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Is it important for young English language learners to read dual language text?
It can be helpful for learners to read texts in both languages. It can provide a quick reference to aid comprehension and fosters an appreciation of the languages. It can be used creatively as a shared reading teaching tool in a bilingual setting. However, it is not a necessary part of learning the language. Often young learners will read one language and ignore the other. Additionally, if the majority language is English, this tends to reduce the desire to read in a minority language. Controversially, English quite frequently becomes the favoured language of choice due to its dominance/status in environments where English is widely used.
What could be more powerful for parents than being provided with information, skills, resources and tools to support them as a family unit and educators for their children?
SEND learners, particularly those with speech and language difficulties, can find comprehension more challenging for a range of reasons. Understanding of subject-specific vocabulary and inference can be difficult areas for some learners.
Tip or Idea: Start simple! Use single images or short sentences and talk about what is happening. Can your learner relate this to an experience they have had themselves?
In today’s multilingual classrooms, teachers are constantly balancing between helping learners access the curriculum content whilst supporting the development of their English language skills. For those of us who teach EAL learners, the question isn’t what to teach, but how to make the curriculum accessible without diluting its richness and simplifying it too much.