Selamat datang Bem-vindo ようこそ歡迎 መርሓባ Välkommen स्वागत Mirë se vjen Welcome ً‫أهالً و سهال‬ in kwahn deh-na meh tah Καλώς Ορίσατε स्वागतम ् Soo dhowow Afio mai 환영합니다 Haere mai సుస్వాగతం Aloha Welkom Velkommen Bine ai venit Bienvenidos Добредојде Բարի գալուստ! ້ ອນຮັບ ິ ຍນດ ີ ຕ Haykuykuy! Bienvenue ‫خوش آمديد‬ Velkomin Добро пожаловать! Dobrodošli Tervetuloa Вiтаем Ласкаво просимо Willkommen 歡迎光臨 Merħba ยินดีตอนรั บ ้ Üdvözlet Selamat datang LANGUAGE Selamat datang Bem-vindo ようこそ歡迎 መርሓባ Välkommen स्वागत Mirë se vjen Bienvenidos ً‫أهالً و سهال‬ in kwahn deh-na meh tah Καλώς Ορίσατε स्वागतम ् Soo dhowow Afio mai 환영합니다 Haere mai సుస్వాగతం Aloha Welkom Bine ai venit Welcome Velkommen Добредојде Բարի գալուստ! ້ ອນຮັບ ິ ຍນດ ີ ຕ Haykuykuy! Bienvenue ‫خوش آمديد‬ Velkomin Добро пожаловать! Dobrodošli Tervetuloa Вiтаем Ласкаво просимо Willkommen 歡迎光臨 Merħba ยินดีตอนรั บ ้ Üdvözlet Selamat datang How Do Early Childhood Teachers Understand and Support the Needs of Young English Language Learners? Carolina Cabezas & Liz Rouse THE AUSTRALIAN CONTEXT • 19.6% of children speak languages other than English at home (VIC). • 279 languages, 125 indigenous languages. • ‘Monolingual mindset’. • ELLs encounter challenging or negative situations in the classrooms. English Language Learners (ELLs) Students who are less than proficient in English. ECE IN AUSTRALIA • Socio-constructivist early childhood education models. • The VEYLDF: • bi- and multi-lingualism are an asset. • Importance of L1 maintenance OUR STUDY • Small-scale research. • 4 sessional kindergarten teachers. • Area with high immigrant population. • Second Language Acquisition (SLA) & Bilingualism in Early Childhood. • Programs, curricula and pedagogy. OUR RESEARCH QUESTIONS • Acquisition of English as a second language and the development of bilingualism during the early years. • Most effective approaches to address the needs of English language learners. • How do teachers inform the practice as to plan for ELLs teaching and learning. WHY IS THIS ISSUE IMPORTANT? Teacher effectiveness is the ultimate target of all language education planning and policy work because it is the single most relevant variable in successful language learning. THE NEEDS OF ELLs • Acquisition of English as a second language. • Development of concepts, understandings, dispositions, and skills for future achievement. • “key communication, learning and thinking skills, learned to build and maintain relationships; and formed a strong sense of their identity” (VEYLDF, p.5). AUSTRALIAN EARLY DEVELOPMENT INDEX • 93.6% of children who have LOBTE status and are not proficient in English” are vulnerable in one or more domains. • Children who are proficient in English and speak another language at home, less likely to be developmentally vulnerable on most AEDI domains compared to all children. SLA IN EARLY CHILDHOOD • Social environments & exposure to the language. • Comprehensible Input. • Level of L1 proficiency is best predictor of L2 proficiency. “In a perfect model of wastefulness some children, having lost knowledge of the home language, available to the society at no cost to the public purse, are then offered the same language in schools as beginner learners of a taught foreign language” (Lo Bianco & Slaughter 2009, p.4). TEACHER’S BELIEFS IN AUSTRALIA • Literature focus on broader issues of ethnic and cultural diversity, not language. • ‘Western’ isolationist, child-centred, AngloSaxon perspective. BEST APPROCHES FOR L2 INSTRUCTION • Bilingual • Immersion/ L1 maintenance • Culturally responsive ESL programs METHODOLOGY • EC contexts and processes are seen as “shaped by human action, profoundly social in character and at all times mediated by cultural processes, including competing cultural views on young children’s needs” (Woodhead 2006, p. 22). OUR FINDINGS What do early childhood teachers understand about the acquisition of English as a second language and the development of bilingualism during the early years? • Varied levels of understanding when referring to SLA. • SLA viewed as a process manifested through different stages, i.e. silent period. • Identified children have different ‘ways’ of learning a second language. • Acknowledge importance of home language. Second language acquisition • Importance of quality role modelling. • Language loss • Comfort and Belonging • ‘This is who they are’ • Aptitude, i.e. ‘sense of sight’, ‘acute hearing’ Bilingualism • View of bilingualism as positive and desirable. • Cognitive advantages. • Wide range of teaching strategies and tools. • Bilingual worker – most effective resource in teaching ESL and inclusion. Stages of SLA What do teachers perceive are the most effective approaches to address the needs of English language learners? • Understandings influenced by experience working in culturally and linguistically diverse settings. • Differing motivations and levels of knowledge concerning approaches, resources, and strategies. • Differing abilities to assess language acquisition and plan for learning. How do teachers inform their practice as to plan and implement pedagogies that are meaningful for ELLs learning and development? • Professional Development is most important source of theoretical knowledge and practical ideas. • Multicultural community services and resources. • Experience with ELLs and their families. • Frameworks EYLF, VEYLDF. • Failure of teaching education courses to address this issue. CONCLUSIONS Influencing factors in teachers’ beliefs: • Teachers’ experience with ELLs • Professional Development • Policy frameworks • Availability of multilingual teaching resources Issues demanding attention • Teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding ELLs. • Influence of conceptual and perceptual knowledge. • Effective multicultural and multilingual early childhood programs. • Impact of specialised bilingual educators. THANK YOU DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? Contact details: Carolina Cabezas: [email protected] Liz Rouse: [email protected] THE END