EAL Strategies for Early Childhood

EAL Strategies for Early Childhood

When doing a read-aloud:

• Whisper to a partner what just happened on the page.
• Tell a friend one word they heard on the page.
• Act out what just happened on the page or in the story.
• Make the animal sound of the animals in the book (or machines, people, etc.).
• Raise their hands or make a corresponding sound every time you read a key vocabulary word in the book (for example, if your key word is “friendship,” have students high five each other every time they hear it; if key word is “hungry,” have them rub their tummies.)
• Choose a character from the story and try to act how they acted.
• Make a face that matches an emotion in the book as it comes up in the story.
• Move felt pieces on a felt storyboard to match what goes on in the story with a partner.
• Use puppets, dolls, or real-world objects that appear in the story and act out movements simultaneously with the story, or hold up the object as the object appears in the story.
• Incorporate related songs and dance movements, even for the weather, class jobs, etc. For example, have students act out the job that they have been assigned or make their arms into a big circle if today will be sunny.
• Play name games with word-initial sounds so the kids learn all the names of new friends, such as animal association (Owen Otter, Stefan Snake, Eliana Elephant) and let them act out their animal every so often (even once a week as the year progresses) to remind each other of names.
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Learning two or more languages helps children get ready for school and life. Research shows that children who fully develop two or more languages benefit in many ways:

Adapted from: The Benefits of Being Bilingual, Office of Head Start, Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC),

Nonverbal Communication Self-Check Tool

• Does my environment include visuals, books, artifacts, toys, and recordings that represent the

languages and cultures of the children in the program?

• Do I smile and appear friendly and approachable?

• Are the ways I use proximity and eye movements respectful of the children and their cultures?

• Does my environment include visuals (real objects, when possible) to support children’s language and concept development?

• Do I model my expectations during routines and

transitions?

• Do I provide visual supports to help children communicate their basic needs (e.g. communication boards with pictures and words)?

• Is my nonverbal communication consistent, obvious to children, and positive?

• Do I provide wait time when asking questions, so DLLs have adequate time to think and respond?

• Do I interact with DLLs and monolingual English speakers with the same frequency and in similar ways?

• Do I support a variety of languages in my program?

• What does my body language say when I hear a child speaking his or her home language?

• How do I allow children to use nonverbal communication to show what they know?

Recognizing DLLs’ development in their home language(s) and in English is one of the first steps for pairing relevantlanguage supports with learning activities and social interactions in the ECE setting. DLLs follow a typical sequenceof stages as they develop English language (Tabors, 2008). The WIDA E-ELD Performance Definitions take thesestages developed by Patton O. Tabors into account and also expand on them in several ways (e.g., three levels ofreceptive language development in addition to expressive).

1. Home language use: The child uses his home language with other children and adults. This may last for days ormonths until the child realizes that others cannot understand him.

2. Observational period: The child limits the use of his home language, and primarily uses nonverbal ways ofcommunication. He uses this time to observe, listen to, and learn the features, sounds, and words of the newlanguage. This important stage may last a few months to a year.

3. Telegraphic and formulaic speech: The child repeats familiar one- and two- word phrases in English to nameobjects and respond to situations. He may not understand the meaning of the words he is using or use themappropriately all of the time, but he notices that the words get the response he needs. (For example, the childmay use the phrase “Lookit” to get other children’s attention while playing.)

4. Productive use of language: The child produces simple sentences in meaningful contexts. As his experiencesbroaden, his sentences become increasingly longer and more complex. Errors are common as he tries outnew vocabulary and language rules during this stage. He will also frequently use linguistic features of his homelanguage(s) to maximize understanding and communication in English.

Adapted from WIDA Focus on Early Years: Planning for Dual Language Development and Learning

Some Cooperative Learning Strategies

There are some popular strategies that can be used with all students to learn content (such as science, math, social studies, language arts, and foreign languages). However, they are particularly beneficial to ELLs for learning English and content at the same time. Most of these strategies are especially effective in teams of four:

1. Round Robin

Present a category (such as "Names of Mammals") for discussion. Have students take turns going around the group and naming items that fit the category.

1. Roundtable

Present a category (such as words that begin with "b"). Have students take turns writing one word at a time.

1. Writearound

For creative writing or summarization, give a sentence starter (for example: If you give an elephant a cookie, he's going to ask for...). Ask all students in each team to finish that sentence. Then, they pass their paper to the right, read the one they received, and add a sentence to that one. After a few rounds, four great stories or summaries emerge. Give children time to add a conclusion and/or edit their favorite one to share with the class.

1. Numbered Heads Together

Ask students to number off in their teams from one to four. Announce a question and a time limit. Students put their heads together to come up with an answer. Call a number and ask all students with that number to stand and answer the question. Recognize correct responses and elaborate through rich discussions.

1. Team Jigsaw

Assign each student in a team one fourth of a page to read from any text (for example, a social studies text), or one fourth of a topic to investigate or memorize. Each student completes his or her assignment and then teaches the others or helps to put together a team product by contributing a piece of the puzzle.

1. Tea Party

Students form two concentric circles or two lines facing each other. You ask a question (on any content) and students discuss the answer with the student facing them. After one minute, the outside circle or one line moves to the right so that students have new partners. Then pose a second question for them to discuss. Continue with five or more questions. For a little variation, students can write questions on cards to review for a test through this "Tea Party" method.

After each Cooperative Learning activity, you will want to debrief with the children by asking questions such as: What did you learn from this activity? How did you feel working with your teammates? If we do this again, how will you improve working together?

A simple way to start Cooperative Learning is to begin with pairs instead of whole teams. Two students can learn to work effectively on activities such as the following:

1. Assign a math worksheet and ask students to work in pairs.
2. One of the students does the first problem while the second acts as a coach.
3. Then, students switch roles for the second problem.
4. When they finish the second problem, they get together with another pair and check answers.
5. When both pairs have agreed on the answers, ask them to shake hands and continue working in pairs on the next two problems.

Literature circles in groups of four or six are also a great way to get students working in teams. You can follow these steps:

1. Have sets of four books available.
2. Let students choose their own book.
3. Form teams based on students' choices of books.
4. Encourage readers to use notes, post-its, and discussion questions to analyze their books.
5. Have teams conduct discussions about the book.
6. Facilitate further discussion with the whole class on each of the books.
7. Have teams share what they read with the whole class.
8. For the next literature circles, students select new books.

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