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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.
You might be an experienced teacher, new to teaching, or support staff, but you have never taught any EAL learners before. You are in for an exciting journey! You may initially feel overwhelmed and frustrated by the barriers to communication with your new learners, but you will soon find that your lessons have potential to be creative, interactive and a heap of fun!
You may be able to recall a lesson where learners were fully engaged and motivated. These teaching experiences are deeply rewarding for educators and essentially one of the reasons why we enjoy our jobs as teachers. However, realistically, teachers often face the reality of being unable to reach some students until they present lesson input slightly differently.
How often does a classroom teacher approach an EAL teacher with the words, “I don’t know how to help this learner! I have no experience with English language learners”? There are a few key principles and strategies that can easily be shared to empower teachers to provide an educational environment that is conducive to language learning.