Strategies for Teaching Reading to Ell Students in Childcare Setting
Notation: This web log post is the second part of a two-part blog series. To read Part ane, click here.
Previously, we discussed the Dwelling Linguistic communication Survey and how information technology can help early on education professionals to identify English Language Learners (ELLs) in the preschool classroom. We explained how knowing the linguistic communication(due south) that are spoken by children and their families tin can assistance programs with staffing decisions, and inform teachers as they programme how to individualize instruction for each child. As we know, the power to meaningfully individualize instruction requires preschool teachers and administration to be aware of each child'due south needs and preferences.
The ability of observation
"Rajesh" was 4 years former when he started pre-kindergarten in my friend's home-based kid care center. He was the only child who spoke Hindi in the program. My friend, "Mina" welcomed him warmly, speaking slowly and clearly. For the first few days, Rajesh stood nearby as other children played, watching cautiously. His parents spoke a bit of English language at domicile, but this was the first time he was exposed to an entirely English-speaking surroundings. Over fourth dimension, he began to bring together in play, copying the other children during songs and move activities. He slowly started to use a few words to express his needs and ideas. During discussions almost familiar books and stories, Mina noticed Rajesh'due south furrowed brow and tense body language. As an English-language learner herself (Mina moved to the United States from South America when she was a kid), Mina suspected that Rajesh was feeling frustrated that he didn't have the fluency in English language to share the extent of his thoughts and feelings nearly the story. Ane afternoon, Mina used gestures to enquire Rajesh to tell her almost the story they had read earlier in the twenty-four hours using his commencement linguistic communication. The quiet, seemingly frustrated child Mina had seen before revealed that he was a natural storyteller! In his dominant language, Hindi, he was excited and animated. He used different voices, gestures, and sound effects to create the "mood" of the story. She recorded Rajesh and played the audio recording to Rajesh's mother. She beamed as she listened, pausing the recording to translate what Rajesh was proverb. The language, literacy, and cognitive skills Rajesh was able to demonstrate in Hindi were far across what Mina had observed when he used English.
Many English-speaking teachers detect themselves in like situations as Mina, asking themselves, "How tin can I truly capture what this kid knows if I don't know what they're saying?" First, allow'due south back up and retrieve about the instructor'due south roles in a classroom with English-language learners.
A "language model"
For teachers of English-language learners, it is particularly important to see oneself as a "linguistic communication model." When speaking and "modeling" English language linguistic communication and literacy, teachers should exist especially mindful nigh using standard and correct grammar and pronunciation. The same consideration should be taken for outset-language "models." Though information technology is ever platonic to provide children with consequent linguistic communication "models" in the classroom to demonstrate and support linguistic communication and literacy development in their first language(southward), information technology is not always possible because of limited program resources and the multitude of languages spoken in various preschool classrooms.
When children are exposed to consistent, loftier-quality language models, they can learn a 2d language and demonstrate as much fluency in information technology equally they do in their first language. If your role in a bilingual classroom is to be the "English language-language model" you lot need to exist aware of how yous speak. Yous might find children respond better when you speak slower than usual and over-enunciate your words. I've often seen English-speaking teachers get excited about learning or practicing their second language with the children in their course. This communicates to children that you are likewise a learner and value their offset linguistic communication expertise. However, be conscientious to maintain your position as the "English-language model." Some English-speaking teachers end up spending most of their solar day speaking the children's first language, which limits the children'due south exposure to English. It might be tempting to do your Somali, Spanish, or Arabic with the children, but proceed in mind that the majority of your day should be dedicated to modeling English pronunciation, grammar, and syntax.
Partnering with first-language speakers
When teachers don't speak the child'due south first language, like in Mina's case, information technology's even more than important to partner with family members or other trained volunteers who speak the child'south first language to gather ascertainment-based assessment information on preschoolers' cognition, skills, and abilities.
Capturing cess information
Though volunteers, families, and other staff can help collect observation notes, information technology's important to stress that teachers are ultimately responsible for ensuring that in that location is adequate assessment information, making final assessment decisions, and confirming that the evaluation data is accurate.
Some ideas on how to exercise this include:
- Have English-speaking teachers focus observation and documentation efforts on the language-costless objectives that do non require children to cover or produce English to demonstrate what they tin can practice or what they know. For example, y'all tin notice how a child "Follows limits and expectations" (Objective 1b) when a child begins cleaning up in response to a musical cue.
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Many Gilded objectives and dimensions are language-neutral, particularly the physical (and some cognitive and mathematics) objectives, allowing you to observe a fairly broad range of children's noesis, skills, and abilities.
- Invite and railroad train other staff, family unit members, or adult customs volunteers to observe and collect information on linguistic communication-dependent objectives and dimensions. These linguistic communication-dependent objectives and dimensions include the language objectives (8–10) and literacy objectives (15–19).
- Train volunteers on the specific objectives for development and learning that you'd like them to detect for and collect documentation on, and provide clear expectations on the blazon of documentation you prefer. Explicate the importance of objective ascertainment notes and the inclusion of quotations, if possible.
- Found a schedule for volunteers to visit classrooms on a regular basis then that teachers can have consequent language support, and then that volunteers are non existence wearied or monopolized by one classroom.
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Invite volunteers to lead language and literacy activities such as songs, read-alouds, and games in the child'southward showtime language (Mega Minutos®, similar the one featured here, are a not bad resource for children whose first language is Castilian. Cheque out a gratis sample on our mobile app.) Encourage English-speaking teachers to participate in learning experiences and invite them to larn a few basic words and phrases to use with children throughout the day.
- Use audio and/or video recordings to document children's knowledge, skills and abilities on language-dependent objectives. Invite trained volunteers to listen to and/or view the recordings, and to provide you with documentation data (the Aureate® Documentation app is a handy tool for this).
- Consider inviting families to create a MyTeachingStrategies® account so that they tin add notes, photos, and videos to their kid's online portfolio. Go along in mind that families do not have the ability to assign levels to the documentation they share.
- Await for boosted financial support. Some programs have fifty-fifty been awarded grants to fund part-fourth dimension interpreters or translators to support the ongoing assessment of the knowledge, skills and abilities of English language-language learners in the classroom.
Spanish-language objectives
For children whose get-go language is Spanish, the Spanish-language version of language and literacy objectives in MyTeachingStrategies®, Golden®, and Gilt® Objectives for Development & Learning, Birth Through Tertiary (pages 220-242) help teachers track preschool children'due south language and literacy development in Spanish. Teachers frequently ask whether they are supposed to assess children whose first language is Castilian using either the English or Castilian language and literacy objectives, or using both the English language and the Spanish language and literacy objectives. Each program should determine the reply to this based on whether they accept staff available to observe and appraise on both the English and Spanish language and literacy objectives in their preschool classrooms.
When abilities differ betwixt languages
Another frequently asked question involves assessing children when their English-language skills are different than their beginning-language skills. For instance, if a kid is able to count to 10 in English, just can count to thirty in her commencement language, how should this be assessed? First, it's important to note that this example assumes that the teacher understands the kid'south offset language enough to know that the child accurately counted to 30. This highlights the importance of having support to gather this type of documentation information. For objectives that are not related to language and literacy, it is platonic to assess children'due south skills by documenting their knowledge and skills when they respond in their preferred language. And then, in the example above, it would be appropriate to assess the child's ability to count to 30, because you are assessing her ability to count.
Create opportunities for first-linguistic communication expression
Using these strategies can aid you lot learn more than about each child's knowledge, skills, and abilities. For example, though Rajesh is quiet during discussions in English, he can tell elaborate stories and use expressive vocabulary in Hindi. You can back up his interests by offering him opportunities to employ his language skills in Hindi, while also creating opportunities for him to practice using English to express himself.
Equally you can see, assessing the skills and knowledge of English-linguistic communication learners requires a peachy deal of idea, planning, and intentionality. I encourage teachers and administrators to work together and carefully consider how to best support teachers to provide accurate and objective assessments of English-language learners in early childhood teaching classrooms.
Accept a skilful day!
¡Tenga un buen día!
Aapaka din shubh ho
आपका दिन शुभ हो
Source: https://teachingstrategies.com/blog/8-strategies-teach-ell-students-preschool/