LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AMONG CHILDREN

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT AMONG CHILDREN OF LINGUISTIK DIVERSITY
Today was “parent storybook day” in Mrs. Smith’s preschool classroom in Chicago. Parents of the preschoolers at the child-parent center were invited to come to read storybooks to the children informally. It was an event eagerly anticipated by all the children. Some children were even dressed up in special clothing for the event. Just before the parents arrived. Mrs. Smith asked children to each select a storybook from the classroom library. The children enthusiastically selected their books. Several Spanish bilingual children selected Spanish language storybooks. When parents arrived, they when to different areas of the room to sit down with small groups of children. Children whose parents had come made a special effort to sit close to their parents. As the storybook sharing progressed, children took turns giving their book to the adult, and having it read to them. Soon it became apparent that no Spanish-speaking parents had arrived. The Spanish-speaking children continued to hold on to their books and occasionally looked at the books independently.
Mrs. Smith was also involved in the reading of storybooks to small groups of children. One of the bilingual Spanish children, Fabiola, approached her, handed her the Spanish-language version of Clifford the Big Dog, and asked her to read it. Mrs. Smith replied, “I don’t speak Spanish, but let’s see. I’II try.” She than read the text, pausing occasionally to ask Fabiola if she was saying it “right.” Fabiola was clearly enjoying the story and also enjoying the opportunity to tell her teacher if the story in Spanish was being correctly. Several times, Fabiola modeled different pronunciation of Spanish words that had been read. Since the story was supported by detailed illustrations, Mrs. Smith was able to engage Fabiola in a conversation (in English) about the story events. When the other Spanish-speaking children in the room heard their teacher reading in Spanish, they came over to join in the story sharing.
This episode in Mrs. Smith’s classrooms representative of the status of linguistic diversity in many early childhood classroom. Compared to previous times, there is an increasing likelihood that children of linguistic diversity will be in mainstream early childhood settings. In most cases, teachers in early childhood classrooms will not be multilingual or represent diverse cultures, nor will they have received any special professional preparation to work with linguistic diversity (Rubinstein-Avila, 2006). In addition, attention to the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the children may be limited and not incorporated into the classroom curriculum. To change this situation and provide more appropriate classroom environments for young language learners, it is important to understand basic concepts of linguistic diversity and second language acquisition.
LANGUAGE DIVERSITY
This chapter focuses on two distinct types of linguistic diversity: differences in dialect and differences in language. Both types of differences affect learning in the classroom and require specific strategies on the part of the teacher. In addressing the needs of children with each type of linguistic diversity, it is important to remember that there are two common goals for all children: success at school and preparation for successful living. An initial step in understanding how to meet the needs of language-diverse students is to better understand the concepts and issues involved in both dialect usage and second language acquisition.
Dialect Diversity