Details: Level 3 - Speech Emergence

General Overview

In the Speech Emergence stage, students' comprehension of English significantly improves. They begin to speak in longer phrases and simple sentences, though grammatical errors are still common and can sometimes interfere with meaning. Their vocabulary increases (around 3,000 active words), and they can participate more actively in classroom discussions and social interactions. They are starting to read and write more complex texts with support. This stage can last one to three years.

What Students Can Do

• Listening (Input/Processing):
  • Can understand longer sentences and more complex spoken language on familiar and some new academic topics, especially with visual aids.
  • Can follow multi-step directions.
  • Understands main ideas and key details in classroom discussions and presentations.
  • May still struggle with idiomatic language and rapid speech.
• Speaking (Output):.
  • Words/Phrases: Uses a wider range of vocabulary (around 3,000 words) including some content-specific terms.
  • Language Forms: Begins to use past and future tenses, though not always correctly. Uses more conjunctions (and, but, because). Errors in articles, prepositions, and verb conjugations are common.
  • Sentence Types: Produces simple and some compound sentences (e.g., "I went to the store and I bought milk."). Can ask simple questions (who, what, where, when, why, how).
  • Discourse: Can participate in conversations, retell simple stories, explain, and describe with some detail. May hesitate or rephrase frequently.
• Reading (Input/Processing):
  • Can read and understand simple narrative and expository texts on familiar topics with some support.
  • Can identify main ideas and supporting details in appropriately leveled texts.
  • Developing decoding skills and fluency. Benefits from graphic organizers and pre-reading activities.
  • May struggle with abstract concepts and complex sentence structures in text.
• Writing (Output):
  • Words/Phrases: Uses a growing vocabulary in writing.
  • Language Forms: Attempts more complex grammatical structures with frequent errors. Word order may still be inconsistent.
  • Sentence Types: Can write simple and some compound sentences. Begins to organize ideas into short paragraphs.
  • Discourse: Can write short narratives, descriptions, and simple reports with guidance. Ideas may be clear, but language may be awkward or contain errors.

Instructional Strategies

• Listening: Use graphic organizers for note-taking. Provide outlines of lectures. Encourage active listening by asking clarifying questions. Use videos and audio recordings with transcripts.
• Speaking: Provide sentence starters and stems for academic discussions. Engage in cooperative learning tasks that require speaking. Encourage students to elaborate on their ideas. Allow for think-pair-share activities.
• Reading: Teach reading comprehension strategies explicitly (e.g., summarizing, questioning, predicting). Use adapted texts and bilingual glossaries. Provide opportunities for silent and oral reading.
• Writing: Use graphic organizers to plan writing. Teach paragraph structure. Provide models of different genres. Use peer editing (with guidance) and teacher conferencing. Focus on clarity of ideas first, then grammar.

WIDA Proficiency Level Descriptors (Level 3: Developing - Summary) ELPA21 Standards (Level 3 - Summary)

Second Level Information

Linguistic Features

Vocabulary expands to include more academic and content-specific words. Students attempt to use more complex grammatical structures, such as past and future tenses, conjunctions (and, but, so, because), and some modals (can, will). Sentence length and complexity increase. Common errors include subject-verb agreement, pronoun usage, and article usage. Interference from L1 grammar may still be evident.

Common Challenges

Students may struggle with understanding academic texts with dense vocabulary and complex syntax. They might have difficulty with idiomatic expressions and nuanced meanings. Grammatical accuracy in speaking and writing is still developing, and they may be self-conscious about errors. Sustaining coherent discourse, especially in writing, can be challenging.

Nuanced Instructional Adaptations

• Content Differentiation:
  • Provide outlines, chapter summaries, or audio versions of texts. This one is also made longer to see how the nested list handles the wrapping with the defined CSS rules.
  • Use visuals, timelines, and diagrams to explain complex concepts.
  • Break down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps.
  • Offer choices in how students demonstrate understanding (e.g., oral presentation, written summary, visual project).
• Assessment Differentiation:
  • Allow for varied response formats (e.g., short written answers, oral explanations, graphic organizers).
  • Provide sentence starters or paragraph frames for written responses.
  • Focus assessment on content knowledge and clarity of ideas, with less emphasis on grammatical perfection (while still noting areas for language instruction).
  • Offer glossaries or dictionaries (bilingual if appropriate) during assessments.
  • Consider portfolio assessments to show growth over time.
• Process Scaffolding:
  • Explicitly teach academic vocabulary and discourse patterns (e.g., how to compare/contrast, explain cause/effect).
  • Model note-taking strategies and provide guided notes.
  • Use reciprocal teaching or literature circles to support reading comprehension.
  • Provide opportunities for structured peer collaboration and feedback.
• Bridging to L1: Encourage students to make connections between English and their L1 (cognates, grammatical concepts). Allow use of L1 for brainstorming or clarifying complex ideas before producing in English.