Second Language Acquisition Stages
Stephen Krashen (1986)
Silent and Receptive Stage
Students do not verbally respond to communication in the second language although there is receptive
processing. Students should be actively included in all class activities, but not forced to speak.
Employing the Natural Approach and Total Physical Response (TPI) strategies will allow students time
and provide clues to encourage participation. Students are likely to respond non-verbally to peers
during inclusion in many activities: Interaction with visuals and audiovisuals, games and hands-on
projects. As students progress through this stage, the will begin to participate using gestures and
pointing and they may begin to provide one word verbal responses.
Characteristics
Students:
¾ Are often verbally unresponsive
¾ Are often hesitant and un sure
¾ May use one word responses
¾ Are developing listening skills
¾ Need time to be comfortable with
classroom environment, procedures and
activities
¾ Respond non-verbally by pointing,
nodding gesturing or drawing
Learning tasks
Listen
Point
Move
Mime
Match
draw
select
choose
act
circle
Students
Strategies
Teachers need to:
¾ Encourage listening and not force
speaking
¾ Slow speech, emphasize key words
¾ Model and demonstrate activities
¾ Use visual aids, pictures, graphic
organizers, realia
¾ Use gestures and body language
¾ Use multimedia aids to illustrate concepts
¾ Use Total Physical Response techniques
¾ Modify work by amount, time, content
Assessing Comprehension
Know: Show me the . . .
Comprehend: Draw a . . .
Apply: Point to examples of . . .
Analyze: Draw the parts of . . .
Synthesize: Show what would happen if . .
Evaluate: Move (object/to place) if you agree. . .
Strategy I’ll use
1.
2.
3.
4.
5
Information compiled from BVSD, CDE, Krashen, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Wall-Macht and Ream, March
2000. Format adapted from Project Talk Title VII Academic Excellence Program.
Early Production
Students in this stage begin to respond verbally using one or two words. Students begin to develop the
ability to understand words often repeated in a familiar context. Students begin to develop listening
skills and build their passive and receptive (listening) vocabulary. They may begin to group two and
three words together in a short phrase to respond to a question or express an idea.
Characteristics
Students:
¾ Relate words to their environment
¾ Begin to grasp main ideas of message
¾ Begin to focus on contextual clues
¾ Use routine expressions independently
¾ Demonstrate improved comprehension
¾ Mispronounce words (no need for
correction)
¾ Will repeat or recite memorable language
¾ Will use one or two word responses
advancing to two or three words
¾ May not tell you if they do not understand
Name
Label
Group
Respond
Discriminate
List
Learning tasks
Categorize
Tell/say
Chant
Answer
Students
Strategies
Teachers need to:
¾ Encourage listening and not force
speaking
¾ Use cooperative learning and scaffolding
techniques
¾ Ask Yes/No and directed choice questions
¾ Ask Who? What? Where? Questions
¾ Ask listing type questions
¾ Use Think-Pair-Share technique when
asking questions of the class
¾ Allow students to illustrate knowledge
¾ Use labeling and diagramming in
illustrations
¾ Modify work by amount of time, content
Assessing Comprehension
Know: Where is the . . .?
Comprehend: Draw and label the . . .
Apply: Show me how you know . . .
Analyze: Show how you would sort. . .
Synthesize: Predict (tell)what comes next
Evaluate: Why did ____ choose ___?
Strategy I’ll use
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Information compiled from BVSD, CDE, Krashen, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Wall-Macht and Ream, March
2000. Format adapted from Project Talk Title VII Academic Excellence Program.
Speech Emergence
Students in this stage begin to respond in simple sentences when they are comfortable in the setting and
engaged in activities they understand. Instruction should be focused on strategies that ensure
comprehensible input. All interactions with students in this stage should be focused on communication
rather than form. Teachers and other students should encourage and be receptive to all attempts to
communicate (gestures, attentiveness, following directions, any oral participation.) Teachers and
students should model correct usage in all communication, but not correct errors.
Characteristics
Students:
¾ Begin to speak in simple sentences
¾ Demonstrate expanded vocabulary
¾ Show improved comprehension
¾ May ask for clarification or meaning
¾ Participate in small group discussions
¾ May rely on native language to
communicate complex ideas
¾ Start to acquire basic communication
skills and social language
¾ May not tell you if they do not
understand.
Learning tasks
Recall
role-play
Retell
select
Define
describe
Explain
organize
Compare
make up
Students
Strategies
Teachers need to:
¾ Encourage listening and not force
speaking
¾ Use cooperative grouping
¾ Encourage efforts to participate
¾ Ask How and Why questions
¾ Emphasize content area vocabulary
¾ Provide pictures and content area text
¾ Provide opportunities for participation in
early reading and writing activities
¾ Modify work according to individual
need.
Assessing Comprehension
Know: Can you recall . . .?
Comprehend: Explain what is happening?
Apply: How would you use?
Analyze: How would you organize?
Synthesize: What would happen if . .?
Evaluate: What choice would you have made?
Strategy I’ll use
1.
2.
3.
4.
5
Information compiled from BVSD, CDE, Krashen, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Wall-Macht and Ream, March
2000. Format adapted from Project Talk Title VII Academic Excellence Program.
Intermediate Fluency
Students in this stage gradually make the transition to more elaborate speech. With continued
comprehensible input and communication-focused interactions, students may begin to link familiar
phrases and generate sentences to express their ideas. Teachers need to continually model language
usage, extend receptive vocabulary, and provide frequent opportunities for students to produce
language in comfortable situations.
Strategies
Characteristics
Teachers need to:
Students:
¾ Encourage listening and not force
¾ Begin to speak in more complex sentences
speaking
¾ May use incorrect grammar and verb
¾ Provide visually rich content instruction
forms
¾ Participate more often in large groups
¾ Design content activities that focus on
¾ Need context clues in content area
speech production, not grammatical form
¾ Exhibit greater vocabulary development
¾ Have students take on larger roles in
¾ Begin to think in the new language instead
cooperative group activities
of translating from native language
¾ Provide extra time or modify assignments
¾ Introduce colloquialisms/idioms
Learning tasks
Assessing Comprehension
Summarize
classify
Know: How would you describe. . .?
Restate
extend
Comprehend: Which statements support .?
Contrast
evaluate
Apply: What questions would you ask about___?
Predict
support
Analyze: What is the relationship between__?
Create
examine
Synthesize: Can you predict the outcome if. . .?
Evaluate: Compare and contrast. . .
Students
Strategy I’ll use
1.
2.
3.
4.
5
Information compiled from BVSD, CDE, Krashen, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Wall-Macht and Ream, March
2000. Format adapted from Project Talk Title VII Academic Excellence Program.
Advanced Fluency
Students in this stage begin to engage in non-cued conversation and to speak fluently using social and
academic language. It is appropriate to begin to direct students’ attention to grammar, idiomatic
expressions, and reading comprehension skills. Activities should be designed to develop skills in higher
order thinking, vocabulary development and cognitive processing. Students in this stage need deliberate
instruction in reading and writing and frequent opportunities to practice them.
Characteristics
Students:
¾ Can interact extensively with native
speakers
¾ Make few grammatical errors
¾ Participate in English literacy programs
¾ Have high levels of comprehension but
may not understand all of the academic
language
¾ Read and write for a variety of purposes
¾ Continue to need extensive vocabulary
development in content
Construct
Hypothesize
Justify
Analyze
Defend
Learning tasks
debate
elaborate
conclude
influence
persuade
Students
Strategies
Teachers need to:
¾ Encourage listening and not force
speaking
¾ Emphasize content area vocabulary
¾ Begin to provide grammar instruction
¾ Focus on reading and writing skills
¾ Have students take on advanced
cooperative learning roles (note-taker,
reporter)
¾ Continue to support content area
instruction with visuals, realia, and active
learning strategies
Assessing Comprehension
Know: How would you explain?
Comprehend: Put this in your own words
Apply: What other way could you___?
Analyze: What ideas justify___?
Synthesize: Show what would happen if . .
Evaluate: What would you cite to defend__?
Strategy I’ll use
1.
2.
3.
4.
5
Information compiled from BVSD, CDE, Krashen, Bloom’s Taxonomy, Wall-Macht and Ream, March
2000. Format adapted from Project Talk Title VII Academic Excellence Program.