Early Years Practitioner Guidance (Copy)

Teacher speech

In order to learn another language, children need sustained and meaningful exposure to the new language. This exposure must not be too complicated, but research shows it should be just slightly above children’s current level of understanding. This helps children acquire new language, especially vocabulary.

 

To make meaning clear, use techniques that support meaning-making, for example: gesturing pointing making facial expressions showing real objects drawing.

Simplifying your language can also make it more understandable for English learners. For example, use shorter sentences with consistent vocabulary. This is especially helpful when setting up activities. Also, choose words that are clearly connected to what is happening at the moment of speaking, whether you are giving instructions, eliciting feedback from children or confirming understanding. You can exaggerate intonation, for example, to show emotion or signal that your speech is a question. Additionally, you can emphasise or repeat important words or key phrases. 

You can also clarify language. For example, the word 'boring' may be known to children whose first language is English but unfamiliar to those learning English. It is helpful to repeat the word 'boring' followed by simpler language that means the same thing, such as 'not interesting'. Pairing simpler language with more advanced vocabulary helps English learners but does not detract from the vocabulary development of first language learners.

Meaningful feedback

The language you use in the classroom is an important part of children’s language development, but it is equally important that children have the opportunity to use English. Children learn how language works by interacting with other children and by participating in meaningful activities that are interesting and relevant to them. However, they cannot be sure that the language they are producing is comprehensible in its form, pronunciation or meaning without feedback. Helpful feedback goes beyond telling children that they are correct or incorrect. It offers the opportunity to correct their language themselves. When children self-correct, they are more likely to remember the information and they also feel a sense of accomplishment. However, it is not always possible for children to self-correct as they may not have the knowledge to do so. In those instances, it is still possible to offer supportive feedback by correcting in a focused and meaningful way.

When a child who is an English learner makes an error, you can try the following techniques: Recasting – This technique repeats the phrase with the correction. For example, the child may say "I gave to her my book". You can simply recast the sentence for the child by saying "I gave her my book". You need not give an explanation, nor do you need to offer the other correct form of the sentence ("I gave my book to her"). Elicitation – You can pause and give the child the opportunity to provide the answer. For example, the child may say "The weather was not hot". You can say "The weather was..."              (say the first sound of the word 'cold'). Pause for the child to say the word or prompt another child to answer. Repetition – This technique draws the child’s attention to the error and allows them to self-correct. For example, the child may say "I will going home now". Repeat the sentence "I WILL going home now?" as a question with emphasis on the error. The child will pause and think about it, and they may be able to self-correct and say "I am going home now". If they cannot self-correct, they may repeat the error, and in this case, provide the correction "I am going home now". Again, do not give an explanation or offer many alternatives.

Remember that very young children are not able to understand grammar rules, so the feedback techniques focus on the aspects of meaning or correction of grammar without explanation. Young children notice patterns and repeated language in these meaningful situations, whether these are stories, games, songs or classroom language, and then they begin to internalise the grammar of English. 

Adjusting activities

It is important to make sure English language learners are not falling behind during the activities. For example, if they are not following a story as you are reading it, they will not be able to talk about it or answer simple factual, or 'how and why', questions about it once you have finished. The best way to know if children are following along is to ask for some kind of physical or verbal response. This is more useful than asking "Do you understand?" because children may think they understand, or feel shy to admit they do not. To check for understanding, you could ask children to point to something in the picture or ask them to mime or move in a certain way. You need not single out the English language learners, but it is helpful to watch for their responses to gauge their understanding. If they do not respond appropriately, then you may want to offer support by using simpler language, providing an explanation or using children’s home language. 

You can use these techniques to determine if you need to offer more support during activities: Point to the tiger / correct picture / something blue, etc. Let’s move like elephants, trees in the wind, etc. Raise your hand if you think it is going to rain / the bear is angry / mangoes are delicious, etc. Repeat the title / the instructions / what the boy said, etc.  Tell me another word for find ("search"). You can vary the techniques to suit the information you want to confirm or to simply keep all the children engaged. It is important to maintain the element of fun and interest to maximise children’s learning and development, regardless of the level of their English language skills.