Transcript English - The Program for Infant/Toddler Care

The California Infant/Toddler
Curriculum Framework:
Theory to Practice
Language
Development
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“The acquisition of language and speech
seems deceptively simple. Young children
learn their mother tongue rapidly and
effortlessly, from babbling at six months of
age to full sentences by the end of three
years, and follow the same
developmental path regardless of
culture.”
Patricia K. Kuhl, Ph.D., Professor, Speech and Hearing
Sciences, University of Washington
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Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
• Understand how the three learning contexts -environment and materials, intentional interactions,
and caregiving routines -- can support language
development.
• Identify the language skills and knowledge
(foundations) typically acquired by infants and toddlers
from birth to 3 years.
• Reflect on observations and documentation of child’s
development and interests, and use the information to
create and implement a plan.
• Share reflections of child’s interest with parents to
engage them as partners in facilitating the child’s
language development.
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Reflective Curriculum Planning:
Supporting Infants’ and Toddlers’
Language Development
Section I:
Key Concepts
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Key Concepts
• Babies have an inborn
capacity to learn language.
• Language development
occurs in the context of
relationships.
• The process of early language
development is fundamentally
the same across cultures and
languages.
• There is broad variability in the
pattern and pace of a child’s
language development.
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Key Concepts (continued)
• Understanding language precedes using it to
communicate.
• To use language effectively, infants must
acquire some understanding of the social
processes involved in communication.
• Teachers can enrich the complex and amazing
process of language development.
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Children who are learning English
as a second language:
• Have a home language upon which effective
support can be based.
• May demonstrate language knowledge and skills
in their home language before they demonstrate
the same knowledge and skills in English.
• May need additional support and time to
engage in communication that includes English
knowledge and skills.
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Strategies for Supporting DualLanguage Learners
• Focus on the children's sense of
belonging and need to communicate.
• Allow children to participate voluntarily.
• Create opportunities for interactions
and play with peers.
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Reflecting for Action
• What do (or could) you do to increase
your knowledge and ability to support a
child’s home language and culture
when it is different from yours?
• How do (could) you effectively partner
with the family in this process?
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Reflective Curriculum Planning
Supporting Infants’ and Toddlers’
Language Development
Section II:
Foundations for
Language
Development
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Foundations for Language Development
Receptive Language:
The developing ability to
understand words &
increasingly complex
utterances.
Expressive Language:
The developing ability to
produce the sounds of
language and use
vocabulary & increasingly
complex utterances.
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Language Domain Foundations
(continued)
Communication Skills and
Knowledge: The developing
ability to communicate
nonverbally and verbally.
Interest in Print: The developing
interest in engaging with print in
books and in the environment.
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Research Highlight
It is not until approximately nine to 12 months of age that an
infant’s language capacities become specific to the language
that the infant has heard in her or his everyday language
environment. For example, in a study conducted with American
and Japanese infants, at seven months of age, both Japanese
and American infants were able to discriminate between the
sounds /l/ and /r/. However, by 11 months, Japanese infants
had much greater difficulty making this distinction, whereas
American infants retained the capacity to discriminate
between these two sounds. In the Japanese language, /r/ and
/l/ are perceived as one sound, whereas in English they are
separate sounds. Similarly, studies have shown that capacity of
monolingual English-speaking infants to discriminate specific
sounds in Spanish and Mandarin declines at around 12 months
of age.
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Vignette: Sabella
Consider how the teacher acknowledges and
responds to the father’s concern, uses the
foundations, reflects with a co-worker, and
respects a child’s individual difference.
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Antonio, Sabela’s father, expresses concern
about her language development to Sonja,
Sabela’s teacher.
I am
concerned.
Sabela
doesn’t talk
as much as
her sister did
at this age.
Teacher Irene
and I noticed
Sabela doesn’t
talk much. We
are observing
her language
development. I
will be able to
share more with
you next week.
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Teachers Sonja and Irene have been wondering
about Sabela’s language development.
They have documented that Sabela says about
30 different words but is usually quiet, and rarely
engages in conversations.
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It is early in the morning, and 24-month-old Sabela
has been sitting quietly in Sonja’s lap as they look
at books together.
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“Tony, let’s
go out early
today. It’s
supposed to
rain this
morning.”
Okay! I
want to
play in
the
sandbox
with the
trucks.
Without saying a word, Sabela hops up and
gets the bag of sand toys to take outside.
She often helps with taking the sand toys
outside and bringing them back in.
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Later that day, teachers Sonja and Irene reflect on
their notes about Sabela.
Here’s another example
from today. Sabela
understood what I said to
Tony. She got off my lap
and got the sand toys!
I looked in the Foundations
at receptive and
expressive language
development and it
seems she’s developing
normally in these areas.”
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“We have
documented that
Sabela says 30 words,
which is typical for her
age. She also
understands many
more words than she
speaks. While she is
does not engage in
many conversations,
her language skills are
developing normally.”
Sonja talks with Sabela’s father
the following week.
“Thanks for
letting me
know. She is
so different
from her
sister, I was
beginning
to worry.”
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Reflections for Action
• How might observations of children’s language
development in different contexts and with different
people help you understand children’s language
and foster your communication with their families?
• How can you use the Infant/Toddler Learning and
Development Foundations to:
 Deepen your understanding and become a
more careful observer of children’s language
development?
 Engage families to deepen understanding of,
and support for, their child’s language
development?
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Reflecting for Action
• What materials and systems do you need to
make language observations more effective?
• What would be the benefit of sharing these
observations with families.
• How could you share them in a way the
increases family engagement?
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Making it Your Own: Step 1
Planning your support for language development
Create 4 sections by folding your paper in half & in half again
Reflect on your perceptions of the child
- What currently delights you about this child?
- What is the child drawn to and excited about?
-Where do you see examples of language strengths &
competence?
-What language skills & knowledge are emerging?
-Is there anything else to keep in mind about the child or
family at this time?
Record your reflections/considerations in the first section
of your paper
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Reflective Curriculum Planning
Supporting Infants’ and Toddlers’
Language Development
Section III:
Facilitating Language
Development
• Guiding Principles
• Learning Contexts
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Guiding Principles
• Be responsive.
• Include language in
your interactions with
infants.
• Celebrate and support
the individual.
• Connect with the
infant’s culture and
language experiences
in the home.
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Guiding Principles (continued)
• Make communication
and language
interesting and fun.
• Build on the child’s
interests.
• Create literacy-rich
environments.
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Curriculum Planning Contexts
In developing curriculum for
infants and toddlers,
teachers need to plan for
three learning contexts:
1. Play environment and
materials as curriculum
2. Intentional interactions
and conversations as
curriculum
3. Caregiving Routines as
curriculum
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Context: Environment and Materials
• The environment sets the tone for
communication between children
and teachers, and between
children.
• The environment can be arranged
to foster communication – such as
making it easy for teachers to
relate with infants at eye level.
• Group size matters. Since
language development occurs in
the context of relationships, an
important aspect is the number of
children in the room.
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Supporting Language Development through
the Environment and Materials
• Engage infants with
books and stories.
• Moderate background
noise.
• Provide materials that
foster communication.
• Arrange the environment
to support language
development and
communication.
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How can you arrange your environment to
invite this kind of shared book exploration
and communication with peers?
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How does this environmental
arrangement and the materials support
language development and
communication?
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Making it Your Own: Step 2
Based on what you know about the child, how might you
use your environment and materials to support & expand
the child’s language development?
Return to your sheet of paper and reflections on the child chosen for
your course project.
Consider:
How is the organization and use of the space and materials
impacting the child’s experience?
What other materials, adaptations, and “invitations might be
offered to enhance the child’s experience?
What might be incorporate into your care routines?
What adaptations to your schedule might be helpful?
Brainstorm a list of ideas and record them in the second
section of your paper
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Context: Intentional Interactions
• Infants’ inborn capacity to acquire language is
activated through communication with adults and
with other children.
• Adults responses to infants’ facial expressions, gaze,
vocalizations, and gestures encourage them to keep
trying to communicate.
• Infants are naturally attentive to language and
actively practice using it.
• The amount and quality of language adults use with
infants has a far-reaching impact on the child’s
language development.
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Supporting Language Development
through Intentional Interactions
• Be responsive when children initiate
communication.
• Engage in non-verbal communication.
• Use child-directed language.
• Use self-talk and parallel talk.
• Help children expand language.
• Support dual-language development.
• Attend to individual development and
needs.
• Be playful with language.
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Reflective Question
Think about the nonverbal
gestures and facial
expressions that infants
and toddlers in your
program make.
How might you incorporate
these into back-and-forth
interactions with the
children?
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Context: Routines as Curriculum
• Interactions during caregiving
routines are important
opportunities to form close,
caring relationships.
• Planning for intentional
interactions during care routines
can enhance learning
opportunities for child.
• Carry out routines at the child’s
pace, allowing the child to
participate fully and make
choices.
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Making it Your Own: Step 3
Based on what you know about the child, how will you
think about interactions and communication to support
and expand language development?
Return to your sheet of paper and reflections on the child chosen for
your course project.
Consider:
What topics of conversation might be meaningful?
When and where would these be likely to occur?
What new vocabulary might be used?
What questions might you ask to get the child’s
perspective and expand the child’s thinking?
Brainstorm a list of ideas and record them in the third
section of your paper.
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Reflective Curriculum Planning
Supporting Infants’ and Toddlers’
Language Development
Section IV:
Engaging Families
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Engaging Families
Working together, families and
early educators provide critical
support for young children’s
language development.
Infant care teachers can build
on children’s language
experiences at home and
share with families what is
being done in their program to
enhance language learning.
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Engaging Families
During the first three years,
the focus should be on:
• Communication that
includes language
• Having fun with language
• Being culturally and
linguistically inclusive, and
developmentally
appropriate
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Research Highlight: Interactions
Infants learn language through back-and-forth
exchanges with parents and other adults who
provide care for them.
(CA Infant/Toddler Curriculum Framework, California Department of
Education, 2012, p. 93)
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Ideas for Engaging Families
• Ask family members to provide a list of words children know in
their home language that are specific to the child or the family,
including the names or titles of family members, pets, friends, and
neighbors. Share words children have learned in the early
education setting and consider providing home language
translations of words that children are acquiring in English.
• Create a lending library so families can take home books and
other reading materials, both in English and in the families’ home
languages.
• When participating in interactions with infants, toddlers, and their
families, acknowledge the communication efforts of all children
by commenting on their use of nonverbal gestures, body
movements, facial expressions, and vocalizations.
• Encourage families to bathe infants and toddlers in language by
engaging in “extra” talk that goes beyond the business of daily
living: for example, play with sounds, sing, or make up nonsense
words together.
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Scenario: Paula, 18 months
Read the scenario. Consider how the teacher engages a
father in a conversation about his daughter and an
experience that had occurred earlier in the day.
Notice that the teacher was attentive to and curious about
a child’s attempt to communicate and partnered with
the father in order to understand and support the child’s
expressive language skills.
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Ruth, a family child care provider, wonders about a
word that 18-month-old Paula used at lunch today.
She wrote down what she thought Paula was saying.
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Later, Ruth connects Paula’s pretend play to
their lunch time communication.
“I wrote down
the word you
said at lunch
today. Let’s
ask your Papai
about it when
he gets here I
really want to
know what you
were saying.”
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Soon, Paula’s father, Gustavo, arrives at Ruth’s family
child care home to pick up his daughter.
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Gustavo greets Paula in their home language,
Portuguese, and sits down so Paula
can climb into his lap.
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“Paula, I am going
to ask your Papai
about what you
were saying this
afternoon at lunch.”
“At lunch, Paula
kept asking for
something that
sounded like
At
‘gaffoo’ but I didn’t
know what it was.
Any ideas?”
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Ruth tells him they were having pizza. He speaks
to Paula in Portuguese, and Paula nods.
“I think she
was asking for
'garfo’.
Garfo is the
Portuguese
word for fork.
At home, we
eat pizza with
a fork.”
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Ruth says “Oh, thank you for sharing the
Portuguese word for fork!”
Then she smiles
and says to Paula,
“You wanted a
garfo -- a fork.
Next time I will
know.”
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Reflections
As a result of this engagement, the teacher learned a
word the child was trying to use. This knowledge can
allow her to be more responsive to the child,
encouraging the child’s attempts to use verbal
language.
That wasn’t the only thing happening in this exchange,
however. Please pause and reflect on this question:
What do you see as some of the additional benefits of
this exchange?
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Reflections
Consider:
• The father’s awareness of the teacher’s
attention to his child at meal time.
• The teacher’s interest in understanding his child,
and meeting her needs.
How might this influence his level of trust and
willingness to work in partnership with the
teacher?
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Consider the impact
For the family: What does the
teacher’s response say about
her attitude toward
differences, specifically the
family’s culture and
language?
For the child: What might the
impact be when her next
request for a fork is
understood and met? What
will child learn about herself
and her teacher?
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Making it Your Own: Step 4
How will you engage the child’s family in understanding and
supporting the child’s language development?
Return to your sheet of paper and reflections on the child chosen for your course
project.
Consider
How might the family’s background and values be influencing
their expectations and experience in this area?
What questions might you ask to deepen your understanding
of the family’s perspective and strengthen your
relationship?
What might the family want to know about their child’s
language development
In how many ways might you engage the family in planning
and/or implementing the ideas brainstormed in steps 2 & 3?
Brainstorm a list of ideas and record them in the fourth section of
your paper
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In conclusion, as you plan,
remember:
• Children’s capacity for learning language relies on
experiencing language in their interactions with adults.
• Perhaps the most important thing that teachers can
do is include language in their interactions with
children.
• By planning environments that encourage
communication and being intentional in
communications with children, teachers can
strengthen children’s language development.
• By listening to and observing children, and learning
from families about children’s communication
experiences at home, teachers can understand each
child’s path to learning language—and then share
meaning with children by engaging in responsive
communication.
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Making it Your Own: Steps 5-8
Developing and Implementing Your Plan
Step 5: Create a brief and flexible curriculum plan for language
development
Review the ideas you generated in the previous 4 steps
For each context, select a few ideas to implement
Create your plan using the form provided. (Feel free to use the
back, too.)
Step 6: Implement your plan
Step 7: Observe, document, and reflect as you implement the plan.
Remember, this will become part of your project display
Step 8: Record your reflections on the process. Use the form
provided. This will become part of your project summary and will be
shared at the next class.
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Wrap-up
• Questions?
• Assignment
• Reading
• Next session
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