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This blog post offers an introduction into Annamaria Pinter’s research on the language learning processes in childhood, raising the question for us all: what can we learn from first language learning processes which will help us to support EAL students in the classroom more effectively?
In summary, Pinter explains...
the rate at which children learn new words is influenced by a wide range of factors, for example: their memory capacity/their ability to recall information, how quickly their brain is developing, the nature of different individuals/learning preferences, cultural differences and the quantity/quality of adult–child communication;
when learning their first language, children make better progress when their parents help them to extend their knowledge of topics by asking questions, making comments and giving explanations. This provides a model from which the child can develop language, as well as increasing their motivation to communicate (Wells 1986);
engaging children in dialogue, such as joint picture-book reading, enhances their language skills when developing their first language, but in addition to the linguistic benefits it also helps children learn about people (motives, emotions, relationships); and
children must be exposed to a range of different contexts for speech when developing their first language. Mercer (1995). At school, we must give young people the opportunity to talk with peers, challenge ideas, justify their opinions, think aloud, share and discuss ideas in response to a task, as well as giving them the opportunity to put half-formed ideas into a dialogue and practice expressing themselves clearly. This has a huge impact on progress.
Questions and considerations for whole school systems, policy and leadership:
Quality first teaching is key. As a leader, do you know that all of your teachers are employing a range of strategies for the wide range of learning needs and preferences in classes? Could a “quality first teaching” reflection opportunity to be included within the school’s lesson observation or appraisal process?
Could you create more opportunities for parents to become more empowered and knowledgeable about reading and language development at home? Consider inviting parents into school to teach them how to support reading at home, offering example question prompts to help parents to develop quality dialogue with their child around what they are reading.
Questions for EAL teachers/coordinators to consider:
Have you considered using guided reading as an intervention strategy to support vocabulary acquisition?
How many opportunities are offered for peer to peer speaking during EAL withdrawal/intervention lessons? Could this be increased? What might the benefits of this be for students?
What can classroom teachers do to improve outcomes in relation to this information?
Think, pair, share - are you consistently giving students time to think about and rehearse their ideas before writing anything down?
Do you have a range of strategies in place for explicitly teaching students new words?
Resources to support this:
This information is summarised from, “Language Learning Processes in Childhood”, Annamaria Pinter, Palgrave Macmillan 2011.
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