Acculturation and Language Acquisition Stages TTWELL Summer Institute 2010

As I sit here I wonder if you, my teacher, are able to tell when I’m sinking in spirit and ready to quit this incredible task. I walked a thousand miles, dear teacher, before I met you. - ESL student Ontario Department of Education Many Roots, Many Voices, p. 4

Acculturation Stages Honeymoon Stage Withdrawal/Rejection Stage Regression Stage Adjustment or Integration Stage Acceptance Stage

Honeymoon Stage Excitement about all that is new Enthusiastic about learning

Withdrawal/Rejection Stage Overwhelmed May appear sleepy in class Irritable Withdrawn and uninterested in learning Emotional basis for resistance to new culture and language

Regression Stage Socialize with those of similar backgrounds, home language Homesickness Can display anger Initial gains in language may regress

Adjustment or Integration Stage Signs of actively adapting to new culture and language challenges Infusion of home and new culture—seek ways to participate in both Dependent upon balance between home language and English

Acceptance Stage Active and successful participation in mainstream culture Pragmatic use of both languages and cultures Can mean refusal to use native language at home

General facts: Second Language Acquisition Errors in L1 transfer to L2 Errors are developmental in nature, which parallels L1 development Overgeneralization (ex: -ed ending for all past forms) Code switching: need to allow use of L2 Elimination (ex: articles) Focus on errors that interfere with comprehension

Language Acquisition Stages Progression is individualized… Silent period or preproduction Neither oral nor written language use Early production One- or two-word oral responses Drawing rather than writing responses

Language Acquisition Stages (cont’d) Speech emergence Phrases or short sentences (orally) Words and short phrases on paper Intermediate fluency Beginning conversational interchanges Short basic sentences; loose sense of paragraphs