Overview
Tucked away in one of the many multicultural communities in California is a state-funded preschool. In one of the classrooms are three year old children who are collectively from Spanish-speaking, English-speaking, Chinese-Speaking, Vietnamese-speaking, and Russian-speaking homes. Many of the children have grown up together in this early care and education setting from the time they were infants. The lead teacher is bilingual in English and Spanish, while some roving staff members are bilingual in English and Chinese and others are bilingual in Vietnamese and English.
The purpose of the English Learning for Preschoolers Project is to provide valuable information based on current research on various aspects of the development, abilities, and everyday experiences of preschool English Learners, such as the children in the previous scenario.
The preschool English Learner is a child whose home language is other than English, and as a result is learning English as a second language. The preschool English learner could also refer to a child who is being raised in a bilingual home or community and one of the languages spoken in that home or community could be English. During the preschool years from birth through age 5 years of age, most children are still acquiring the basic knowledge of their first language even as they acquire knowledge of English as a second language. This project is aimed at enhancing the understanding of the language and literacy development of preschool English Learners.
The English Learning for Preschoolers Project emphasizes the recognition of preschool English Learners as curious, active learners who live and learn in multiple, dynamic settings. The development of English Learners, like all children, depends on a number of factors and influences that exist within those settings. For English Learners in particular, such factors and influences include the status given to their home language, the extent to which bilingualism is valued and supported across settings, and the support provided for language development in both the home language and English.
Preschool English Learners, like all children, use a wide range of skills, strategies and behaviors to develop linguistic, academic, and social competencies. The complexities and variations within the home, school, and community settings in which children live and learn lead to variation in the language, literacy, and learning tools that children acquire, use, and bring to the preschool classroom. It is important for preschool educators to think of children as active learners who draw upon their previous knowledge and experiences to make sense of the world as they grow and learn.
Throughout this site you will find ten principles that guide teachers in promoting language, literacy and learning for preschool English Learners. Along with each principle you will find a series of practices that offer ways for you to implement each principle.
