Let’s Talk About … Young Dual Language Learners and Their Families
Does your preschool include dual language learners (DLLs)? That is, are there children under age 5 learning a second language while they continue to develop in their home language? Often, preschool teachers who speak just one language may be serving several children who speak other languages. That can be an opportunity to help all the children learn more about languages.
Working with children

Model respect for language diversity.
- Explain that languages are what people use to talk to each other. People in different parts of the world may use different sounds and words when they talk, sing, or write.
- Explain that knowing how to speak more than one language can be good for our brains and help us learn more about the world.
- Help children learn the names of the home languages spoken by families in the program.
- Share songs or short recordings in each language. If you have no DLLs, share examples of Spanish and other languages.
Support home language learning for the DLLs in your class.
- Learn and use some words and phrases in their home languages. You could start with, “Hello,” “Goodbye”, “I’m glad to see you,” “Thank you,” “Let’s play,” “I’m sorry,” and “Time for lunch.” Help all the children learn them, too.
- Create multilingual labels for items in your classroom.
- Have books in the home languages of the children in your program. Encourage families to borrow them.
Working with families
- Find out all you can about resources for immigrants in your area. Families of DLLs have a wide range of immigration experiences. Some have had traumatic journeys. We cannot expect them to tell us about their trauma, but we can show them where they might find help.
- Learning English can be a long and complex process. Parents need information about their children, now, in words they understand. Have schedules, invitations, and newsletters translated into the families’ home languages. Use interpreters during conferences with families of DLLs.
- Encourage families of DLLs to keep using their home language with their children.
- Ask the families to suggest some children’s songs or action games the class can learn. If they are willing, help family members record themselves singing songs or reading books aloud in their home language for their children to listen to and share with classmates.
Let all parents know that you will be talking with the class about different languages. Tell them you will teach a few useful words in languages other than English. Remember, research shows that knowing more than one language can be an advantage for any child.
Web Resources
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Fact Sheet: Information for Limited English Proficient Parents and for Schools and School Districts that Communicate with Them
(also in Spanish)Source: Colorin Colorado
This fact sheet answers common questions about the rights of parents and guardians who do not speak, listen, read, or write English proficiently because it is not their primary language.
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Language: Languages Spoken at Home
Source: Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map
This website provides lists of the the top 30 languages spoken or being learned by children birth through age 5 in Illinois from 2016 to the latest year available.
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Many Languages, One Classroom: Supporting Children in Superdiverse Settings
Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
This article gives educators strategies to support dual language learners language development through family engagement, environmental supports, and dual-language models.
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Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences with Bilingual Families
Source: Reading Rockets
This article provides tips to bridge the language gap, take cultural expectations about education into account, and provide your students’ parents with the information they need about their children’s progress in school.
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This resource is a part of a series:
- Diversity – Equity – Inclusion
About this resource
Setting(s) for which the article is intended:- Child Care Center
- Preschool Program
Intended audience(s):
- Parents / Family
Age Levels (the age of the children to whom the article applies):