The Stages of Language Acquisition for ELLs

Question 1

It is a key educational goal of any English
language learner (ELL).

Answer 1

Language acquisition

Question 2

What are the stages of first language acquisition?

Answer 2

• Pre-talking
• Babbling
• Holophrastic
• 2-word
• Telegraphic
• Multiword

Question 3

• This stage takes place from birth to around six months of age.
• During this time, the child does not speak but is beginning to understand short words and phrases that are central to their needs and interests.

Answer 3

Pre-talking

Question 4

• This phase occurs from around six to eight months old. In this phase, the infant begins to “babble” and makes noises and syllables that are not yet words.
• Physically, teeth begin to appear and the muscles in the mouth required for speech begin to develop.

Answer 4

Babbling

Question 5

• This stage is significantly longer, occurring between
  nine and eighteen months old.
• During this phase, the infant begins to learn and speak single words. In the beginning, these words are strongly centered around basic needs and interests as well as names or identifiers like “mama” and “dada.”

Answer 5

Holophrastic

Question 6

• This stage takes place from eighteen to twenty-four months old.
• Once children have developed single-word speech, they begin to pair groups of words together into mini-sentences and phrases like “I want” or “give me.”

Answer 6

Two-word

Question 7

• This stage takes place from two to three years old.
• Overtime, children begin to expand their two-word phrases into short sentences.
• They also begin to utilize lexical morphemes to make the words they use fit the sentence. For example, they understand to use the plural form of “boys” instead of “boy” when referring to a group of boys.

Answer 7

Telegraphic

Question 8

• Past the age of three, most children fall into this stage.
• In this final stage of language acquisition, children now learn to use functional morphemes to change the meaning of the words they use. Examples include the words but, in, the, and that.

Answer 8

Multiword

Question 9

What is the first stage of English Language Learning and when does it occurs?

Answer 9

• Pre-production
• First 6 months of exposire to the language

Question 10

Pre-production is the ____. Comparable to the ____ and ____ stages of first language acquisition. No spoken English skills. Minimal ____ and ____ skills. Utilize gestures like nodding, painting, and drawing to explain themselves

Answer 10

• silent phase
• pre-talking and babbling
• ## comprehension and listening

Question 11

How to teach ELLs who are in the pre-production stage?

Answer 11

• Simple prompts like “point to,” “show me”
• Provide visuals and/or realia
• Demonstrate and practice classroom routines
• Limit the amount of technology they are exposed to early on until they have an adequate understanding of procedures and policies for using computers
• Repetition, especially on new vocabulary
• Get to know your students’ cultures

Question 12

What is the next stage of English Language Learning and when does it occur?

Answer 12

• Early Production
• 6-12 months of exposure

Question 13

In the Early Production phase, learners are able to produce ____ to ____ words of English phrases. They have absorbed ____ of words. Lastly, as ____ increases, students begin to speak more. Use only____ nouns.

Answer 13

• 1 to 2 words
• thousands of words
• comprehension increases
• present tense nouns

Question 14

How to teach ELLs who are in the Early Production stage?

Answer 14

• Ask yes/no questions
• Ask questions asking “who, what, where, and when”
• Provide sentence starters to complete thought

Question 15

What is the 3rd stage of English Langugage Learning and when does it occur?

Answer 15

• Speech Emergence
• 1 to 3 years of exposure to English

Question 16

In the Speech Emergence stage, ELLs can ____, ___, and ____ ____ sentences. ____ and ____ errors are present and they will struggle with homophones, ____, and cultural ____ in conversation.

Answer 16

• Read, write, and understand simple sentences
• Grammatical and pronunciation errors are present
• Struggle in jokes and slangs

Question 17

How to teach ELLs who are in Speech Emergence stage?

Answer 17

• Ask longer-form questions with prompts like “why” and “how”
• Simplify language when teaching new concepts
• Explicity teach language and writing structures
• Learn how your students’ culture organize sentences and thoughts
• The difference between oral fluency and proficiency

Question 18

It can occur as early as 3 years but may take upwards of 10 years or a lifetime, depending on various factors.

Answer 18

Fluency

Question 19

How will students be able to reach fluency?

Answer 19

Ongoing education

Question 20

In the fluency stage, ELLs have excellent ___, ___, and ___ skills. They may struggle with pronunciation but its important to keep in mind that “difficulty with pronunciation does not equate to a lack of language comprehension.”

Answer 20

Comprehension, speech, and writing skills

Question 21

How to teach ELLs who are in the Fluency stage?

Answer 21

• Provide additional support
• Continue using visuals and strategies
• Explicit instructions for difficulties texts and organization of thoughts and ideas
• Give them an opportunity to teach others

Question 22

What are the similarities between 1st and 2nd Language Acquisition?

Answer 22

• Predictable stages (Not every student will progress at the same rate but they will all go through the stages in the same order).
• Delay between comprehension and speech (They understand more than they can explain or say).
• They can speak or comprehend in a low-pressure situation than in a class.
• Learn through making mistakes.

Question 23

What are the differences between 1st and 2nd Language Acquisition?

Answer 23

• ELLs have already built a foundation for language learning, so they will likely pick up speech, reading, and writing faster if they are already competent at these skills in their native language.
• ELLs are expected to learn their 2nd language much faster than their first. (1st language = 24 months before they are expected to talk on 2-word; 2nd language = 12 months
• 2nd language learning requires explicit instruction whereas 1st language learning is a more passive process

Question 24

What are the factors that affect the stages of Language Acquisition for ELLs?

Answer 24

• Age
• Immersion Level
• Setting
• First Language Proficiency

Question 25

It is a major factor in how fast ELLs learn and at what point they reach fluency. Learning a 2nd language while the brain is still affectively forming connections can help students learn more quickly.

Answer 25

Age

Question 26

What are the advantage and disadvantages of older ELLs?

Answer 26

• They understand grammar and how language words and learn them efficiently
• They struggle with retention and vocabulary

Question 27

This has a significant impact on the stages of language acquisition for ELLs.

Answer 27

Immersion Level

Learning English at home and school will have students to learn English efficiently than those who only learn it at school.

Question 28

Alongside immersion level, this is important in which ELLs learn matter greatly to their long-term fluency. Especially for older learners who speak and write only in classrooms where their ability to achieve fluency is limited.

Answer 28

Setting

You might learn English but you will never learn slang, jokes, or more casual language. It’s best to learn in the classroom, at home, and out in the world to achieve native fluency.

Question 29

As previously mentioned, there is a positive correlation between native language proficiency and second language acquisition. Students who have strong 1st langauge skills are genereally able to learn a second language easier because of ____.

Answer 29

Language transfer

Question 30

She wrote that “Research has shown that writers will transfer their writing abilities and strategies whether good or decent, drom their first language to the second.”

Answer 30

Mara Salmona Madrinan