What is a silent period in language learning?
A silent period is the first phase of second language acquisition for an English Language Learner. Explore the reason for, length of, and type of language acquired during this period. What Is a Silent Period?
Why is it important to respect the silent period in ell?
Respecting the silent period of ELL students is important to the acquisition of their new languages. They need to know that it is okay for them to soak it all in. Forcing them to speak only tends to frustrate or embarrass the student and can even delay second language development.
Why is the silent period more common in children than adults?
The Silent Period is more common in children than in adult learners because adult are expected to speak during the early stages of acquisition. The Silent Period is the first out of five periods in Second Language Acquisition: This process in Second Language Acquisition is linked to the hypothesis introduced by Stephen Krashen.
What are the first words of children in the silent period?
The first words of children in the silent period are often related to family. We watch the child on the playground. Â If there is no verbal communication in the classroom, there are often early words around play. We ask children to mime the action of what they are trying to convey using their bodies to communicate.
How can I help ELL students in the silent period?
Talk in a calm, quiet manner. Demonstrate your patience through your facial expressions (smile) and body language. Give your EL students extra time to respond. Encourage new learners of English to act out or to draw pictures to get their meaning across if they are not ready to speak.
What are the stages of ELL students?
The Five Stages of Second Language Acquisition Students learning a second language move through five predictable stages: Preproduction, Early Production, Speech Emergence, Intermediate Fluency, and Advanced Fluency (Krashen & Terrell, 1983).
What is the silent stage?
The term “silent stage” refers to the isolation or containment of anything onstage designed to project sound.
What are the stages of language development for ELL students?
Five stages of second language acquisitionSilent/receptive. This stage may last from several hours to several months, depending on the individual learner. ... Early production. ... Speech emergence. ... Intermediate fluency. ... Continued language development/advanced fluency.
What are the 5 stages of language development?
The Five Stages of Learning a New LanguageStage 1: Pre-Production. During this stage, the student is normally silent while listening to new words and gaining an understanding of the language.Stage 2: Early Production. ... Stage 3: Speech Emergence. ... Stage 4: Intermediate Fluency. ... Stage 5: Advance Fluency.
What are the 5 stages of first language acquisition?
There are roughly six stages of acquisition:Prelinguistic Stage.Babbling Stage.First Words.Two-word Stage.Telegraphic Stage.Beyond Telegraphic Stage.
What is silent period in teaching?
DEFINITIONS1. a long period spent listening to language and not saying anything when children are learning their first language; some people believe this also applies when learning a second or other language.
How many periods are in language learning?
There are five stages in the second language acquisition process, and the Silent Period is probably the most misunderstood, ignored or even unknown both by teachers and students.
What stage of language acquisition would best describe an ELL student who speaks mostly in one and two word phrases with many errors?
Stage II: Early Production ELLs produce one- to two-word phrases and may repeat commonly used social language.
What are the 4 stages of language acquisition?
There are four main stages of normal language acquisition: The babbling stage, the Holophrastic or one-word stage, the two-word stage and the Telegraphic stage.
Why is the receptive or preproduction stage called the silent period?
Preproduction Stage At the pre-production stage, a student is not yet able to speak the target language. In other words, this stage is often referred to as the silent period. It is called the silent period because a child is not yet able to use what s/he understands. Although at this stage a learner cannot yet speak.
What are the four stages of language planning?
Formulation, Codification, Elaboration, Implementation.
What are the 7 stages of language development?
These milestones are:Pre-birth: Preparation of the human brain for language acquisition after birth. ` ` ... Babbling – 7 months of age. ` ` ... One-word (Holophrastic) Stage – 1-1.5-years-old. ` ` ... Two Word Stage – 1.5-2-years-old. ` ` ... Telegraphic Stage – 2-2.5-years-old. ` ` ... The After Telegraphic Stage – 2.6+-years-old. ` `
What are the 4 stages of language acquisition?
There are four main stages of normal language acquisition: The babbling stage, the Holophrastic or one-word stage, the two-word stage and the Telegraphic stage.
What are the stages of l1 acquisition?
There are six stages in children‟s first language acquisition, namely:Pre-talking stage / Cooing (0-6 months) ... Babbling stage (6-8 months) ... Holophrastic stage (9-18 months) ... The two-word stage (18-24 months) ... Telegraphic stage (24-30 months) ... Later multiword stage (30+months.
What are the six stages of second language acquisition?
Stages of Second Language AcquisitionStage I: Pre-production. This is the silent period. ... Stage II: Early production. This stage may last up to six months and students will develop a receptive and active vocabulary of about 1000 words. ... Stage III: Speech emergence. ... Stage IV: Intermediate fluency. ... Stage V: Advanced Fluency.
What is the silent period?
In a class of children who speak many languages other than English at home, you will often have children in the “silent period”-they are learning many English words, ideas, and idioms, but they are not comfortable speaking as part of the group or individually.
How long is the silent period?
The length of the silent period can vary greatly for students in classrooms from a few days to a year, simply because their experience with language, their personality, and their emotions around learning a new language can vary so greatly.
What do children ask in the silent period?
Many children draw pictures of their family, and we ask for details. Â We point to each figure and ask if this is the mother, or sister, or brother, and if they nod, we ask the name of the family member. The first words of children in the silent period are often related to family.
What are nonverbal cues from children in conferences?
 Nonverbal cues from children in conferences include establishing eye contact, flipping through pages of writing for us, pointing to specific pictures or letters, or grabbing our hands to touch the page or help the child draw a letter.
What happens when there is no verbal communication in the classroom?
We watch the child on the playground. Â If there is no verbal communication in the classroom, there are often early words around play.
Why are some people not speaking in English?
They are not comfortable speaking in the new language, because it is difficult for them to express their thoughts orally. Children in this silent period should not be forced to speak before they are ready. They need time to listen to others talk, digest what they hear, and observe their fellow classmates’ interactions with each other. Because they are silent, it doesn’t mean they are not learning the language.
How long do ELLs stay silent?
Age is also a factor. Younger ELLs tend to spend more time in the Silent Period than older ones. According to the American-Speech-Language-Hearing-Association, “Older children may remain in the silent period for a few weeks or a few months, whereas preschoolers may be relatively silent for a year or more.”. What are the teaching implications of the ...
Why do ELLs go through the silent period?
That is counter-productive; a major reason ELLs go through the Silent Period is because they don’t want to make a mistake when speaking English and risk being ridiculed by their classmates. Instead, teachers need to use other ways to involve their pre-emergent ELLs in their classes.
What is the silent period in English?
The Silent Period is a concept developed by Stephen Krashen, a noted linguist who has written prolifically about second language acquisition. All teachers should know about the Silent Period because it’s a stage in the process of learning English that all ELLs go through, regardless of age. Simply put, it means that before an ELL starts speaking in English, he or she spends time watching and listening to people use the language. During this time, it might appear that the ELL is just passively sitting in the classroom. In fact, although the student is not orally participating in class or rarely does so, she or he is absorbing the structures and vocabulary of the English language. Learning is definitely occurring! This stage of second language learning is also called the pre-production stage.
Is an ELL passively sitting in class?
During this time, it might appear that the ELL is just passively sitting in the classroom. In fact, although the student is not orally participating in class or rarely does so, she or he is absorbing the structures and vocabulary of the English language. Learning is definitely occurring!
How do students feel during the silent period?
Some characteristics of learners during the silent period or pre-production stage are: Learners are able to understand more than they can produce. Students might avoid to be in situation in which they are required to speak.
Why is the silent period more common in children than in adult learners?
The Silent Period is more common in children than in adult learners because adult are expected to speak during the early stages of acquisition. The Silent Period is the first out of five periods in Second Language Acquisition: This process in Second Language Acquisition is linked to the hypothesis introduced by Stephen Krashen.
Why is the silent period important?
The silent period reinforces the idea that receptive skills play a crucial role in language learning and teaching. Listening is the key to developing speaking skills. Comprehensible input is and will always be on top as the best approach to acquire and learn language. The silent period also reinforces the idea that we need to listen to words ...
What is the hypothesis that babies spend a lot of time listening to the world around them before they can produce any words?
This hypothesis is based on observations made to children who were acquiring the first language, it is evident that babies and children spend a lot of time listening to the world around them before they can produce any words.
What is Krashen's theory of second language acquisition?
Krashen claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of anxiety are better equipped for success in second language acquisition.
Who proposed that learners should not be expected to communicate during the early stages of language acquisition?
This process in Second Language Acquisition is linked to the hypothesis introduced by Stephen Krashen. Krashen indicated that learners should not be expected to communicate during the early stages of acquisition but they should improve their linguistic skills through active listening.
Is it wise to discard the silent period?
Of course this hypothesis is based on analysis and observation so it shouldn’t be wise to discard the silent period as it was an idea that became popular out of nothing. I also think that regardless of this hypothesis turning into a theory in the future doesn’t mean that teachers will put their existing strategies into a shelf.
When an ELL is ready to speak, that’s when the Silent Period for that student will end?
When an ELL is ready to speak, that’s when the Silent Period for that student will end. At this point, the student will have the confidence to participate orally in class but will still make mistakes when speaking. To encourage continued participation, teachers should not focus on the errors, although a little gentle modeling of correct language may be done so the ELL hears the correct form. Learning English is a process and when an ELL emerges from the Silent Period, she or he is ready to begin the next stage of acquiring the English language.
Why do ELLs go through the silent period?
That is counter-productive; a major reason ELLs go through the Silent Period is because they don’t want to make a mistake when speaking English and risk being ridiculed by their classmates. Instead, teachers need to use other ways to involve their pre-emergent ELLs in their classes. Activities that involve movement, such as using commands to do things; letting ELLs draw about topics instead of talking about them; using lots of visuals and realia to explain meaning; working with a partner where the ELL need only speak to one person instead of the whole class, which minimizes embarrassment if errors are made; and letting students use their native language to communicate, will all support the language learning of ELLs in the Silent Period.
What is the silent period in English?
The Silent Period is a concept developed by Stephen Krashen, a noted linguist who has written prolifically about second language acquisition. All teachers should know about the Silent Period because it’s a stage in the process of learning English that all ELLs go through, regardless of age. Simply put, it means that before an ELL starts speaking in English, he or she spends time watching and listening to people use the language. During this time, it might appear that the ELL is just passively sitting in the classroom. In fact, although the student is not orally participating in class or rarely does so, she or he is absorbing the structures and vocabulary of the English language. Learning is definitely occurring! This stage of second language learning is also called the pre-production stage.
What is the Silent Period?
The first stage of the language acquisition process is called “The Silent Period” simply because the students aren’t doing much talking yet. In some learners this period may be shorter or longer, ranging between 2 to 6 months, though it may take much longer too, depending on the exposure to the foreign language that the learner has.
Is comprehension preceded production?
This goes hand in hand with the fact that comprehension preceded production. We will always be able to understand much more than we can produce. For example, in spite of knowing little or nothing about economics, accounting and marketing, when I watch or read news reports on those fields, I can get a pretty good and accurate idea of what those reports are about. However, if someone asked me to explain what the reports said, I would surely resort to general language and simpler explanations to describe what the experts stated using specific jargon and technical analysis.
Can a second language learner utter a single word?
For a long time they may be unable to utter a single word and that is perfectly fine and it is part and parcel of the language acquisition process. What is so peculiar about this period is that it has the special ability to make adult students anxious and drive teachers absolutely crazy! This is by far the most difficult period both for teachers and students alike.
Beth
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