Early Learning Project
Tip Sheet
Keep in mind that it is important for children to maintain their home languages as they learn English.
- Learning in both languages may keep a child from falling behind in some areas.
- Keeping a child’s home language helps preserve family ties.
- Knowing more than one language can be an asset later in life.
Make the classroom a place where all children feel they belong and are valued.
- Never allow teasing or isolation that could make a child feel unsafe or unwelcome.
- Put posters and pictures on walls related to all the children’s cultures.
- Provide some books and games in the home languages of all children.
- Label objects in the classroom using children’s home languages as well as English.
- Create a picture chart showing basic needs—eating, drinking water, and entering the bathroom—along with appropriate words in English. Children can point to a picture to communicate their needs, then repeat the words that the teacher uses.
- Use projects and other inquiry-based activities to encourage all children to participate.
Plan ways to bring the children’s home languages and cultures into the classroom.
- Learn at least a few words in each of the home languages that you expect to have in your classroom. Ask your local library for help or look for free translation Web sites.
- Find someone to provide some subject instruction in each child’s home language.
- Play music from each child’s culture and home language.
- Ask parent classroom volunteers to read some books in each child’s home language.
- Invite children to teach words from their home languages to the class.
- Encourage children to share objects or games from their home cultures.
Help children to understand and use both English and their home languages.
- Create routines that help children anticipate what will happen next even when they don’t understand all that is said.
- Use visual aids to illustrate words used in class.
- Reinforce English words they are learning with ongoing activities over several days.
- Promote child-to-child conversations.
- Encourage children to talk to their families about what they do at school.
The following Web resources may provide more information about helping children learn in two languages.
- What Does the Research Say about Dual Language Learners?
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/faqs/dll.htm - IEL Interactive Chat: Supporting the Literacy Development of Diverse Language Learners in Early Childhood Classrooms
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/chat/barrera/ - HelpKit for Grades Pre-K – 6
http://escort.org/?q=node/150 - Where We Stand: On Responding to Linguistic and Cultural Diversity
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf - Meeting the Home Language Mandate: Practical Strategies for All Classrooms
http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/eecd/Domains of Child Development/Language Development and Communication/meetingthehomelangage.pdf - Books, Music, and Other Materials (links to sites in a variety of languages)
http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/sources.html - Essential Phrases in 40 Languages
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix/ - Little Explorers Dictionary
http://www.ipl.org/IPLBrowse/GetSubject?vid=12&cid=3&tid=4254&parent=4244
Spanish: Cómo ayudar a niños preescolares a aprender en dos lenguas
Disclaimer
The opinions, resources, and referrals provided on the IEL Web site are intended for informational purposes only and are not intended to take the place of medical or legal advice, or of other appropriate services. We encourage you to seek direct local assistance from a qualified professional if necessary before taking action.
The content of the IEL Web site does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Illinois Early Learning Project, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, or the Illinois State Board of Education; nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the Illinois Early Learning Project, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, or the Illinois State Board of Education.