by Patton O. Tabors and Catherine E. Snow
Introduction:
§ Little systematic research has been done in the field of literacy development of young bilingual children. The issue is urgent because more and more bilingual children are entering school in the US.
§ Around 8% of K, Gr 1 and Gr 2 children were reported to be LEP (limited English proficient) in the 1992-1993 school year. Predictions for their literacy achievement are less promising than that of monolingual English-speaking contemporaries.
§ Better understanding of process of literacy acquisition may lead to recommendations for 1) parents about language use at home, 2) increased program options at school 3) improved practices at home and in school
§ Research must examine formal reading practices in early grades as well as prior to entering KG.
§ Development of early language and literacy skills are foundational for more advanced literacy skills. Language input and support for literacy in Pre-K is predictive of literacy abilities in KG.
§ KG literacy ability is predictive of Gr. 4 reading comprehension. (Recent NAEP results found 64% of Hispanic children were reading below basic level in Gr. 4)
§ Alphabet, phonological awareness and print concept skills also predict later outcomes.
§ The authors pose the following questions:
§ Are young children capable of developing the full range of language skills in two languages at the same time?
§ How much exposure do children need by school entry to ensure a comparable level of English proficiency as compared to their monolingual counterparts?
§ Does the time needed to learn English detract from attention to preliteracy skills for these learners?
§ What happens to the language spoken at home? Wong Fillmore (1991a) reports that as a child begins to acquire a “high-prestige societal language”, development in L1 will be suspended or even lost.
§ Parents and children receive somewhat conflicting messages about their home language from educators and from the media. 1) The home language is irrelevant, valueless and a barrier to learning English and thereby to achievement of academic success. 2) If the home language is strong, all efforts should be directed to learning English. The result of this may be marginalization of the child’s ethnic group, low expectations for success in school and lack of maintenance of the home language.
If the home language is lost, what, then, is the impact on the child’s acquisition of literacy? (in that or in another language)
The purpose of the article is to develop a framework for detailing complexities in circumstances of young bilingual children in the US. The authors present this framework in three tables outlining children’s bilingual development in three periods: 0-3 years old, (Family and Community Language Environments); 3-5 years old, (Early Education Settings); and 5-8 years old (Bilingualism/Biliteracy in the Early Elementary Grades
§ 0-3 years old:Family and Community Language Environments for Bilingual Children
§ Four different bilingual environments are outlined.
Home language in English-language society
§ Family members use L1 with child in community that also uses L1
§ English is a powerful influence; child may acquire some English
§ Child develops L1; is incipient bilingual due to societal influence of English
Home language in English language community
§ Family and caretakers use L1; Community Language use is English. No established community of L1 speakers.
§ Child acquires L1 and may acquire some English.
§ Strong Development of L1; Child is incipient bilingual due to community sources. Child may know some English phonology and vocabulary.
§ Child not an active bilingual. Not much research on incipient bilinguals. Development might parallel that of monolingual child.
Bilingual Home in Bilingual Community
§ Family and caretakers use L1 and English. Community language is English.
§ Child acquires L1 and English; may begin to lose L1
§ There is a range of development in L1. Child is emergent bilingual.
§ Research has focused on types of language input they receive and the effect of that input on their emergent bilingualism.
§ Child must figure out that there are two languages present before beginning process of differentiating and acquiring them
Bilingual Home in English Language Community
§ Family members use L1 and English. Community uses English.
§ Child acquires L1 and English, but may begin to lose L1; there is a range of abilities in both languages.
§ The child is characterized as at-risk bilingual.
§ By age 3, bilingual children can fall anywhere along a continuum from monolingualism in home language to at risk for monolingualism in English.
§ Children with strong foundation in home language and support for it at home with activities such as book reading are developing skills that will transfer to English later.
§ At-risk bilinguals may also be at risk for acquiring English literacy. Parents may have insufficient literacy in English, but be so focused on it that they neglect in strong L1 activities at home. This leaves these children without foundational home support that seems crucial in this early period as well as in the preschool period to follow.
§ 3-5 years old: Early Care and Education Settings
§ Three different types of classrooms are outlined
§ First Language Classroom
§ Teachers are native speakers of L1 and likely bilingual in L1 and
English
§ Children are native speakers of L1 or all bilingual speakers of L1and
English or any combination of above
§ Language of interaction is all L1
§ Children develop L1 with no development of English
§ Bilingual Classroom
§ Teachers are bilingual in L1 and English or native speakers of
§ paired with native speakers of English
§ Children are all native speakers of L1 or all bilingual speakers of L1
§ and English or any combination of L1, English, and bilingual
§ Language of interaction spilt between L1 and English
§ Children maintain or develop L1 while developing English
§ English Language Classroom
§ Teachers are native speakers of English
§ Children are all native speakers of same L1 or different L1s, any combination of native speakers of same or different L1s, bilingual speakers of same or different L1s and English, or English speakers
§ Children develop English with little maintenance or development of L1
§ Children in a first language classroom with interactions taking place in L1 will tend to develop and maintain the literacy skills of their home, maintaining the important match between home support and classroom activity.
§ A program that is well-balanced and purposefully presents opportunities for children to be exposed to challenging levels in both languages is necessary if a maximum amount of learning in both languages is to occur in a bilingual early care/education classroom
§ One study compared Spanish-speaking children of Mexican descent who attended a Spanish-English bilingual classroom to children who did not attend preschool. Both groups made gains in Spanish, but those attending the bilingual classroom made greater gains in English.
§ The faster rate of English gains did not have a negative effect on the Spanish development of children in the bilingual classroom environment.
§ These children were living in a highly supportive Spanish speaking environment, so language development in Spanish, so Spanish language development was encouraged inside and outside the classroom, while greater amounts of English were presented inside the classroom.
§ English-language classrooms are the most typical experience for bilingual children in the US. Teachers communicate primarily in English. 1) It may be the only language teachers know 2) teachers may speak both languages, but feel it is important for children to acquire English language skills 3) teachers may be working with children from a variety of L1s, and English is the common language for classroom use.
§ Children move through four developmental phases when exposed to an out of home setting such as an English language classroom
§ 1) Home language use: children use home language with those who do and don’t know L1. They may take time to realize the language they are hearing is not the one they hear at home
§ 2) Nonverbal period in new language: Crying, whimpering, pointing and miming are used to communicate when children realize L1 does not always work
§ 3)Telegraphic/formulaic language: Moving from nonverbal phase to use of catch phrases in social situations: “I don’t know; “OK”, “lookit”, etc.
§ 4) Productive use of new language: Combination of formulaic phrases and newly learned vocabulary “I do a ice cream”; “I want a play dough”
It may seem that their language ability has decreased because they are using formulaic phrases less often while figuring out how English
works. Developmental sequence cumulative with individual differences
§ Four factors may have an impact on how quickly they acquire a new language
1. Motivation
2. Exposure
3. Age
4. Personality
§ Some may move through sequence more quickly
§ Conclusions that can be drawn concerning bilingual children’s vocabulary development 1) Variables in amounts of time devoted to each language will be reflected in the sophistication of the child’s use of that language 2) A child who has had no planning in the language environment will be exposed to less input than a monolingual, and thus have a less well-developed vocabulary 3) Because Vocabulary is an excellent predictor of reading skill, limitations in a child’s vocabulary may have implications for future literacy outcomes
§ Some preliteracy skills are transferable from one language to another, but these skills must have been developed in the first place. If not, there may be nothing to transfer to the new language.
§ In this case, teachers must begin again in a language over which the child has some control
§ 5-8 years old: Bilingualism / Biliteracy in the Early Elementary Grades
§ The authors present four possible programmatic options and possible outcomes for learners in these grades. Not all these placements may be available; there may be constraints from parents or school
§ First Language Program: Strong development of language and literacy outcomes in L1; Minimal English language and literacy development;;Incipient bilingual language and literacy development; Example: Exita para Todos (Success for All) establishes Eng. lit’y. only after child has reached Gr.2 Span.lit.
§ Transitional Bilingual Education: Continued,emergent or at risk development in language (L1 and English;) Continued, emergent or at risk development in English literacy; English dominant or at risk bilingualism or biliteracy; Example: Moving children quickly into Eng lit’y. L1 lit’y discontinued.May put children at risk for L1 lit’y, as this as not been consolidated
§ Two-way Bilingual Education: Strong development of L1 and English; Emergent literacy in L1; Emergent literacy in English; Range of bilingual/biliterate proficiencies. Example:two groups of children in same classroom. One Eng. Other L1. Instruction delivered alternately in two languages so literacy developed simultaneously. Ideal result: bilingualism/biliteracy for both groups
§ Mainstream Classrooms with or without ESL support: English only as language; no development of language or literacy skills in L1; Range of proficiencies in English language and literacy development; Highly at risk for bilingual language development in an English-only environment; No Bilingual literacy development. Most common experience for bilingual children.
§ Reasons a child may be placed in a mainstream classroom: 1) parental request 2) Native language not well represented in district 3) Child designated as proficient enough in English to warrant the placement
§ Risk factors: Children must speak, understand, read, write in English without benefit of instruction in L1; no possibility of becoming literate in L1; at risk for losing L1
§ In first language, transitional and two way classrooms, it is assumed more advantageous to begin lit’y instruction in L1. In mainstream classrooms, it is assumed children can catch up to monolingual peers and learn to read in English. Which assumption is correct?
§ Grounds for bilingual education: Children should be taught to read in language they know best because 1) reading is a meaning construction process: it is harder, less motivating and less authentic to read unknown words 2) literacy skills acquired in L1 transfer quickly to L2 once oral proficiency in L2 established, but many questions remain.
§ NRC Research: This research concluded that teaching a child to read in a not yet proficient language carried elements of risk for reading problems. Although it has worked, an Increment of risk to reading success was introduced for children learning to read in a language they did not know reasonably well.
§ Conclusion
§ There are multiple pathways available for young bilingual children, but these are susceptible to many different influences.
ü One pathway involves consistently supporting the child’s bilingualism as well as supporting the acquisition of literacy in two languages
ü Another pathway supports English-language literacy, but leads to dead ends for bilingualism or biliteracy.
ü Other pathways, one involving parents switching to English when it is not the stronger of their two languages, and another, children’s attending an English language preschool before their L1 is developed, may defer children’s achievement in English in the long run.
ü Research is still working on answers to those questions.
§ What can educators do to develop programs for young children?
ü Educators can encourage parents to maintain and use the L1 at home in quality interactions involving literacy activities and everyday conversation. The quality of the interaction is the critical factor.
ü Educators need to find out more about the bilingual child’s language and literacy background. 1)Obtain a detailed language history to ascertain what kinds of language exposure a child has had since birth. 2) Ask questions about home literacy experiences and the language associated with those experiences. (The authors suggest The Home Language and Literacy Exposure Index by Paez, De Temple and Snow. (2000))
ü Have creative ways in place of assessing what a child knows and in what language. Formal assessment tools that are still not widely available, but informal methods can be used.
ü Crucial point: that young bilingual children will have skills to bring to the process of learning to read in either or both languages.
ü Educators must know what those skills are and how to make best use of them to optimize bilingual children’s literacy acquisition.
Introduction:
§ Little systematic research has been done in the field of literacy development of young bilingual children. The issue is urgent because more and more bilingual children are entering school in the US.
§ Around 8% of K, Gr 1 and Gr 2 children were reported to be LEP (limited English proficient) in the 1992-1993 school year. Predictions for their literacy achievement are less promising than that of monolingual English-speaking contemporaries.
§ Better understanding of process of literacy acquisition may lead to recommendations for 1) parents about language use at home, 2) increased program options at school 3) improved practices at home and in school
§ Research must examine formal reading practices in early grades as well as prior to entering KG.
§ Development of early language and literacy skills are foundational for more advanced literacy skills. Language input and support for literacy in Pre-K is predictive of literacy abilities in KG.
§ KG literacy ability is predictive of Gr. 4 reading comprehension. (Recent NAEP results found 64% of Hispanic children were reading below basic level in Gr. 4)
§ Alphabet, phonological awareness and print concept skills also predict later outcomes.
§ The authors pose the following questions:
§ Are young children capable of developing the full range of language skills in two languages at the same time?
§ How much exposure do children need by school entry to ensure a comparable level of English proficiency as compared to their monolingual counterparts?
§ Does the time needed to learn English detract from attention to preliteracy skills for these learners?
§ What happens to the language spoken at home? Wong Fillmore (1991a) reports that as a child begins to acquire a “high-prestige societal language”, development in L1 will be suspended or even lost.
§ Parents and children receive somewhat conflicting messages about their home language from educators and from the media. 1) The home language is irrelevant, valueless and a barrier to learning English and thereby to achievement of academic success. 2) If the home language is strong, all efforts should be directed to learning English. The result of this may be marginalization of the child’s ethnic group, low expectations for success in school and lack of maintenance of the home language.
If the home language is lost, what, then, is the impact on the child’s acquisition of literacy? (in that or in another language)
The purpose of the article is to develop a framework for detailing complexities in circumstances of young bilingual children in the US. The authors present this framework in three tables outlining children’s bilingual development in three periods: 0-3 years old, (Family and Community Language Environments); 3-5 years old, (Early Education Settings); and 5-8 years old (Bilingualism/Biliteracy in the Early Elementary Grades
§ 0-3 years old:Family and Community Language Environments for Bilingual Children
§ Four different bilingual environments are outlined.
Home language in English-language society
§ Family members use L1 with child in community that also uses L1
§ English is a powerful influence; child may acquire some English
§ Child develops L1; is incipient bilingual due to societal influence of English
Home language in English language community
§ Family and caretakers use L1; Community Language use is English. No established community of L1 speakers.
§ Child acquires L1 and may acquire some English.
§ Strong Development of L1; Child is incipient bilingual due to community sources. Child may know some English phonology and vocabulary.
§ Child not an active bilingual. Not much research on incipient bilinguals. Development might parallel that of monolingual child.
Bilingual Home in Bilingual Community
§ Family and caretakers use L1 and English. Community language is English.
§ Child acquires L1 and English; may begin to lose L1
§ There is a range of development in L1. Child is emergent bilingual.
§ Research has focused on types of language input they receive and the effect of that input on their emergent bilingualism.
§ Child must figure out that there are two languages present before beginning process of differentiating and acquiring them
Bilingual Home in English Language Community
§ Family members use L1 and English. Community uses English.
§ Child acquires L1 and English, but may begin to lose L1; there is a range of abilities in both languages.
§ The child is characterized as at-risk bilingual.
§ By age 3, bilingual children can fall anywhere along a continuum from monolingualism in home language to at risk for monolingualism in English.
§ Children with strong foundation in home language and support for it at home with activities such as book reading are developing skills that will transfer to English later.
§ At-risk bilinguals may also be at risk for acquiring English literacy. Parents may have insufficient literacy in English, but be so focused on it that they neglect in strong L1 activities at home. This leaves these children without foundational home support that seems crucial in this early period as well as in the preschool period to follow.
§ 3-5 years old: Early Care and Education Settings
§ Three different types of classrooms are outlined
§ First Language Classroom
§ Teachers are native speakers of L1 and likely bilingual in L1 and
English
§ Children are native speakers of L1 or all bilingual speakers of L1and
English or any combination of above
§ Language of interaction is all L1
§ Children develop L1 with no development of English
§ Bilingual Classroom
§ Teachers are bilingual in L1 and English or native speakers of
§ paired with native speakers of English
§ Children are all native speakers of L1 or all bilingual speakers of L1
§ and English or any combination of L1, English, and bilingual
§ Language of interaction spilt between L1 and English
§ Children maintain or develop L1 while developing English
§ English Language Classroom
§ Teachers are native speakers of English
§ Children are all native speakers of same L1 or different L1s, any combination of native speakers of same or different L1s, bilingual speakers of same or different L1s and English, or English speakers
§ Children develop English with little maintenance or development of L1
§ Children in a first language classroom with interactions taking place in L1 will tend to develop and maintain the literacy skills of their home, maintaining the important match between home support and classroom activity.
§ A program that is well-balanced and purposefully presents opportunities for children to be exposed to challenging levels in both languages is necessary if a maximum amount of learning in both languages is to occur in a bilingual early care/education classroom
§ One study compared Spanish-speaking children of Mexican descent who attended a Spanish-English bilingual classroom to children who did not attend preschool. Both groups made gains in Spanish, but those attending the bilingual classroom made greater gains in English.
§ The faster rate of English gains did not have a negative effect on the Spanish development of children in the bilingual classroom environment.
§ These children were living in a highly supportive Spanish speaking environment, so language development in Spanish, so Spanish language development was encouraged inside and outside the classroom, while greater amounts of English were presented inside the classroom.
§ English-language classrooms are the most typical experience for bilingual children in the US. Teachers communicate primarily in English. 1) It may be the only language teachers know 2) teachers may speak both languages, but feel it is important for children to acquire English language skills 3) teachers may be working with children from a variety of L1s, and English is the common language for classroom use.
§ Children move through four developmental phases when exposed to an out of home setting such as an English language classroom
§ 1) Home language use: children use home language with those who do and don’t know L1. They may take time to realize the language they are hearing is not the one they hear at home
§ 2) Nonverbal period in new language: Crying, whimpering, pointing and miming are used to communicate when children realize L1 does not always work
§ 3)Telegraphic/formulaic language: Moving from nonverbal phase to use of catch phrases in social situations: “I don’t know; “OK”, “lookit”, etc.
§ 4) Productive use of new language: Combination of formulaic phrases and newly learned vocabulary “I do a ice cream”; “I want a play dough”
It may seem that their language ability has decreased because they are using formulaic phrases less often while figuring out how English
works. Developmental sequence cumulative with individual differences
§ Four factors may have an impact on how quickly they acquire a new language
1. Motivation
2. Exposure
3. Age
4. Personality
§ Some may move through sequence more quickly
§ Conclusions that can be drawn concerning bilingual children’s vocabulary development 1) Variables in amounts of time devoted to each language will be reflected in the sophistication of the child’s use of that language 2) A child who has had no planning in the language environment will be exposed to less input than a monolingual, and thus have a less well-developed vocabulary 3) Because Vocabulary is an excellent predictor of reading skill, limitations in a child’s vocabulary may have implications for future literacy outcomes
§ Some preliteracy skills are transferable from one language to another, but these skills must have been developed in the first place. If not, there may be nothing to transfer to the new language.
§ In this case, teachers must begin again in a language over which the child has some control
§ 5-8 years old: Bilingualism / Biliteracy in the Early Elementary Grades
§ The authors present four possible programmatic options and possible outcomes for learners in these grades. Not all these placements may be available; there may be constraints from parents or school
§ First Language Program: Strong development of language and literacy outcomes in L1; Minimal English language and literacy development;;Incipient bilingual language and literacy development; Example: Exita para Todos (Success for All) establishes Eng. lit’y. only after child has reached Gr.2 Span.lit.
§ Transitional Bilingual Education: Continued,emergent or at risk development in language (L1 and English;) Continued, emergent or at risk development in English literacy; English dominant or at risk bilingualism or biliteracy; Example: Moving children quickly into Eng lit’y. L1 lit’y discontinued.May put children at risk for L1 lit’y, as this as not been consolidated
§ Two-way Bilingual Education: Strong development of L1 and English; Emergent literacy in L1; Emergent literacy in English; Range of bilingual/biliterate proficiencies. Example:two groups of children in same classroom. One Eng. Other L1. Instruction delivered alternately in two languages so literacy developed simultaneously. Ideal result: bilingualism/biliteracy for both groups
§ Mainstream Classrooms with or without ESL support: English only as language; no development of language or literacy skills in L1; Range of proficiencies in English language and literacy development; Highly at risk for bilingual language development in an English-only environment; No Bilingual literacy development. Most common experience for bilingual children.
§ Reasons a child may be placed in a mainstream classroom: 1) parental request 2) Native language not well represented in district 3) Child designated as proficient enough in English to warrant the placement
§ Risk factors: Children must speak, understand, read, write in English without benefit of instruction in L1; no possibility of becoming literate in L1; at risk for losing L1
§ In first language, transitional and two way classrooms, it is assumed more advantageous to begin lit’y instruction in L1. In mainstream classrooms, it is assumed children can catch up to monolingual peers and learn to read in English. Which assumption is correct?
§ Grounds for bilingual education: Children should be taught to read in language they know best because 1) reading is a meaning construction process: it is harder, less motivating and less authentic to read unknown words 2) literacy skills acquired in L1 transfer quickly to L2 once oral proficiency in L2 established, but many questions remain.
§ NRC Research: This research concluded that teaching a child to read in a not yet proficient language carried elements of risk for reading problems. Although it has worked, an Increment of risk to reading success was introduced for children learning to read in a language they did not know reasonably well.
§ Conclusion
§ There are multiple pathways available for young bilingual children, but these are susceptible to many different influences.
ü One pathway involves consistently supporting the child’s bilingualism as well as supporting the acquisition of literacy in two languages
ü Another pathway supports English-language literacy, but leads to dead ends for bilingualism or biliteracy.
ü Other pathways, one involving parents switching to English when it is not the stronger of their two languages, and another, children’s attending an English language preschool before their L1 is developed, may defer children’s achievement in English in the long run.
ü Research is still working on answers to those questions.
§ What can educators do to develop programs for young children?
ü Educators can encourage parents to maintain and use the L1 at home in quality interactions involving literacy activities and everyday conversation. The quality of the interaction is the critical factor.
ü Educators need to find out more about the bilingual child’s language and literacy background. 1)Obtain a detailed language history to ascertain what kinds of language exposure a child has had since birth. 2) Ask questions about home literacy experiences and the language associated with those experiences. (The authors suggest The Home Language and Literacy Exposure Index by Paez, De Temple and Snow. (2000))
ü Have creative ways in place of assessing what a child knows and in what language. Formal assessment tools that are still not widely available, but informal methods can be used.
ü Crucial point: that young bilingual children will have skills to bring to the process of learning to read in either or both languages.
ü Educators must know what those skills are and how to make best use of them to optimize bilingual children’s literacy acquisition.
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