TRUTHS and MYTHS aboutLanguage Acquisition

Lower School EAL Department

English Language AcquisitionTruth or Myth?

1. Adults learn second languages more easily than young children.

Truth. This question is more complex than it seems. In controlled research where children have been compared to adults and teenagers in second language learning, it was found that the adults and teenagers learned an additional language more readily. Teenagers and adults have already acquired language learning strategies as well as more advanced metalinguistic skills (ability to think and talk about language and how it works…*see below), giving them an advantage in learning additional languages. Yes, children do outperform adults in the area of pronunciation. Children also appear to acquire social language more easily. There is myth that children’s language learning is superior to adults because their brains are more flexible. This hypothesis has been much disputed. What researchers have found is that the differences in ability to learn languages may be social rather than age-based. Children may have more occasions to interact socially with others and their requirements for communication are much lower. They also have much less to learn in order to interact in the school setting with their peers.

*Source: Newfoundland Labrador Education, “Myths and Realities: Best Practice for ESL Students”

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2. Second language learners will acquire academic English faster if their parents speak English at home.

Myth. Research shows that it is much better for parents to speak their home language to their children. This language will be richer and more complex, which will help develop students’ cognitive and academic growth. If students understand concepts and develop vocabulary in their home language this will make learning these ideas in English much easier, as students will eventually translate that learning to English. Second language acquisition expert, Jim Cummins, states, “Conceptual knowledge in one language helps to make input in the other language more comprehensible.” For example, if children already understand the concepts of “justice” or “responsibility” in their own language, all they have to do is learn the English labels for these. Whereas, children have a far more difficult task if they must acquire both the conceptual understanding and the label in English.Thus, having discussions with your children in your home language about what they are learning school is key to their cognitive development and language acquisition. For instance, ask your children to explain, in your home language, how they have solved a math problem. You could also ask your children questions in your home language about the stories they are reading or help them to do some research in your home language to support the information report they are working on in class. Furthermore, reading extensively with your children in your home language (both fiction and nonfiction) is extremely important, as literacy skills transfer across languages.

Jim Cummins' Common Underlying Proficiency

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The Iceberg Analogy of Jim Cummins' Common Underlying Proficiency

*Jim Cummins

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3. The more time students spend absorbing English in the mainstream classroom, the more quickly they will learn the language.

Myth. Children need to be in a language environment in which they are challenged but they can still access what is going on. Imagine that you are sitting in a room of people who speak a language you have never heard. You have no idea what they are talking about. You could sit there for a long time and learn very little unless someone helped make that input comprehensible (using visual support, translating into your language, teaching you vocabulary, modeling tasks, etc). Language is not “absorbed.” It is acquired through a combination of direct instruction and immersion. The learner must understand the message that is conveyed. Comprehensible input is a hypothesis first proposed by Stephen Krashen. (Krashen, 1981) He states that language learners acquire language by hearing and understanding messages that are slightly above their current English language level. (Comprehensible Input +1 or i+1)

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4. Once students can speak English with reasonable fluency, they are ready to undertake the academic tasks of the mainstream classroom.

Myth. Children can speak and socialise before they can use language for academic purposes. BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills) are acquired first. This is social language such as the language needed to interact on the playground and in the classroom. It usually takes students from 1-3 years to completely develop this social language. Children also develop CALP (Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency) skills. This is the language needed to undertake academic tasks. This includes content-specific vocabulary and other academic language functions, such as comparing, classifying, synthesizing, evaluating, and inferring. Developing the language skills needed to engage in these more cognitively demanding processes take much longer to acquire.

*Sources: Jim Cummins and Thomas & Collier 1995

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5. The schooling, culture and language backgrounds of students can affect how long it takes them to acquire English. Children do not learn language the same way.

Truth. Students’ prior experiences related to culture, language and schooling can affect how long it takes children to learn English. Are students coming from education systems in which teaching methods are very different? Do students come from language backgrounds that use different writing systems? Do the cultural norms and values of students’ home countries differ from those present at school? These factors can affect how long it takes them to learn English. Previous schooling and school expectations can also affect language learning. Furthermore, the level of culture shock experienced by children can impact how they initially engage with a new language. There are many affective (emotional) factors that can impact a child’s acquisition as well.

*Source: Stephen Krashen, Affective Filter Hypothesis

6. If EAL teachers were able to take students more often and just focus on teaching the English language to EAL students, then learning in all areas would occur faster.

Myth. Language is a developmental process that occurs in stages of acquisition. This takes time. Language acquisition occurs most effectively embedded in consistent, cognitive development across all subject areas. English language development is best supported within the context of the concepts and content students are learning in the mainstream class. EAL teachers and classroom teachers work together to provide comprehensible input whereby students can learn content and language simultaneously. Additionally, EAL teachers can help students develop language skills and language learning strategies within the classroom context.

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7. Researchers cannot agree on the best program model for EAL students.

Myth. Researchers agree that...

...an effective EAL program:● values the cultural identity of the student● has high expectations for EAL students● integrates language and content● provides ongoing PD for EAL and classroom

teachers● supports whole school inclusion● promotes collaboration among teachers

...classroom instruction should:● be comprehensible to all learners● be interactive● connect learning to students’ lives● promote cross-cultural understanding● develop language and literacy across the

curriculum● help all students achieve learning outcomes

*Source: Newfoundland Labrador Education, “Myths and Realities: Best Practice for ESL Students”

EAL Inclusion Statement

At ISL, we recognise the need to celebrate the diversity that exists within the classroom community and to ensure that all students have the opportunity to meet the expectations and challenges of the curriculum thereby promoting equity for students of other languages and cultures. In developing our programme for EAL learners, we recognise current research in EAL that supports our guiding

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principles for language development. Guiding Principles for Language Development:

1. Students’ languages, cultures and prior experiences influence their language development and are valuable resources.

2. Students learn language through meaningful interaction that integrates academic language with

content and conceptual knowledge. 3. Students transfer their understanding about the way language works from their home languages to

English and make cognitive connections across languages. 4. Students acquire language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing interdependently

but at different rates and in different ways. Thus, the social and academic language development needed for success in school is a complex and long-term process.

5. Students have greater access to learning and critical thinking when language complexity and

instructional support complement their levels of language proficiency.

Lower SchoolISL EAL Program

Language Proficiency Continuum*

Approximate Time Frame (*on average)

Pull-Out

up to 8 pull-out periods per week (G1-5)

+4-5 inclusion periods per week (PS-G5)

*in PS, K1 & K2 Beginner support occurs in the classroom

Level 1 Entering 10 hours-6 months

Level 2 Emerging 6 months-1 year after Level 1 proficiency reached

Focus Group

4 periods of focused language instruction per week during Language Block*K1-G1 with classroom teacher; G2-5 with EAL teacher

+4-5 inclusion periods per week (PS-Grade 5)

Level 3 Developing

Level 4 Expanding*

*Level 4 students may be in either group depending on language needs

1-3 years after Level 1 proficiency reached

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Inclusion Only

4-5 in class support periods per week (PS-Grade 5)

Level 4 Expanding*

Level 5 Bridging

3-5 years after Level 1 proficiency reached

Just Exited EAL Level 6 Reaching 5-8 years after Level 1 proficiency reached

*See Language Proficiency Continuum on following page

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