Episode Summary
What does it take to acquire another language? In my previous episode, I used a phrase that I have heard many times, “Oh, but there’s another language spoken in the home.” The statement can mean so many things and nothing at all. I want to break down what it takes to acquire another language in today’s episode.
If we are to embrace the notion that teaching multilingual learners is not just a job and care of the English Language Development (ELD) specialist, but that all of us play a part in the EL students’ learning, then I want to offer some education around what it means to acquire another language.
The science of sociolinguistics and language acquisition is a complex one, and I’m not going to go into all the details that will probably make your head spin. What I will geek out on in this episode is about addressing terms like language confusion, bilingualism, and language competence. Once clarified, these 3 terms will help you understand what you can expect from your English learners as well as to guide them toward their English language mastery.
What you will hear about in this episode:
- My background with language, when I learned English, and other languages I understand and speak
- Learning two or more languages at the same time will not cause confusion
- There are two ways to acquire a second language simultaneously when a person is exposed to two or more languages since birth, and sequentially when a person starts learning a new language after they have established some competence in their native tongue
- Language competence is different for each bilingual person
Resources Mentioned:
- The ESL Teaching Roadmap – membership community for middle and high school ESL/ELL teachers. As a thank you for listening, use code ESLPODCAST for 10% off when you join.
- Simply Ieva ESL Teachers Pay Teachers Store
- 1:1 ESL Teacher Coaching Session
- Essential Lesson Plan Bundle
Related/Previous Episodes:
- Episode 80 – Empowering English learners – an Asset Based Approach
- Episode 86 – 3 Essential Truths to Reaching ELs in Your Classroom
Connect with Ieva:
- Instagram – @simplyievaesl
- Website – www.simplyieva.com
- Join the – Simply Ieva Facebook Group