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Oral Language Development

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As an educator, it is very important that we are inclusive of all students in our classrooms, especially when it comes developing oral language. This includes our Emergent Bilingual students, no matter how much or how little they know of the goal language. Emergent bilinguals go through many different emotions and periods while acquiring new language.

 

Silent period: The silent period may look like the teacher talking a lot and the students not participating. However, the students may appear as noncooperative, however they are just becoming accustomed to the new language and taking the new language in. It is very normal for EBs not to talk or reproduce language during this stage.

Strategies for Listening

Students will start out with learning language by first listening to the targeted language. It is important to allow them multiple opportunities to listen and produce language without physically using their voice to speak. Below are some listening strategies for encouraging Emergent Bilinguals.

  • TPR (Total Physical Response): TPR is when EBs are expected to listen and respond using physical movements and gestures and sometimes speech if they are comfortable. TPR is very useful during the silent period. 

  • Listening Comprehension Tasks: "Listening comprehension tasks require students to listen to a source of spoken language and then complete the task that demonstrates their comprehension. Listening tasks can focus on particular vocabulary or forms that teachers notice have been problematic for students. For example, students listen to an audio recording of a folktale then answer comprehension questions about it" (Wright, pg. 166).

  • Listening Centers: "The listening center provides a space in the classroom where students can receive comprehensible input in a low stress environment"(Wright, pg. 167). These centers can include digital story books, audiobooks, recordings of books, articles, etc. and much more.

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https://spanishmama.com/what-is-tpr-total-physical-response/

La Cabeza - A TPR Lesson

I had a wonderful opportunity to create my own TPR lesson. I decided to do this lesson using Spanish to teach about parts of "La Cabeza" or the head. This included the following body parts: head, nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. I used a song that can be used to memorize these parts of the body.

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The follow link is to my TPR Lesson on Google Docs. Also, included in this doc is a link to the Google Slides (Preview above) which has pictures on it that I used throughout the lesson. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13w4sMuVoiA_PKFAewDXk-piUg5xgaeck/view?usp=sharing

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Strategies for Speaking

Speaking for EBs is an important part of producing language and another step towards becoming proficient in the targeted language. Below are some speaking strategies for Emergent Bilinguals: 

  • Include opportunities for students to use "stretched language". Stretched language is when "students are pushed to go beyond their current English language abilities that are out of their comfort zone". (Gibbons, pg. 26, 2015)

  • Slow down the dialogue: Allow students an opportunity to actually hear the sounds that are produced and blended into a word (Gibbons, pg. 40, 2015).

  • Use songs and chants: "Because learning to sing songs in English can be an enjoyable way to learn the language, music is a big part of many classrooms for ELLs of all ages and proficiency levels" (Wright, pg. 169).

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The Benefits of Having a Bilingual Brain

- Mia Nacamulli

This video talks about the benefits that come with speaking two languages and how it exercises the brain. This has a lot to do with speaking for EBs.

Strategies for Classroom Interaction

Classroom interaction is unavoidable in Education. Students are constantly collaborating with their peers and needing to communicate with one another about various things and needs. Classroom interaction can also be overwhelming for Emergent bilingual's who are surrounded by peers who are fluent in the targeted language.

Here are some strategies to build strong classroom interactions:

  • Use a dialogic approach: This approach "puts dialogue and interaction at the heart of the learning process because they construct the resources for thinking" (Gibbons, pg. 32, 2015). It also includes exploratory talk and substantive conversations. 

  •  Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment: Students are more likely to share their thoughts and ideas in a classroom environment that feels welcoming, safe, and free to make mistakes and use all types of language. This could also include building in a social period where students could socialize and use that type of language with peers too. (Colombo) 

  • Discussion: Students must participate in all types of language and be willing to have many types of discussions throughout the school day. These discussions can be whole group, small group, or partner discussions. These discussions can be about a variety of topics such as weather, what students did after school, family or school subjects.

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Productive Ways to Correct Student Error

For Emergent Bilinguals, they are bound to make mistakes with language. This includes everything from their production of language to their ability to write language. As an educator, you will have moments when it is necessary to correct students errors. With EBs, you want to use productive ways for this that will build their confidence and produce a growth mindset, instead of making them feel embarrassed. Below are some productive ways to correct student errors:

  • Model what you want your students to be able to do: "Model new language for learners, especially the academic register. If a student were to say, "it got all dried up." A productive way to respond is, "yes the water dried up, it evaporated""(Gibbons, pg. 28, 2015).

  • Increase Wait Time: Wait time is the time period after a teacher asks students to think about a question. "Increasing by just two extra seconds allows students an opportunity to say more and speak more clearly"(Gibbons, pg. 41, 2015). 

  • Recasting: With incorporating wait time, it could be useful to use recasting in your classroom. Recasting is when the teacher retells out loud what the student said in a more clear way. This also helps model language and ties into productive ways to correct student language. 

Citations

Gibbons, P. (2015). Classroom Talk. In Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching English language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

 

Michaela Colombo. (2012). Teaching English Language Learners : 43 Strategies for Successful K-8 Classrooms. SAGE Publications, Inc.​
 

Wright, W. E. (2019). Listening and Speaking. In Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon.

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