California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

Speaking*
1.0 Children use nonverbal and verbal strategies to communicate
with others.
Focus: Communication of needs
Beginning
1.1 Use nonverbal communication,
such as
gestures or behaviors,
to seek attention,
request objects, or
initiate a response
from others.
1.1 Combine nonverbal
and some verbal
communication to
be understood by
others (may codeswitch—that
is, use
the home language
and English—and use
telegraphic and/or
formulaic speech).
Examples Examples Examples
• Uses gestures, such as extending
the hand, pointing, tapping
on a person’s shoulder, or an
intentional eye gaze, to get a
person’s attention.
• Uses her home language to
express her wants and needs.
• Looks at the teacher and indicates
or points to a toy she
wants that is on a shelf.
• Cries or withdraws to show he
is not sure how to express himself
effectively (e.g., communicates
discontent by grimacing
or whimpering when an English-speaking
peer picks up a
crayon the child was using and
had put down on the table).
• Uses props, photos, or drawings
that represent an item to
indicate her needs.
Middle
• Says memorized phrases, such
as, “Let’s go!” or “Come on!”
• Says in English and Spanish,
“Want más! Más red paint!”
(Want more! More red paint!)
when she runs out of red while
painting at an easel.
• Says in English and Mandarin
Chinese, † “Diana playground
or ” (Diana
wants to go to the playground
or the zoo) when talking about
weekend plans during circle
time.
• Sings the routine song for an
activity (e.g., “Clean up, clean
up, everybody clean up!”).
• Pulls the teacher’s hand and
communicates, “Come.”
• Begins to string together words
in English, such as “Me today
yes,” and “Mama doctor.”
Later
1.1 Show increasing
reliance on verbal
communication in
English to be understood
by others.
• Says, “Wanna wash my
hands,” after showing the
teacher his fingers covered
with glue, to which
the teacher has responded,
“What do you need?”
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• Communicates to another
child, “Help me?” or “How do
you do that?” while trying to
put a puzzle together.
• Communicates, “Move over.
Move over some more,” to
another child who is sitting
next to him during circle time.
• Learns new, more abstract
words, such as “busy,”
“stinky,” or “grouchy,” from a
story that has been repeated
and is heard using that word.
• Communicates, “You have
to share,” when she wants
a crayon another child is
holding.
* Any means available to the child for communicating could be considered “speaking” English (e.g., Signed Exact English,
American Sign Language, electronic communication devices). For some children, the home language may be a signed
language (e.g., signed Spanish).
† For the English-language development foundation examples, all Chinese characters are written in the simplified writing
system used in mainland China.
California Department of Education • Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT