The Barest Basics of 2nd Language Learning- Part 1

The Basics to Acquiring a Second Language

1. It takes 1-3 years to absorb a new language and speak it at a level that will allow for every day communicative competence "playground English" also known as "BICS" but

2. It takes 5-7 years to learn a new language and be able to utilize it in an academic context and apply it in higher order thinking strategies. ("CALPS")

3. Since the 1970s we have learned from Stephen Krashen that the key to learning a second language is comprehensible input- ensuring that the concept being taught in the 2nd language is understandable to the student. This means providing visuals when explaining a difficult concept, bringing in real objects or even props that are representative of or illustrate the concept, using multi-media, or using graphic organizers to record and display information, among many others.

- I know, this sounds like common sense and many of you are probably even thinking, "Umm, isn't that what teachers should be doing anyway...?" Well, believe it or not, many teachers get fooled by the students apparent progress in speaking English and let their guard down, or sadly in some cases, use that as a justification for not doing any more of #3.

More on what research says about what ELLs bring to the table to help their own learning...