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6 tips to support children with English as an Additional Language in your setting
By Georgina Grahame
These days, you are likely to have many children in your early years setting for whom English is not their first language. A child’s English may range from fluent, particularly when English is the primary language used in the home, to very limited. It is important that, as practitioners, we do all we can to support children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) so that they can feel safe and secure at your setting and make good progress.
As you know, starting in a nursery or with a childminder for the first time can be very scary for a child. Combine this with the fact that they might not understand the language that is being spoken to them, and it doesn’t sound at all familiar – you can imagine how unsettling this could be for an individual.
It is worth noting that a child living in a multi-lingual home may be hearing not just two, but many different dialects in their lives. For example, a child who has an English mother and, say, a Polish father could be hearing English from Mum, Polish from Dad, Dad’s English, plus Mum’s polish. In this scenario, the child could be hearing four different dialects at home. Picking up different languages is therefore likely to be confusing for them.
Below are a few tips to help ease the transition into a childcare setting for a child with EAL, so that they can quickly feel happy in your setting and begin the journey to reaching their full potential.
1. Use minimal language.
Give a child the chance to learn key vocabulary by using just key words and simple sentences until they become more confident at speaking English.
2. Keep it visual.
Any child who struggles with understanding will benefit from you emphasising your words by making things visual. Use visual symbols or simple sign language such as Signalong to help the child understand what you are saying. Puppets and pictures books can be used to help tell a story.
3. Encourage learning through play.
As with all children in the early years setting, play is key in a child’s learning. As practitioner, take the opportunity to extend a child’s language by engaging in their play and modelling the language e.g. ‘the car is driving along the road’.