Home Office Stages of English Learning
The following scale describes some aspects of bilingual children's development through English which teachers might find helpful. It is important to remember that children may move into English in very individual ways, and that the experience for an older child will be different from that of a young child. BLN Online does not necessarily endorse these criteria but give them as a common reference point.
Stage One - new to English - Beginner
Stage Two - becoming familiar with English - Elementary
Stage Three - becoming confident as a user of English - Intermediate
Stage Four - a very fluent user of English in most social and learning contexts - Advanced
Stage One - new to English
Makes contact with another child in the class. Joins in activities with other children, but may not speak. Uses non-verbal gestures to indicate meaning - particularly needs, likes and dislikes. Watches carefully what other children are doing, and often imitates them. Listens carefully and often "echoes" words and phrases of other children and adults. Needs opportunities for listening to sounds, rhythms and tunes of English through songs, rhymes, stories and conversations. If young may join in repetitive chorus of a story. Beginning to label objects in the classroom, and personal things. Beginning to put words together in holistic phrases (e.g. me no want, not go, etc.). May be involved in classroom learning activities in the first language with children who speak the same first language. May choose to use first language only in most contexts. May be willing to write in the first language (if he or she can), and if invited to. May be reticent with unknown adults. May be very aware of negative attitudes by peer group to the first language. May choose to move into English through story and reading, rather than speaking.
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Stage Two - becoming familiar with English
Growing confidence in using the English s/he is acquiring. Growing ability to move between languages, and to hold conversations with peer groups. Simple holistic phrases may be combined or expanded to create new ideas. Beginning to sort out small details (e.g. "he" and "she" distinction) but more interested in communicating meaning than in "correctness". Increasing control of the English tense system in particular contexts, such as story-telling, reporting events and activities that s/he has been involved in, and from book language. Understands more English that s/he can use. Growing vocabulary for naming objects and events, and beginning to qualify nouns with adjectives (e.g. colour, size, quantity) and using simple adverbs. Increasingly confident in taking part in activities with other children through English. Beginning to write simple stories, often modeled on those s/he has heard read aloud. Beginning to write simple accounts of activities s/he has been involved in, but may need considerable support. Confident enough to substitute words from his/her first language if s/he needs to. Continuing to rely on support of his/her friends. Very sensitive to criticism of peers about his/her use of the first and second language.
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Stage Three - becoming confident as a user of English
Shows great confidence in using English in most social situations. This confidence may mask the need for support in taking on other registers (e.g. science investigation, historical research). Growing command of the syntactic structure, and developing an understanding of metaphor and pun. Widening vocabulary from reading of story, poems and information books and from being involved in maths and science investigations, and other curriculum areas. May choose to explore complex ideas (such as drama/role play) in the first language with children who share the same first language. Increasingly sure of development of the verb system (e.g. relationships of time, use of modal verbs), the pronoun system, and sentence structure. Pronunciation may be very native-speaker like, especially that of young children.
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Stage Four - a very fluent user of English in most social and learning contexts
A very experienced user of English, and exceptionally fluent in many contexts. May continue to need support in understanding subtle nuances of metaphor, and in anglo-centric cultural content in poems and literature. Confident in exchanges and collaboration with English-speaking peers. Writing confidently in English with a growing competence over different genre. Continuing new development in English often related to writing. Will move with ease between English and the first language depending on the contexts s/he is in, what s/he judges appropriate, and the encouragement of the school.
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