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6 tips to support children with
English as an Additional Language
in your setting
By Georgina Grahame
These days, you are likely to have many
children in your early years setting for whom
English is not their first language. A child’s
English may range from fluent, particularly
when English is the primary language used in
the home, to very limited. It is important that,
as practitioners, we do all we can to support
children with English as an Additional
Language (EAL) so that they can feel safe and
secure at your setting and make good progress.
As you know, starting in a nursery or with a
childminder for the first time can be very scary
for a child. Combine this with the fact that they
might not understand the language that is
being spoken to them, and it doesn’t sound at
all familiar – you can imagine how unsettling
this could be for an individual.
It is worth noting that a child living in a multilingual
home may be hearing not just two, but
many different dialects in their lives. For
example, a child who has an English mother
and, say, a Polish father could be hearing
English from Mum, Polish from Dad, Dad’s
English, plus Mum’s polish. In this scenario, the
child could be hearing four different dialects at
home. Picking up different languages is
therefore likely to be confusing for them.
Below are a few tips to help ease the transition
into a childcare setting for a child with EAL, so
that they can quickly feel happy in your setting
and begin the journey to reaching their full
potential.
1. Use minimal language.
Give a child the chance to learn key
vocabulary by using just key words and simple
sentences until they become more confident at
speaking English.
2. Keep it visual.
Any child who struggles with understanding
will benefit from you emphasising your words
by making things visual. Use visual symbols or
simple sign language such as Signalong to help
the child understand what you are saying.
Puppets and pictures books can be used to
help tell a story.
3. Encourage learning through play.
As with all children in the early years setting,
play is key in a child’s learning. As practitioner,
take the opportunity to extend a child’s
language by engaging in their play and
modelling the language e.g. ‘the car is driving
along the road’.
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