Helping Vs. Hovering: When Paraeducators work with Students HANDOUT
1. Stages of Language Acquisition and Questioning Techniques
SERC, Compiled by Carrillo and Zarchen, 2012
Stages of Language Acquisition Types of Questions to Ask Examples of Questions
Stage I: Pre-production
• Try to make sense out of messages
• Use non-verbal communication or
home language
• Gain familiarity with the sounds,
rhythm and patterns of English
• Attend to shared reading, but rely on
picture clues for understanding
• Ask multiple choice questions
• Focus on simple concepts/vocabulary
• Allow answering through gestures,
labeling, drawing
• Provide visual/contextual support
• Provide opportunities for participation,
rather than require participation
• Point to the . . . .
• Find the . . . .
• Put the ____ next to the _____.
• Do you have the ____?
• Is this a ____?
• Who wants the ____?
Stage 2: Early Production
• Demonstrate increased confidence
• Listen with greater understanding
• Identify people, places and objects
• Use routine expressions
independently
• Repeat, recite memorable language
• Ask yes/no and either/or questions
• Ask questions requiring one or two
word responses
• Ask questions that elicit word lists
• Focus on who, what, when and where
• Provide visual/contextual support
• Expect participation in a safe
environment
• Did the main character ___?
• Was the setting ____ or ____?
• Who was the main character?
• Where were some of the places he
visited?
• Who are the members of the
family?
• Where did it happen?
Stage 3: Speech Emergence
• Speak with less hesitation and
demonstrate increasing
understanding
• Produce longer phrases or
sentences (with grammatical
inaccuracy)
• Participate more fully in discussion,
including those with academic
content
• Explain, describe, compare and
retell in response to literature
• Engage in independent reading
• Use writing for a variety of purposes
• Ask questions requiring short answers
or simple sentences
• Focus on how and why questions,
literal interpretations of text, retelling,
explaining, defining, comparing,
summarizing
• Provide visual/contextual support as
needed
• Expect participation in a safe
environment
• Why?
• How?
• How is ____ like ____?
• Tell me about . . . .
• Describe . . . .
• How would you change _____?
Stage 4: Intermediate Fluency
• Produce connected discourse and
narrative
• Use extensive vocabulary
• Demonstrate increased levels of
accuracy
• Demonstrate use of higher order
language (persuade, evaluate, etc.)
• Read a wider range of texts with
increased comprehension
• Explore content concepts in greater
depth
• Write with greater accuracy
• Conduct research projects
• Ask open-ended questions and/or
questions requiring more detailed
answers
• Focus on inferential interpretations of
text, opinions, judgment, figurative
language
• Provide visual/contextual support as
needed
• Provide opportunities for
metacognition/reflection
• Develop academic vocabulary
• What do you recommend?
• How do you think ____ will ____?
• What is _____ mainly about?
• What is your opinion?
• How are ____ and ____
similar/different?
• What would happen if . . . ?
• Which do you prefer? Why?
Stage 5: Advanced Fluency
• At this stage, students have
comprehension and production skills
comparable to native speakers of the
same age
• Ask the same types of questions that
you would a native speaker, but be
ready to support students with
questions from another level.