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One Child, Two Languages

One Child, Two Languages

A Guide for Early Childhood Educators of Children Learning English As a Second Language

by Patton Tabors

Foreword by Catherine E. Snow and Mariela Paez

Published by: Brookes Publishing Co.

Imprint: Brookes Publishing Co.

256 Pages, 152.00 × 229.00 mm

Digital (delivered electronically)
9781598574753
Published: April 2014

Description
Contents
Authors

Today's early childhood educators are serving more children learning English as a second language than ever—in Head Start alone, nearly 30% of the children speak a language other than English at home.* To support second language learners and put them on the path to academic success, every teacher needs this popular, practical, and highly readable ebook.

Reflecting 10 years of dramatic change in early education—especially in critical areas like assessment and cultural diversity—the second edition of this bestseller gives teachers up-to-date research, usable information, and essential tools to meet the needs of second language learners in today's learning environments. Leading researcher Patton Tabors equips teachers with the foundation of knowledge they need to

apply cutting-edge research to their everyday teaching practices
address NAEYC's recommendations for responding to linguistic and cultural diversity
use appropriate assessment techniques for children's first and second language, including an easy-to-use observation checklist (on the CD-ROM) to monitor children's English language learning over time
discover ways to improve literacy instruction for all children, including literacy practices checklists (on the CD-ROM) that pinpoint areas needing curriculum support
understand and attend to the particular needs of internationally adopted children
conduct thought-provoking professional discussions with the book-club-ready study guide and materials (on the CD-ROM)

Teachers will also get updates on all the key topics covered in the first edition, including working with parents, understanding the process of second-language acquisition, and using the curriculum and classroom organization to facilitate English language and literacy learning. Ideal for professional development, this book is the best tool a teacher can have to support the language and literacy development and school success of second language learners while honoring their home languages and cultures.

*English Language Learners Focus Group Report, 2002

Prior to beginning her doctoral studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1981, Patton O. Tabors was an elementary school teacher and a childbirth educator. During her doctoral studies she focused on first and second language acquisition in young children. Her qualifying paper and dissertation research, based on 2 years of ethnographic investigation in a nursery school classroom, described the developmental pathway of a group of young children learning English as a second language. She was able to use this information as the basis for the material in One Child, Two Languages: A Guide for Preschool Educators of Children Learning English as a Second Language (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1997). Since 1987, Dr. Tabors was the research coordinator of the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development in collaboration with Catherine Snow and David Dickinson. During this time she also directed research related to low-education and low-income mothers reading to their preschool-age children as part of the Manpower Development Research Corporation evaluations of two welfare-to-work projects, New Chance and JOBS, and for the Harvard Language Diversity Project, a subproject of the New England Research Center on Head Start Quality, directed by David Dickinson. Dr. Tabors's latest research, a longitudinal project that was following the language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking children from preschool to second grade, combined her interests in early language and literacy development and second language acquisition in young children.

Mariela M. Páez, Ed.D., is Associate Professor at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development, Boston College. She has a doctorate in human development and psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her primary research interests include bilingualism, childrenâ€™s language and early literacy development, and early childhood education. Dr. PÁez has conducted several longitudinal studies with young bilingual children with funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the Office for Educational Research and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education. Currently, she is conducting a study investigating practices of exemplary teachers for dual language learners across different early childhood programs (i.e., public, private and Head Start). Dr. Páez is author of numerous articles in top journals and, with Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, co-edited Latinos: Remaking America (University of California Press, 2008).