Personalized Oral Language Learning (POLL) Strategies

Personalized Oral Language Learning (POLL) is a set of strategies designed to meet the needs of young children and is based in research that emphasizes the importance of strong home language skills, the advantages of early bilingualism, and promising practices that all early childhood providers can implement to promote the growth and development of dual and multilingual learners. All providers, monolingual or multilingual, can implement these strategies to improve young children’s oral language abilities, conceptual knowledge, and social-emotional development.

The three main elements of POLL strategies are:

  • Family Supports
    • Parent communication, partnership, and engagement
    • Family Languages and Interests Interview
      An Interview that will help promote your partnership with families as you learn about their child’s interests and languages spoken. The information you learn will help you plan rich language learning experiences.
  • Environmental Supports
    • Setting the stage or active language learning experiences
  • Instructional Supports
    • Intentional Message
      Daily written and/or verbal messages that introduce key learning goals to children and build listening comprehension and vocabulary
    • Anchor Texts and Experiences
      Carefully selected books and experiences that repetitively introduce key concepts and support oral language development; These texts and experiences reflect children’s identity, family, and language and help providers focus their learning activities and environment.
    • Vocabulary Imprinting
      Pictures, props, movements, and gestures that reinforce vocabulary and word meanings and are linked to key concepts and anchor texts and experiences; These cues help children comprehend new words and their repetitive use helps children recall this new vocabulary.
    • Songs and Chants
      Songs and familiar chants that include targeted vocabulary from anchor texts and experiences, help attach meaning to words, and support word memory
    • Extended Activities
      Enhanced, hands-on learning activities to extend children’s language use and are linked to concepts and key vocabulary from anchor texts and experiences

Whether you serve children in home, center, or community-based settings, POLL strategies can be integrated into daily activities and language experiences throughout the day. These supports will provide multiple opportunities for dual and multilingual children to make meaning and connections and to practice their new language.

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POLL strategies overview (English)

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POLL strategies overview (Spanish)

POLL Strategies

The three main components of Personalized Oral Language Learning are:

I have really learned a lot using the POLL strategies. I can see the results of my work with my children, and it makes me proud.

María Isabel Arroyo de Vazquez

Family Child Care Provider