Utilizing a student's first language can significantly enhance their acquisition of a second language. It provides a comfortable and natural basis for learning, allowing English Language Learners (
How can teachers support parents with understanding the importance of a bilingual/multilingual student?
Have a regular communication system with ELL parents and keep track of how they are progressing in their L1 study.
Involve them into literacy education of their children. Invite them to volunteer in our classroom to increase L1 exposure on their children, also to help with keeping the cultural heritage within ELLs.
Have research articles ready for reference before teacher-parent meeting where you explicitly inform them the benefits of keeping their children bilingual/multilingual. Listen to their responses and get a grasp of their education philosophy at home.
What strategies/approaches could we adopt in classroom setting to promote L1 study?
Have the same expectations on ELLs as we do on other English-speaking students (Cummins & Schecter,2017). Students could sense that your expectations on them are reasonable or not. With the accommodations by all means, they would perceive that they are being valued by you and will work up to your expectations!
Assign ELLs a more proactive role in L1 study. Inviting them to share a story in their L1, or even write a story in L1 would positively influence their experience at school.
Multilingual books should be accessible in the classroom to encourage reading in all languages. Paired reading would be a great way to accommodate ELLs at the beginning. Pair them up with someone who speaks the same language. They could communicate in L1 after reading the same book.
Why is L1 important in the acquisition of L2?
Allowing students to use L1 at school is an effective way to boost students' confidence and joy at school. It also empowers them to show their peers something more and unique about themselves. It is a great way to bond with them socially for a teacher as well.
Reading in any language, develops reading ability. We want to engage parents in reading with their children at home and to encourage discussion and the sharing of their experiences and realities (Cummins & Schecter, 2017)
For ELLs, retrieving prior knowledge in their L1 is more natural and comfortable. We could measure their true literacy level by giving them chances to read/write/speak in L1.
