Language at Home and in the Community for Families
Here are eight things you can do every day to help your child learn your family’s language and become successful in school!
Culture and Language
Head Start programs are committed to recognizing and respecting the culture and language of the children and their families.
Programs emphasize the strengths of each children’s individual culture and language and holding high expectations for all. Administrators, teachers, providers, caregivers, and families can use these resources to promote a positive experience for all children.
Language at Home and in the Community for Teachers
The easiest, most important thing is for parents and family members to use their home language every day. Many families worry that using their home language will confuse their children or make it more difficult for them to learn English. Help parents understand that children can learn more than one language at the same time.
Hearing Language Is Learning
Babies are born “citizens of the world.” Children can tell the difference between all the sounds in all the world’s languages at birth.
Growing Up as a Dual Language Learner
For an adult, trying to learn a second language can be a difficult task. Young children have a much easier time learning languages than adults. They learn language by having ample opportunities to hear speech from adults and peers.
Home Language Support
Children who speak home languages other than English make up at least one third of Head Start enrollment. They speak more than 140 languages and are enrolled in 87 percent of all Head Start programs. All Head Start staff, and policy makers will want to understand what these young dual language learners (DLLs) need in order to thrive in Head Start and beyond. They will also want to know how to support DLL’s development and school readiness skills.