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Pre-Service Early Years/Primary Postgraduate Diploma in Education: EDUEYP3 - English Language and Literacy in Early Years

COURCE DESCRIPTION

This course synthesizes relevant theories, principles, research, and effective practices in the teaching and learning of English as an Additional Language at the kindergarten level. Interns will be supported in adapting for practice research- and theory-informed knowledge of practical approaches to the development and assessment of listening and speaking skills, as well as emergent reading and writing skills. Interns will critically reflect on selected pedagogical practices within the sociocultural context of English language education in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a particular focus on play-based learning centers, story-telling, and integrated curriculum. Interns will critically adapt for practice relevant learning-centered principles and theories from current research to build an expanding repertoire of practices for providing engaging and challenging English language learning experiences with young learners. Interns’ growing teaching expertise will be further enhanced by building a critical awareness of age-appropriate best practices in formative and summative assessment of learning progression to promote inclusive classrooms through the development of research-informed classroom-based assessment strategies.

SOFTWARE AND ONLINE RESOURCES

Interns are also recommended to use the resources given below. It is recommended that Interns access the ECAE library online to access other research methodology books and articles available via the library database and Ebrary.

FACILITIES

  • Wireless classrooms for individual student laptops
  • Interactive Board
  • Wall-mounted whiteboard
  • Videos
  • Online communication tools
  • Learning Management System and Turnitin

Youtube Video

Course Materials

Week 1  

Language development in early childhood

How language and literacy is learned

Input, interaction and output – comprehensible input, interaction and comprehensible output.

Required Readings

Recommended Reading

Week 2

Individual factors influencing literacy development

  • Supporting literacy development in the home environment
  • Home-school connections
  • Drawing on the full linguistic repertoire of the ELL within a translanguaging perspective

Required readings

Recommended readings

Week 3

Emergent literacy – starting with speaking and listening

The continuum of emergent literacy

  • What is emergent literacy for English Language learners? Emergent biliteracy? (linguistic and non-linguistic forms of communication- multimodal)
  • Domains of language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics)         

Required readings

Recommended readings

Week 4

Emergent literacy

Linking oral language development with early literacy development

Linking emergent literacy with the arts

Required Readings

Recommended Readings

Week 5

Emergent literacy

Guiding principles and a balanced literacy approach in kindergarten

Linking theory, principles and effective practices for teaching, learning and assessment

Required Readings

Recommended Readings

Week 6

Learners of English as an Additional Language in Kindergarten

Inclusive classrooms and assessment

Required Readings

Recommended Readings

Week 7

Play-based literacy centers

Assessment for and as learning

Required Readings

Recommended Readings

Week 8

Integrating the language skills creatively in kindergarten

Required Readings

Pyle, A., Poliszczuk, D., & Danniels, E. (2018). The challenges of promoting literacy integration within a play-based learning kindergarten program: Teacher perspectives and implementationJournal of research in childhood education32(2), 219-233.

Recommended Readings

Pyle, A., Prioletta, J., & Poliszczuk, D. (2018). The play-literacy interface in full-day kindergarten classroomsEarly Childhood Education Journal46(1), 117-127.

Week 9

Creativity in integrating the language skills through holistic story-telling – Part 1

Required readings

Recommended Readings

Week 10

Creativity in integrating the language skills through holistic story-telling – Part 2

Required readings

Recommended Readings

Week  11

Transitioning from kindergarten to primary grades

Implications for language and literacy

Required Readings

Recommended Readings