Collier

Quotes from Collier

1. "Be aware that children use first langauge acquisition stategies for learning or acquiring a second langauge."

Now that Collier actually wrote this down on paper it seems so obvious, however I never even would have thought of learning a second langauge in this way. When a young child enters an American school without knowing much english, a teacher can not just jump right to teaching them all the intricacies of the english langauge. They will probably be confused if this is the case, especially if english is not spoken at home. Therefore the child must learn to be literate in both langauges. This way if the child is at home they can properly communicate with their parents, and family, and when they are at school they will not run into learning gaps.

2. "Don't teach a second langauge in any way that challenges or seeks to eliminate the first langauge."

Just because english is a popular langauge in America, does not mean that knowing a second langauge would be useless. If a child is not allowed to express themselvves in their original language and we preach the importance of english, they may lose confidence, and self esteem. These children as I mentioned before are not only speaking in classroom but at home and in their neighborhoods they need to be able to properly communicate on all levels. There should a balance in place, so that children learn both langauges, and understand the proper place for each one.

3. "Once a child becomes literatein the home langauge, literacy skills swiftly transfer to second langauge seetings."

This is another one that seems so obvious now that Collier pointed it out. Children need to be taught to their own individual needs, if a child enters a classroom speaking spanish they need to also learn spanish. If they become proficient in Spanish literacy, and they develop the tools used in literacy, it would follow that becoming literate in a second langauge can be achieved with greater ease.