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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 tools are there if you have a sixth sense that something is not quite right?
At what point does a teacher start to question whether an EAL student’s lack of progress is due to English Language Development (ELD) issues or due to specific learning differences (SpLD).
These questions come up again and again. Learning English as an Additional Language is not a learning difficulty, however 20% of EAL students will follow the norm of having specific learning differences (Chapter 1, SFR24/2012, GovUK). Therefore, there is a possibility that an EAL student has SpLDs.
Integral to teaching is how practitioners assess what children know. This is vital so we can understand children’s interests and what they already know and can do, and then shape teaching and learning experiences for each child, reflecting that knowledge (Department for Education UK, 2025).
Sensory needs (considering lighting, noise, textures, smells etc.) are now being seen as a central part of school design. It is widely recognised that overwhelming environments can block learning or trigger distress. Each learning environment presents its own opportunities and challenges to reducing sensory overload. Luckily, there are lots of small changes that can make a big difference to your learners!