Early Language Development and Literacy in Multilingual Contexts - Essay Example

Language Development and Early Literacy in Multilingual Contexts Ethical ment I understand the importance of ethical considerations when conducting research, and so I ensured that I did not infringe on the students rights during my fieldwork. First, I did not reveal the names of the children, parents, and caregivers to seal their identities, and instead discussed in a general manner. Secondly, I informed the parents, caregivers, and students about my purpose and requested them for clarification in case there was a need. This is aimed to make them open up and give information. Thirdly, I particularly informed caregivers and parents my reasons for observing their children to gain informed consent. Lastly, I talked to the students and told them the reason for my observations, and also informed that they were free to withdraw at any stage. I did all these to ensure that I do not breach the rights of these groups, particularly the rights bestowed through governmental legislations of Data Protection Act 1998 (which protects personal data during research) and the Human Rights Act 1998 (which enshrines the right to respect for private life) (UK Data Archive). Language Development and Early Literacy in Multilingual Contexts Introduction Early Childhood Practitioners are teachers or instructors who plan, arrange, as well as conduct activities to assist preschool learners develop a number of skills such as speaking, reading, writing, social interaction, and others. The purpose of this paper is to reflect the role of these early childhood practitioner in designing strategies and resourcing the needed materials to promote learning languages in a multilingual setting. In addition, the essay will discuss some improvement strategies that can be used for optimally learn languages. So, in that direction, the essay will discuss the current planning, resources provided, and the ways children use them even while highlighting the importance of fostering language development for early literacy and the importance of supporting home language in acquiring English. Part two of discussion will analyze ways to make my developing practice more effective. Lastly, the essay will end with a summary or reflection of the topic. I am currently working in a preschool setting located in South East of London. We currently have 120 children on the registrar, ranging between 2 to 5 years old. In the setting, 80 percent of the children are bilingual or multilingual speakers. Few of the languages spoken are Arabic, Spanish, Polish, Somali, Urdu, and Twi. We also have aurally-challenged children, and we use Makaton language to support them. We currently have 12 members of staff, four of who are bilingual or multilingual speakers. The languages spoken by the staffs are Somali, Polish, Portuguese, Urdu, and Spanish, with Arabic and Twi not being spoken. Although the majority or eight of the staffs do not speak a second language, parents and caregivers are regularly invited to participate within the setting. Discussion Part 1: Current Planning and Resources Language development in multilingual contexts considering psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspectives As the society expands, it naturally leads to an increase in multiracialism and multilingualism (Hornberger 2002). Children from different cultural backgrounds will normally be first exposed to their respective mother tongues and so that will naturally occupy their speech and thoughts. This is in line with the Skinner’s behavioural theory, which argues that “infants continue to produce and to learn the properties of language (e.g., sounds, vocabulary, pragmatics, etc.) that are positively reinforced by the child’s caregivers” (Ball 2009, p.14). So, when they attend their first “social gathering” of preschool, where medium of instruction will be English, their affiliation to their home language will lead to challenges not only for the children but for the practitioners as well. When viewed form sociolinguistic perspective, sizable number of practitioners might not be prepared enough to work with diverse populations (Parsad, Lewis, and Farris 2001). However, there are many national and international legislations or policies which stipulate that preschools should not discriminate children because of different cultural background and should provide an optimal facilitating environment for them to learn languages. When it comes to my setting, it is important to point out at the outset itself that we have an inclusion and anti-discrimination policy in conjunction with the Equality Act 2010 and United Nations’ Rights of the Child 1989. Equality Act 2010 states that schools need to make sure that pupils of all races or religions are not singled out for different and less favourable treatment and has to be given equal treatment (DfE 2014). In addition, the act stipulates that schools have to take steps to encourage children who have a particular characteristic like language to participate fully in any activities (Department of Education 2014). UN’s 1989 convention also states that each child should have right to education without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the childs or his or her parents or legal guardians race, colour, language, and other statuses (OHCHR) In line with both these legislations, we have ensured ensure that no child or even member of staff is turned away or discriminated or isolated based on their race, culture, beliefs, gender, and importantly language, and instead given equal and favourable environment. Along with these policies, every child and his/her family is viewed as unique, in conjunction with EYFS unique child principle. Furthermore, in the line with the above principle, learning is developed through positive relationships and enabling environment (Hodgman 2012). From the moment a child and family are enrolled into the setting, all the key information about their religion, ethnicity, culture, traditions, and many more are clearly noted down during the registration process. Every key and in-depth detail is recorded and accordingly utilized in order to avoid any discrimination against child or parent. When viewed from psycholinguistic perspectives, the practitioner has an obligation to show the differences in each of the cultures and the respective languages. Generalization makes thing worse. It is not adequate to just point out the differences in the culture and languages. It is advisable that the teacher goes ahead and teaches the children how to appreciate each other. It is important that the early childhood practitioners foster cohesion among children from diverse culture. This is in line with the Lev Vygotskys theory of sociocultural or culturalhistorical. According to this theory, mental development in child happens as a result of their interactions with their respective socio-cultural environment, particularly involving various cultural artefacts such as stories, songs, music, and others. “Many of these cultural artefacts serve a dual purpose: not only do they make possible the integration of a growing child into the culture but they also transform the very way the childs mind is being formed” (Burns, Bodrova and Leong). In my setting, each child and family are perceived as unique and so every step is taken to meet their specific needs and to make them feel included. To foster unity and appreciation for all the languages, both the children and parents are involved within the setting by the practitioners, with parents being mainly utilized for showcasing their respective cultural artefacts. For example, parents are invited to read stories for all the children in their home language, do dance classes for them using their traditional music and song, and talk about their festivals including how they celebrate, what they wear, eat, and other details. Children are specifically are asked to come to the school in their festival clothing or even bring picture of them wearing that special clothing, so it can be displayed on the culture board. In addition to parents’ talk about festivals, activities are arranged each week to celebrate a special culture, festival or religion, with practitioners including me often wearing those traditional or religious clothing to support the weekly theme. So, it is strongly evident that all these activities are carried out to facilitate the children to have a basic and positive understanding of theirs as well as others culture and importantly language (Genesee 2015). As it might not be easy for the children to grasp many aspects of others’ language, let alone their own language, these multicultural and multilingual-based activities and resources can provide the basic knowledge and at the same time promotes appreciation. Importance of fostering language development to enhance early literacy Language acquisition is imperative to any child because it is not only the first step towards understanding what others say and initiating their own communications, but also to gain early literacy (Glennena, Nippold and Larrivee 2015). When children listen to languages mainly in the form of some sounds, their brain would try to form patterns as well as reproduce it with the aid of vocal organs. Noam Chomsky validates this point by proposing that children are normally born with a genetic mechanism to naturally acquire language know as “Language Acquisition Device” (LAD). “He claimed that the LAD was wired with language universals, and equipped with a mechanism that allowed children to make complex guesses about what they hear around them” (McArthur 2005). So, as the child’s brain physically develops and is exposed to good language learning environment, the above-mentioned formation of patterns will accelerate, leading to seamless reproduction as well as creation of sounds and languages. The additional perspective to this language acquisition is that children learn language through receptive and productive use, which is categorized into four basic structural components, namely phonology, semantics, grammar, and pragmatics (MacWhinney). Phonology refers to the system of sounds that children normally use to build their words, with semantics referring to the system of meanings which also used by children to further understand and use words. As the children grasp the above two components, grammar follows it with children following the system of rules by which words and phrases are arranged to make meaningful statements (MacWhinney). Finally, the children would understand and grasp pragmatics, which is “the system of patterns that determine how humans can use language in particular social settings for particular conversational purposes” (MacWhinney). This early language development allows them to know the right words, which assist in clear communication as well as understanding. It also allows children to use extended language structures during explanations, narration, and pretending talk (Caesar and Nelson 2014). The more a parent or caregiver develops or fosters early language acquisition, the more a child will able to listen and understand what others speak and also construct more sentences, both of which are good for early literacy (Lund, Werfel and Schuele 2015). In a preschool learning environment, although children are taught slightly more through visual means, vocal communications are very important to strongly grasp that learning. That is, whatever that is taught through visual means, have to be strengthened mainly through interactions between the children and the practitioners because then only it can make the necessary connections and storing within the brain. In that direction, parents in the home environment and caregivers in the preschool environment have to optimally foster language development in order to achieve the key goal of literacy. In addition, when children understands and speaks languages, it enables children to build content knowledge about the world and the environment in which they live, which are essential for their literacy (Dickinson and Tabros 2004). Although, understanding the world and the environment around them also involves observations in non-vocal modes through eyes, it is crucial that when all sense organs work in harmony the understanding will be optimal. Lastly, promoting language helps in stimulating the child cognitive ability thereby again contributing to literacy. Within my setting, we use storytelling, pretend play, songs, and games on a daily basis and in a repeated manner to facilitate language acquisition thereby developing early literacy as well. When we the practitioners carry out all the above activities, we make sure to include a lot of pictures because children might not be able to grasp all the alphabets, words, and sentences. So, with picture-based activities, we can associate those pictures with certain words thereby making the children understand those words. When children build their vocabulary with those words, it will not only help in language acquisition but also aids in early literacy. At the same time, we understood that as pointed out above, when children acquire languages, it will automatically strengthen this visual learning process. It mostly works in a complimentary manner. So, in that direction, alphabets teaching are also carried out strongly. Each day, we have a specific alphabet letter and display different image or word which begins with that letter. This way, we expose the children not only to the pronunciation of the alphabet but also use that alphabet in the context of an image or word thereby facilitating more learning. The multicultural children also embrace these activities and respond well because the stories, songs, and games are picture-based and importantly globally well-known ones thereby helping them in language acquisition and literacy. They participate by reading a story to the children, singing songs, bringing cultural foods, and clothing. So, it is evident that both language acquisition and early literacy are interrelated and interdependent process, and that process is working aptly in my setting. Importance of supporting home language whilst acquiring English It is vital for the practitioner to ensure that children retain their mother tongue while still acquiring other languages including English. According to Harkness and Super (1996) mother tongue are one’s identity, culture, and heritage. Children who are made to switch abruptly from their mother tongues to other languages may not be able to express themselves well in their respective mother tongue (Buac, Gross and Kaushanskaya 2014). In severe cases, their mother tongues may be completely lost and they could suffer from identity-crisis in their young age and in their adolescent years. In addition, often they try to look for another or mainstream culture to identify themselves. However, if they do not fit in that foreign or mainstream culture, they will get discouraged and lose their confidence. In my setting, I can see that parents of few children mainly spoke English in their home environment thereby sidelining their native language. Although, it might be a personal choice, the children of those parents struggle to express in their mother tongues and are more interested to learn English. As discussed above, this might result in losing their mother tongue, disconnection with their culture or roots, facing identity crisis, and others. Understanding these repercussions and focusing on the benefit of learning home language to acquire English, we the practitioners always support home language. That is, the first language children learn at home is critical as its lays the foundation for all other languages to be learned. This perspective was validated by Jim Cummins’ Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) theory which states that “Children who come to school with a solid foundation in their mother tongue develop stronger literacy abilities in the school language” (Cummins 2001). Cook (2010) provides a slightly contrasting perspective by bringing in the differences between first language acquisition and second language acquisition. That is, although, first language can aid in the acquisition of second language, there are appears some differences with the children developing clear intuitions about correctness and also language competences mainly in home language, while unable to form clear grammaticality judgments and competence in second language (Cook 2008). However, the key perspective is that different studies have also shown that when children have good grasp of their home language, then it naturally aid in the acquisition of school language or other languages (Clarke 2009). This is because the children will utilize their language learning ability, which they earned during the learning of their home language, during the acquisition of their second languages as well. Understanding this key perspective, within the setting, we strongly believe that children’s home language must be supported because this will encourage and develop other language, particularly English. In addition, as above-discussed, it will help them to learn and hold on their home language, without losing it. EYFS Section 1.8 also toes the same line by stating, “For children whose home language is not English, providers must take reasonable steps to provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning, supporting their language development at home” (NALDIC). In that direction, we carry out certain activities to support home language development. For example, keywords of a particular child’s home language are used on one particular day, for through out the day, among all the children. When it is repeatedly used, it gets imbibed in all the children’s mind, particularly among the child or children who speak it in their homes thereby allowing them to comfortably and confidently utter those words, which in a way strengthens their acquisition of home language. On the same lines, the activity of asking the children to take a picture of them holding a chart with the word “hello” in their home language also facilitates home language development. Part 2: How to make my developments more effective Although, our preschool setting and we the practitioners are carrying out apt language learning strategies and also using good resources, certain improvements can be made to the existing strategies. We are already using music to help our students learn and pronounce English words and certain key words from the native language. Although, we are using rhymes and songs, we could use more playful, socially engaging, and culture-specific rhymes which can also promote phonological awareness among the children. Basically, these types of preschool rhymes can be easily and strongly grasped by the children, and can even facilitate them to experiment with the sounds of language. “Integrating nursery rhymes into the early childhood curriculum contributes to a linguistically rich environment in which young children are exposed to the rich vocabulary, syntactic complexity, and decontextualized language contained within the English language” (Harper 2011, p.76). In addition, this grasping and the experimentation can build children’s awareness of sound patterns of language thereby resulting in phonemic awareness. This awareness as well as understanding of phonemes fosters a child’s ability to “hear sounds, blend sounds, encode and decode words, and to spell phonetically” thereby strongly improving their speaking and reading skills (Harper 2011, p.66). Moreover, sharing culture-specific songs and rhymes in English as well as their respective native language is important in reinforcing the similarities in the language patterns hence fostering stronger language acquisition (Dickinson and Tabros 2004). The other improvement strategy that can be implemented is introducing more play-based program which brings out the children’s personal experience. Although, we are already carrying out storytelling and pretend play, it is mostly based on fictional content. So, it would be better if we conduct pretend play using the personal experience of the children. That is, we should setup the play in such a way that each of the children can share their experience regarding a particular situation or event. For example, we can setup the play as if children are playing some sport in a play ground, with each of the children telling about their own experience of playing that sport in a ground. Such stories of personal experience can contribute to supporting a child’s social development as well as improving their communication skills (Dickinson and Tabros 2004). So, it is evident that pretend play and storytelling based on personal experience can provide good results. “Early childhood education teachers need to plan and implement a play-based program that provides children with opportunities to test and communicate their ideas and feelings, and to talk about experiences that are meaningful and relevant to them” (Wilson and Rubin, 2001). All the above improvement strategies as well as the existing strategies can be carried out in line with Tomlinson’s theory of differentiated instruction. Carol Ann Tomlinson, an elementary teacher, came up with this theory to point out how practitioners have to teach children based on his/her learning style by even coming up with customized teaching processes, instead of following a common teaching process for all the children. “At its core, differentiated instruction means addressing ways in which students vary as learners” (Rebora 2008). For this, the practitioner has to interact with each of the children and even their parents to understand about his/her learning preferences as well as interests, in line with their cultural background. After interacting, the practitioner has to customize the learning process or plan, so that it suits the children’s culture or language, and importantly can facilitate optimum learning of English and other languages. So, in a way, this theory of differentiated instruction lays strong emphasis on supporting the individuality of the student. “In differentiated classrooms, teachers provide specific ways for each individual to learn as deeply as possible and as quickly as possible, without assuming one students road map for learning is identical to anyone elses.” (Tomlinson 2). So, when practitioners like us implement the above-discussed improvement strategies and currently-followed strategies in line with this theory, it can lead to optimal learning environment for the children. My contributions to supporting multilingual learning environment I made tremendous contributions in this setting because I promoted interaction between different children as well as their parents from diverse cultures. Different studies had suggested that interaction is essential for English language acquisition as well as second language acquisition and I effectively implemented this strategy. Secondly, I did close observation of the children, and this was important in planning or customizing the learning process or plans for those children. Moreover, I helped the children and the families to not only understand the different cultures of others and but also appreciate them. I tried to bridge the social and cultural gap between these groups, and this was useful in promoting cohesion. Understanding and appreciating one’s culture is very fundamental as it promotes interaction and ease learning from one another (Marshall and Lewis 2014). Summary and Conclusion Language acquisition is crucial to any child because it allows them to express themselves to others as well as to understand what others say. It can also lead to optimization of their self-esteem and confidence. This language acquisition process will normally take place in the home environment and importantly in the preschool setting in line with Skinner’s Behavioural theory. With the children spending sizable portion of a day in preschool setting, it becomes crucial for the preschool practitioners like me to come up with effective strategies to facilitate language acquisition in the children. The role of the practitioners becomes crucial when the preschool setting is multicultural and multilingual with children or students coming from different country, religion, and others. In line with the Equality Act 2010 and United Nations’ Rights of the Child 1989, their home language also has to be taken in account while teaching English. Moreover, home language is critical to any child because it sets precedents for the development of subsequent languages, which is validated by Cummins’ Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) theory. In my setting, we are using number of strategies in line with Lev Vygotskys theory of sociocultural to make the children understand and appreciate other cultures and by that process learn English as well as their respective home language. Although, these strategies are aptly working, certain improvement has to be done on these strategies. In that direction, the discussion focused on how rhymes and pretend play can be improvised. Importantly, the need for providing customized learning plans in line with the Tomlinson’s theory of differentiated instruction was also discussed. I personally contributed optimally to support the multilingual learning environment. To sum up, it is evident that the role of practitioners assumes a lot of significance in preschool setting because by facilitating language development and cultural understanding as well as appreciation, we can lay a strong platform or even a springboard for those children to become well-rounded individuals. References Ball, J., 2009. Enhancing learning of Children from Diverse Language Backgrounds. Available from http://www.ecdip.org/docs/pdf/UNESCO%20Mother-tongue%20based% 20EY%202010.pdf(accessed on April 22, 2015) Buac, M, Gross, M, & Kaushanskaya, M., 2014. The Role of Primary Caregiver Vocabulary Knowledge in the Development of Bilingual Children’s Vocabulary Skills, Journal Of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, vol. 57, no.5, pp.1804-1816 Burns, MS., Bodrova, E and Leong, DJ. Developmental Theory - Vygotskian Theory. Available from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1912/Developmental-Theory- VYGOTSKIAN-THEORY.html(accessed on April 15, 2015) Caesar, L and Nelson, N., 2014. Parental involvement in Language and Literacy acquisition: A Bilingual Journaling Approach, Child Language Teaching & Therapy, vol.30, no.3, pp. 317-336. Clarke, P., 2009. Supporting Children Learning English as a Second Language in Early Years. Victoria Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Cook, V., 2010. The Relationship between First and Second Language Learning Revisited. Available from http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Writings/Papers/L1&L22008.htm(accessed on May 4, 2015) Cummins, J., 2001. Bilingual Childrens Mother Tongue: Why Is It Important for Education? Available from http://www15.gencat.net/pres_casa_llengues/uploads/articles/Bilingual%20Childrens%20Mother%20Tongue.pdf(accessed on April 15, 2015) Department of Education., 2014. Equality Act 2010 and schools. Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/315587/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf(accessed on April 15, 2015) Dickinson, D and Tabros P., 2004. Fostering Language and Literacy in Classroom and Homes. Young Children, vol. 57, no.2. Genesee, FF., 2015. Myths about Early Childhood Bilingualism, Canadian Psychology, vol.56, no.1, pp.6-15. Glennena, S, Nippold, M and Larrivee, L., 2015. Internationally Adopted Children in the Early School Years: Relative Strengths and Weaknesses in Language Abilities, Language, Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, vol.46, no.1, pp.1-13 Harkness, S and Super, CJ., 1996. Parents’ Cultural Belief Systems: Their origins, expressions, and consequences. Guilford Press. Harper, LJ., 2011. Nursery Rhyme Knowledge and Phonological Awareness in Preschool Children. The Journal of Language and Literacy Education, vol.7, no.1, pp.65-78 Hodgman, L., 2012. Enabling Environments in the Early Years. Andrews UK Limited Hornberger, NH., 2002. Multilingual language Policies and the Continua of Biliteracy: An Ecological Approach. Language Policy, vol.1, no.1, pp.27-51. Lund, E, Werfel, K, and Schuele, C., 2015. Phonological Awareness and Vocabulary Performance of Monolingual and Bilingual Preschool Children with Hearing Loss, Child Language Teaching and Therapy, vol.31, no.1, pp.85-100 MacWhinney, B. Language Acquisition - The Basic Components of Human Language, Methods for Studying Language Acquisition, Phases in Language Development. Available from http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2153/Language-Acquisition.html(accessed on May 4, 2015) Marshall, J, and Lewis, E., 2014. Early Years Practitioners’ Perceptions of its Influence on Speech and Language Development - Its Assessment and Environment Targeted Interventions. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, vol.30, no.3, pp.337-352, McArthur, R., 2005. Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press. NALDIC. Revised EYFS requires Settings to Support English and First Language Development. Available from http://www.naldic.org.uk/eal-advocacy/eal-news-summary/210412(accessed on April 15, 2015) OHCHR. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Available from http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx(accessed on April 15, 2015) Parsad, B., Lewis, L., and Farris, E., 2001. Teacher Preparation and Professional Development. Education Statistics Quarterly, vol.3, no.3, pp.33-36. Rebora, A., 2008. Making a Difference. Available from http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2008/09/10/01tomlinson.h02.html(accessed on April 15, 2015) Tomlinson, CA., 1999. The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners. ASCD. Wilson, L and Rubin, CR., 2001. Encouraging Language Acquisition in Young Children. Available from http://www.cfc-efc.ca/docs/cccf/rs031_en.htm(accessed on April 15, 2015) UK Data Archive. Consent and Ethics. Available from http://www.data-archive.ac.uk/create-manage/consent-ethics/legal?index=1(accessed on April 22, 2015) Read More