Facts In Action

Research on bilingual education shows that children from non-English speaking homes perform best academically in a setting that teaches them in their native language. A report from the Early Childhood Research Institute on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services provides strategies for early care and education teachers and providers to support a child's native language and promote English acquisition.

To support the native language, teachers and providers can:

• Pair children with other speakers of the native language for periods of time during the day.
  
• Ask parents for important words in the native language to provide a sense of connection between the home and the care environments.

To promote English acquisition, teachers and providers should:

• Organize the day to allow for both whole-group and small-group activities — this addresses a variety of learning styles and helps the emergence of the second language.
  
• Have a set routine — children are more likely to participate if they can anticipate what is coming next.

Teachers and providers should be sensitive to the demands of an English-speaking environment on a non-English speaking child. The report recommends that teachers and providers give children time where no verbal output is required. Arranging a "safe haven," such as a puzzle corner or manipulatives set out on a table, can help children have a time-out from cultural and linguistic demands. However, it is important not to leave children alone for long periods of time or force them to initiate contact on their own.

Source:
Preschool Second Language Acquisition: What We Know and How We Can Effectively Communicate with Young Second Language Learners, J. Quiñones-Eatman, Early Childhood Research Institute on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, Technical Report #5, 2001.

For more information:
contact: Early Childhood Research Institute on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 61 Children's Research Center, 51 Gerty Drive, Champaign, IL 61820-7498, call (800) 583-4135 or look online at clas.uiuc.edu/techreport/tech5.html.

Facts in Action, October 2002