4B) Open- and closed-ended questions
Ask questions in each language, including a mix of open- and closed-ended questions, to elicit talk from children.
Video: Use Visual Cues, Physical Gestures, Props, and Multimedia
This video provides key strategies that educators can use to support Multilingual Learners in their classroom. Great examples of strategies in practice are highlighted in the video, including translanguaging.Read More
Video: Sentence Patterning Chart—Kindergarten
In this bilingual classroom, students are engaged in creating a Sentence Patterning Chart, a strategy designed to help students utilize the high level, academic vocabulary they have acquired orally to read and/or write sentences with an emphasis on grammar and parts of speech.Read More
Video: Outdoor, Indoor & Family Inclusive Learning Environment—PK Bilingual
This video shows the power of thematic instruction and rich learning environments in a bilingual PreK classroom.Read More
Video: Oral Language Analysis—K-3rd
In this video, the teacher gathers a small group of Multilingual Learners to engage in a brief discussion in response to structured prompts regarding an artifact from the class' ongoing content learning. The teacher records each child's oral responses, and then analyzes the record to identify follow-up instruction they can provide during upcoming Designated ELD time.Read More
Video: A Boy and His Puzzle
As a boy plays with a puzzle, both an English-speaking peer and the teacher help him develop and practice English learning.Read More
Video: My Pumpkin Story—Metalinguistic Awareness
A teacher works with Wendy to orally discuss and write a story about a recent pumpkin project. When the teacher asks Wendy to take her writing home, the interaction changes to Spanish so Wendy can talk to her Spanish-speaking mother about her project.Read More
Video: Relationships, Strategies & Culture
The focus of this video is to exemplify how purposeful oral language interactions contribute to a positive relationship with both children and families in early education. The teacher in this video "reaches across the language divide" to ensure both the child and parents know that the home language is respected and valued.Read More
Video: The Stages of Preschool Second Language Acquisition
In this video, the term the four stages of second language development for early education are described and then exemplified through teaching vignettes between one teacher and one Korean-speaking Multilingual Learner.Read More
Strategy Overview: Talk Moves
This resource offers specific teacher language to use in order to facilitate and structure classroom discussions. These talk moves help create quality opportunities for Multilingual Learners to practice and use oral language.Read More
Strategy Overview: Routines for Mathematical Discussions
This document reviews multiple strategies that teachers can use to support a rich discussion of mathematics for Multilingual Learners. These strategies help teachers elicit talk and elaborate on student discussion during math, and can be adapted for other content areas as well.Read More
Website Article: Extending English Language Learners’ Classroom Interactions
This article introduces specific teacher language that can be used to promote interaction and extend opportunities for Multilingual Learners to practice academic language.Read More
Strategy Overview: Supporting Oral Language
To develop language, children need many opportunities to practice speaking. This overview describes how teachers can support families to give Multilingual Learners opportunities to practice oral language.Read More
Strategy Overview: Teacher as Language Model
This resource outlines strategies teachers can use to model and extend Multilingual Learners' oral language skills. Strategies include narration (describing what the teacher is seeing and thinking) and amplification (paraphrasing a child's statement in more complex and extended language and asking a follow-up question).Read More
Tip Sheet: Communication with Parents / Comunicación con los padres
This bilingual (Spanish) document explains to parents the benefits of speaking a home language. Advice is shared on how to develop oral home language proficiency and provide high-quality and extended talk opportunities for children.Read More
Video: Supporting Home Language through Language Models
This video discusses how "language models" can support Multilingual Learners by integrating English and the home language(s) into classroom activities and conversations throughout the day. Parents and other speakers of children’s home languages can join classroom activities to support children’s development of multiple languages. Language models can provide high-quality and extended talk in each language, including a variety of questions to elicit talk from children.Read More
