California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

in their home language, not English,
and set the stage for further Englishlanguage
acquisition described within
the foundations. These foundations
are organized to align with the content
categories of California’s English-language
development standards, which
cover kindergarten through grade
twelve (K–12) and are divided into the
following three categories: (1) listening
and speaking; (2) reading; and (3) writing.
As with the K–12 standards, the
preschool learning foundations in
English-language development are
designed to assist classroom teachers
in their understanding of children’s
progress toward English-language proficiency.
They are meant to be used
along with the language and literacy
foundations, not in place of them. The
foundations can be demonstrated in
a variety of settings, and children will
often demonstrate their language abilities
when engaged in authentic, natural,
child-initiated activities.
Stages of Sequential Bilingual
Language Development
Children entering a preschool program
with little or no knowledge of
English typically move through several
stages on their journey to achieving
success in the second language (Tabors
1997). Both the length of time the
child remains at a stage and the level
of expectation for second-language
learning depend on several important
characteristics of the child and
the child’s language environment. For
example, the age of a child may help
determine the child’s developmental
level, while the child’s temperament
may influence her motivation to learn
a new language (Genesee, Paradis, and
Crago 2004; Genishi, Yung-Chan, and
California Department of Education • Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
105
Stires 2000). The first stage for young
English learners occurs when they
attempt to use their home language to
communicate with teachers and peers
(Saville-Troike 1987; Tabors 1997).
During this stage, children gradually
realize they are not being understood
and must adapt to their new language
environment.
Over time—for some children, a matter
of days; for some, months—a shift
occurs, and the child begins to actively
attend to the new language, observing
and silently processing the features
of the English language. This is considered
the second stage (Ervin-Tripp
1974; Hakuta 1987, Itoh and Hatch
1978; Tabors 1997). This observational
period is normal in second-language
learners. The children are not shutting
down; rather, they are attending
to the language interactions occurring
around them. Typically, the child will
attempt to communicate nonverbally,
using gestures, facial expressions,
and often some vocalizations, such as
crying or laughing.
The third stage occurs when the
child is ready to “go public” with the
new language. The child typically
masters the rhythm and the intonation
of the second language as well as
some key phrases, using telegraphic
and formulaic speech to communicate
(Tabors 1997; Wong Fillmore 1976).
“Telegraphic speech” refers to the use
of a few content words without functional
words or specific grammatical
markers. For example, a child might
use one word combined with nonverbal
communication, intonation, facial
expressions, and so forth to communicate
different ideas. So a child saying,
“Up!” while pointing at a plane in
the sky might mean, “Look, there’s a
plane!” or a child saying, “Up?” while
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT