Why Is Understanding the Impact of Language So Confusing?
For many children from homes where languages other than English are spoken, learning another language (in the United States, the English language) can be a challenge. The time it takes to learn English may vary from child to child depending on the child’s age, motivation, personality, knowledge of the first language, and exposure to English. However, the developmental period for learning English is fairly consistent across young children. This developmental period includes four stages: • The continued use of the home language, • The silent or nonverbal period, • Sound experimentation and use of telegraphic speech (e.g., the use of a few content words as an entire utterance such as when a child responds to “What do you want?” with comments such as “crackers,” “book,” or “airplane”) in the new language, and • Productive use of the new language. At issue is the fact that some of the behaviors that children might engage in during these developmental periods, such as playing in isolation an
