Many school systems in the English-speaking world use English for school activities and communication. Simultaneous or dual language learner (DLL) is a term used to describe children under the age of three who learn their first and second languages at the same time. When the language spoken at home is not English, a child can face classroom challenges, such as a learning opportunities gap, poor communication, and hindered acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills (Garrity et al., 2018). Another difficulty for such learners is slower progress in mastering each language in comparison to monolingual children (Garrity et al., 2018). DLLs distribute their overall mental capacity between two different vocabularies. Hence, bilingual children might have disproportionate vocabulary knowledge depending on the rate of exposure to English in the classroom.
Teachers must understand the interdependence of the two languages and consider the specifics of teaching DLLs. According to Marecka et al. (2020), “transfer involves incorporating an element from one language into another language used by the bilingual” (p. 89). Acceleration can lead to earlier development of a certain language element in a child compared to a monolingual learner (Marecka et al., 2020). In contrast, deceleration refers to an opposite phenomenon when an individual falls behind with a particular language aspect (Marecka et al., 2020). Teachers should consider these concepts since they present additional challenges for DLLs if left unaddressed.
There are several recommendations for facilitating a DLL’s oral language during preschool. Exercising patience in handling early dual-language children is advised for teachers not to aggravate the learning process (Garrity et al., 2018). Furthermore, I would maximize the opportunity to practice English at schools to encourage children to speak more. Another strategy is to encourage parents to use their native language and English equally in the early stages of a child’s development to create stability and speed the learning period. Such an approach can support dual language learners in mastering both languages.
References
Garrity, S., Aquino-Sterling, C. R., Van Liew, C., & Day, A. (2018). Beliefs about bilingualism, bilingual education, and dual language development of early childhood preservice teachers raised in a Prop 227 environment. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(2), 179-196.
Marecka, M., Wrembel, M., Otwinowska, A., Szewczyk, J., Banasik-Jemielniak, N., & Wodniecka, Z. (2020). Bilingual children’s phonology shows evidence of transfer, but not deceleration in their L1. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(1), 89-114.