Tarlac State University

College of Education
Bachelor of Elementary Education
Lucinda Campus
Tarlac City, Tarlac
INTRODUCTION
Learning Through Language Experiences Language is the aspect of human behavior that
involves she use of sounds in meaningful patterns. This includes the corresponding symbols that
are used to form, express, and communicate thoughts and feelings. Any system of signs used for
communication is language. For the developing child, language is the ability to express oneself.
Language is both receptive (listening, under- standing, and responding) and expressive
(articulation, vocabulary, grammar, and graphic language). In other words, as illustrated earlier.
language is meaningful, enjoyable communication.
Language and thought are closely related (see Chapter 12). Thoughts are produced when people
internalize what they experience, and language is a major way to express or describe it.
Language shapes the way thoughts are produced and stored.
"Language is a logical and analytical tool in thinking" (Vygotsky, 1962). Farmers who work the
land develop tools to till the soil and language to describe their work. The child who comes to
the bazar with her mother learns the language of bargaining better than one who is in a shopping
cart in a grocery store. Tribes who are snowbound develop tools to deal with the ice and
language to describe the many kinds of water conditions. Language and thought are tools to
make sense of and interact with the world.
A baby may not start life with language, yet he or she always communicates. Crying. laughing,
smiling, and wiggling are body language to express and transmit in-formation. Some
communication is non symbolic (gestures or pointing), and some is symbolic (words). A child
progresses naturally from no symbolic communication pointing at the window to mean go
outside) to symbolic communication when the child says "out go" or "me go out” thus
demonstrating a shift in their level of cognitive development. Spoken language, as it develops
from no year, becomes the most common form of symbolic language. Once children master a
language, they use it to communicate, play, and develop areas of intelligence.
Language is also related to other areas to development. Children learn to offer an idea, using
language as a prop to get social lay started. They begin to label, describe, question, and demand
when they tell each other how they feel and what they want, using language to develop
emotionally. Anon who has heard a child talk to himself down from a tree knows how language
can be a great help in using physical skills.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE

• The language of children is different from adult language

Child is not garbled adult language, but rather it is unique to the child's age and linguistic
level. Children's language deals with the present and is egocentric, taking into account
 only the child's own knowledge. Children use language to communicate but seem to
have no understanding of language as an entity itself.
• Language is not learned simply by imitating adult speech. All infant babble ma- ma and
da-da sounds at about 6 to 10 months. Gard List language abilities as one form of
condition, and most language development theorists agree that there seems to be an
innate human tendency towards language (Chomsky, 1993). Not just trying to imitate
others and making mistakes but are trying to come to terms with language themselves.
The use of speech is not nearly immediately but productive and creative.
• Experiences help build language. The more experiences a child has call mom the more
she has to talk about. The size of italics vocabulary is strongly correlated with how much
a child is talked to; wide variations are apparent in language fluency. research endorses
the behaviorist theory that adults do teach children language and young children learn it
(Berger, 2009).
• Language experiences during the first five years are reflected in later literacy success
billion by talking to children and reading to them, adults can prepare children to read
because unawareness of letters and sounds at age 4 predicts reading at age 6 (Berger,
2009). By age 6, linguistic differences are already huge; some know 5000 words and
others know 20,000 words (Moats, 2001). Building an existing schema assist the
meaning of words, and the more words a child knows, the easier it is to add additional
vocabulary (Neuman and Dwyer, 2009).
• Language development is a process of experience and maturation. Teachers must be
aware of children's diverse language skills and challenges, particularly in the areas of
bilingualism, speech, or language disorders, and dialects.

STAGES OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

1. Infants’ response to language. Babies begin by attending to speech and changes in

sound, rhythm, and intonation. This are the precursors of speech, and young infants are
especially sensitive to some sound differences. Infants need to hear speech, and plenty of
it, to develop the foundations of sound.
2. Vocalization. By three to four months of age, infants begin cooing and babbling.
Babbling Increases with age and seems to pick around 9 to 10 months. This is a matter of
physical maturation, not just experience; children who are deaf are hearing impaired do it
at the same time.
3. Word development. Child must first separate the noises heard into speech and non-
speech. The speech noises must be further separated into words and the sounds that form
them.
4. Sentences. Children sentences usually begin with two words, describing an action, a
 procession, or a location. The sentences get expanded by adding adjectives, changing the
verb tense, or using negatives.
5. Elaboration. Vocabulary begins to increase at an amazing rate. Sentence says get longer
and communication begin to work into social interaction.
6. Graphic representation. By late miss golden kindergarten, reading and writing emerge
as children become aware of language as an entity itself and of the written word as a way
of documenting what is spoken. Awareness offspring and emerging literacy or the
outgrowth of this last stage of development.

Alphabet knowledge and fund me awareness are predictors of early reading success. Children
who learn to read well and most easily in first grade are those with prior knowledge of the
alphabet and the understanding of the sounds that letters represent. Within the guidelines of
developmentally appropriate practice, the teaching focus must be on creating meaningful
experiences as children create a linguistic representation of their cognitive understanding, they
see the potential of language reading and writing as a tool for communicating. Known as literal
thinking, this is the hallmark of the last early childhood developmental stage in language
development.

DUAL LANGUAGE LEARNING

Children who begin formal schooling ready to learn are most likely to succeed in meeting the
academic and social challenges they encounter. Image challenge facing the education system in
the United States and other countries is the increased number of students in public schools who
speak English as their second language. In United States, “the majority of these children are born
in the United States and thus from a very young age are acquiring both the language of their
family as well as the language of the larger community. This very young children are dual
language learners [DLL’s] (Ballentyne et al., 2008).

BILINGUALISM
In early childhood terms, bilingualism is the ability of a person to communicate in a language
other than their native language with a degree of fluency. Baker (2007) Explains:
There is not just one dimension of language. We can examine people's proficiency in two
languages in there listening, understanding, speaking, reading, and reading writing skills. Calling
someone bilingual is therefore an umbrella term period underneath the umbrella rest many
different skill levels into language. Bilingual is not just about proficiency in two languages.
Second language learning occurs in two general ways. Simultaneous Acquisition happens if a
child is exposed to two languages from birth. These bilingual children tend to lag in vocabulary
development in the early years. The second pattern is known as successive acquisition. This
occurs as a child with one language now enters the world of a second language, as when children
with one home language enter a school that uses another language.

• External factors may include access to speaker of a second language, the frequency with
which children encounter and interact with those speakers, the degree to reach the second
language context is emotionally supportive and the messages and pressures present in
school and tired theater guarding the mastery of a second language.
• Internal factors may include the children's cognitive abilities and limitations, perceive
need to learn a second language, talent in learning language, and individual temperaments
and social skills.

A particularly important point for all early educators to understand is the effect of a new
language on a child in the program and at home.
• Children of linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds may face isolation at school.
In an English-speaking school, for instance, the child who does not yet understand or
speak English may find it difficult to interact appropriately with children and teachers.
Lack of a mutual language can result in the child being treated as nearly invisible or like
a baby by other children, or as less intelligent or capable by teachers.
• Children acquiring language in an English-dominant program often begin to isolate
themselves from their families. They may refuse to use their home language anymore, as
it is difficult to use both, and English may have greater status in the children’s eyes.
Families sometimes promote this, as they wish their children to learn English. However,
if they themselves do not speak English, they become unable to communicate at length
with their children. The lack of a mutual language then grows at home, creating problems
of family cohesiveness and harmony.

Myths and Truths related to Second language acquisition

Myths or misconception What we actually know
Home language interferes with children's There is no evidence lor this. In fact, a strong
ability to learn English. foundation in the home language positively
impacts the learning of a second language.
 Mixing languages is a sign of a child being 'Code switching' is a normal part of bilingual
confused. language development and a common
communication strategy for bilingual children
& adults.
Bilingual children start to speak later than Bilinguals share the same wide range of
their monolingual peers. normal development as their monolingual
peers.
If a child learning is second language Research shows that bilingual children with
demonstrates signs of language impairment, language impairment are typically impaired in
dropping the home language will fix the both of their languages. (We expect this to be
situation. true for L2 children also)
Children can learn a second language very Children seem to have an easier time learning
quickly. languages relative to adults, but we should not
underestimate the effort it takes for them to
learn a new language. (Up to 2 years to reach
a conversational level, and up to 5-7 years to
achieve an academic level)
Parents who do not speak a language perfectly This might be true if the child had no other
will pass on their errors and/or accent to their language models, which is highly unlikely.
children. Moreover, when exposed to various accents,
children learn to be more accepting and
respectful of diversity from a young age.

DIALECT DIFFERENCES
Dialect differences are variations in the way words are pronounced or grammar is used, even
among English-speaking children. These differences reflect a dialect, or variation of speech
patterns within a language. When we travel to New York, for example, our ear is attuned to the
unique pronunciation of goyl" (girl). and when we move north, we hear "habah"(harbor).
Southern speakers are easy to identify with elongated vowel sounds such as "Haili,yaaw'I!" In
addition to regional dialects, there are also social dialects that are shared by people of the same
cultural group or social class.
Italian, Russian, and numerous other languages have regional and social dialects. Linguists, the
scholars who study languages, argue that there is no such thing as a good or a bad language. Each
language and dialect are a legitimate system of speech rules that governs communication in that
language. Some dialects, however, are not viewed favorably within the larger society and often
carry a social or economic stigma. The unique linguistic characteristics of African American
children is known as Ebonics, or black English. Negative views of black English or any
nonstandard. Dialect is of concern to parents who want better opportunities for their children.
The early childhood educator would be prudent to develop the goal of "language power for all
children, so that each child is a comfortable and capable speaker in any situation demanding
'standard' English or the language of his own “speech community”.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERACY

Successful readers see a relationship between spoken language and the written word. They are
aware that sounds are how language is put together. Teachers plan activities that make
connections between what is said and what is written. With the emphasis of early reading call my
legislation such as no child left behind, and Common Core standards, teachers feel pressured to
bring direct instruction into their early education programs.
EARLY LITERACY
It is important to emphasize that early literacy is not equivalent to early direct instruction. Yet,
much must go on in the early years for a child to be ready to read in primary school.
Reading is the most natural activity in the world. ....We read the weather, the state of the tides,
people's feelings and intentions, stock market trends, animal tracks, maps, signals, signs,
symbols, hands, tea leaves, the law, music, mathematics, minds, body language, between the
lines, and above all we read faces. “Reading," when employed to refer to interpretation of a piece
of writing, is just a special use of the term. We have been reading—interpreting experience—
constantly since birth and we continue to do so. (Smith, 2011)
A Reading Curriculum
A reading curriculum involves engaging children with print in ways that make sense to them. By
creating an environment that provides rich opportunities to use the printed word, teachers help
motivate children toward reading. High quality pre-school is a powerful force in building
language and cognitive skills. Research shows that children who attend quality prekindergarten
score higher on school readiness measures at kindergarten entry (Karoly et al. 2008). Early
literacy experiences are the first step in closing the achievement gap.

ESSENTIAL EARLY LITERACY SKILLS

Rich teacher talk Engage in conversation, use rare words,
extend their comments.
Started book reading Read aloud once or twice a day.
 Phonemic awareness activities Play games or sing songs that involve thyme,
alliteration, match sounds.
Alphabet activities Use magnetic letters, alphabet blocks and
puzzles, alphabet charts and books.
Support for emergent reading Provide a well-designed book center, repeat
reading children's favorites, have functional
and play-related print.
Support for emergent writing Encourage scribble writing, invented spelling,
provide a well-stocked writing center and
play-related writing materials.

The International Reading Association, in its Joint Position Statement with NAEYC (IRA, 2006)
describes
Five Stages of Early Literacy Development:
1. Awareness and exploration.
2. Experimenting with reading and writing
3. Early reading and writing
4. Transitional reading and writing
5. Conventional reading and writing

Teachers can help children through these stages

• First, help children learn that print is a form of language. Read them books filled with
magic, messages, and mystery (pre-reading)-
• Second, be sure children hear stories, poems, chants, and songs many times. Programs
such as Raising a Reader and other take-home, book bag pre-literacy programs help
children and families access books in an enjoyable, consistent way
• Third, help children rehearse by chanting, singing re-saying, and "reading along" as we
read to them (pre-reading).
• Fourth, observe as children learn to recognize words they read and know the text and
begin to use some phonics to discover which words say what (beginning reading)
• Fifth, children start to read more and more on their own or with a friend. Now the task is
to make them better readers (reading)
Reading can be seen as a two-stage process:
Stage 1. Grow up to words and print (birth to 4 years old). Falling in love with words and using
everyday narrative are followed by first attempts: pretending to read, learning about print, and
nourishing the mind which high-quality books. Toward the end of this period, children know that
alphabet letters are a special category of visual graphics and may recognize some. They pay
attention to separate and repeating sounds in language, show an interest in books and reading,
and display reading (signs in the local environment) and writing attempts (name on a birthday
card, taking orders in a pretend restaurant).
Stage 2. Become a real reader (kindergarten through third grade). To become real readers,
children need well-integrated instruction that focuses on three core elements: 1) identifying
words using sound- spelling correspondence and sight word recognition. 2) using previous
knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies to read for meaning; and 3) reading with
fluency.
• During kindergarten, children should gain a solid familiarity with the structure and uses
of print, be familiar with sound-by-sound and word-by-word analysis of language and
have an interest in the types of language and knowledge that books can bring them.
• First grade makes a transition from emergent to "real" reading. Children continue
phonemic awareness, letter knowledge, and print awareness to help with writing attempts
and fluent reading. Spelling becomes a focus during the year, starting with invented
spelling and growing into a sensitivity to conventional spelling, Literacy activities are
done voluntarily, such as choosing stories to read o writing a note to a fiend.
• Second and third grades help children build automatic word recognition, spelling skills,
and reading fluency. Comprehension improves, along with recall of facts and
participation in creative responses to teats, and children move toward producing a variety
of written work. "Learning to read" is now shifting toward “reading to learn”.

Writing Curriculum
A writing curriculum involves learning about words in print much the same as learning about
reading and other aspects of language; that is, by seeing it used and having plenty of
opportunities to use it themselves. Writing can be as natural for children as walking and talking.
“What is written language? For a child, print is just another facet of the world, nor yet
comprehended, perhaps, but not different from all the complex sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and
textures in the environment-not especially mysterious or intimidating" (Smith, 2011). Children's
emergent writing begins when they first take a pencil in hand and start to scribble. Later, they
can write a story by drawing pictures or by dictating the words and having someone else write
them down.
A print-rich environment that includes labels, lists, signs, and charts can make print a meaningful
part of the classroom environment. Often, children are involved in making the signs to indicate
where things go and what things are. Using the languages of the group expands this "literate
room," as do helper charts, daily schedules, and even attendance charts. Road signs can be made
for the block corner, recipe cards for cooking. "Do not touch may be written for an unfinished
project, as can "Inside voices here" for the library corner. Labeled picture cards can be used for
rhyming games, alphabet puzzles, magnetic letters, and scrabble games, as well as opportunities
for children to give dictation, write grocery lists, and compose letters to friends and family.

EARLY LITERACY COMES TO THE CLASSROOM

1. Have a cozy library corner, giving children lots of time to explore and read all kinds of books.
2. Make a writing corner with different kinds of supplies, using this area to develop group time
activities (children's stories), meaningful themes (post office), and connected learning (writing
and sending letters).
3. Take field trips, pointing out print as they find it (street signs, store shelves, bumper stickers)
and writing about it afterward.
4. Use large charts for poems, fingerplays, and songs as well as for listing choices available and
for group dictation.
5. Plan activities that incorporate print: read recipes for cooking projects, make menus for lunch
and snack, follow directions in using a new manipulative toy, write sales tickets for dramatic
play units, bring books into science displays.
6. Use written notes regularly, sending a regular newspaper home that the children have written
or dictated, writing notes to other team teachers that children deliver, encouraging children to
send notes to each other.

The early childhood classroom heightens an interest in writing with a writing center. It can be
part of a language area or a self-help art center. Wherever it is located, this center includes a
variety of things to write with and to write on and "writing helpers”.
• Children write with pencils (fat and thin, with and without erasers), colored pencils,
narrow and wide marking pens, and crayons. They enjoy having many kinds of paper
products, including old calendars and colored paper.
• Children write on simple books, a few blank pages stapled together. Carbon paper and
lined paper add variety.
• “Writing helpers” include a picture dictionary, a set of alphabet letters, a print set, an
alphabet chart, a chalkboard, a magnetic letter board, or an interactive whiteboard. All of
 these serve to help children practice writing skills.

Emergent writing describes children's first attempts at writing, which includes drawing or
scribbling. Writing moves from pictures to words, and drawing helps children plan and organize
their thoughts (and, thus, their text). Teachers encourage children to tell them about their stories
and can ask for a child's help in "reading" these writings. As children begin to work with words
themselves, adults can help them sound out words or spell words for them. Spelling development
is like learning to speak Adults support the efforts, do not correct the mis- takes, and allow
children to invent their own spelling of words. Picture dictionaries and lists of popular words
help children use resources for writing.

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Children's books bring us back to ourselves, young and new in the world. Our bones may
lengthen, and our skin stretch, but we are the same soul in the making. ... Children's books are
such powerful transformer because they speak, in the words of the Quakers, to one's condition,
often unrecognized at the time, and remain as maps for the future .... In children's books, we
preserve the wild rose, the song of the robin, the budding leaf. In secret gardens we know the
same stab of joy, at whatever age of reading, in the thorny paradise around us. (Lundin, 1991)
Literature has as important a place in the curriculum today as it did in this classic description
written more than two decades ago. Using good books, teachers can help children broaden their
interests and concepts. Books that are primarily used for transmitting information expand the
child's knowledge base. Thoughtful books that draw on children's everyday experiences widen
their understanding of themselves and others. For instance, five different books describe and
illustrate the behavior of cats in five different ways. Exposure to Millions of Cats (Gag), Angus
and the Cats (Flack), and The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss), as well as to the cats portrayed in Peter
Rabbit (Potter) or Frog Went A-Courtin' (Langstaff), enlarges the child's concepts of cats.
Different cultures are also represented in any number of children's books, teaching a greater
awareness of all of humankind.

Suggested Writing Materials

• Alphabet stamps
• Alphabet board
• Binders-yarn, string, "twist ties," to bind homemade books
• Book-binding machine (used by adults to bind special books)
• Cardboard cereal/cracker. boxes provide cardboard for covers
• Clipboards
• Collage materials—magazines, wallpaper, and wrapping papers
• Colored pencils
• Crayons
• Envelopes (local card store will sometimes donate leftovers)
• Fabric
• Laminate (factories will sometimes donate end rolls)
• Magnetic letters
• Markers

A RICH LITERACY ENVIRONMENT

A rich literacy environment can be a challenge to create. The newspaper comics of yesterday are
far outdistanced by the television and video games of today. How can teachers give children
experiences in literature in the face of such competition?
The field of children's literature is rich in its variety. Including both great classic stories and
those of present-day situations and concerns. Fiction and informational books, children's
magazines, and poetry add balance to the literary curriculum. Every classroom should contain
representative works from each of these areas and should:
• Provide plenty of time for using books and other materials. Children need time to browse, to
flip through a book at their own pace, and to let their thoughts wander as they reflect on the
story line. They also enjoy retelling the tale to others. Be sure to plan enough time to read to
children every day.
• Make a space that is quiet and comfortable. In addition to soft pillows or seats, locate the
reading area where there is privacy. Crashing blocks and messy finger painting intrudes
on the book reader. A place to sprawl or cuddle up with a friend is preferable.
• Have plenty of books and supporting materials. The language arts center might contain
listening post, with headsets for a CD player. Perhaps there is even a puppet stage or
flannel board nearby so that stories can be created in new ways.
• Display children’s literary creations. Establishing a place in the room where they can be
seen and read honors the efforts of children's stories and bookmaking. Children then see
how adults’ value the process of literary creation and the final product.
 • Model how to care for a book and keep classroom books in good repair. Children can
come to realize that a book is like a good friend and should be given the same kind of
care and consideration.
• Foster children's reading at home. This is one of the important contributions a teacher can
make to the reading process. Attitudes about reading are communicated to children from
the important people in their lives Family literacy programs are developing for all
families to gain skills in English check your local community for availability. Families
whose home language is not English face enormous challenges when encouraging
reading; research supports development of the home language as a foundation for
learning other languages so programs should attempt to offer book bags to families with
books in their home language as well as plenty of picture books that allow parents to
"read" the pictures with their children. Posting the local library hours, establishing a
lending library, and providing parents with lists of favorites reinforces the child's interest
in literature
• Use books around the room. Do not confine them to just the book corner or the
bookshelf. Demonstrate their adaptability to all curriculum areas by displaying a variety
of books in the activity centers. Ask children to help you retell or emphasize parts of a
story (see the Storytelling section), and ask them questions informally afterward: “How
many bowls of porridge were on the kitchen table? Which one did Goldilocks like the
best? How did you know?

LITERARY EXTENSIONS
Literary extension experiences are excellent ways to use good literature. A creative teacher uses
books and literature to develop other curriculum materials. Translating words from a book into
an activity helps a child remember them. Books and Movies can be adapted to storytelling, the
flannel board, dramatizations, puppets, book games, and audiovisual resources.
Storytelling is as old as humanity. The first time a human being returned to the cave with an
adventure to tell the story was born. Storytelling is how cultural heritage is passed down from
one generation to another. Children's involvement with a story that is being told is almost
instantaneous. The storyteller is the medium through which a story comes to life, adding a
unique favor through voice, choice of words, body language, and pacing: The oral tradition is
strong in marly cultures, and the telling of the tale is memorable. Instead of focusing on a book
page, the teacher involves the children directly, with expressions and gestures that draw in the
children. Repetition and questions per the children so involved they feel that they have created
the story. Young readers want to find the book, and young writers want to draw and retell the
story or create their own.
Teachers can use any familiar story, be it The Three Little Pigs or Swimmy. Props can be added
to draw attention to the story. Flannel board adaptations of stories are helpful; they give the
storyteller a sense of security and a method for remembering the story. Children can be involved
in the action by placing the characters on the felt board at the appropriate time. Puppets or an
assortment of hats can be used as props. Good storytellers enjoy telling the story and
communicate their enthusiasm to Children.
• Dramatizations have universal appeal as children act out characters from a favorite story.
Two- and three-year-old are introduced to this activity as they act out the motions to
finger plays and songs. The "Eensy Weensy Spider" and its accompanying motions are
the precursor for dramatization. Story re-enactment helps children learn to work together
so that their social development is enhanced, as is the cognitive ability to engage in
collective representation.
• Puppet shows can involve many children as participants and audience. Children of all
ages enjoy watching and putting on a puppet show. Because puppets are people to young
children, they become confidants and special friends. Children confide in and protect a
puppet, engaging in a dialogue with one or more puppets that is often revealing of the
child's inner struggles and concerns. Teachers can support their efforts by helping them to
take turns, suggesting questions and dialogue to them, and involving the audience. The
project of puppet making can be quite elaborate and very engaging for older children.
• Book games are a good way to extend the literary experience. Buy two copies of an
inexpensive book with readable pictures, such as The Carrot Seed (Krauss). Tear out the
pages and cover each page with clear plastic. Children must then read the pictures to put
the book into proper sequence. A book of rhymes, such as Did You Ever See? (Einsel),
lends itself to rhyming games. Children can act out the rhymes from the story line or
march rhyming phrases from cards the teacher has made.
• Media materials enlarge the child's experience with books. The auditory and visual
experiences reinforce one another. Putting in a "listening post" so that a few children can
listen to a story with headphones adds interest to stories. Touch tablets can encourage
collaboration around making stories together or planning out a show for older children.
Music brings literature alive; besides tapping into the musical aspect of intelligence, it
appeals to all children to move and express themselves and, thus, enjoy literature and
books even more. The pictures can show children new aspects of the words; sometimes
the music or the voices bring the book to life. Often both happen. Hundreds of children's
stories-classics and modern day—have been translated to these media. Be judicious with
videos, so that the dominance of the visual images does not erase the images from the
children's imaginations.
Language and Literacy Skills
Teachers translate language development theory into practice as they work with children.
Language and literacy skills in the early childhood setting include articulation, receptive
language expressive language graphic language, and enjoyment. Children's conversations, their
ways of talking, some children’s lack of expressive language, and their ways of asking questions
all offer glimpses into their skills.

Articulation
Articulation is how children say the sounds and words. Children's ability to produce sound is a
critical link in their connecting the sounds to form speech. Mis- pronunciation is common and
normal, especially in children younger than 5 years of age. The preschool teacher can expect to
hear "Thally" for Sally,"wope" for rope, and "buh-sketty" for spaghetti. Children who repeat
sounds, syllables, or words in preschool are not stutterers; 85 percent of 2- to 6-year-olds hesitate
and repeat when talking. As children talk, teachers listen for their ability to hear and reproduce
sounds in daily conversation. Can they hear and produce sounds that differ widely, such as "sit"
and"blocks?" Can they produce sounds that differ in small ways, such as in "man" and "mat?"
How adults respond to disfluencies can help a child through this normal stage of language
development. Chesler (2011) suggests:
• Pay attention to the child when she talks to you. Do not rush her.
• Do not demand speech when a child is upset or feels stressed.
• Do not put children on exhibition by asking them to recite or talk when they do not want
to.
• Avoid interrupting a child when she is talking; avoid completing a sentence for her.
• Statements like "slow down" or "think before you talk" draw attention to his speech and
usually cue the child that there is something wrong with the way he talks.
• Do make an example of your speech by talking slowly, smoothly, and distinctly.

Receptive Language
Receptive language is what children acquire when they learn to listen and understand. It is what
they hear. With this skill, children can understand directions, to answer a question, and to follow
a sequence of events. They can understand relationships and begin to predict the outcome of their
behavior and that of others. They develop some mental pictures as they listen. Children begin
early and can become experts in reacting to words, voice, emphasis, and inflection. How many
times does the child understand by the way the words are spoken?
"You finally finished your lunch." (Hooray for you!)
"You finally finished your lunch:"(You slow poke.)
Children learn to listen for enjoyment, for the way the wind sounds in the trees, the rhythm of
storytelling, or the sound of the car as it brings Mom or Dad home.
Expressive Language
Expressive language in the early years means the process and steps involved in expressing ideas,
feelings, and intentions in language. This includes words, grammar, and elaboration.
Words
Expressive language is the spoken word. Children' first words are of what is most important to
them (ma-ma, da-da). Adults help children extend their knowledge and vocabulary by using the
names of objects and words of action (walk, run, jump) and feelings (happy sad, mad). By
describing objects in greater and greater detail, teachers give children new words that increase
their skills. Children are then ready to learn that some words have more than one meaning (the
word "orange" for example, is both a color and a fruit) and that different words can have the
same meaning (such as "ship" and "boat" as similar objects, or "muñeca" and "doll" as the same
word in different languages)

Grammar
Basic grammatical structure is learned as children generalize what they hear. They listen to adult
speech patterns and use these patterns to organize their language. It helps to hear simple
sentences at a young age, with the words in the correct order. Next, children can grasp past tense
as well as present, plural nouns along with the singular. Finally, the use of more complex
structures is understood (Prepositions, comparatives, various conjugations of verbs).

Elaboration of Language
Elaboration of language takes many, many forms. It is the act of expanding the language.
Through description, narration. explanation, and communication, adults elaborate their speech to
encourage children to do the same. For instance, communication for children includes talking to
themselves and others.

Verbalize a process sound.

“I’m trying to get the plant out of its pot, but when I turn it upside down it doesn’t fall
out”.
Give and follow directions.
“It’s to make a choice for clean-up. You find something and I’ll watch you.”
Ask and answer question.
“How do you feel when she says she won’t play? What can you say? Do?”
Stick to the subject.
“I know you want to go play kickball, but first let’s solve the problem of the wagon.”

Use speech to get involved.

“What a great house you built. How do you get inside?”

Graphic Language
"Talk written down" is the essence of graphic language. The child now learns that there is a way
to record, copy, aid send to another person one's thoughts. Because words and letters are simply
"lines and dots and scribbles" to young children, the teacher and parent must demonstrate how
meaningful graphic language can be. Moreover, the translation of talk into print is a cognitive
task, so children’s intellectual development as well as their language abilities are at play when
learning about the printed word.

Enjoyment
To encourage language is to promote enjoyment in using it. As teachers converse with
children, parents, and other adults, they model for children how useful and fun language can be.
Knowing the power and pleasures of language gives children the motivation for the harder work
of learning to read and write.
Children learn to enjoy language by participating in group discussion and being
encouraged to ask questions. Reading and listening to stories and poems every day are essential
parts of any program. The program should also include children's literature and stories children
dictate or write themselves.
Word play and rhyming are fun as well as educational. Group language games are useful,
such as asking the question, "Did you ever see a bat with a hat? A bun having fun?2 A bee with
..." and letting the children add the rest. Begin a song, for instance, "Do You Know the Muffin
Man?" and add the children's names. Whatever contributes to the enjoyment of language
supports its growth, from varying voice and tone to fit the situation (in storytelling, dramatic
play, and ordinary activity periods) to spontaneous rhyming songs.
Effective Approaches for Curriculum
Planning a language curriculum requires educators to keep several key points in mind, such as
providing a kind of envelope of language for all children, not just the more talkative ones, and
inviting the use of home language and dialects to bridge learning the dominant language.
Considering both the indoor and outdoor space, schedule, and skill levels of children allow a
better match between the themes or activities presented and what teachers want children to learn.
Considerations
When considering how to work with young children in language development, teachers should
keep several things in mind:
1. Children need an "envelope of language." Be a play-by-play announcer, providing language
labels for everything the child does and touches. For example, babies need communication from
caring adults: "Acknowledge the baby by name, wait for the baby’s response, include your
observation the baby’s response in your next message, and say what you see or think you see"
(Kovach & Ros-Voseles, 2011). When you expose children no quality literature every day, you
ensure that children find both social and linguistic communication are pleasant things to do.
2. Children must use language to learn it. Adults often spend much of their time with children
talking-to, At, for or about them. "Be careful not to dominate when talking with children. Lean
toward more child than adult talk" (Epstein, 2009). Children's conversations with each other are
important in learning the basics of how to take turns and keep to one topic and of saying what
they mean, getting their ideas and themselves heard and accepted. Talk time with pers and adults,
in both structured (group names) and nonstructured (free play) situations, allow children to
practice and refine language skills. Listening and speaking are two of the four language arts (the
other two being reading and writing)
3. The most verbal children tend to monopolize language interactions. Research shows that
teachers interact verbally with the children who are most skilled verbally. Seek out and support
language development in those with fewer skills, generally by drawing them out individually
through (a) reading the unspoken (body) language that communicates their ideas, needs, and
feelings and (6) helping them express verbally those ideas, needs, and feelings. Children can use
story time as "talk time" as well as for engaged listening.
4. Adults should know the individual child. Consistency in adult-child relationships may be as
important for language as for effective development during the early years. If so, teachers must
have a meaningful relationship with each child. This includes knowing the parents and how they
communicate with their child.
5. Home languages are to be invited into the program. Language is a powerful way family
transmit their love, culture, and identity to their children. When centers do not use the home
language, they reinforce existing societal messages that a child's language is lower in status than
the dominant language. "Much recent research has found that the home language and cultural
practices of your DLL children are fragile and susceptible to dominance by the English language
and mainstream culture" (Espinosa, 2010). Having explicit language goals around welcoming
and using home languages in the program are important.
6. Dialect differences expand your speech community. Dialects are as much a part of children's
culture and identity as is their home language. Providers may mistakenly see children speaking
their dialect as less capable, or even delayed. We need to not assume that different means "less
than."
7. Some children may have speech and language disorders. Early detection of and intervention
for speech and language disorders is possible without the teacher being a speech therapist. With a
basic knowledge of typical speech development and signposts of speech and language problems,
the perceptive teacher can alert families and recommend specialist assessment and input. Once a
child with a disability comes into a program with specific learning objective, the staff plans how
to address those needs in the curriculum and with the children.
8. The language of the teacher influences the classroom. What teachers say—and how they say
it—is important. Moreover, what they do not say communicates the most to children in their
struggle to gain mastery of the language. Teachers provide a rich environment and a high quality
of interaction with the child that encourages all language skills. Pre-school teachers' use of
sophisticated vocabulary and analytic talk about books combined with early support for literacy
in the home can predict fourth-grade reading comprehension and work recognition (Dickenson,
2011). Teachers engage in conversations with both individual children and small groups.
Whenever possible here are sustained conversations (with multiple conversational turns,
complex ideas, rich vocabulary) and decontextualized language (talk about events beyond the
here and how) concerning what is past or future. (What do you think we will see at the
firehouse?).

Helping Children with Receptive Language

1. Give clear directions. "Please go and sit on the rug next to the chairs," instead of "Go sit over
there."
2. Let children ask questions. Give them acceptable answers. For example, repeat a phrase from
the child's last sentence that asks the child to try again: "You want what?” or "You ate what?" Or
cast the question back to a child by changing the phrase "Where did you put it?" into "You put it
where?"
3. Give instructions in a sequence. "Put your lunch on your desk, then wash your hands. Then
you are ready to go to lunch." It often helps to ask the children what they think they are to do:
"How do you get ready for lunch? What comes first? “Next?”
4. Try to understand what the child means, regardless of the actual language. Look for the
purpose and intent beyond what the child may have said. This is particularly important with
toddlers, non-English speakers, and newcomers.
5. Ask children to state their thoughts out loud. "Tell me what you think is going to happen to the
eggs in the incubator. Why do you think some might hatch and some might not?"
6. Use literature, poetry, and your own descriptions. Give children an idea of how words can be
used to paint verbal and mental pictures. Ask questions about children's own images and dreams.
To older children read aloud from books without pictures.

Curriculum Planning for Language and Literacy Development

Teachers who plan curriculum for language skills, just as for cognitive development, focus on
the setting, schedule, skills, and themes. They organize the environment and activities to help
children acquire linguistic skills of their own (NAEYC, 2005).
In the Early Childhood Setting
Indoors
Indoor space is arranged so that children practice speaking and listening and, in programs for
older children, reading and writing. Areas can be arranged to enhance language development as
follows:
Art
Have signs and pictures chat show where things are kept.
Ask children to describe the materials they use.

Blocks
• Ask children to give each other directions for where blocks go and what they are used
for.
• Label block shelves with shapes and words.
• Sketch children's structures and then write their verbal descriptions.
Cooking
• Label utensils.
• Describe actions (pour, measure, stir).
• Use recipe cards with both pictures and words,
Discovery/Science
• Label all materials.
 • Ask questions about what is displayed.
• Encourage children's displays, with their dictated words nearby.
• Graph growth and changes of plants, animals, children, and experiments.
Dramatic Play
• Provide a variety of equipment for a diversity of gender play, including male and female
clothes.
• Set up spaces in addition to a "house/kitchen" such as a "reader's theater" in which
children choose a story to act out and eventually write their own scripts.
• Offer cooking and eating utensils, objects, and tools that reflect cultural and linguistic
diversity, such as a tortilla press and molcajete in the kitchen and different kinds of
combs and brushes for the dolls, beginning with the cultures of the children in your
program and then adding other groups.
• Have plenty of child-sized mirrors.
Language/Library
• Label the bookshelf cassette player, and computer in children's languages.
• Help children make their own books that involve description (My family is ...), narration
(It is winter when ...), and recall (Yesterday I...)
• Have children "write" notes, lists, or letters to one another, the teachers, and their
families.
• Develop a writing center with a typewriter, office supplies, and so on.
Manipulatives
• Recognize this arca as a place for self-communication, as children talk and sing to
themselves
• while they work.
• Explain similarities and differences of materials and structures.
Outdoors
Outdoor space emphasizes gross motor movements, so motor skills can be described and pointed
out by teachers and children, as both use words of action and of feeling. For example, what
actions does it take to get the wagon up the hill? How does a child’s face feel when swinging up
high? How do people sit? Move? Carry things?

DAP Set up a Literacy Yard

Taking language and literacy outdoors is a good idea because many children feel freer and
interact more actively with each other outdoors. These three-curriculum idea stake language and
literacy wherever the children may be:
Toddler Tent: Set up a small see-through tent outside, with a soft blanket and a basket of
cardboard books.
Preschool Playgrounds: Regularly set up one of these stations outdoors, with cards that
describe the actions the children need to take (Beaty, 2009): walking rink, running ring, jumping
pad, crawling chamber, leapfrog lodge, throwing booth, dancing ring.
School-Age Spot: Set up a writing nook with plastic milk crates, clipboards, and even a small
swimming pool with pillows. Consider adding binoculars or making some from cardboard tubes
to focus attention. Read the entries the children create at circle time.
Outdoors is an ideal place to bring in developmentally appropriate props and activities for
language curriculum goals.
Daily Schedule
Language and literacy skills are used throughout the day and are especially useful in transitions,
which are more manageable if the children understand what is happening and exactly what they
are to do Teacher language helps talk children through the process so that they can internalize
what they are asked of. Arrival is an easy time to reinforce name recognition. Mark cubbies with
names and photos, and comment on the names children find there. Children's belongings should
also be labeled. These steps take a little time to make but can increase children's awareness of
print.
Snack/lunch tables at one preschool began to exchange notes ("Dear Teacher Adrienne's Table:
What are you doing? What are you eating?"). They passed notes to each other's groups, including
the sign language two children used ("How do you sign banana? What's the sign for graham
crackers?").

• When children discuss daily news and important events, brainstorm ideas about a subject,
or report on what they did earlier in the day, they gain experience in listening and
speaking.
• Children can also dramatize familiar stories and finger plays.
• Using visual aids or name cards gives children experience in graphic language. These
might include having felt letters for the song "B-I-N-G-O”; numbers for the finger play
"One, Two, Buckle My Shoe"; or name cards for the activity "I’m Thinking of Someone
..." Children enjoy the cadence and rhythm of language spoken or chanted.

Focus on Skills
Recall that here are four major language arts skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. In
addition, there are the pragmatics of language, which are the appropriate and affective use of
language in social communication.
Teachers can plan curriculum based on any one of the skills:
• To increase speech, vocabulary, and awareness of other languages, get a familiar book
such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Carle) from the Children's Braille Book Club and
make name cards in Braille for every child.
• To encourage receptive listening skills, have children bring a favorite item from home or
choose something from the class or yard and hide it in a guessing bag. "Children take
turns looking into the bag and describing their item until others guess it, they can then
pull it out and talk about it with the group.
• For developing reading skill, use "Readers' Theater" to improve reading comprehension
and fluency, enhance motivation, and build social skills (Zambo, 2011). By having
authentic opportunities for repeated readings, children are motivated to read and then
perform.
• For developing written language, consider activities that extend the age range experiences
of the children. For example, a kindergarten class makes a group story about "The
Mystery of Space" Then, they separate into small groups with second grade helpers to
write their own books in story form, complete with illustrations.
• To emphasize the pragmatics of language, teachers allow children to express themselves
by practicing words and grammatical structure and by elaborating on their own
expressions. Outdoors, 4-year-old Hadar describes her actions: "Teacher, look at me! I'm
taller than you!" The teacher responds, "You called me over, smart girl! You climbed up
the ladder to the top of the tunnel. Now, when you stand up, your head is above mine."
Themes
Projects or themes for curriculum planning can be used to develop language and literacy skills by
careful selection of topic. Although themes are not typically used with infants or toddlers, many
units that elicit an extensive use of language for 3 to 8-year-olds are:
1. Harvest. Activity: Ask children (2 years and older) to bring food from home for a "feast
corner." Make a display of food from a harvest feast in the past or change the housekeeping
corner into a "fast for all" area.
• Group time: Begin a group story using the sentence "I am thankful for...”
• Special project: Plan a feast, with the children creating the menu and preparing both the
food and the table for their families at the school.
2. Friends. Activity: Choose a favorite book (3 years and older) to introduce the topic; the Story
Stretchers book series (Raines & Canady, 1989-2011) has several suggestions, such us

Heine's Friends.
Group time: Talk with the children about the kinds of things friends like to do together. Make a
list, then read the book. Later, select children to act out the animal parts. Do not worry about
reading lines; keep it imaginative!
Special project: Put a flannel board in the library corner with characters and props from the book.
Encourage the children to tell the story from the perspective of the various animals and then the
farmer.
3. The Earth Is Our Home. Activity: Have the group (5 years and older) make a large circle in a
shade of blue, sketching the continents. Provide brown, green, and blue paint in pie tins and let
children make a handprint on the ocean or land. Next, have the children bring from home the
names of the countries of their family's ancestry. Help them locate those areas and attach their
names to those parts of the world.
Group time: Sing "The Earth Is Our Home" (Greg and Steve) and "One Light, One Sun" (Rafi).
Read Just a Dream (Van Allsburg) and Where the Forest Mets the Sea (J. Baker).
Special project: Help make a class recycling area or compost heap. Take a field trip to recycle
the materials or visit a garden that uses compost. Young children can learn about endangered
species through Burningham's Hey! Get of Our Train; older children can do research on an
animal and make its natural habitat in a shoebox.
Special Topic: Supporting Dual Language Learners
Language and literacy curriculum development is incomplete unless it addresses the special topic
of second language learning (see previous section on Dual Language Learning and
Bilingualism). Briefly, the research base shows:
• Attending to the social, emotional, and cognitive skills of dual language learners in early
childhood enhances their schooling experiences (Ballantyne et al, 2008).
• Dual language learners may learn to read best if taught both in their native language and
English from early in the process of formal schooling (Shanahan & Beck,207).
• In addition to clear, intentional interactions that are focused on important instructional
goals, DLL children also require adaptations while they are in the process of acquiring
English (Espinosa, 2010).
Language Goals
Each program must first decide on its language goals. Is there a full dual language approach, in
which half the spoken language is in English and half in children's home language? This 50:50
approach works with bilingual/biliterate staff and a single home language of the children. Or is
the program conducted primarily in English with home language support? "This 90:10 or 80:20
approach is more likely to be used when fewer of the staff are fluent or if there are multiple
home languages spoken in the group. Who teaches in which language and in what spaces and
during which parts of the day are other decisions that need to be made?
Environment and Program Strategies
Support for second language acquisition includes environmental organization, language
techniques, and classroom activities. The following recommendations serve as guidelines for
teachers of children who are acquiring a second language:
1. Understand how children learn a second language. There is a developmental sequence of
second language acquisition. First, children may continue to speak their home language with
both those who speak it and those that do not. Next, children begin to understand that others do
not understand their home language and give up using it, substituting nonverbal behavior that
may appear less mature. Allowing them to watch and listen and interpreting and inviting children
into play helps. Third, children begin to break out of the nonverbal period with a combination of
telegraphic and formulaic language. One-word phrases such as "no, yes, mine, hey" all telegraph
meaning, as do catchwords such an "ok, look, I dunno" that are used as formulas for
communicating. Finally, productive use of the new language appears. The perceptive teacher
sees that it is a positive step in a cumulative process.
2. Make a plan for the use of the two languages. Try to have bilingual staff or at least one teacher
who specializes in each language. The children are then exposed to models in both the home
language and English. Many programs in communities in which the children and educators have
the same first language background use the children's home language while learning English in a
naturalistic setting. They may start a year with the language of the children and gradually use
more English until the languages are equal.
3. Accept individual differences. Take note of both the style and the time frame of language
learning. Children bring a range of individual differences to learning a second language.
Motivation to learn, exposure to the dominant language, the age of the child in relationship to the
group, and temperament can all affect language acquisition. Do not insist that a child speak but
do invite and try to include the child in classroom activities. Assume developmental equivalence;
that is, that the children, although different, are normal. For example, Maria Elena just does not
come and sit at group time. Allow her to watch from a distance and believe that she is learning,
rather than be worried or irritated that she is not with the group yet.
4. Support children's attempts to communicate. Encouraging children's communication bids
rather than correcting them helps children try to learn. Recognize developmentally equivalent
patterns. For instance, Kidah may not say the word "car" but can show it to you when you ask.
Receptive language precedes expressive language.
5. Maintain an additive philosophy. Recognize that children are acquiring more and new
language skills not simply replacing their primary linguistic skills. Asking Giau and his family
about their words, foods and customs allows teachers to use a style and content that are familiar
to the Vietnamese, thus smoothing the transition and adding onto an already rich base of
knowledge.
6. Provide a stimulating, active, and diverse environment. “A first step in planning a welcoming
environment for young DLLs, as well as all children, is to think about the messages and
impressions that the classroom communicates. Ask yourself if what hangs on he walls, what is
displayed, and the materials offer a welcoming feeling for culturally and linguistically different
children" (de Melendez, 2011). Give many opportunities for language in meaningful social
interactions and responsive experiences with all children. Have a set routine so that children can
anticipate and anchor onto a predictable sequence. Provide a safe haven so that children can
spend some time away from communicatively demanding activities and can do things that don't
always require language to succeed. Make use of story time, increasing the amount of time when
you tell or read aloud stories; the predictable plot and repetitive language help children follow
along and understand. Choose chants, finger plays, and songs for the same reasons.
7. Use informal observations to guide the planning of activities. Provide spontaneous interactions
for speakers of other languages. Teachers need to expand the types of observations used for
assessment to see a child's physical, cognitive, or emotional abilities in language-free situations.
Additionally, a home visit observation may help to learn how a child is doing in home language
development. Also, only by actively watching does a teacher find special moments in classroom
to help a child be accepted and join in. Seeing a group of girls building a zoo, a teacher gives a
basket of wild animals to Midori. Walking with her to the block corner, she offers to stock the
zoo and then helps all the girls make animal signs in Japanese and English. Thus, Midori enters
the play in a positive and strong way.

Family Contacts
Find out about the family. Establish ties between home and school. School learning is most
likely to occur when family values reinforce school expectations. Parents and teachers do not
have to do the same things. But they must have a mutual understanding and respect for each
other and goals for children. For example, Honwyma’s parents and his teacher talk together
about what of the Hopi language and culture can be brought into the classroom. When there are
differences between the Hopi patterns and those of the school, teachers try to accommodate.
• Provide an accepting climate. The classroom climate must value culturally and
linguistically diverse young children. Teachers must come to grips with their cultural
ethnocentricity and learn about the languages, dialects, and cultures beyond their own. It
is critical to value all ways of achieving developmental milestone not just those of the
teacher's culture or educational experience.
 • Use multiple strategies to involve families. Since access to information in the home
language helps progress in both languages, digital technologies can help teachers find
appropriate materials and games in languages so that children can get active practice.
"Technology tools can be effective for dual language learners by providing access to a
family's home language and culture while supporting English language learning."
(NAEYC, 2012). Finding words in a home language, recording a child's speech for later
translation or a parent's expressions to use with a new child can support both access and
comfort.
Challenges and Conclusions
The challenge to young children and their teachers is enormous. With informed, open-minded
teaching, children can learn a second language without undue stress and alienation, we can
conclude that:
• Children can and do learn two languages at an early age, though the process and time
vary with the individual child. Instruction in a familiar language can serve as a bridge to
success in English and support retention of the home language. Two languages can be
learned at the same rime in a parallel manner. The depth of knowledge of one language
may be different from that of the other, or the two may develop equally.