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January 2006
Stages of Second-Language Acquisition
Cristina Sanchez-Lopez, Education Consultant
| Level of English Production
|
Student Characteristics and Needs
|
How Student Learns |
Most Effective Language for Learning Literacy and Concepts
|
| Pre- Production |
Silent Period:
 No
speaking
Responds to instructions and commands
Need for environments where they can understand teachers and peers |
Learns by listening and watching
Points, gestures, draws, or re-creates something to show
understanding |
First
Language |
| Early Production |
Speaks using one or two words
Gives "yes" or "no" answers
May mix languages (this is part of normal development)
Need for environments where they can understand teachers and peers |
Learns by listening, watching, and speaking using one or two words
Points, gestures, draws, or re-creates or responds to questions with
one- or two-word answers to show understanding |
First Language |
| Speech Emergence |
Speaks using more than one or two words to express a thought and can
retell a story or event
Responds to open-ended questions
Ready for formal reading and writing instruction in English
Need for environments where they can understand teachers and peers |
Begins to ask questions
Utilizes basic literacy skills
Participates in discussions and responds to questions using emerging
syntactic structures (grammar) |
Sheltered English & First
Language |
| Intermediate Fluency |
Ready for more advanced reading and writing in English
Needs considerable help with vocabulary development in math, science,
and social studies
Need for environments where they can understand teachers and peers |
Uses more advanced literacy skills
Builds on content learned through discussions using more advanced
syntactic structures |
Sheltered English |
| Fluency |
Language and learning skills are comparable to those of a native English
speaker in academic settings
|
English |
*Adapted
from Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. D. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition ini the classroom. New
York: Pergamon Press.
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