Stages of Learning a New Language: The Silent Period

Many of us work with English Language Learners (ELLs) and their families. To help us better understand how to help these children, Maggie’s Big Home will discuss the stages of second language acquisition over the next 3 weeks. We will describe the stages and offer suggestions as to how you can support ELLs in your classroom.

Most people (children and adults) who are immersed in a new language go through a Silent Period. This first stage of language acquisition is very important. Although it appears nothing is happening, key connections are being made. A silent period will vary in length. It can last from a few weeks to over a year.

There are several factors that can influence how long a silent period lasts. A child’s personality can play a big role, as some children are more outgoing than others. They feel comfortable in different situations and are not easily intimidated. Other children are naturally shy. We need to take into consideration individual personalities. Culture also plays a role. In some cultures, females may be expected to be quieter. This may influence how long a silent period lasts, too.

An important role for teachers is to realize that the silent period is a natural part of second language acquisition. Children are listening and processing. They are likely striving to understand what is being said to them. As teachers, we need to be sure children have the time they need. We should not force anyone to speak until they are ready. When we give children opportunities to take part in small group activities with peers, they are likely to feel more comfortable in trying out their new language.

Next week we will discuss the Early Production Stage and the Speech Emergence Stage.

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC – 2.A.04. & 2.D.01.

Head Start – IX. A., B., & C.

Common Phonological Error: Affricates

Take a look at these pictures. They represent sounds that are often difficult for our emerging readers.

Chick

Dragon

Jet

Truck

The initial sounds in these words, j, tr, dr, and ch are called affricates. Many teachers have never heard of this term, despite the fact that these letter combinations are often confusing for young children. It may seem perplexing to us, but these sounds are made in a certain location in the mouth, which leads to them being easily confused. 

Look at your students’ authentic writing. You may see words such as chrip for trip, jran for train, or even jiv for drive. We can understand the vowel changes in these words but we may wonder why the consonant substitutions are occurring. When teachers (and families) know about affricates, these types of errors are easily fixed. 

We suggest placing little toys around the room, as our pictures indicate. Children will wonder what you are up to! You can hand out jellybeans as treats, as further incentive to talk about affricates.

            

You can have children sort pictures according to their initial sound. For example, include pictures of a dress, dragon, drum, train, tray, truck, chimney, chain, chin, jar, jet, and jump. Children place these in columns according to the sound they hear. For children who make many errors with affricates, begin by having them compare pictures of only two letter/letter combinations, such as j with tr. I add the other letters as children progress.

             

In our experience up to a third of emerging readers confuse these sounds. If affricates are not understood, teachers and families are easily confused as to why these substitutions are occurring. If we can’t identify the cause, we can’t fix the errors. 

For more, see our activity this week. Be sure you are signed up here to receive these free offerings.

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.E.06

Head Start - VII. B & C.

Child Friendly Presentations: I Do, We Do, You Do

How can we help our young learners understand new knowledge, strategies, and ways of approaching learning? If we think about the words in the title of this article, we have a good roadmap of how we can guide children through learning. 

We often begin by showing children how to do something new. Let's think about tying shoes. We don't just tell a child to tie his or her shoes. We show them how to do this. Often we talk about a process as we are showing a new skill. For example, in the case of tying shoes we might say, "Let's make two bunny ears from the shoelaces." Then we do this for the child. This is the "I Do" stage of teaching. As adults, we are doing something and the child is watching. We have talked about this in depth in our post about modeling - http://www.maggiesbighome.com/2016/10/teaching-skills-to-children-use-modeling.html 

The next part of teaching is the "We Do" phase. This often takes the longest as we are partners with children and try out a new skill or strategy together. That is key. We are still right there, guiding children, as they attempt the new learning. In the case of tying shoes, we sit with a child and orally review the steps in securing shoes as the child ties laces. We may repeat directions, give children parts of a new skill to do while we do other parts, or guide small groups of children as they work together. The key is to allow plenty of time for practice under the guidance of the adult.

Finally, we invite children to continue to practice the new learning on their own. Aptly titled, the "You Do" phase of learning, we say, "Now it's your turn. You do it!" Children have opportunities to independently practice doing something like tying their shoes. 

When we follow these three sequential components of teaching and learning, children receive the adult guidance that is necessary for learning something new. We have found it beneficial to share these concepts with families and to advise them that the "We Do" phase often takes a lot of time as it is expected that practice makes permanent. 

Standards Alignment:
NAEYC - 2.A.10 & 2.A.11
Head Start - IV.A., B., & C.

Read-Alouds: Comprehension and Cognates

Read-alouds are more than just fun for our young learners. By clearly and explicitly asking children to engage in meaningful comprehension activities like making predictions, describing characters, and explaining plot, we are teaching this important component of reading (see http://www.maggiesbighome.com/search?q=reading+umbrella). We can have children turn and talk about their "guesses" (predictions) based on the cover of the book and/or a picture walk. Turn the class into actors to show understanding of character traits and behavior. Give children a paper, folded into four parts, to highlight the key parts of a book's plot. These are developmentally-appropriate ways to teach comprehension skills as we read. 

Read-alouds can even provide us an important opportunity to showcase the knowledge we have in our classrooms. We can use the vocabulary in a book to help ALL children understand the power of cognates (words from different languages that are related to each other). This helps speakers of languages that descend from Latin. 

About 40% of English vocabulary can be related to Spanish words. This helps our Spanish speakers but also demonstrates to English speakers that they may be able to make connections with words in other languages. 

As you read books orally to your class, ask Spanish speakers to raise their hands when they hear familiar Spanish words. They may raise their hands when you read family or center as the Spanish words are closely related (familia, centro). 

Talking with your young children about "words that are relatives" is a perfect opportunity to invite Spanish-speaking family members of students into your classroom. They can read books in Spanish and English speakers can then raise THEIR hands when they hear a familiar cognate like familia! Showing learning from all sides is important! 

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.E.03, 2.E.04, 2.E.06, 2.E.09, 2.E.10.

Head Start - VII. B & C.

Talking Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! This year we are thinking about how language can be developed at home and school. Encourage families to invite children to help as food is prepared. You can give a list of suggested topics to discuss. Here are a few ideas that represent math, literacy, social studies, and science:

• Discuss how to measure ingredients.
• As a family member works, they could talk through the sequence of making a certain dish.
• Discuss the different food groups that are represented on the table.
• Talk with children about the number of ingredients in a specific dish.
• Ask children to pick out a favorite part of the meal and tell why they like this.

Encourage families to discuss with children their own cultural traditions as they relate to this holiday. Some people have a tablecloth that is used year after year. Everyone who sits at the table signs the tablecloth. Other people spend a special time, remembering the past year and the many things for which they are thankful. In our home, we are talking about the immigrants in our family tree that came to the United States. Older family members are sharing these stories with younger family members. We are coloring the flags that represent our past immigrant families.

The idea is to talk - and talk - and talk!

For more art-related Thanksgiving ideas see our pages http://www.maggiesbighome.com/2015/11/family-time-with-preschoolers.html and http://www.maggiesbighome.com/2014/11/thanksgiving-preschool-crafts.html.

Making Ten With Falling Leaves

Leaves are falling all around as we prepare to say good-bye to autumn. Use this end of fall symbol to enhance your children’s mathematical skills. Not to mention...this activity can help young learners develop listening and fine motor skills, too.

Give children a tree, like the one below. 

Next give them a 10 frame as shown:

Pre-cut fall leaves of various colors.

Give the direction that children are to choose two colors. They should count enough of each color to make 10. They can check this by placing their fall leaves on the 10-frame. This is the type of direction that is clear and simple yet helps children learn to listen to you and follow your expectations.

Once children have confirmed they have 10 and only 10 leaves, they can glue them on their tree. We like using squeezable glue bottles as this helps strengthen hand muscles – good for developing fine motor control.

Finally ask children to count their leaves and write a number sentence. Share these number sentences and discuss the many ways we can make 10.

We find that not many children choose 0 so you may need to show that 0 + 10 = 10. As a follow-up, ask children to use different materials in the classroom to show this. 

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC –2.F. 11 & 12.

Head Start -X. A. & B.

The Benefits of Playing School

Playing school! What fun for many children. And we are finding that both girls and boys benefit from this favorite pastime of childhood. This is an activity that you may want to encourage families to enjoy at home because it is much more than merely play-acting. Family involvement can encourage children, acting as the teacher, to practice many important skills and concepts.

The child as teacher may have a family member sit at a desk or on the floor to practice numbers or sight words, as shown below. 

Good review: Writing numbers and asking a family member to name the numeral.

Pointing to sight words gives children a chance to think clearly about each word as they need to give feedback as to whether a family member reads it correctly!

This is a helpful way for children to verbalize their understandings of school-readiness concepts. It also allows for practice, in a developmentally-appropriate way, of key skills.  Children can use papers, stapled together like books, and write practice activities for their “students.” They may use toys like blocks to demonstrate math concepts. 

The child sets up a "teacher desk" and prepares blocks to demonstrate patterning for his "students."

Children can even set up their own classroom, as shown below, with stuffed animals (and a family member) as students. 

Arranging desks can give you insight into what a child likes about school.

An important benefit of this is that families get a window into the child’s mind. This will help direct them as to what children remember and value about school. What a wonderful way to communicate with families!

One topic we have considered is the benefit male faculty members have on a child’s propensity to play school.  We know the importance of male role models. Does having a male in the classroom mean young boys are more likely to play school? The child in these photos loves to engage in this activity. He is fortunate to have a male kindergarten teacher.

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC –  2.A.12, 2.B.01, & 2.B.04.

Head Start -  II.A., II.B.,  & 4.A.