Author: Patricia Carol Bryant

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 162

ISBN-13:

Abstract: The number of children enrolled in preschool is steadily increasing due to the evidence of improved achievement for students enrolled in high quality preschool programs. As the quantity of preschool programs multiply, so does the total of preschoolers registered in preschool programs speaking another language at home other than English. A significant number of the 4-year olds enrolled in the Daisy District identified as English Language Learners (ELLs) in preschool were determined not to need Bilingual/ESL services in kindergarten. The purpose of this study was to identify the instructional practices implemented by the preschool teachers of 4-year old ELLs in a school where the children speak twenty different languages. Each of the preschool classrooms participating in the research had at least three children out of the fifteen enrolled identified as an ELL. The findings from the research indicate that although the preschool teachers had little knowledge of the developmental stages of second language learning, the teaching strategies and activities they planned and implemented supported the English acquisition of the prek ELLs. The study recommends teachers of ELL preschoolers receive professional development opportunities to understand the developmental sequence of second language learning, which would equip them with the knowledge and strategies to provide focused English acquisition experiences for identified ELL preschoolers.