English-As-A-Second-Language in

Preschool &

Young Children

Promise Years Progam

WHO ARE ESLs?

Children who are learning English as a second language and live in homes where languages other than English are spoken are known as English-as-Second Language Learners (ESLs).

What Challenges Do They Face?

As these children enter kindergarten, they often lag behind their “language-majority peers” in the skills necessary to start reading, with the gap remaining throughout their school years.

For Example…..

A 2007 report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on reading indicates that 70% of fourth-grade ESLs and 71% of eighth-grade ESLs scored below basic reading ability.

What can be done?

Although the statistics are discouraging, research indicates that these children can achieve grade-level literacy skills if they receive effective literacy instruction (Waits, Campbell, Gau, Jacobs, Rex, & Hess, 2006).

How can Preschool Programs help?

Preschool programs can have a direct impact on the academic skills of ESLs, potentially closing the gap with quality education.

The National Early Literacy Panel (2004) identified

Alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, writing, oral language skills, & knowledge of print in preschool are predictors of later reading & writing success in elementary school children.

Justice (2006) organized these skills into four domains:

Print knowledge—alphabet knowledge and concepts about print

Phonological awareness—sound awareness

Writing—name writing, invented spelling Oral language—grammar, vocabulary,

narrative

1) Print Knowledge

Print knowledge refers to a child's growing understanding of the relationship between the form and purpose of print (e.g., Adams, 1990; Justice & Ezell, 2004).

1) Print Knowledge

Elements of print awareness include understanding print conventions, recognizing words and letters as distinct units of meaning, and having alphabet knowledge (Justice & Ezell, 2002; Lomax & McGee, 1987).

The importance of Print Knowledge…….

Print knowledge has been associated with reading ability in English as a second language in ESLs (Klingner, Artiles, & Barletta, 2006).

2) Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is the understanding that oral language can be broken up into individual words, words into syllables, and syllables into individual sounds, or phonemes (Bradley & Bryant, 1983; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

2) Phonological Awareness

Skills included in phonological awareness include:

RhymeSyllable-awareness Phonemic awareness

How is Phonological Awareness Learned?

Some children learn by exposure to sound patterns through book activities, word play, or nursery rhymes; other children may require more explicit instruction.

Children who do well on sound-awareness tasks are better readers than their peers who struggle with those tasks (Adams, 1990; Wagner & Torgeson, 1987).

2) Phonological Awareness

ESLs with strong phonological awareness skills in English demonstrated a higher potential for reading achievement in later years (e.g., Genesee, et al., 2005; Klingner, et al., 2004

Additional Benefits……

Further, these skills readily transfer from the native language to second language and from the second language to the native language (e.g., Dickinson et al., 2004; Cardenas-Hagan et al., 2007).

3) Writing….

Emergent writing is considered a child's first experience with writing.

3) Writing….

This early writing appears during the preschool years and follows a sequence that progresses from drawings to scribbles, invented spelling, and eventually conventional writing; this progression continues during the school-age years and beyond (Teale & Sulzby, 1986).

3) Writing….

Children's early experiences in experimenting with different forms of writing support later reading and writing success (Adams, 1990; Richgels, 1995).

Bialystock (1997) found that bilingual preschoolers are as proficient in emergent writing skills in their two languages as their monolingual peers.

4) Oral Language

Oral language provides the building blocks for literacy. According to a report by the National Reading Panel (2000, p. 15)

4) Oral Language

Oral vocabulary is a key to learning to make the transition from oral to written forms,

Whereas reading vocabulary is crucial to the comprehension processes of a skilled reader."

4) Oral Language

Children who do not develop these core language skills, lack some of the most fundamental skills essential for reading (Catts, Fey, Zhang, & Tomblin, 1999; National Early Literacy Panel, 2004).

4) Oral Language

Preschool ESLs present with several challenges in emergent literacy development.

They must develop these skills in a language they do not speak while still acquiring emergent literacy skills and oral language skills in their native language.

4) Oral Language

Therefore, one of the most critical emergent literacy skills for ESLs to develop is oral language in the native and second languages.

Strong native language skills predict oral language, reading, and writing skills in the second language (e.g., August, Carlo, Dressler, & Snow, 2005; Carlo et al., 2004).

1) Activities Associated with Print Knowledge

Several evidence-based techniques promote emergent literacy skills in preschoolers.

Print-referencing during shared book reading is an effective means for teaching print awareness (e.g., Bus, van Ijzendoorn, & Pellegrini, 1995; Justice & Ezell, 2002).

2) Activities Associated with Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness is most effectively taught by progressing through a hierarchy of early learned skills in a systemic fashion in the native and the second languages (e.g., Adams, 1990; Cisero & Royer, 1995; Carrillo, 1994), beginning with a child's awareness of common environmental sounds, then progressing to the later skills of phonemic awareness

3) Activities Associated with Writing

Emergent writing is considered a child's first experience with writing.

This early writing appears during the preschool years and follows a sequence that progresses from drawings to scribbles, invented spelling, and eventually conventional writing; this progression continues during the school-age years and beyond (Teale & Sulzby, 1986).

Emergent Writing..cond’t

Children's early experiences in experimenting with different forms of writing support later reading and writing success (Adams, 1990; Richgels, 1995). Bialystock (1997) found that bilingual preschoolers are as proficient in emergent writing skills in their two languages as their monolingual peers.

4) Activities Associated with Oral Language

Other techniques shown to improve vocabulary include dialogic and repeated reading (see Johnson & Yeates, 2006, for a review of research).

Dialogic reading uses open-ended questioning, "wh-" questioning, and active listening during shared book reading to encourage the child to tell the story. The reader can point to "new words" and discuss them.

The use of books has several advantages: books build background knowledge, supplement and enhance a thematic unit, combine native culture and access to U.S. culture, and expose children to different genres (stories, expository texts, poems, etc

Strategies for Improvement

Improving emergent literacy in preschool ESLs requires the use of planned instruction or activities that address the prerequisite skills in the two languages, develop strong oral language skills, and connect home with school. The following strategies can develop these skills.

Home Programming….. Parents are an excellent resource for preschool

programs. They can share native language books, rhyming songs, stories, skills, and cultural artifacts.

In addition parents play a role in developing their child's native language, which is particularly important when there are no bilingual personnel in a child's preschool program.

It is important to provide parents with training to help them understand the role of native language in overall academic, language, and biliteracy development, for cultural identity, and in English acquisition.

Home Planning, cond’t

Training can help parents understand aspects of the school culture in the North America, such as expectations related to homework and achievement, school involvement, and grade-level performance.

Many parents may be satisfied with their child's development but may not know that their child is behind in emergent literacy skills in the native or second language.

For example parents may think that at the end of preschool their child is doing well because the child can communicate basic needs in English, but they may not know that the kindergarten teacher expects the child to know some letters, colors, and shapes. Explaining these expectations helps parents understand the system better and helps ensure that the child is better prepared.

Activity Ideas

Read books to ESL Children Use bilingual/multicultural books When reading: Repeat what’s being read & point

to the words Use: open-ended questioning,"wh-" questioning,

and active listening during shared book reading to encourage the child to tell the story.

Use clear, explicit skill instruction

Activity Ideas, cond’t

Engage in rhyming/songsPair environmental sounds with items

(i.e., vroom with car; bark with dog)Use coloring, scribbling, & drawing Engage in the use of themed units to

make if fun!

Theme Unit Ideas Include - All which can be paired easily with books:

Animals, ColorsBody Parts/Clothes Food Holidays Household ItemsSeasons/Days of the Week

Other themed units which can paired with a book – i.e. basic concepts (may be more appropriate for K – grade 1 kids)

Before / After - Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

Big, medium, small - The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear by Don & Audrey

Comparatives - Read The Biggest, Best Snowman by Margery Cuyler emphasize the targeted concept words

Themed units….cond’t

In front/behind, forward/backward-Read Silly Sally by Audrey Wood – discuss positioning of the characters in the story using the targeted concepts (who is walking backwards, who is at the front of the line?, etc.) …also discuss upside down

Themed Units….cond’t

More / Equal / Fewer - Read Annie and the Wild Animals -While reading, discuss the animals that ate the same amount of corncakes vs. those would ate more/fewer Ask questions throughout using the concepts: e.g., Now that it is spring, will the animals find more food? Amy’s cat is back – does she have more/fewer pet?, Will she have to make more corncakes?, etc.

Themed Units…cond’t Pair - Read Shoes From Grandpa by Mem Fox -

discuss the pairs of clothing items (and other objects) throughout the story

Separated / Together -Read The Cow that Went OINK by Bernard Most -Discuss the illustrations – where and what animals are together and separated. Discuss the words in the story – how the author put the animal sound & “ha” together and “moo” & “oink” together, how the pig and cow figured out how to separate “moo” and “oink”.

Themed Units…cond’t

Top, middle, bottom - Read The Flea’s Sneeze by Lynn Downey– discuss which animals are on the top/middle/bottom

Remember….

Keep an open dialogue with parentsReinforce to parents (particularly those who

are not fluent in English)- that its better for a child to become fluent in their “mother tongue”, because they will have an easier transition to learning English vs. parents not speaking in the mother tongue or using compromised English

….and don’t forget…

Teaching a second language is a processMany daycare/preschool activities, such as

singing, arts/crafts, scribbling/coloring, encompass many ESL’s learning objectives

Get parental input – what are their expectations?

Have fun!

Additional Resources:

MSHA and ASHA websites Bebop Books—multicultural books. Border Kids Count—report on issues impact children in the southwest. A

resource for Kids Count and other reports on at risk populations. Center Latino Achievement and Success in Education (CLASE)—an

educational research and development center at the University of Georgia that provides professional development and resources for K-12 educators working with Latinos state-wide and outreach support through mentoring/tutoring of Latino students at risk.

Center for Positive Practices—news, research and resources to improve education for diverse learners.

Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence—resources on research summaries and professional training for diversity in education.

Colorin Colorado—resources for parents and teachers for bilingual kids. Gerra Publishing—Spanish language resources. Improving your child's education English and Spanish: A Guide for Latino

Parents [PDF]—a brochure for families describing the importance of education, statistics on Latino education, and what Latino parents can do. Spanish version [PDF].

Additional Resources cond’t Jill Kerper Mora's Web site—an instructor at San Diego State University, this Web site

offers information on cross-cultural language and academic development, including position statements, literacy resources for Spanish.

La lectura es lo primero [PDF]—Spanish booklet for families about hel v ping your child to learn reading.

Lees y serás—Scholastic Books Resource Center. Me+Mi Publishing—bilingual books publisher. National Association of Bilingual Education—national professional organization

devoted to representing Bilingual Learners and Bilingual Education professionals. National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems—series of brief and

technical reports for professionals and parents. National Center for Family Literacy—works to find solutions to the literacy crisis that

build on the family to create a new cycle of ongoing learning and mutual support. National Clearing House of English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction National Institute on Early Education Research—offers a report on the "Effects of Five

State Prekindergarten Programs on Early Learning." National Task Force for Early Childhood Education for Hispanics—identifies major

educational challenges facing Hispanic children throughout the United States. Offers an annotated bibliographies on early childhood education and other topics.

Para Nuestros Niños—National Task Force for Early Childhood Education for Hispanic Children.

Presentation referenced from: Addressing Emergent Literacy Skills in English-

Language Learners Children who are learning English as a second

language and live in homes where languages other than English are spoken are known as English-language learners (ELLs). Publication Date: 9/23/2008Source: ASHA Leaderhttp://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2008/080923/f080923a/ - 101 KBCached | Details

Basic Concept/Themed Units –Taken from TMSD/DBO

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