING
S MAKING FUN
DON’T DO THESE!
How do you get more language from
preschoolers?
No DRILLS!
What does it mean to “teach”
preschoolers language?
S What do you want?
S How do you get it?
WHAT KIND of LANGUAGE ARE
YOU LOOKING FOR?
Specific
Complex
Less about here and now
More about there and then
S
SPECIFIC
HERE AND NOW:
--> PICK UP THE TRUCK
--> PICK UP THE BLUE TRUCK
THE TRUCK WITH THE BIG TIRES
THE TRUCK YOU PLAYED WITH YESTERDAY
COMPLEX
(MORE THAN ONE SENTENCE --OR VERB-- AT A TIME
But not just strung together “and then and then and then”)
I WANT IT --> I WANNA GO
I WANT YOU TO GO.
COMPLEX (2)
(MORE THAN ONE SENTENCE --OR VERB-- AT A TIME)
QUOTATION
HE SAID, “BOO.”
HE SAID, “I’M GOING”
--> HE SAID HE WAS GOING.
SHE SAID, “I’M A PRINCESS.” --> SHE SAID SHE
WAS A PRINCESS.
Hazel….
COMPLEX (3)
(MORE THAN ONE FUNCTION AT A TIME)
WHO FOUND THE CHEESE?
WHO FOUND THE BREAD?
JOHN
MARY
WHO FOUND WHAT? (from DELV)
WHO FOUND WHAT?
MARY, JOHN, CHEESE, BREAD
JOHN -- CHEESE
MARY -- BREAD
SOME 4’S AND MANY 5’S CAN DO THIS.
COMPLEX(4)
-4
SCOMPLEX
TALK ABOUT WHAT OTHERS ARE THINKING
TAKING THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANOTHER
And fitting it into your language
“THEORY OF MIND”
(OF OTHER MINDS)
BUILD TALK ABOUT HERE
AND NOW
S WHAT’S THAT YOU ARE DOING?
S TELL ME ABOUT THIS.
S WHAT IS THIS PERSON DOING?
S WHAT IS THIS PERSON THINKING?
MOVE IT TO YESTERDAY
S (TALK MONDAY ABOUT MONDAY)
S TALK TUESDAY ABOUT MONDAY:
S WHAT DID WE DO?
S HOW DID IT GO?
S WHERE WERE WE?
MOVE IT TO TOMORROW
S (TALK TUESDAY ABOUT TUESDAY)
S TALK TUESDAY ABOUT WEDNESDAY:
S WHAT WILL WE DO?
S HOW WILL IT GO?
NOW THERE IS NO LIMIT
TO WHAT THEY CAN SAY
TALK ABOUT THE PAST
TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE
TALK ABOUT MAKE BELIEVE
TALK ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE
EASIEST WAY TO GET TO
“THERE AND THEN”
SBOOKS
WHY NOT TV AND VIDEO?
INTERACTION
ENCOURAGES CHILD’S OWN STORY
The role of media in language
development
S Media don’t replace INTERACTION
S “Motive and opportunity”
S Interaction provides opportunity
S Media contribute to motivation (at this age)
Cf BOOKS—lots of dialogic reading at this conference
SO, YOU WANT COMPLEX,
SPECIFIC TALK
ABOUT DISTANT THINGS
WHERE YOU HAVE TO KNOW
WHAT OTHER PEOPLE KNOW (OR
DON’T KNOW)
Describe, Reflect, Anticipate
S
Main Take-home message for
Language Strategies
S Listen
S Build from the child
S (Respond responsively)
S Expand the child’s utterance
S Recast, don’t correct
S Repetition, repetition, repetition
Best Practices
Meaningful Language
Interaction
S Language is the Key:
S Follow the CAR
S
Follow the child’s lead
S
Comment and wait
S
Ask questions and wait
S
Respond by adding a little more and wait
Contact Lora Heulitt at
the National Head Start
Family Literacy Center
for more information.
lora.heulitt@csuci.edu
Suggested Publications
S Barbara’s website: www.zurer.com/pearson/bilingualchild
S Pearson, B. Z. Raising a BL Child
S Patton Tabors, One Child, Two Languages
S WestEd article, in Concepts of Care,* (also en español)
S Danling Fu, An Island of English (2003)
S B. Hart & T. Risley, Meaningful Differences (1995)
Professional development ideas
S Research tells us
that our ability to follow children’s different conversational threads
has the greatest impact on child language development.
S In group care, we are always attuned to all the members of
our group. Without training and coaching, we are likely to
cut short many critical opportunities for one-on-one
conversations with individual children.
Building Language Awareness
S “How much do I talk with my co-teachers during the
day?”
S Does most of my talk involve the children (a
characteristic of quality care settings)
S “How much do I talk during activities?”
S How long can I keep a conversation going with a single
child?
Building Language Awareness
Recognizing Different TYPES of Talk
Management
Task accompaniment (selftalk)
Personal stories
Expository talk (like a book)
(Quizzing)
Identify which languages you are
using
For which purposes
S
S
S
Which language am I using?
Which language(s) do the children need?
S
Recommend a combination of self-assessment through record-review
as well as feedback notes from an outside observer.
S
Identify the kinds of talk they are using during different activities.
Language awareness is the key:
S Don’t let opportunities to respond slip away
S And create other opportunities to respond
A young friend from RCMA in Immokalee FL…Photographer T. Hoffman
Bilingual First Language
Acquisition
Two languages
from birth.
Balanced (often)
Independent of
each other?
(maybe)
From Raising a Bilingual Child, Pearson, 2008
Even 2 languages learned from birth
can be unequal.
Depends on type and amount of exposure.
SLA : Start to learn one first; then
add the second
early
How independent?
late(r)
How balanced?
An L2 can overtake an L1.
And often does.