Nakawe 10, 20, 30 | Saskatchewan Curriculum

Nakawe 10, 20, 30

Nakawe 10, 20, 30 homepage Curriculum Outcomes & Indicators Resources

Stages of Second Language Acquisition

All learners move through stages as they acquire a first or new language. They move from one-word utterance to phrases to complete sentences. However, as educators, it is important to understand and know when the students have reached a certain stage in their language learning, this is what helps to differentiate instruction for the learner.

All learners learning an additional language will pass through these stages. The time frames are approximate and will vary for each learner, as it will depend on how much time is spent at each level.

Five stages of language acquisition:

Stage	Characteristic	Approximate Time frame	Prompt
Preproduction “Silent Period”	The learner Has minimal comprehension Does not yet verbalize Gestures or nods Points to item/picture/person	0-6 months	Show me Can you? Where is? Who is/has?
Early Production	Has limited comprehension Produces one or two word responses “yes or no” Putting two or more words together “small square” Uses repetitive language patterns	6 months – 1 year	Ask yes/no questions Either/or questions One or two word answers Lists Pictures/labels
Speech Emergence	The Learner Has good comprehension Uses 3 or more words & short phrases Makes grammar & pronunciation errors Frequently misunderstands jokes	1-3 years	Why? How? Explain ... Phrase or short sentence answer Short modified texts
Intermediate Fluency	The Learner Has excellent comprehension Uses complex statements Makes few grammatical errors States opinions/asks for clarification	3-5 years	Ask questions to clarify learning What would happen if? Why do you think? Why does?
Continued Language Development	Participates fully in the grade level classroom activities with support for understanding specialized academic language in the content area Continued growth in cultural and background knowledge of the language	5-7 years	Decide if ... Retell ...
Source:	Adapted from John Stanford International School (2000)