Transcript Document

Joining With Families to Set
Dual Language Learners on
the Road to Language and
Literacy Success
National Early Childhood Inclusion Institute
Chapel Hill, NC
May 13, 2015
Joanne Knapp-Philo Ph.D.
Patsy Pierce Ph.D.
Who’s here in your role as...
• Parents or other
family members?
• Early Interventionists
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Home Visitors?
Classroom Staff?
Therapists?
Medical Staff?
Other?
• Who else?
Outcomes
To explore:
• The research on the importance of ALL young
children developing the home/family
language to the best of their abilities
• Key materials that provide families and
professionals with concrete suggestions and
ideas
Diversity: What do we know?
• The U.S. has been undergoing a profound
demographic transition
• Last quarter of the 20th century and will
continue well into the 21st century
Dual Language Learners
The largest
growing
population in
the US!
Home Language:
A key part of instructional
design
Children’s Home
Language is the
foundation of their
acquisition of English
Importance of Home
Language
• Children develop
their identity
• Children learn and
develop social skills
and emotional
intelligence
• Children acquire
cultural knowledge
and identity
Children use their Home
Language
• To understand themselves, their families and
others
• To internalize the language they hear when
parents and family members talk
• To think and reflect on information about
themselves, their families, and their
communities
Cognitive skills develop in the
Home Language
• Classification
• Categorization
• Logical/cause-andeffect reasoning
• Narrative abilities
(length and complexity)
• Concepts related to
spatial relations/math
Uninterrupted development of
the Home Language from Birth-5
• Enables children to
continue to develop
the knowledge,
skills, and attitudes
they already have
• Does NOT mean
English can’t also be
introduced
So… what’s it take?
Strong support for the home language
• At LEAST one adult who speaks only the home
language with the child
• Other caregivers, family members, siblings,
extended family, neighbors, and members of the
community speak the home language to the child
• Whenever possible, and when they are good
models of the home language, caregivers,
teachers, therapists, nurses, etc. speak the home
language to the child
Joining with families to
support home language
• Providing families
information about the
FACTS—which are not
always what they have
been taught to believe
• Supporting families in
their goals to teach
their children in their
language
Activity
• Work in your small group
• Read the entire handout you are assigned
• Report out to your group:
– What do families need to know and believe ?
– What to professionals need to know and
believe?
– How do you suggest this document be used and
with whom? Take it deeper than you did this am.
Make as long a list as you can to take home!
The Benefits of Being Bilingual
Shares some reasons
bilingualism is an
asset to individuals,
families and our
entire society
The Gift of Language
Written for families of
dual language learners
in an attempt to
answer many of their
frequently asked
questions
Language at Home and in the
Community for Families
Offers eight things
families can do every
day to help their
children learn their
family’s language and
become successful in
school!
Language at Home and in the
Community for Teachers
Ideas to share with
families—similar to
what is written for
families—helps you to
see your role in
encouraging families to
share their language,
culture and traditions
Overall reactions
Please share some
of your group’s
best ideas that you
think others may
not have come up
with!
All families want what they
believe is best for their
children
Telenovela
Background Knowledge—
A key for young children with
disabilities
• All the information children learn and store in
memory about themselves, other people,
objects, and the world around them
• Beliefs, values, rules, and expectations for
behavior developed in different cultural
settings and environments
Background Knowledge
• Developed through children’s daily interactions
and experiences within their family and in
their community
• Developed in one or more languages and can
transfer to another language
• Organized in the child’s mind into concepts
(schemas) that enable children to connect new
information to their existing knowledge
beginning at birth
Background Knowledge
matters for DLLs because
• They may have different experiences
depending on their family’s culture,
language/s, social class, religion, emigration
experiences, etc.
• Children are increasingly able to recognize and
reflect upon aspects of different
environments… this is a great source of
conversation, word learning, and reflective
thinking
How families and professionals
promote Home Language
Activities that promote
• Children’s enriched vocabulary
• Levels of executive function
• Specific approaches to
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learning
letter knowledge
print concepts and
phonological awareness
In the home language
How families and professionals
promote Home Language
Think out of the box! Remember every adult
should support language development for verbal
and non-verbal children:
• High-quality adult child interactions
‒ Extended conversations that build vocabulary and
elaborate upon ideas and information
• Daily book-reading combined with multiple oral
language strategies, e.g.
‒ Talking about the book before and after the story
‒ Explaining new words during reading, etc.
When interventionists speak
English only
• When adults do not share the same language
as the children they sometimes are “thrown
off”
• Adults have the ability—not only to
communicate—but to have a significant
impact upon children’s development and to
effectively model English when they
understand and implement effective models of
English for ALL children
When interventionists speak
English only
Language acquisition… does not occur in
isolation, it involves multiple, simultaneous levels
of activity
• Children get (and stay) involved in activities (physical
level) and…
• … They process information mentally as the activity
continues (cognitive level)…
• … Over time, children acquire language as part of
their involvement in the activity (language level)
When interventionists speak
English only
Modeling English
1. Get the child involved in an activity that they
enjoy; offer the child choices of activities as
needed…
2. As the activity continues, observe the child’s
actions…
3. Provide language models related to the child’s
ongoing activity (for example, the “self-talk” and
“parallel talk”
Translation/Interpretation
• How do you find qualified translators and
interpreters ?
• What are the qualifications that you require?
• How do you certify their competence?
• What ongoing specialized staff development
do they receive?
• What training do they receive about working
with families of young children with
disabilities?
Remember translators and
interpreters are YOUR voice!
Key thoughts
Young children with disabilities:
• Are capable of learning multiple languages with
the right supports
• Deserve to be able be communicate and develop
strong relationships with their closest caregivers
• Families may not know this yet and need
support to use their home language with their
children with disabilities
Our job is to share the facts!
Closing
Please complete the evaluations
Thank you for participating!
Feel free to contact us:
Office of Head Start National Center on Cultural
and Linguistic Responsiveness
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Toll free 855.494.0331
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Email [email protected]
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http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/ttasystem/cultural-linguistic
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