Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Category
Social Sciences/Humanities
Abstract/Artist Statement
In the United States, little is known about second language learning in the context of public preschools. However, we do know that dual immersion programs have for the most part been limited to private or charter schools, with fewer than 3600 programs available nationwide. This raises the question of whether it’s even possible for public educators to facilitate second language learning through small group activities. Additionally, is the language input received during this small group enough language input for children to acquire a feature absent from their first language, like grammatical and lexical gender? Research has shown that opportunities where children can respond to open-ended and challenging questions, such as in small group activities, and leads to better vocabulary retention which can be beneficial for reading development. Moreover, research on monolingual English language development has shown a direct correlation between the amount of language heard and acquisition. In the acquisition of French grammatical gender, children (either 1st or 2nd language learners) typically acquire gender on determiners ( for example le, la, and les) before other gender-marked features like adjectives.
Nonetheless, in an environment like circle time, little time can be focused on these determiner-noun pairs, therefore successful acquisition might only occur with form-focused instruction/pedagogical intervention. In this projected proposal, I outline a possible approach to testing the question: Is circle time enough language input to learn grammatical gender in determiner-noun pairs? I present a hypothesis, and a potential methodology, with criteria for participants, materials, and how circle time would be performed. The circle time activity would use a rotation of stories, songs, and vocabulary cards to ultimately execute the pedagogical intervention. Furthermore, I suggest several posttests that would be beneficial in understanding if second language acquisition has occurred regarding lexical and grammatical gender, as well as number agreement.
Mentor Name
Dora LaCasse
Is Circle Time Enough Language Input to Learn Grammatical Gender?
UC North Ballroom
In the United States, little is known about second language learning in the context of public preschools. However, we do know that dual immersion programs have for the most part been limited to private or charter schools, with fewer than 3600 programs available nationwide. This raises the question of whether it’s even possible for public educators to facilitate second language learning through small group activities. Additionally, is the language input received during this small group enough language input for children to acquire a feature absent from their first language, like grammatical and lexical gender? Research has shown that opportunities where children can respond to open-ended and challenging questions, such as in small group activities, and leads to better vocabulary retention which can be beneficial for reading development. Moreover, research on monolingual English language development has shown a direct correlation between the amount of language heard and acquisition. In the acquisition of French grammatical gender, children (either 1st or 2nd language learners) typically acquire gender on determiners ( for example le, la, and les) before other gender-marked features like adjectives.
Nonetheless, in an environment like circle time, little time can be focused on these determiner-noun pairs, therefore successful acquisition might only occur with form-focused instruction/pedagogical intervention. In this projected proposal, I outline a possible approach to testing the question: Is circle time enough language input to learn grammatical gender in determiner-noun pairs? I present a hypothesis, and a potential methodology, with criteria for participants, materials, and how circle time would be performed. The circle time activity would use a rotation of stories, songs, and vocabulary cards to ultimately execute the pedagogical intervention. Furthermore, I suggest several posttests that would be beneficial in understanding if second language acquisition has occurred regarding lexical and grammatical gender, as well as number agreement.