Oral lang ece aps (july 28 2014) (final)

The Purpose and Power of

Supporting

All Children’s Oral Language

Sherry Taylor, Ph.D.Associate Professor & Program Chair

Literacy, Language & Culturally Responsive TeachingUniversity of Colorado, Denver

Isabelle Smith, MAECSE Pre-School Teacher, Boulder Valley School District

Lead Instructor in Early Literacy Certificate ProgramUniversity of Colorado, Denver

ECE Conference, July 28, 2014 Aurora Public School District

❏Young children and oral language

❏A quick overview of the research

❏Language & culture go ‘hand in hand’

❏Reflecting on our language use in the classroom

❏Purposeful planning: Intentional structures to

support children’s language

❏Assessing language: What are we looking for?

❏Take a chance: Turn talk over to the children!

Note: See chart paper & markers for later

Welcome! Our plans for

today

Isabelle Smith, MA

ECSE Pre-School Teacher in BVSD Lead Instructor in Early Literacy Certificate Program for the Literacy, Language & Culturally Responsive Teaching Program at CU Denver

ECE Enhanced grant (delivered in APS 2013-

2014): Working Group Member

Teaching areas (at CU Denver): Early language development, Early literacy instruction, Early literacy routines and assessment, and Linking assessment with instruction.

I love to spend time with my husband and dogs, Daisy and Cole, and travel...especially to Florida… or any where that has a beach!

Taking a moment to find out more about

each other! A little about us...

Sherry Taylor, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Program Leader

Literacy, Language & Culturally Responsive

Teaching Program, CU Denver

Coordinator of Certificate Program delivered to K-

12 teachers in APS/COE

Principal Investigator of ECE Enhanced grant

(delivered in APS 2013-2014)

Teaching areas: Language & literacy

development & acquisition; Multicultural

Education,

Research areas: Teacher cognition; The impact

of culturally responsive teacher preparation

I love to spend time with my 15 year old daughter

& my husband; garden & landscape; read; play

pinball & pacman; travel; XX ski; and I’m excited

to be part of a literacy enrichment team in

August for kids in Michoacan Mexico!!

Let’s take a moment to find out

more about each other!

A little about YOU …

INTERNS: Anita Walker & Alea Alea Wojdyla

ECE ENHANCED GRANT PROJECT:EARLY LITERACY AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT FOR

YOUNG ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

COHORT MEMBERS:Folashade Adebayo

Sandra Carruthers

Lisa Dally

Geri Dansby

Susan Garcia

Lili Grove

Melissa Ivy

Pat LaMontagne

Karen Lozano

Amy Martin

Ashley Neff

Rebecca Ross

Sylvia Velasco

COHORT MEMBERS:Dulcie Velasco Martinez

Holly Wettanen

Alice Wong

Lisa May

Pam Lopez

Maria Arroyo

Sandy Fermo

Sonia Fuentes Cruz

Rhonda Mohrbacher

Ashley Morgan

Soledad Ramirez

Tina Richards

Patricia Tanner

More about you!❏ Who are ECE Facilitators?

❏ Who are ECE paraprofessionals?

❏ Who are Early childhood Special Education staff?

❏ Who are Administrators?

❏ Who are Teacher Coaches?

❏ Who has not been mentioned yet? Your positions?

❏ Who is located in a Child Development Center? ECE classroom in an

elementary school? Other?

❏ How many of you work with students who are acquiring English as an

additional language?

2 or 3 students?

Half of your students?

Most of your students?

Children are language learners by virtue of being born

into human society.

They construct knowledge about language as they

use it to engage with the people and objects

in their environments

and

as they use language to make sense of

their surroundings.

(Halliday, 1975).

Children and Oral

Language

❏ Language expresses meaning through sounds made in

the vocal tract (barring impairment or obstacles to the use

of sound);

❏ Children learn language in the speech community

where they are raised with little or no direct instruction

by the adults;

❏ Discourse patterns (e.g., how to ask Qs, make requests,

tell stories, etc.) are learned by children at home & in

their community. (Barry, 2008)

Research tells us that ALL languages

share linguistic universals, such as:

❏ Language is used primarily for communication;

❏ Languages – and dialects - have regular structures

and a predictable set of rules or a grammar);

❏ Language is dynamic (not static);

❏ Language speakers have a language competence

that may not always be reflected in their spoken

language.

Do you AGREE or

DISAGREE?

Words added to Webster dictionary in 2014:

❏ Fracking: the injection of fluid into shale beds at high

pressure in order to free up petroleum resources.

❏ Hashtag:a word or phrase preceded by the symbol # that

classifies or categorizes the accompanying text.

❏ Selfie:an image of oneself taken by oneself using a digital

camera especially for posting on social networks.

Language is DYNAMIC!

Pennsylvania German-English in the USAStrongly influenced by Pennsylvania Dutch, a dialect of German spoken by

people in this area. Its grammar allows sentences like "Smear your sister

with jam on a slice of bread" and "Throw your father out the

window his hat."

South Midland English in the USAThis area is dominated by the Appalachian Mountains and the Ozark Mountains;

originally settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch and the Scotch-Irish. A TH at the end

of words or syllables is sometimes pronounced F, and the word ARE is often left

out of sentences. An A is usually placed at the beginning of verb that ends with

ING, and the G is dropped; an O at the end of a word becomes ER. For example,

"They a-celebratin' his birfday by a-goin' to see 'Old Yeller' in

the theatah.”

Dialects do have regular structures

& predictable grammar

A quick review!

What do we know about

predictable stages of

language development?

❏ Pre-language stage: Voice recognition;

discrimination of phoneme sounds for L1; babbling

with consonants & vowel sounds and intonation

patterns.

❏ Early language: First words (labels from

immediate environment; holophrastic meaning that 1

word carries a longer message).

Typical, predictable stages of

language development

❏ Combining words: Telegraphic speech (“mommy

up!”); pivotal words (“more- _____”); an understanding

of syntax develops (subject_ verb_ object, such as,

“mommy get cookie!”).

❏ Acquisition of morphemes: There is a regular

sequence of morpheme acquisition that tends to occur.

Children regularly acquire “- ing” before plurals;

plurals & possessive before articles (“MINE!).

Typical, predictable stages of

language development (2)

Stages of

English language

development

(by age ranges)

18-24 months

∗ Says 50 words

∗ Names familiar objects

∗ Understands

approximately 300 words

∗ Points to body parts

∗ Uses two-word phrases

∗ Uses commands (‘move’)

∗ Uses possessives

(‘mine!’)

Typical English Language Development(First Language)

24-30 months

∗ Understands


∗ Says 200 words

∗ Answers ‘What’ and

‘Where’ questions

∗ Uses some regular

plurals

∗ Asks simple ‘what’ and

‘where’ questions

(What’s that?)Voress & Pearson (2006) Early Childhood Development Chart

30-36 months

∗ Understands


∗ Points to pictures of

common objects

described by their use

(Show me what you eat

with.)

∗ Knows third person

pronouns (he, she)

∗ Says 500 words

Voress & Pearson (2006) Early Childhood Development Chart


36-42 Months

∗ Understands

approximately 1,200

words

∗ Responds to two

unrelated commands (Put

your cup on the table and

turn off the TV)

∗ Says 800 words

∗ Uses regular past tense

forms

∗ Beginning to ask

questions (What? Who?...

and, of course… WHY?!?)

42-48 months

∗ Understands

approximately 1,500-2,000

words

∗ Responds to three step

directions

∗ Tells how common objects

are used

∗ Uses contractions

∗ Knows positional words (in

front, behind)


48-54 months

∗ Uses approximately

2,000-2,500 words

∗ Says 1,500 words

∗ Uses possessives (boy’s,

dog’s)

∗ Identifies first, last and

middle


54-60 months

∗ Understands

approximately 2,500 -

2,800 words

∗ Knows concepts such as

heavy/ light, long/ short

∗ Says 2,000 words

∗ Generates complex

sentences

∗ Tells familiar stories

without picture cues


60-72 Months

∗ Understands

approximately 13,000

words

∗ States similarities and

differences between

objects

∗ Uses pronouns

consistently

∗ Tells simple “jokes”


Acquiring an additional language

Second-language acquisition assumes that the learner

has a foundation and solid knowledge

of her first language.

Given this foundation, the learner moves through the

process of learning a new language, including

vocabulary, phonological components, grammatical

structures, and writing systems.

The process is not linear, it is more like

a zig-zag process

Learners of an additional language move through similar

developmental stages as those experienced during one’s

first language development thereby making some of the

same types of errors in grammatical markers and picking

up chunks of language without knowing precisely what

each word means.

Learners of an additional language rely on language input

and modifications from proficient speakers who support

successful conversational exchanges and

comprehension of the additional language.

Acquiring an additional language (2)

Stages

of

Second Language

Acquisition

Pre-

production

STAGE 1: The silent period;" when the student takes in the

new language but does not speak it. This period often lasts six

weeks or several months, depending on the individual.

Early

production

STAGE 2: The individual begins to speak using short

words and sentences; emphasis is still on listening and

absorbing the new language; many errors in this stage that

can last 3 months or longer.

Speech

Emergent

STAGE 3: Speech becomes more frequent, words and

sentences are longer; student still relies heavily on context

clues and familiar topics. Vocabulary continues to increase in

this stage that can last 6 months to around 2 to 3 years; errors

begin to decrease in common or repeated interactions.

Beginning

Fluency

STAGE 4: Speech is fairly fluent in social situations with

minimal errors. New contexts and academic language are

challenging; individual struggles to express herself due to

gaps in vocabulary and appropriate phrases (2 to 3 years

depending on the individual).

Intermediate

Fluency STAGE 5: Communicating in the second language is

fluent, especially in social language situations; individual is

able to speak almost fluently in new situations or in

academic areas, but there will be gaps in vocabulary

knowledge and some unknown expressions; fewer errors,

and the individual is able to demonstrate higher order

thinking skills in the second language such as offering an

opinion or analyzing a problem (3 to 6 years depending on

the individual).

Advanced

Fluency STAGE 6: The individual communicates fluently in most

all contexts and can maneuver successfully in new contexts

and when exposed to new academic information. At this

stage, the individual may still have an accent and use

idiomatic expressions incorrectly, but the individual is

essentially fluent and comfortable communicating in the

second language (5 to 7 years or never depending on the

individual).

What stages of 1st

language development or

2nd language

development

tend to be displayed

by the young children

you support?

The Power

of

Oral Language

❏ Language is the primary symbol system through

which children learn about the world.

❏ Children use language to facilitate their thinking and

learning in all areas.

❏ Children jointly construct meaning and knowledge

with others.

What is the power of

oral language?

Children’s talk provides us with

a window

into their thinking

and

their knowledge…..

What is the power of

oral language? (2)

…...if…..when….

❏ We create structures to support children’s talk

in a variety of contexts;

❏ We encourage & support children to engage in

talk with each other;

❏ We listen & observe with intention & purpose.

Children’ talk provides us with a

window into their thinking & their

knowledge…

❏ children’s knowledge of language functions & forms

across a variety of different contexts;

❏ children’s interactional competencies;

❏ what children know about content areas & the world;

❏ how children’s TALK corresponds with their reading

and writing development.

When we listen with intention &

purpose,

we gain insights into...

Children develop the

capacity

to use,

talk about, and

learn through language…..

both oral & written

language

within the various contexts

of their lives….including

the

cultural contexts of their

lives.

Language, Culture, and Context

go hand-in-hand

Researchers and experts

agree that children

control most features of

the grammar of their

mother tongue by the

time they come to

kindergarten.

WOW!

(Owicki & Goodman, 2002)

We have multiple discourse circles in which we interact

everyday.

Consider one day last week.

❏ Discuss the way you spoke and used written

language with your students, your colleagues, and

your administrator.

❏ Discuss the ways you speak and use written

language at home, at play, in social media, and with

family members.

Language, Culture & Context go

hand-in-hand for adults too!

THINK ABOUT IT: ❏ Are there particular contexts where your

language use is comfortable and proficient?

❏ Are there other contexts where your language

use is not as easy? Your words do not ‘flow’ as

comfortably? Where you may be somewhat

self-conscious and become “tongue-tied”?

❏ This is true for young children too! Their

language use excels in different contexts too!

Language use is influenced by the

different contexts we find

ourselves in

Reflecting on our

language use

in the classroom

Most days when I am in the classroom:❏ I speak clearly and enunciate each word carefully.

❏ I tend to speak rapidly.

❏ I state directions only once; I do not repeat them.

❏ I use slang when I am interacting with students.

❏ I try to use simple, short sentences and avoid

complex, long sentences.

❏ I primarily speak in the present tense.

❏ I ask students more than 10 “Wh-” questions.

❏ After each question I ask, I wait 1-2 seconds before

encouraging students to answer.

Take a moment to reflect

YOUR language use in theclassroom

TRUE or FALSE?

As you reflect on YOUR own language

use, consider the language used by

this classroom teacher

Why is our language use in the

classroom important?

Think about it as you analyze this

transcript!

TRANSCRIPT: Morning Welcome

1. Teacher: Good morning friends!

2. A Few Students: Good morning!

3. Teacher: I heard some of you but I’d like to hear all of

you. Can you all say ‘good morning’?

4. Class: Good morning.

5. Teacher: Thanks! That’s better! Today is Thursday.

What day is it?

6. Class: Thursday.

7. Teacher: Yes, it’s Thursday. Good job! Today is the

fifth day of the month of April. It is April 5th. Let’s count

the days so far this month, K? Count with me, please.

8. All: 1,2,3,4,5.

9. Teacher: Great job! We counted to 5! Let’s talk about

how we’re feelin’ this morning. Today I am feeling happy

because I ate a good breakfast. Sammy, how are you this

mornin’?

10. Sammy: Ha..

11. Teacher: Today I am feeling…

12. Sammy: Today I am feeling happy.

13. Teacher: ‘cuz…

14. Sammy: ‘Cuz I’m at school.

15. Teacher: Great! Friends, how is Sammy feeling? He is

feeling happy. Why? ‘Cuz he’s at school. Nice job Sammy.

Kendra are you happy today?

16. Kendra: Yes.

17. Teacher: Why are you happy Kendra? Are you happy

‘cuz you’re at school, too?

18. Kendra: Yeah

19. Teacher: Who else is happy ‘cuz they’re at school?

Raise your hand if you’re happy. Wow! Check out how many

of you are happy today! Before we go to centers, let’s look at

our day today. We are in our circle, then we’re going to

centers. Who can tell me what we do after centers? Joe?

What do we do after centers?

20. Joe: snack

21. Teacher: yeah… we eat snack. Today we’re going to

have bananas and crackers. What color are bananas? Are

bananas yellow or red?

22. Joe: yellow.

What did you notice about the teacher’s

language? About the children’s language?

When in the classroom:❏ I speak clearly and enunciate each

word carefully.

❏ I tend to speak rapidly.

❏ I state directions only once; I do not

repeat them.

❏ I use slang when I am interacting with

students.

❏ I try to use simple, short sentences

and avoid complex, long sentences.

❏ I primarily speak in the present tense.

❏ I ask students more than 10 “Wh-”

questions.

❏ After each question I ask, I wait 1-2

seconds before encouraging students

to answer.

ARE THESE HELPFUL PRACTICES?

Why is

our

language

use in the

classroom

important?

❏ Serve as a positive language model

❏ Give children interesting first-hand experiences to talk about

❏ Repeat & reinforce new words

❏ Observe talk, wait & ask Qs, then listen

❏ Talk with children often & listen to what they say

❏ Encourage conversations that go beyond “here & now”

❏ Use open-ended questions & prompts

❏ Read to children daily & talk about the story before, during, & after

❏ Enjoy songs, rhymes, & fingerplays together

❏ Play language games together

❏ Offer models so that children can hear their home language in the

classroom.

❏ Share informational books that relate to children’s particular interestsThe Creative Curriculum (Heroman & Jones, 2010)

What are some ways we can support

children’s language?

What might these

supports look like

in the classroom?

❏ Serve as a positive language model: Use

complete sentences; expand & build on what child says, ‘Go outside!’.... Tr:

“Would you like to go outside today? We’ll go out right after snack!”

❏ Give children interesting first-hand

experiences to talk about: Experiences that spark child’s

curiosity & wonder, prompt child to use senses & thinking, etc.

❏ Repeat & reinforce new words: Use new word in

different contexts during the day; The story “The Enormous Turnip” can prompt

talk about an enormous appetite or an enormous tree outside.

(Heroman & Jones, 2010)

Ways we can support children’s

language

❏ Observe talk, wait & ask Qs, then listen: Pay

close attention to what child says, be patient & wait for child to respond, then

respond appropriately.

❏ Talk with children often & listen to what

they say: Talk & listen; clarify when needed; strive for at least 5

exchanges in the conversation.

❏ Encourage conversations that go beyond

“here & now”: Discuss events that happened yesterday & might

happen in future; invite child to use her imagination (“If you could be any

animal, what would you be? What would you do?”)

(Heroman & Jones, 2010)


language (2)

❏ Use open-ended questions & prompts: “Wh-

questions” require MORE than a “yes” or “no”.... Also ask, “I wonder what

would happen if….”

❏ Read to children daily & talk about the story

before, during, & after: Talking about a story while reading it

helps children with language, vocabulary, AND comprehension. Read story

more than once!!

❏ Enjoy songs, rhymes, & fingerplays

together: Child hears & forms language sounds, learns new words,

becomes aware of patterns & rhymes.


language (3)

❏ Play language games together: Games that focus on

language, like “20 questions”....

❏ Offer models so that children can hear their home

language in the classroom: Invite people in who are proficient in

the child’s L1; Encourage families to discuss learning topics at home in L1.

❏ Share informational books that relate to children’s

particular interests: To introduce child to new ideas, new words &

potential interests. (Heroman & Jones, 2010)


language (4)

TALK ABOUT IT AT YOUR TABLE!

❏ Serve as a positive language model

❏ Give children interesting first-hand experiences to talk about

❏ Repeat & reinforce new words

❏ Observe talk, wait & ask Qs, then listen

❏ Talk with children often & listen to what they say

❏ Encourage conversations that go beyond “here & now”

❏ Use open-ended questions & prompts

❏ Read to children daily & talk about the story before, during, & after

❏ Enjoy songs, rhymes, & fingerplays together

❏ Play language games together

❏ Offer models so that children can hear their home language in the

classroom.

❏ Share informational books that relate to children’s particular interests

The Creative Curriculum (Heroman & Jones, 2010)

Check off the strategies you already use!

Which strategies could you enhance?

Select 1 strategy you will enhance during the first few

weeks of school.

Talk it over at your table.

Write this strategy on the top of the chart paper.

Develop several ideas around this one strategy to support

‘turning talk over’ to the children!

Record your ideas on the chart paper.

OUR CHALLENGE TO YOU…

Sharing your ideas! After you have recorded ideas for using 1 of the

strategies to support children’s language use on the

chart paper…..

Be ready to share your ideas!

Assessing

language: What are we looking for?

and

Where do we find it?

Observing talk

in a variety of contexts & settings

helps us gain insight into

children’s language development

and

conceptual growth.

Why do we want to observe children

talk in a variety of contexts

& settings ?

We want to observe children as they:❏ talk and listen in various situations and settings;

❏ explore different language functions and forms;

❏ demonstrate different interactional competencies;

❏ demonstrate language & conceptual knowledge about

different aspects of their world.

How might we create

contexts

and settings

that are “rich” in talk?

A rich talk environment includes: ❏ A curriculum that prompts & inspires children’s interests;

❏ A variety of reasons for children to use language and explore curricular

concepts;

❏ A physical environment that promotes socialization amongst the

children (e.g., whole-group, small group, pairs of chlidren).

❏ A sense of safety within the community of child learners where it is OK

to use one’s talk and take a risk to share her ideas & thoughts;

❏ An understanding that each individual in the classroom IS an expert

and brings important knowledge to the group.

❏ A teacher who has structured supports that turn talk over to the

children! (Owicki & Goodman, 2002)

Hmmm…….

What makes a rich ‘talk’

environment?

What language

functions have you

supported in the

classroom?

For each language function

(or purpose), comes a set of

language forms that children

will use to express meaning.

Assessing language: What are

we looking for? And, where do we find it?

Where are the places in the

classroom where talk

occurs? For Example:

-whole group context;

-interest areas;

-small group;

-context for self-talk;

-context for one-to-one talk;

-context where child chooses partner;

-context where Tr chooses group;

-small instructional group;

-play context; other?

Observing and Assessing:

Knowing what you are looking for

Language functions we can observe

while children use

various language

forms

LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS & (FORMS) ❏ Sharing stories (narrative forms)❏ Retelling events (past tense verb

forms)❏ Reporting information (declarative

sentence forms, conversational forms)

❏ Expressing feelings, empathy, emotional identification (descriptive forms)

❏ Responding to peers’ and teachers’ questions & request for information(declarative sentence forms)

Observing and Assessing: Knowing

where to look for children’s language

use

Contexts where students will use language

functions

❏ whole group

❏ interest areas

❏ contexts for small group

(informal &/or selected by

teacher)

❏ setting for self-talk

❏ pair-share or one-to-one

talk

❏ small instructional group

❏ play context, snack, etc.

Intentional planning

And teaching children how

to interact when talking at

school

How can we make this

happen?

Don’t overlook that we need to teach children how to

interact using their language:

∗ Talking Stick

∗ Question of the Day (sentence starters and specific

vocabulary practice)

∗ Student Interviews

∗ Snack (vocabulary! textures, colors, tastes)

∗ Read Aloud/ Your Four Day Play Supports Student

Talk

∗ Partner Reading

∗ Turn and Talk (video clip)

Take a chance:

Turn talk over to the children!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Turn and Talk Example: With props


Turn and Talk Example: Whole group


Turn and Talk Example: With book


Turn and Talk Example:

Take a chance: Turn talk over to

children!

Getting Started:

GUIDELINES

1. What language functions do

you plan to observe (i.e., the

functions you want children to

use) & what are corresponding

language forms?

2. What structures do you need

to teach to support children’s

talk & use of these functions?

3. Where will students use these

language functions?

4. What structures will you put

into place so children have the

opportunity to use these

language functions in multiple

contexts?

Ready for intentional

observation & assessment!

Your turn!

- Focus on 1 language function that you chose to support

during the first few weeks of school.

- Use the guidelines on the handout to begin to plan your

next steps for ‘turning talk over’ to the children!

-Record your ideas on the second chart paper.

- Be ready to share WHAT function & form you will be

observing in children’s language use and WHERE you will

be able to observe them.

Time to learn

from each other

IN CLOSING…..Children’s talk provides us with

a window into their thinking

and

their knowledge.

WHEN WE PLAN, LISTEN & OBSERVE, WE CAN

GAIN INSIGHT INTO:

❏ children’s knowledge of language functions & forms

across a variety of different contexts;

❏ children’s interactional competencies;

❏ what children know about content areas & the world;

❏ how children’s TALK corresponds with their reading

and writing development.

Sherry & Isabelle

Email contacts:

[email protected]

[email protected]

Questions?

Thank you!

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]