Programming Information
← Back to Programming Information index

Understanding the Acquisition of English as an Additional Language

Download Printable Version PDF

Acquiring an Additional Language in Stages

Students who acquire an additional language progress through a series of stages as their language proficiency develops. The student characteristics outlined in the following stages may vary from student to student, but they can generally be described in the following way (based on the five stages described by Stephen Krashen and Tracy TerrelKrashen, S.D. & Terrell, T.D. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. London: Prentice Hall Europe.).

These stages describe general abilities and behaviours of students at each stage of acquiring an additional language as well as an approximate timeframe for language development within each stage. These stages are not the same as benchmarks or English language proficiency levels.

Stage I: Observing, Listening, and Gesturing

English language learners
at this stage would have been exposed to English instruction for approximately 10 hours to 6 months.		 Students may
  • have minimal or very limited comprehension
  • understand vocabulary related to routines and social exchanges
  • understand some key subject-specific words
  • understand common phrases and expressions in context but may have limited understanding of individual words or sentence structures
  • be in “the silent period,” preferring to observe and listen rather than produce language
  • repeat what they heard, but with little or no comprehension
  • copy written words
  • be able to respond to prompts, such as visuals
  • understand better when visual supports are used (e.g., gestures, images)
  • use some nonverbal communication to support attempts at oral communication
Teachers can
  • encourage students to use actions or body motions to respond to spoken language using total physical response (TPR)total physical response (TPR): a learning strategy that allows language learners to develop their listening and comprehension skills in preparation for speaking and promotes the use of body movement to support language learning

    Students’ physical responses demonstrate whether or not, or to what extent, they understand the instructions. Students with no understanding of the instructions or commands can do the action that the teacher models, or they can mimic the movement of their peers and learn the meaning of the instructions through doing the action.

    TPR can give beginner language learners some important survivor language and acquaint them with some basic commands, instructions, and classroom-management language.

    Examples of TPR can be viewed in the Kindergarten Learning Experience Overview video at Supporting English Language Learners.     activities
  • provide visual and written support to oral communication
  • provide resources and materials at a modified language level to support grade-level content
  • encourage the student to respond with single words
  • provide sentence frames to support speaking and writing
  • provide engaging opportunities for students to practise and repeat common phrases or patterned sentences
  • have students demonstrate listening comprehension by rephrasing or retelling
  • pair the student with another student who speaks the same home language home language: the dominant language that a student uses at home to communicate with family members
  • be sensitive to the demands of learning a new language, such as fatigue
  • provide positive reinforcement, a low-risk learning environment, and opportunities for review and practice
  • provide age-appropriate strategies to help students understand and use English words and phrases
  • encourage students to use home language knowledge as a tool for English language development and understanding of concepts

Stage II: Simple Comprehension and Production

English language learners at this stage would have been exposed to English instruction for approximately 6 months to 1 year. Students may
  • have limited oral or written comprehension, especially when topics are unfamiliar
  • use key words and familiar phrases
  • speak and write one- or two-word responses; short, memorized phrases; and/or short, simple sentences in the present tense
  • memorize language chunks, with usage errors
  • use present-tense verbs
  • may overgeneralize “s” and “ed” endings
  • have receptive understanding (listening and reading), which is often more advanced than expressive language use (speaking and writing)
  • understand texts with visual support
Teachers can
  • provide visual cues and written text to support understanding
  • encourage interaction with peers in both the home language home language: the dominant language that a student uses at home to communicate with family members and English
  • design learning that maximizes opportunities for practice and encourages risk-taking within a positive learning environment
  • focus on vocabulary development in context
  • provide age-appropriate strategies to help students continue building vocabulary on their own (e.g., word families)
  • provide sentence frames and models to support productive language use (speaking and writing)
  • encourage students to create their own reference tools, such as personal dictionaries

Stage III: Expanding Language Proficiency

English language learners at this stage would have been exposed to English instruction for approximately 1 to 3 years. Students may
  • have good comprehension, especially in social interactions and when topics are familiar
  • communicate using simple sentences and may begin to add detail
  • ask and answer questions to clarify and confirm understanding
  • make frequent grammar, word-use, and pronunciation errors
  • not understand wordplay or humour that is implied or requires cultural knowledge
  • initiate and engage in brief conversations with peers
  • understand complex texts with visual support
Teachers can
  • provide age-appropriate strategies to help students continue building vocabulary on their own (e.g., word families)
  • offer resources that address grade-level concepts using simplified language
  • use dialogue journals to communicate with students on topics of interest to students
  • provide explicit language instruction (vocabulary, grammar, and syntax) in context to support students’ understanding of concepts
  • model and recast recast: a language modelling and error-correction technique in which the teacher either corrects errors while repeating what the student has said or adds words or phrases to what the student has said to demonstrate alternate or more eloquent ways to express the thought using more complex sentences and vocabulary
  • make the meaning of figurative language and cultural references explicit
  • provide templates to support written tasks
  • model and provide support for cooperative learning tasks
  • encourage students to express their ideas and feelings with peers in conversations or journals
  • provide support for students to answer questions in the form of a complete response

Stage IV: Functional Academic Language Proficiency

English language learners at this stage would have been exposed to English instruction for approximately 3 to 5 years. Students may
  • have excellent comprehension, especially when topics are familiar
  • begin to demonstrate good comprehension when topics and contexts are new or unfamiliar
  • make few grammatical errors
  • begin to use more complex sentence structures in speaking and writing
  • ask questions to clarify and confirm understanding
  • understand common metaphors and idiomatic expressions
  • create oral and written texts, with few usage and word-form errors
  • continue to translate between English and their home languagehome language: the dominant language that a student uses at home to communicate with family members
Teachers can
  • provide age-appropriate strategies to help students continue building vocabulary on their own (e.g., affixes, etymology)
  • use models and templates to support construction of more complex sentence structures
  • introduce more sophisticated cohesive devices to connect ideas in and between sentences
  • encourage cooperative group work and peer tutoring

Stage V: Native-like Proficiency

English language learners at this stage would have been exposed to English instruction for approximately 5 to 7 years.

(Some English language learners may require additional years.) 		Students may
  • effectively understand and use a broad range of vocabulary in a variety of contexts
  • understand a range of idiomatic expressions and cultural references
  • understand implied humour and use figurative language appropriately in context
  • have a similar level of language proficiency and academic achievement as peers whose first language is English
  • speak English with an accent if they began learning English during their adolescent years or as adults
Teachers can
  • provide English language support in all content areas, focusing on word analysis and understanding implicit meaning and the nuances of the English language
  • enhance students’ written and oral communication skills by focusing on transition words and specific vocabulary to impart precise meaning
  • help English language learners pay attention to the different ways in which language is used and concepts are expressed and discussed within different disciplines or fields of study
  • promote self-directed use of learning strategies to support continued language acquisition
| Copyright | Feedback |