Language and Social Development in a Multilingual Classroom
- schools are challenged to teach children who are multicultural and multilingual
- "The ASM early childhood program is based on a constructivist philosophy, with play at the center of the curriculum. The program focuses on social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development, and language acquisition, with a balance between teacher-centered and child-centered activities."
-" The goal of the project approach is to foster young children's thinking, self-awareness, senses, emotions, community membership, and aesthetic experiences. By webbing, organizing, using recorded observations, and engaging children in ongoing small group discussions, teachers gain insight into how they might explore and challenge children's preexisting notions. They provide active visual, verbal, and kinesthetic modeling to help children become proficient learners of the target language." (topics are chosen by the teacher)
- when children cannot communicate with their teacher, they may fall behind or even feel a sense of isolation from the rest of the class
- " The natural approach theory of second language acquisition highlights the link between language and social development among young children who are dual language learners. Learning a new language is based on four principles: input, production, communicative goals, and inquiry projects."
-Production stages: 1. nonverbal responses 2. single-word responses 3. combinations of two or three words 4. phrases 5. sentences 6. more complex discourse
- "These young children come to school with prior communication experiences and may use language in ways that differ from how language is used, taught, and expressed in the classroom."
- using block play with the project approach can enable children to express themselves, use their language, and work with others
- " To increase vocabulary and phonological awareness and to expose the children to different forms of language and text, we offered cards with pictures and words that helped children connect oral language with print."
- Once teachers find barriers in the classroom, they can find ways to manipulate them and work around them for their students to become better learners.
