Few studies have detailed the emergence and growth of the oral language and discourse characteristics of school-age students at different grades and across time (Bailey, 2010; Hoff, 2013). Yet general education teachers and English language specialists need well-articulated, preferably empirically derived progressions of language learning to support their students’ oral language development, particularly with those students who are acquiring English as a new or second language. Explanation skills, which encompass the development of many different language and discourse features, were the focus of this study. The language learners whose elicited oral explanations were used to characterize the order of emergence of features were in kindergarten and third grade (5–6 and 8–9 years old). These students were acquiring English in school with predominantly Spanish as their first language. Development of explanations by a cohort of English monolingual or proficient students provides grade-specific comparison language trajectories. The results are placed within the context of a formative assessment framework in order to assist teachers and students in placing explanations at different phases of sophistication on the progressions. This facilitates charting development and identifying with greater specificity which language and discourse features might be effective targets of contingent instruction to promote students’ oral explanation abilities.

中文翻译：

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新语言的进展：为年轻语言学习者评估的特征解释发展

很少有研究详细描述不同年级和不同时期学龄学生口语和话语特征的出现和成长（Bailey，2010；Hoff，2013）。然而，通识教育教师和英语语言专家需要清晰的、最好是经验性的语言学习进展，以支持学生的口语发展，尤其是那些将英语作为新语言或第二语言的学生。解释技能，包括许多不同语言和话语特征的发展，是本研究的重点。使用引出的口头解释来表征特征出现顺序的语言学习者是幼儿园和三年级（5-6 岁和 8-9 岁）。这些学生在学校学习英语，主要是西班牙语作为他们的第一语言。由一群英语单语或精通英语的学生开发的解释提供了特定年级的比较语言轨迹。将结果置于形成性评估框架的背景下，以帮助教师和学生在进展的不同复杂阶段进行解释。这有助于图表的发展和更明确地确定哪些语言和话语特征可能是临时教学的有效目标，以提高学生的口头解释能力。将结果置于形成性评估框架的背景下，以帮助教师和学生在进展的不同复杂阶段进行解释。这有助于图表的发展和更明确地确定哪些语言和话语特征可能是临时教学的有效目标，以提高学生的口头解释能力。将结果置于形成性评估框架的背景下，以帮助教师和学生在进展的不同复杂阶段进行解释。这有助于图表的发展和更明确地确定哪些语言和话语特征可能是临时教学的有效目标，以提高学生的口头解释能力。