Natural Stages of Language Development:

Natural Stages of
Language Development:
Teaching Learners through
Principles of Language
Acquisition
TLPI Spring 2007
Prepared by Virginia Shannon
Some Maxims
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A student’s literacy in their first
language dramatically impacts their
ability to acquire subsequent
languages (Krashen).
A student’s ability to produce
language will vary from context to
context.
ELL does not equal low I.Q.
Assessment and Placement
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Home Language Survey (HLS)
Student Oral Language Observation
Matrix (SOLOM)
California English Language
Development Test (CELDT)
Primary language tests
Teacher observation and
recommendation
Level 1: Pre-production Stage
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Minimal
comprehension
No verbal production
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Strategies to use
listen
move
mime
point
match
draw
select
circle
act
Level 2: Early Production Stage
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Limited
comprehension
Verbal responses
limited to one or
two words
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Strategies to use
name
label
group
answer
list
categorize
say or tell
Level 3: Speech Emergence Stage
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Increased
comprehension
Simple sentences
Simple errors in
speech
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Strategies to use
recall
compare
restate
define
describe
explain
role play
Level 4: Intermediate Fluency
Stage
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Very good
comprehension
More complex
sentences
Complex errors in
speech
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Strategies to use
analyze
create
defend
complete
evaluate
justify
support
describe in detail
Level 5: Fluency Stage
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Learners in this stage have acquired
basic interpersonal communication
skills (BICS)
Their ability to acquire cognitive
academic language proficiency
(CALP) enhances their ability to learn
challenging content in an acquired
language (Cummins)