How do I support a child learning EAL?

Being able to speak more than one language is advantageous. It can enhance a child’s self-esteem and identity, as well as supporting cognitive and thinking skills.

Some children will learn to speak two languages from birth and other children may learn one language first and then a second language later.

It is vitally important for children and families to maintain the language/s they use at home. This supports communication in the family and a sense of identity and community.

As a practitioner, you may be monolingual or speak more than one language, but not necessarily  the same languages as the children in your care. This is not a barrier to working with children with, and supporting children with EAL.

One of the most important things is to show you value and respect all languages and that children and families feel welcome, valued, and respected in the setting.

 Top Tips

• Work with parents and find out about the languages spoken by the family. Find out the keys words a child uses e.g. mum, dad, toilet, drink and start to keep a book for each language. Put a picture alongside the word in the book and write the word in the script used by the child. It also helps to write down how to pronounce the word accurately. You can also make picture cards and attach them to a lanyard or key ring card so children can point to it as they need it to communicate their needs e.g. toilet, drink, mum.
• Pronounce and spell children’s names correctly. Ask parents to write their child’s name in the script they use and put this on the child’s coat peg.
• Use visual timetables to explain the day’s routines and provide visual clues around the setting e.g., photos on toy boxes, picture sequencing cards for routines like handwashing.
• Use song boxes and activities with visual prompts. Learn and sing songs and rhymes and listen to music in children’s home languages.
• Use story sacks, tell stories with puppets, and find stories in a children’s home languages.
• Time is key in supporting children with EAL – time to settle, time to build relationships and time to take in a new language while keeping their first / home language maintained and developing.

More detailed advice can be found here: