The number of English Language Learners (ELLs) in public schools is expected to grow to 40% of the school-aged population by 2030. Spanish and Asian languages are amongst the most common primary languages for English-language learners. And within that broad category of students acquiring English, they are children whose primary language may fall within the range of one of more than 100 different dialects.
Most experts agree that it takes between five and seven years to acquire academic English, the language needed to succeed academically and professionally. Students may acquire social language (the language used on the playground or in the cafeteria) much more rapidly, but there is frequently a gap between social and academic English.
So what happens to students during five-to-seven-year span of time they are acquiring English?
The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) lists the following as Normal Occurrences in English Language Learners during the period they are acquiring English.
Most experts agree that it takes between five and seven years to acquire academic English, the language needed to succeed academically and professionally. Students may acquire social language (the language used on the playground or in the cafeteria) much more rapidly, but there is frequently a gap between social and academic English.
So what happens to students during five-to-seven-year span of time they are acquiring English?
The American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) lists the following as Normal Occurrences in English Language Learners during the period they are acquiring English.
Interference
ELL children may manifest interference or transfer from their first language (L1) to English (L2). This means that a child may make an English error due to the direct influence of an L1 structure. For example, in Spanish, "Esta casa es mas grande" means "This house is bigger." However, a literal translation would be "This house is more bigger." A Spanish-speaking child who said "This house is more bigger" would be manifesting transfer from Spanish to English. This is a normally-occurring phenomenon which is a sign of a language difference, not a language disorder.
Silent Period
Children may also manifest a common second-language acquisition phenomenon called the silent period. When children are first exposed to a second language, they frequently focus on listening and comprehension. These children are often very quiet, speaking less often due to their focus on understanding the new language. This same phenomenon occurs when babies acquire their first language and when adults travel to foreign countries.
The younger the child, the longer the silent period tends to last. Older children may remain in the silent period for a few weeks or a few months, whereas preschoolers may be relatively silent for a year or more.
The younger the child, the longer the silent period tends to last. Older children may remain in the silent period for a few weeks or a few months, whereas preschoolers may be relatively silent for a year or more.
Codeswitching
Many children who are ELLs also engage in a behavior known as codeswitching. This involves changing languages over phrases or sentences. For example, a Spanish-speaker might say, "Me gustaria manejar; I'll take el carro!" ("I'd like to drive; I'll take the car"). Or, a Tagalog-speaker might say, "With my teacher, I have utang ng loob [debt of gratitude] because she has been so good to me." Again, this is a normal phenomenon engaged in by many fluent bilingual speakers worldwide.
Language Loss
Some children who are ELLs undergo the phenomenon of language loss. As they learn English, they lose skills and fluency in L1 if their L1 is not reinforced and maintained. This is called subtractive bilingualism, and it can be cognitively and linguistically very detrimental to children's learning and to their family lives (especially if the parents speak only the L1 and no English). Ideally, children should experience additive bilingualism, in which they learn English while their first language and culture are maintained and reinforced.
Source: American Speech-Language and Hearing Association
Source: American Speech-Language and Hearing Association
LANGUAGE DISORDER VS. LANGUAGE DIFFERENCE
Children with a language disorder present with persistent difficulties acquiring and using language skills in their primary language.
Children with a language difference meet the communication norms of their primary (first language) community, but do not meet the norms of standard English.
It is important to distinguish these definitions so that English Language Learners are not misdiagnosed as having a language disorder, which can often be difficult to reverse.
Children with a language difference meet the communication norms of their primary (first language) community, but do not meet the norms of standard English.
It is important to distinguish these definitions so that English Language Learners are not misdiagnosed as having a language disorder, which can often be difficult to reverse.
WHAT IS HELPFUL FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS WHILE ACQUIRING ENGLISH?
Building Vocabulary: Label items, present items in categories, review the function of items
Receptive Language Skills: Give short one- or two-step directions. Provide children with a visual model of what is being asked. Play "I Spy," "Simon Says," or other imaginative games
Expressive Language Skills: Read books with no words, have children make up their own story. Provide students with a verbal model/sentence frame, “This is a ______.” “I want the______.” Ask open-ended questions and encourage more words, more words, more details in every response.
Play music. Sing to them. Narrate everything you do. And with every response they give, add a detail or additional few words to it, so they can hear how to enrich and expand language, e.g. child says, "Look- a car!" And adult responds, "You're right! I see the big, red car!"
Receptive Language Skills: Give short one- or two-step directions. Provide children with a visual model of what is being asked. Play "I Spy," "Simon Says," or other imaginative games
Expressive Language Skills: Read books with no words, have children make up their own story. Provide students with a verbal model/sentence frame, “This is a ______.” “I want the______.” Ask open-ended questions and encourage more words, more words, more details in every response.
Play music. Sing to them. Narrate everything you do. And with every response they give, add a detail or additional few words to it, so they can hear how to enrich and expand language, e.g. child says, "Look- a car!" And adult responds, "You're right! I see the big, red car!"
Blog post written by:
Yoko Giron, Lead Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant
Yoko Giron, Lead Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant
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