California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
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pointing to or otherwise indicating a
toy on a shelf might mean, “Can you
get me that toy? I can’t reach it.”
Formulaic speech is a related strategy
that refers to children’s use of memorized
chunks or phrases of language
without completely understanding the
function of those phrases. Sometimes
children add new vocabulary as well.
For example, “I want ________,” is a
formula that allows for a host of possibilities:
“I want play.” “I want doll.”
“I want go.” Children use such formulas
as a strategy to expand their
communication.
In the fourth stage the child is introduced
to new vocabulary words and
moves into the productive language
stage, at which she is able to express
herself by using her own words (Tabors
1997). The child demonstrates a
general understanding of the rules of
English and is able to apply them more
accurately to achieve increasing control
over the language. However, this
does not mean that the child communicates
as does a native speaker of the
language. The child may mispronounce
words as well as make errors in vocabulary
choice and grammar. Such errors
are indicative of the typical process of
learning a language (Genesee, Paradis,
and Crago 2004).
Movement through the four stages
may take anywhere from six months
to two years, depending on the child
and the quality of that child’s language
environment. The stages of secondlanguage
development should be considered
when determining expectations
for individual children during their
preschool years.
It should be noted that full fluency
(e.g., comprehension, expression,
reading, and writing) in any language
takes anywhere from four to ten years
(Bialystok 2001; Hakuta, Butler, and
Witt 2000). In addition, the speed of
acquisition is influenced by a broad
range of factors (Snow 2006). Therefore,
for three- and four-year-old
children, it is important to provide a
continuum that moves them toward a
reasonable, and desirable, set of language
and literacy expectations that
can be achieved over the span of the
one to two years that a child spends in
the preschool classroom.
English learners will vary substantially
in their acquisition of language
competencies, depending on a number
of background factors (i.e., the
degree of exposure to English outside
the classroom, the individual child’s
motivation to acquire English, and so
forth). Because of the wide range of
language capability found in children
prior to their entering school (Ehrman,
Leaver, and Oxford 2003), the use
of developmental markers, such as
“beginning,” “middle,” and “later,” are
used to provide for a range of expectations
for performance. These markers
are used in the preschool learning
foundations for English-language
development to designate a developmental
progression for children who
have made significant progress toward
acquisition of the home language
before beginning to acquire English
(sequential bilingualism) (Genesee,
Paradis, and Crago 2004).
The use of these terms should not
be confused with the terms “early,”
“middle,” and “later,” as used in the
resource guide Preschool English
Learners: Principles and Practices to
Promote Language, Literacy, and Learning
(2007) to describe typical phases of
language development for children who
are monolingual speakers and children
who acquire two languages from birth
Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 • California Department of Education