Hello again Ms. Nemeth,
so exciting to have you in the discussion! My background is not in DLL, or literacy, but in social and emotional development. After returning to work as a preschool teacher, my interest in DLL has really taken off! This started when I noticed many of our Spanish/English language learner 3 yr olds would seek me for longer verbal interactions even though I did not speak any Spanish. They had access to a teacher who spoke some Spanish, but these interactions seemed so much shorter, less detailed. I tried very hard to be available whenever our DLL would speak, and to try to extend our exchanges, looking for multiple ways to understand each other, and not giving up too quickly. I worried my usefulness was limited by not speaking more than one language. At NAEYC's annual conference last Fall, I attended as many seminars on DLL as I could! I was heartened by research that showed I could have a great impact on Dual language learners even without speaking multiple languages! I feel like I am looking at just the tip of the iceberg- would your book be a good resource for me( beginner level so to speak)? As the music teacher, I try and include simple songs from many cultures, with a special emphasis on languages from classroom families- should I worry about pronouncing the words poorly? I am also focusing on trying to bring multiple written languages into our preschool classrooms even though the children or "pre-readers." For example, I am trying to compile a scrapbook with family photos and language samples from multiple language groups for each classroom, as we have students who speak many more home languages than just English, Spanish and French! Am I on the right track? One reason I am so interested in supporting dual language learners is because I have heard there can be a connection between anxiety and DLLs, is this correct?
thanks so much for your guidance
margro Purple
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Margro Purple
Rockville MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-16-2019 01:30 AM
From: Karen Nemeth
Subject: ESL Teacher & language development in young children
Hi, Janet. This is a great question. Here is a great resource: The Importance of Home Language series is a set of handouts for families available in several languages to help families understand about early first and second language development. I'm so glad you asked about this because one area that gets the least coverage in ESL teacher training is how to work with really young children. And - what young children need is different than what elementary and older children need. So, this series (click here) has the latest research-based information about the role of supporting the home language while also supporting the learning of English as it is provided by the Office of Head Start. I have many more resources on my Language Castle website as well. And the Colorin Colorado website is another great place to find high quality, research-based information that is accessible for families and teachers.
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Karen Nemeth
Author/consultant/keynotes
Language Castle LLC
Newtown PA
Original Message:
Sent: 04-15-2019 01:42 PM
From: Janet Zamudio
Subject: ESL Teacher & language development in young children
Hi,
Recently, the question around how ESL teachers foster and develop English language development in young children came up. I'm looking for any scholarly resources to hand to families about this topic since some families seem to think that children are not developing their language. Help please!
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Janet Zamudio
Palo Alto CA
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