Bilingual children are increasing within the Early Years sector, but how are the needs of these children best met?
Early Years settings are becoming multilingual places, with over 300 different languages spoken in primary schools in the UK. With such a large number of languages to cater for, some Early Years settings are struggling to meet children’s individual needs. There are many strategies that Early Year settings can implement to overcome learning and communication barriers for bilingual children.
Grouping bilingual children with children with Additional needs
When carrying out specific activities or group times, some settings find it easier to group the children according to ability. This can occasionally mean that bilingual children who have little or no English are put in the same group as children who have additional needs such as speech and language difficulties. This can benefit bilingual children as the activities carried out will be suited to their English language skills. The group time may contain more visual aids and not require a great deal of verbal communication. However, this may also impact on the child’s self-esteem or confidence in their abilities. Language must first be understood before it can be spoken; this could mean that some bilingual children can understand English and may be fluent in their home language. Placing these children with other children who have additional needs may have an impact on their learning. It is important to treat every child as an individual and prepare individual targets for every child. This can be done using an Individual Support Plan.
Employing Bilingual practitioners to help bilingual children
Some Early Years settings have the invaluable support of bilingual practitioners who can speak more than one language, usually one of which is English. These staff members can offer a wealth of knowledge and help bilingual children to communicate and feel included in the setting. Parent partnerships can also be improved through using bilingual practitioners as information can be shared openly and parents will feel more relaxed and aware of what is happening. This has a positive effect on the children’s confidence upon entering the setting and enables them to feel safe and happy. However due to the high number of languages spoken, it can be difficult to employ bilingual practitioners to meet the linguistic needs of all children. This can leave a proportion of children feeling isolated and unable to communicate their needs.
Using Makaton to support Bilingual Children
Makaton is a great way to meet the needs of children who have English as an Additional Language. The visual communication strategy allows individuals to communicate using hand signals and signs for particular words. Makaton training is becoming more and more popular amongst Early Years settings as a way to promote inclusion and develop language skills. Although Makaton can be used without the use of words, it is encouraged for practitioners to say the word alongside the sign. This enables children to hear the word and make an association with the visual sign; thus building language skills. It can be difficult for settings to use Makaton with bilingual children who has little or no English and has yet to learn Makaton, as the child will not understand the meaning of the signs; however this can be overcome by using visual cards/photos of objects and/or actions alongside the sign. The child will then learn to associate the object or action with the Makaton sign, introducing English words at a later date.
Finding Training to support bilingual children
Training opportunities are available for practitioners to support their teaching for bilingual children; however these can often be difficult to afford or put a strain on ratios. Training enables practitioners to think of alternative ways to communicate with children who have English as an Additional Language and ways to assess their knowledge and understanding. This evidence can be gathered from parents, yet with a language barrier, this can at times be impossible. Training enables practitioners to understand fully how to work with bilingual children and families to meet the individual needs and promote inclusion.
It is important to remember when working with all children not just bilingual children that every child should be treated as an individual and support should be provided where necessary. Every child is entitled to the same amount of care and education.