Abstract
How can Reggio Emilia approach help children to learn the second language in early childhood? In this paper, it describes how three aspects: teacher role, parent role and environment role impact on children’s language learning which is the first, second and third teacher for students (Gandini, 2005). In teacher role, teacher strategies can implement on children’s potential level to scaffold them to a new step of communication skills, and help children to learn and develop their cognitive, social and language development. Furthermore, Reggio Emilia classroom provides various materials and creative environments to stimulate children’s language development and writing practices (Clapp, 1996). In the Reggio Emilia approach, children are viewed as a rich, powerful and competent individual and they come into the educational setting with a wealth of knowledge and hundred languages. (Vatalaro, Szente, & Levin, 2015). Children are believed “knowledge bearers”, so they are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas about everything they could meet or do during the day in hundred languages (Clapp, 1996). The hundred languages are valued and nurtured to have a hundred different modes of thinking, of discovering, of learning, and it through drawing, painting, and sculpting, or through dance, movement, gesture, and body language, or through pretend play and role, or through music. (Edwards, Gandini & Forman, 1998) In Reggio Emilia approach, children can choose their own learning way to know the language with their own context, and it helps students to learn the second language. (Forman, 1994)
Keywords: Reggio Emile approach, second language learner, teacher role, children role, early childhood, foreign language curriculum, the hundred languages of children
Introduction
American is a melting pot to accept contrasting culture and language people. Learning the second language is always a big issue in American and a big difficulty for children. In recent years, many preschool or kindergarten need to face a problem that many children have no common languages cultural or social experience due to immigration patterns all over the world. It is difficult for teacher and children to engage in the co-construction curriculum and the group does not share a common language or culture together. (Fraser, 2007). The way we can do to is that understand children’s prior experience in culture, background, and first languages. Second, the teacher can understand the power of creating an environment as the third teacher and the concept of the hundred languages of children to encourage students to communicate in different writing way such as drawing, tracing, scrawling. The numerous and diverse materials available in the classroom can enable the children to represent their ideas and thoughts in many different languages (Forman, 1994). Third, teachers and parents can provide appropriate scaffolding for children to learn second languages. The experiences young children have with their families and teachers can influence their development of oral language and ability to be successful readers. The last but not least, every teacher can use similar documentation strategies to promote children’s languages capacity and literacy development. (Kaplan & Hertzog 2016)
The Reggio Emilie approach
The Reggio Emilia approach is an educational philosophy focused on preschool and primary education and is recognized a foster teaching and an innovative approach to education in worldwide. This method was developed after World War II by a psychologist Loris Malaguzzi, and parents in the villages around Reggio Emilia city in Italy. (Gandini & Edwards, 2001) After World War II, people believe that children need to use the new way to learn and think. The goal of this approach is to teach students how to use symbolic language (e.g., painting, sculpting, drama) to convey their ideas and thoughts when they don’t have the writing skill in young age. The approach focus on the principles of respect, responsibility, and community through exploration and discovery in a supportive and enriching environment based on the interests of the children through a self-guide and co-construct curriculum with teachers. Moreover, in this approach, there is a belief that children have rights and should be given opportunities to develop their potential. Children are believed “knowledge bearers”, so they are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas about everything they could meet or do during the day in hundred languages. (Clapp, 1996)
Curriculum
The curriculum is based on students’ ideas and interests to develop. The projects or topic can be short or long-term, evolving as children learn or ask new questions, and discover new problems to solve. The primary focus is an inquiry, independent thinking and problem-solving to develop their characteristics in facing the problems in reality. Although the curriculum is followed by student’s opinion and enthusiasm, there are some principles we need to pay attentions on it. First, the teacher needs to guide children to have control over the direction of their learning. Second, the teacher needs to let children be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening and observing and engage in the curriculum. Next, in Reggio Emilia classroom children need to interact with other peers through activities to explore their interests and world. Lastly, children need to have the opportunity to express themselves in various ways.
Parents role
Parents are viewed as partners, collaborators, and advocates for their children. Moreover, teachers respect parents as each child's first teacher and involve parents in every aspect of the curriculum. A powerful community is established within the school as parents become actively involved with teachers and their children’s learning, and it can help children to learn and teacher to teach. Parents are expected to take part in discussions about school policy, child development concerts, and curriculum planning and evaluation. Therefore, teacher-parent conference holds frequently to develop the curriculum to help children learn efficiently and to communicate with teachers to know kids situation, performance and learning development stage in the classroom. The most important thing is educators and parents collaborate to help children develop well. Some parents who choose to send their children to Reggio Emilia program incorporate many of the principles within their parenting and home life. It makes a great connection between school and home.
Teachers role
The teacher is not the dominant role in Reggio Emilia classroom; however, the teacher needs to observe and listen to children in the classroom to find out their prior knowledge, interest, and personal characteristics to construct and plan the curriculum with the kids. On the other hand, the teacher is considered a co-learner and collaborator with the child and not just an instructor. The teacher needs to tap into that knowledge and build upon the strengths of the children using the idea and answer to design classroom and curriculum. Teachers are encouraged to facilitate the child's learning by planning activities and lessons based on the child's interests, asking questions to further understanding, and actively engaging in the activities alongside the child, instead of sitting back and observing the child learning. "As a partner to the child, the teacher is inside the learning situation" (Hewett, 2001). When teacher does lots of discussion, observation, and participate in children’s learning process, it helps the teacher prepare the environment and teaching tools for children.
Children and teachers learn together as they co-construct and research topics of interest as partners. They work together to "uncover" the curriculum in an emergent way, rather than viewing the teacher as the expert who must "cover" the curriculum by teaching facts and giving information. In the school programs, the teacher tries to help children develop creativity, strong problem-solving abilities, and compassion through activities and interaction with teachers and peers.
Classroom environment
The classroom environment is considered to be the child’s “third teacher”, and the physical environment is of fundamental importance to the early childhood program. The environment integrates the classroom space with the surrounding environment: the school, the community, and family. The importance of the environment is that Reggio Emilia approach believed environment could inspire children’s learning and make children create meaning and make sense of their world. Second, the third teacher can encourage students to collaborate, communicate and explore with peers to develop "complex, varied, sustained, and changing relationships between people and the world by experience and interaction. Furthermore, space respects children to express their ideas in a different way and to provide their creative craft with authentic materials and tools. The image of Reggio Emilia classroom is plenty of children’s artwork which is constructing with students and home-like atmosphere. It is filled with open spaces, natural things (indoor plants, natural light), wall-size windows, courtyards or playground, and doors to the outside in each classroom. Besides, in the classroom, there are mirror, photographs, and children's work with the transcriptions of their discussions to help children to recognize themselves and know their craft are valuable in class. Other supportive elements of the environment include ample space for small or large group activities, varied corners to integrate activities such as science, art, language. Most of them will stay in the same classroom and the same teacher for at least one year to consistency produce their projects and create their unique space with no pressures. It can make children want to contribute more to decorate their classroom and feel comfortable when they go to school. In Reggio Emilia approach, every material is considered for its purpose and connected to the real world, and every corner is evolving to embolden children to progress deeper and deeper in their interests and potential.
The Hundred Languages of Children
The belief is that children can use many different ways to show their understanding and express their thoughts and creativity. The hundred languages are valued and nurtured to have a hundred different modes of thinking, of discovering, of learning, and it through drawing, painting, and sculpting, or through dance, movement, gesture, and body language, or through pretend play and role, or through music, sounds, and songs. No matter what kind of language or what ways to learn are the part of children. It emphasizes hands-on activities can help children discover their senses and the language and learning with play can increase their motivation and good experience in learning. In the theory of the hundred languages of children, communication is a process to discover things by asking questions, using language as play, and play with sounds and rhythm and rhyme. Additionally, children are encouraged to use language to explore, investigate and reflect on their experiences. Learning language is a continual and collaborative process for children and teacher need to have open-minded to accept different description form young children.
Reggio Emilia Approach Scaffold Children to Learn Language
Children’s early language development focus on oral language, phonological skills and the acquisition of alphabet awareness. For initial childhood, verbal communication is the foundation for literacy development, and the phonological awareness is the way to develop their knowledge of sound system which is important to construct the word by decoding. Phonic awareness and decoding skills can also help children to develop reading skills. Through the hundred languages of children, we respect different communicate way and the children’s knowledge to improve their oral skills by practicing to express their thought.
Also, the environment provides a print-rich environment and offer abundant opportunities for children to build their knowledge of print materials. It can help children to develop writing skills in early age. The process of writing can be like using a pencil or marker to “think” (Applebee, 1977). In Reggio Emilia approach, it believed children could use various materials to develop their writing experience and thinking process. In the theory of Piaget, children’s construction of knowledge can be extended to the ways that children learn written the language and the ways they assign meaning to lines, scribbles, and letters in a cultural context (Ferreiro & Teberosky, 1982). It also connects to the concept of the hundred languages of children which emphasize orally expression and written experience in the different way to communicate and to use the language.
The most important part is that how to create children language. In Reggio Emilia approach, they encourage children to build their literacies: (a) the combination of diverse materials, (b) the respect for children’s abilities, and (c) the belief in working with others. (Kang, 2007) It connects to the third teacher, environment, that provides a variety of paper and writing tools to stimulate children’s language development. Second, a philosophy of Reggio Emilia schools is that respect for children’s abilities and trust in children’s abilities to encourage the creation of new products.
Implications of Teacher strategies
The teacher can use children’s available schema and knowledge of the language system from previous experience and mother tongue to help students comprehend meaning in the second language. (Brown & Lee, 2015) The way we can know their prior experience is to observe and interview children and parents. Through this process, we can understand their background, first languages proficiency, second languages ability, and culture. Nowadays, teachers and children need to learn how to construct curriculum with multicultural peers and engage everyone in understanding each other in different languages.
Second, teachers can understand the power of creating an environment as a third teacher and the importance of the concept of the hundred languages of children and use in the classroom. The wide variety of materials available in the classroom enabled the children to represent their ideas and theories in many different languages and to stimulate and support children as individual and group learner (Forman, 1994). The teacher can develop children’s knowledge and skill in the presentation of materials in the classroom to provide the children with interesting and unusual materials and support the children in learning how to use them. Moreover, the teacher can encourage children to use drawing to communicate, provide easy access for children to paper and writing tools and record children’s ideas as they occur. For example, the teacher can ask student’s opinion about their artwork and help students to write down so they can share it with others. Also, instructors can offer activities and materials to encourage children to observe and record their observations by using model writing and drawing as a way to record and collect ideas, questions, or thoughts.
Third, the teacher can encourage the development of social play to communicate their ideas to the faculty and classmates. Socio-dramatic play is often used by the children as a means of communicating their passions and interests to the teachers and the other students in the group. In this part, the teacher can provide opportunities for the children to use many different languages so that each child could find the best medium of expression to suit their particular intelligence whether it was linguistic, logical, spatial, kinesthetic, musical, or intrapersonal or interpersonal intelligence (Gardner, 1983).
The last but not least, the teacher can create a learning community in the classroom that includes children, teachers, and families. Good teacher-parent relationship and communication can enhance children’s learning outcome and achievement. The community can involve the important role in children’s life to exchange the information for helping children to explore their interests and develop language.
Conclusion
Children’s achievement of early literacy skills continues to pull consideration from researchers, educators, families, and policymakers. Literacy development starts early in life and is correlated with academic achievement. (Hughes & Wineman, 2009) Through the above discussions and strategies, we can help children who are in early age or second language learner in Reggio Emile school to develop their communications and languages appropriately. From different aspects: teacher role, parent role and environment role to deliberate the benefits on children’s language learning in respectful, open-minded, abundant resources way.