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Stages of Second Acquisition

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 SILENT OR RECEPTIVE PHASE EARLY PRODUCTION EMERGENCE INTERMEDIATE

Lasts 2 weeks - 6 months + Lasts 2 months - 1 year Lasts 1 - 3 years Lasts 3 - 5 years (depending on the age of the )

Preschoolers may stay in this stage for several months or an entire school year.

Older students may remain in this Approx. time frame Approx. stage for several weeks or months.

• A.k.a. the silent period • Expand their receptive • Continue to expand their • Begin to use complex sentences • Focus mainly on comprehension receptive vocabulary, good • May make grammatical / in this stage (vs. production) • Begin to use 1-2 comprehension with familiar errors that rarely interfere with topic content • May respond non-verbally, use phrases (some non-verbal meaning gestures/movements to show responses as well) • Expressive language may include • No longer need slowed conversation comprehension, respond to • May produce longer practiced/ phrases and attempts to use to understand / participate; good pictures/other visuals routine expressions simple comprehension • May understand about 500 • Will have limited • Respond to basic questions and • Share thoughts / ideas, not comprehension of fast-paced/ most directions from the teacher just needs / wants; participate • Display some “parroting” speech (2-step) repetition practice social conversation in conversations • May misunderstand figurative • Comprehend grade-level math language such as jokes, idioms, etc. and science with some teacher support Note: many grammar and Student behaviors / characteristics behaviors Student pronunciation errors are normal • Understand some subtle in this stage. elements of speech

Collier, V. P. (1995) Promoting academic success for ER students. Understanding acquisition for School. Elizabeth, NJ: New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other -Bilingual Educators. Information based on material retrieved from www.everythingesl.net

Robertson, K. and Ford, K. (2007). Language Acquisition: An Overview. Retrieved from Colorín Colorado on (04/15/2015): http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/26751 Learn more at speechpathologygroup.com Stages of Second Language Acquisition

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4 SILENT OR RECEPTIVE PHASE EARLY PRODUCTION SPEECH EMERGENCE INTERMEDIATE FLUENCY

• Focus on receptive language • Practice yes/no questions & either/or • Ask how / why questions that • Present activities that using pictures (show me the questions (i.e. Did you eat pizza or elicit responses consisting of develop more complex oral ___, point to the ___, etc.) cereal for lunch?) phrases / simple sentences and written language • Practice following directions & • Ask who, what, where questions • Continue vocabulary • Work on higher-level some yes/no questions (expect (using phrases) expansion with labeling/ language skills such as head nods/shakes for yes/no) • Continue working on following directions listing; add describing, problem-solving, evaluating predicting and analyzing • Use modeling. Some students • Introduce completion tasks benefit from being paired up • Use paired or choral reading • Practice pre-writing with a partner that speaks • Present labeling activities activities activities through essay (pictures/objects) their language • Work on composing simple writing (as developmentally

Learning Strategies • Repetition, Repetition, Repetition • Use graphic organizers to promote stories based on personal appropriate) • Work on reading short books with events • Support figurative language predictable text development • Simplify class content to focus on key vocabulary

STAGE 5, ADVANCED / ACADEMIC FLUENCY

It may take students 4 – 10 years to achieve academic language fluency. At this stage, they are able to perform with near-native speaker abilities for receptive and expressive language even in content area .

Learn more at speechpathologygroup.com