Language at Home and in the Community for Families
Here are eight things you can do every day to help your child learn your family’s language and become successful in school!
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Culture and Language
Head Start programs are committed to recognizing and respecting the culture and language of the children and their families.
Programs emphasize the strengths of each children’s individual culture and language and holding high expectations for all. Administrators, teachers, providers, caregivers, and families can use these resources to promote a positive experience for all children.
Language at Home and in the Community for Teachers
The easiest, most important thing is for parents and family members to use their home language every day. Many families worry that using their home language will confuse their children or make it more difficult for them to learn English. Help parents understand that children can learn more than one language at the same time.
Hearing Language Is Learning
Babies are born “citizens of the world.” Children can tell the difference between all the sounds in all the world’s languages at birth.
Growing Up as a Dual Language Learner
For an adult, trying to learn a second language can be a difficult task. Young children have a much easier time learning languages than adults. They learn language by having ample opportunities to hear speech from adults and peers.
Including Children's Home Languages and Cultures
Learning, talking, and engaging with children in their home languages and about their cultures can become a rewarding and important part of classroom life.
Inviting and Supporting Cultural Guides and Home Language Models
Cultural guides and home language models are individuals who can help to make children and families feel accepted and welcome as they adjust to new environments.
Language Modeling With Dual Language Learning Infants
Children who learn two languages from infancy are simultaneous dual language learners. They are learning different language systems at the same time.
Language Modeling with Dual Language Learning Toddlers
One- and two-year-old children can learn more than one language if they have sustained, ongoing, engaging experiences that use each language. Dual language learners need to interact frequently in each language in order to optimally develop their language skills.
Planning and Organizing Thematic Instruction
Thematic instruction (also called the Project Approach) involves organizing the curriculum around a theme or a rich and engaging topic that crosses all learning domains—for example, math, science, art, social skills, fine and gross motor skills, and receptive and expressive language development. With thematic instruction, a class explores a theme together over a few days, weeks, or months.
Supporting Dual Language Learners with Classroom Schedules and Transitions
Children who are new English learners may need some additional support with classroom transitions, since they may not yet be able to understand enough English to follow your directions. The strategies below will allow you to provide dual language learners (DLLs) with ways of understanding and participating in classroom transitions that are not dependent on understanding and speaking English.
