1. Acculturation and Language Acquisition Stages
TTWELL Summer Institute 2010

2. 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

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

4. Honeymoon Stage Excitement about all that is new
Enthusiastic about learning

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Withdrawn and uninterested in learning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

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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