Resources

Tip Sheet: Language at Home and in the Community: For Teachers

For children who are dual language learners or English language learners (ELLs), school readiness and school success are directly tied to mastery of their home language. This handout offers eight things that families can do every day to help children learn home languages and become successful in school. Tips include: encourage families to use their language with their children from birth, tell stories and sing songs, share books and stories, encourage families to talk about their traditions and culture, show that you value home languages in the classroom, suggest checking out books that are wordless or in children’s home language from the library, look for community events at which families’ languages are spoken, and encourage families to continue using their home language as their children grow older.

This tip sheet is part of a series on the Planned Language Approach (PLA).