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1. NAEYC Themes, Part 6: Research, Facts and Things to Know about Dual Language Learners

By: Laura Renner, on 1/25/2010
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: NAEYC, preschool, bilingual children, Early Childhood Education, cultural identity, Trends in Education, bilingual parents, bilingual schools, dual language programs, child care, child care centers, child care providers, bilingual homes, english language learners, dual language learners, literacy, Add a tag

In the last (a short and sweet one!) of our blog series on common themes from the 2009 NAEYC’s annual conference, we present a hodge-podge of facts we gathered throughout that week in D.C. Enjoy!

–Language acquisition depends not only on adequate hearing, the ability to differentiate sounds, and the capacity to link meaning to specific words, but also on the ability to concentrate, pay attention, and engage in meaningful social interaction.

–Learning a second language and learning to read are complex tasks influenced by cognitive, environmental and social factors.

–Bilingual Children
-Exhibit the same language milestones as monolingual children
-May acquire language at a slower rate and have more limited total vocabularies in each language
-Have a combined vocabulary in both languages likely to equal or exceed that of a child who speaks one language

–Preschoolers actively listen to and separate out two languages. So we can use both languages interchangeably.

–Development of language and literacy in the home language (or first language) facilitates development of language and literacy in the second language and cognitive development. Academic language ability takes 5-7 years. Social language ability (i.e. Hello, how are you?) is easy to accomplish.

–For more current guidance, check out:
-Head Start Performance Standards and Head Start Dual Language Report (2008)
-Tabors, Patton O. One Child, Two Languages: Children Learning English as a Second Language. Paul H. Brookes Publishing, 2008.
-Igao, Cristina. The Inner World of the Immigrant Child. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1995.
-Espinosa, Linda. Getting it RIGHT for Young Children from Diverse Backgrounds: Applying Research to Improve Practice. Prentice Hall, 2009.

Check out below for the sources of this blog:

1) Using standards-based curriculum to support language and literacy development for English-language learners.

Presented by:
Min-hua Chen, Education Specialist, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education;
Vicky Milstein, Principal of Early Education, Brookline Public Schools;
Min-Jen Wu Taylor, Pre-K Teacher, Brookline Public Schools;
James StClair, Kindergarten Teacher, Cambridge Public Schools;
Sandra Christison, Kindergarten Teacher, Boston Public Schools.

They haven’t posted their slides yet, but if they do, you can find it here.

2) Home Language or English? Implementing program policies and teaching strategies that meet the needs of dual-language learners

Presented by:
John Gunnarson, Napa Valley College.

Click here for his handout.

3) Getting it right for young children from diverse backgrounds: Applying research to improve practice

Presented by:
Dr Linda Espinosa, University of Missouri-Columbia.

She hasn’t posted her slides yet, but if she does, you can find it here.

Previous Blogs under the NAEYC Annual Conference Theme:
Part 1: NAEYC Themes, Part 1: Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan’s Presentation
Part 2: NAEYC Themes, Part 2: Build Positive Relationships with Dual-Language Learning Children
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2. NAEYC Themes, Part 4: Communication Strategies for Working with Dual Language Learners

By: Laura Renner, on 1/5/2010
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: bilingual children, Early Childhood Education, bububooks, Trends in Education, bilingual parents, bilingual schools, dual language programs, child care, child care centers, child care providers, bilingual homes, english language learners, dual language learners, Add a tag

Another common theme that surfaced at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference dealt with plans and strategies for working with dual language learners. This blog posting provides some tips you can actually use, along with recommendations on how to create a more explicit strategy.

Strategy

Regardless of what you choose to do, the key is to be deliberate, intentional and integrative in your strategy. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Create an explicit plan to integrate the needs of your dual language learners with the overall needs of your center. Check out these steps below to aid in developing your plan.

Consider completing a self-assessment checklist to help you determine where you are in your DLL strategy. You can access the checklist here.
Find out about the current guidelines for dual language programs.
Analyze your current program needs, specifically the demographic makeup of your students, staff and maybe even growing trends in your area.
Develop a policy for supporting and a plan on how to support dual language learners. Get buy-in from management, staff and parents.
Pursue and offer professional development for staff who work with dual language learning children.
Collaborate with other services and supporters.

General Tips

Following are 10 tips for communicating with DLLs. Remember to develop a relationship with the child and their family (see Themes, Parts 2 and 3) in order to maximize that child’s potential. From birth to age 3, children need face-to-face social interaction for language development. DVDs do not work.

Pair visual tools with oral and print cues. For example, if you display the daily schedule in printed words (English), place visual pictures of the activities next to their corresponding words. You can combine these cues in everything you do. For example, use pictures, gestures and movements when talking to maximize all the cues.

For new language learners:

2. Simplify your language and slow down.
3. Do not assume that a child understands what you say.
4. Do not force the child to make eye contact with you.
5. Do not raise your volume when speaking or force the child to speak.
6. Allow plenty of time for the child to answer a question or wait a bit and then rephrase the question in simpler language.

A little later:

7. Listen for intent not grammar.
8. Accept all attempts.
9. Don’t overcorrect.
10. Never ask a child to say something in English. Let it be spontaneous.

Actual Tactics

Below are some tactics that other centers have used and that I found interesting.

Create a bilingual book with the photo and name of every student in your center. This book helps all the students—and even parents—get to know the names, including unfamiliar and foreign, of everyone else.
If you have more than two languages in your center, consider using a word wall. For example, display the word, hello, in every language represented (along with its Romanized pronunciation if it’s not a language with a Latin alphabet). Also, during morning meeting, have the class say hello or good morning in each language represented in your class.
Bring family members in to share things from their country. Take a photo and post it in the classroom.
If you have a listening cen

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3. NAEYC Themes, Part 3: 10 Ways to Develop Meaningful Relationships with the Parents and Families of Dual-Language Learning Children

By: Laura Renner, on 12/28/2009
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Early Childhood Education, bububooks, Trends in Education, bilingual parents, child care, child care centers, child care providers, bilingual homes, english language learners, dual language learners, immigrant parents, NAEYC, preschool, bilingual children, Add a tag

Another theme that presented itself throughout various sessions at this year’s annual National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference the need for developing and maintaining a relationship with the parents and families of non-native English speakers. You might think this concept is rather obvious; however, several barriers exist to prevent this relationship from blooming.

Barriers

Oftentimes, there is a perception that these parents lack interest in their child’s education and growth. However, this perception can often be misguided. In many cultures outside the United States, teachers are revered and getting involved in the classroom is seen as interfering with the teacher’s expert intentions and processes. Therefore, parents try to stay out of the way of their children’s teachers. You see that as lack of interest and involvement; they see it as respect.

Also, the notion of family involvement differs for social classes. Just because a parent is not at a bake sale doesn’t mean they are not involved in their child’s education. Work may prevent them from attending; however, they may still be reviewing their child’s homework every night.

Immigrant families also face unique needs than other families in America. Not only may there be a language and culture barrier, but also family tensions can exist as each member adjusts and adapts to their new life in America. Their identities as a member of a group before may have now changed to one of an outsider—an “alien”. Perhaps they were a leader in their hometown and now they are a laborer trying to climb the socio-economic ladder. Further, they may have to rely on their children as their English improves more quickly, which degrades their role as provider in the family. These adjustments can cause tension in the family that may prevent as much involvement as they’d like in their child’s education. Think about the time you studied abroad in college. Imagine moving there by yourself, without the school’s help, without your host family there to meet you at the airport. Imagine trying to figure everything out on your own, in a foreign country with a language you thought you could speak. Imagine doing so with your family there too, all looking to you for guidance. Do you think you could have done it? Perhaps, but with a whole lot of stress involved, too!

For instance, what do the following symbols mean to you (assuming you don’t speak Chinese)? 优, 良, 中, 可, 差。If your child brought home these symbols on their report card, would you know what they mean? One presenter at NAEYC told a story of how a Chinese father was disappointed in his daughter because she brought home a grade of “S” (for Satisfactory). He thought grades went in order from A all the way down to Z—because it does seem that way since it starts off A, B, C, D…—and so S seemed pretty bad. We must remember that nearly everything may be unfamiliar to immigrant families!

The Importance of Developing this Relationship with the Family

The school or childcare center is a key location in cultural transition. This place may often be the first place children are exposed to cultures other than their own (this goes for all children). It may be the first place a child realizes he is “different.” Further, it is the place that will help prepare him to succeed in America. If there is not enough language support for her to learn, she will associate school as something that doesn’t do anything for her.

Parent involvement is a critical component in a child’s success in school and in society. We must do what we can to remember that inability to communicate does not mean a person is incapable or uneducated. In fact, new legal immigrants are as well educated as native-born citizens, on average. We must discover and overcome whatever may be preventing a relation

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4. NAEYC Themes, Part 2: Build Positive Relationships with Dual-Language Learning Children

By: Laura Renner, on 12/10/2009
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: NAEYC, Early Childhood Education, cultural identity, Trends in Education, dual language programs, child care, child care centers, child care providers, english language learners, teacher/child relationships, Add a tag

A Safe Environment
The first common theme I gathered from the sessions I attended at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference is that it is absolutely imperative that teachers build positive relationships with DLL children. Help them to feel safe and included.

Have you ever been in an environment where you didn’t feel safe? Heard some strange noises at night? In the car with a reckless driver? In a heated argument with someone physically stronger than you? Or how about simply watching a scary movie?

Think about what was going through your head, the first thing you thought you needed to do. Getting to safety, right? Grabbing that bottle of mace, getting out of the car, calling the police, covering your eyes and hiding behind the friend sitting next to you. Anything to get you out of that situation. You focused on saving yourself, on self-preservation.

Some of these examples may seem extreme and unrelated to a child in a classroom (hopefully). My point is that regardless of the situation, when you don’t feel safe, your first priority and thoughts focus on self-preservation, on getting to a place of safety. The same feelings occur in a child who is in an unfamiliar environment, especially when they cannot communicate in your language. If you’re in an environment where you don’t feel safe, you close down and only focus on self-preservation. How can a child learn and prepare for kindergarten if she doesn’t feel safe?

Additionally, behavior issues can stem from this inability to communicate. Think back to a recent meeting or presentation during which you did not pay attention. The topic didn’t apply to you. The presenter was wretchedly boring and just kept droning on and on. Or maybe it was a good presentation, but you were thinking about a looming deadline instead or what groceries you needed to get on your way home that night. What did you do? Pretended to listen, nodded in agreement during regular intervals and acted as if your grocery list were really notes from the material?

It’s okay, we’ve all done it! John Gunnarson from Napa Valley College calls this “procedural display.” We as adults know how to act like we are paying attention. Children have not yet learned this technique. If a child does not speak the language used in the classroom and, therefore, does not understand what is being said, what will he do? Act out? Pursue activities that are interesting to him? Can you blame him? Over time, what message are we sending to DLL children who do not receive enough language support? We are telling them that school does nothing for them. Think about the long-term implications for this message.

Thus, teachers should focus on helping DLL children to feel safe and included by building a positive relationship with each one. If a child feels safe in a classroom, she’ll take risks, like trying a new language. Would you be more willing or less willing to jump out of an airplane if you were 100% sure the parachute would work? How about 50% sure? Helping a child to feel included and valued will encourage her to try new things such as speaking a few words in English.

Cognitive Growth
The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction. In our last blog, we mentioned how Secretary Duncan stated we can no longer ignore the evidence that social development and academic development are “inextricably linked.” Academic development through social interaction becomes an even bigger hurdle for dual language learning children. As a teacher, take the extra steps to show—and model—that you value the DLL children in your classroom.

Tips
Now, how do you go about doing this? Of course myriad of tips and ideas exist. Here are some gene

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5. NAEYC Themes, Part 1: Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan’s Presentation

By: Laura Renner, on 12/5/2009
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: NAEYC, preschool, kindergarten, Arne Duncan, Early Childhood Education, Trends in Education, child care, child care centers, child care providers, getting ready to read, Secretary of Education, Add a tag

Before I get to discussing the four themes mentioned in the last post by specifically looking at the various sessions I attended at NAEYC this year, I wanted to dedicate a blog posting solely to Secretary Duncan’s keynote speech at NAEYC. His passion for early education was very evident. It seemed clear to me that he was very serious and not just offering a speech that pandered to the audience. Indeed, he is the first Secretary of Education to ever speak at NAEYC.

Secretary Duncan started off his presentation with a quote from President Franklin Roosevelt: “The destiny of American youth is the destiny of America.” He focused a lot on the issue that has plagued us for a long time: closing the achievement gap that exists before children even start kindergarten. He referenced President Johnson’s vision to reach a day when “each child goes as far as his talents will take them.”

“Getting out of the catch-up business” represented a central theme in Secretary Duncan’s speech. He spoke of the Department’s development of a birth through age eight plan. Modern research makes it clear that the most important years of child development is from birth through age three. Yet our current approach has been to start focusing at age five in kindergarten. Now the Department is making a major change since its World War I when it added kindergarten to every child’s public school education. It seeks to align Early Childhood Education (ECE) with the K-12 programs. Up until now, ECE has been highly fragmented and non-standardized, leading to unpredictable quality and further exacerbating the achievement gap. But several programs have shown ways to succeed and offer scalable solutions that can be expanded throughout the country.

Secretary Duncan and the Department of Education (along with NAEYC and others in the education field) recognize that care and education cannot be thought of as separate entities in the education of young children. He stated it’s time we acknowledged the evidence that social development and academic development are “inextricably linked.” As a result, the Department of Education has entered into a serious partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to integrate their foci on early child development and school readiness.

Secretary Duncan presented a huge task that he, the Department of Education, Early Childhood Educators and K-12 educators face today. Finally, though, he is leading the way to face this problem. He outlined to fundamental challenges that we face in closing the achievement gap that starts before kindergarten. 1) There must be a coordinated system of early care that transitions to the K-12 program. 2) They must accelerate the shift from judging quality based solely in inputs to also basing it on outcomes. Secretary Duncan made sure to insist that inputs would not be ignored because they are important. However, he wants to add outcomes to be a part of the criteria.

Finally, Secretary Duncan expressed his excitement about the changes underway in early education and child development. He acknowledged that mistakes will be made, but then he said, “I hope we never let the perfect become the enemy of the good.”

I personally was moved by Secretary Duncan’s speech and am excited about this unprecedented attention and energy toward early childhoo

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6. Themes from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Annual Conference

By: Laura Renner, on 12/1/2009
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's books, immigration, NAEYC, kindergarten, Early Childhood Education, bububooks, bilingual parents, bilingual schools, dual language programs, child care, child care centers, child care providers, bilingual children's books, bilingual homes, english language learners, Teaching dual language learners, Uncategorized, bilingual children, Add a tag

I attended the annual NAEYC conference just before Thanksgiving in Washington D.C. I learned a lot more about the strategies, techniques and trends for teaching dual language learners. I also got to see some friends and make some new ones who are involved in early education. Moreover, I got to see Secretary of Education Arne Duncan speak live! Over the next few blog postings, I’ll be recapping some of the presentations I attended. For this particular posting, I’d like to discuss four overarching themes that seemed to repeat throughout the various sessions. I will expand on these themes through the specific postings that will follow.

Common Theme #1: Teachers need to build positive relationships with dual language learning children. Help them to feel safe and included. Oftentimes, every single thing is new to them since they have just moved here. Even their parents are stressed as they try to get settled in a new country. With everything so new and different (read: scary), a safe and inviting environment will help them to open up more in school.

Common Theme #2: Teachers need to develop meaningful relationships with parents and families. Parents and families from different countries display their involvement with their children’s education in various ways. Also, sometimes their current circumstances prevent them from being as involved as they’d like. This does not mean they are not interested. Furthermore, language need not be a barrier for a teacher to communicate with the families. These meaningful relationships help to eliminate misunderstandings and further create a safe environment for the child.

Common Theme #3: Be deliberate, intentional, integrative and committed with your communication strategies. I’ll offer suggestions in following postings. But certainly determine what your policy is for incorporating dual language learners and then set about creating a strategy to do so. This process will include research and can even mean hiring a consultant.

Common Theme #4: Support the home language and culture. Dual language learning children do not come to your school as a blank slate. By supporting their home language and culture, you maximize their potential to learn, send them a message that they are not different, help create that safe and inclusive environment, and lay the foundation for a strong relationship between them and their parents.

I look forward to sharing with you specific details from the sessions as well as expanding upon these four themes. In the meantime, Happy Holidays and don’t forget to check out our bookstore, where all the books are bilingual: www.bububooks.com.

–Laura

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7. More events this past weekend, SCAEYC and the Georgia Literary Festival

By: Laura Renner, on 10/19/2009
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children's books, literacy, bilingual books, learning to read, South Carolina, bilingual children, The bookstore, bububooks, bilingual parents, bilingual schools, child care, child care centers, child care providers, bilingual children's books, getting ready to read, getting your child ready to read, english language learners, bilingual child care, Georgia Literary Festival, SCAEYC, Add a tag

Rome Library

Jacey and Laura both represented bububooks at events this past weekend. Jacey visited beautiful northwest Georgia for the annual Georgia Literary Festival in Rome. Despite the cold temperatures, she says she enjoyed her time up there and got to meet some pretty cool people, authors and booksellers. Maybe she and her husband will make a camping trip up there in the near future!

Laura headed up to Columbia, South Carolina, for the South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children conference. Having never been to South Carolina before, she thoroughly enjoyed the city of Columbia and the people. By the end, she was giving hugs as she left the conference! At the conference, Laura met lots of GREAT people who are all seeking to improve the lives of children and teachers in South Carolina. She says it was an inspiring weekend and she looks forward to going back as she develops stronger relationships with the people she met from throughout the state. She’s so sad (and has been chastised by us) that she didn’t get any pictures of her new friends but promises to take more pictures next time. It has been her favorite trip for bububooks by far! Thank you South Carolina and the SCAEYC!

GA Lit Fest

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8. Fun and Surprise at GAYC

By: Laura Renner, on 10/13/2009
Blog: bubublog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: learning to read, kindergarten, pre-k, cultural identity, bilingual parents, child care, child care centers, child care providers, bilingual spanish english books, getting ready to read, english language learners, GAYC, bilingual books, atlanta, bilingual children, The bookstore, bilingual chinese english books, bilingual children's books, bilingual authors, bilingual homes, children's books, Add a tag

I had so much fun this past weekend in Atlanta at the Georgia Association on Young Children conference. Not only did I enjoy meeting various childcare providers from throughout the state, but I also appreciated the enthusiastic response from them regarding our mission at bububooks to help bilingual children with literacy and cultural identity development.

I also had two pleasant surprises throughout the weekend. First, my hotel happened to be in a Korean part of town. Being half-Korean, I found my way to a BBQ restaurant and indulged in some good ol’ Korean BBQ! Even better, I invited some newly made friends to join me. It was both their first times to try Korean food and they loved it! I thought, “what a great way to embrace our mission by introducing people to a new cuisine!” Second, as I was packing up at the end of the conference, I walked past a room where a session was still continuing. The attendees were singing a song I had never heard before. However, the tune was that of the Air Force Song! I found myself humming the Song as I finished loading up the car (I’m an Air Force veteran). I couldn’t believe I still remembered the words and it brought back many memories of the jovial times in which we would sing the first verse. J

Thanks to GAYC and all the attendees for making my trip so joyful! Off we go into the wild, blue yonder…

Laura