Make Reference to Krashen and Terrell’s Five Stages of Second Language Acquisition
As mainstream teachers try to respond to the academic needs of ELL students, it is imperative that these teachers understand how ELL students learn in their classroom. Most teachers would agree that not all ELL students progress at the same speed so the length of time requirement would vary. However, according to the early work done by Krashen and Terrell (1983), ELL students progress through the same stages to acquire English language. For this reason, recognizing the stages of language acquisition helps teachers with setting appropriate learning objectives for ELL students.
The following table gives you a brief idea of the Five Stages of Second Language Acquisition:
The following table gives you a brief idea of the Five Stages of Second Language Acquisition:
These stages show the kinds of support that are needed for each ELL student in their classroom. If Krashen and Terrell’s Stages of Language Acquisition is properly referenced by teachers, ELL students will not be asked to perform tasks that are beyond or beneath their stages of acquisition. According to Hill and Flynn (2006), “By knowing the stages of language acquisition and the stage-appropriate questions, you can engage students at the correct level of discourse.”
By incorporating the teacher prompts provided by Krashen and Terrell, teachers can design subject content-based questions. We chose The Grade 6 Sky Science Unit from Alberta K-6 Science Program of Study as an example.
By incorporating the teacher prompts provided by Krashen and Terrell, teachers can design subject content-based questions. We chose The Grade 6 Sky Science Unit from Alberta K-6 Science Program of Study as an example.
Depending on the complexity of their answers, teachers can find out the strategies for differentiated instruction that should be provided as according to ELL students’ needs. In addition, after knowing at which stage they are at, teachers can scaffold their students “by modeling correct grammar or pronunciation, asking challenging questions, or providing direct instruction” (Hill & Flynn, 2006) to further develop their language skills.
References
Hill, J. D., & Flynn, K. M. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners. Alexandria: ASCD.
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Oxford: Pergamon.
Hill, J. D., & Flynn, K. M. (2006). Classroom instruction that works with English language learners. Alexandria: ASCD.
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Oxford: Pergamon.