As teachers plan for instruction with children who are English language learners, they must keep in mind that the most important goal of instruction is that the children will learn and progress using the English language. As young English language learners enter kindergarten, they will be expected to communicate in English. One of your roles as a VPK teacher is to prepare them for success as they approach this important milestone.
In order to assist them in their journey, we need to understand the steps they will progress through and how we can plan to maximize their growth and development. The rest of this section will be devoted to a discussion on the specific components of language that will support the instruction of the English language learner. Those components include:
- receptive vs. expressive language skills.
- “rich” or more sophisticated and complex language vs. more simplified language.
- vocabulary development.
- the structure of language.
Throughout this section, Dr. Maria Elena Argüelles will be providing us with the most recent research-based instructional information about how and when to use these components.
