Course: Use of first and other languages

Topic outline

Use of first language - introduction
There are many gains to be had from promoting the continued use of children's other languages at school. Greeting them in their language can help a newly-arrived pupil feel more included from day one; acknowledging their multilingual skills can boost a child's self-esteem; and enabling them to draw on skills they have in their other languages to support their learning can be a great way of unlocking the curriculum for them. If you already do things like encourage children to answer the register using different languages, you've taken a step towards making your classroom more linguistically inclusive. What might be your next move?
In this section, you can find information about strategies and resources that support the use of children's full language repertoires across the curriculum.
- Announcements Forum
Aide-mémoire of best practice principles

This aide memoire succinctly captures key points in relation to practice for multilingual learners.
- Use of first and other languages as a tool for learning File
Free training card (part of the 101 EAL conversations card set)
At a training event we were told that beginner learners of EAL should be allowed to write in their first language (L1) if they can’t write properly in English. Our teachers don’t see the point as they can’t check the work to see if it is correct. They also feel that it will hold the children back in the longer term. What could be the benefits of such an approach?
Download this pdf for the answer. To get a conversation started with colleagues in your school, try using it as a prompt in a training session or staff meeting.
This card is part of 101 EAL conversation cards set. More information can be found here
- Writing in first language as a strategy for learning File
First language as a tool for learning Videoscribe
- L1 Videoscribe support pack File
  Complements the EMTAS L1 Videoscribe. Use to explore how to use L1 as a tool for learning in your school and wider community.
Useful links and external resources
Blogs
EMTAS Blogs tagged by 'first language'
Why teachers shouldn’t be afraid of other languages being spoken in the classroom. The Conversation, Claire Cunningham, 2018.
Activating bilingual learners' metabilingual awareness, Dual Language Schools, Feb 2021
The amazing benefits of being bilingual, BBC Futures, 2016

Podcasts
Related Blog (for above) - Bilingual Education Roadmap

Videos
Use of first language at home (Webinar)

Taking advantage of EAL learners' first language - from Bell Foundation

Assessment and Induction
- Language Identification chart (from Refugee Council)
- Assessing first language - read this blog and complete this E-learning module (requires login)
Speaking and listening
- Capture talk using Talking Products
- Apps such as Book Creator have an audio recording facility
Reading
- Grant and Cutler - for foreign language books
- Source dual language resources from Mantra Lingua
- International Children’s Digital Library
- Global Storybooks
- Unite for literacy (non-fiction titles in English with audio in many languages) - worth checking content for suitability
- World Stories - 31+ languages
Writing
- Translation apps like Microsoft Translator, iTranslate & Google Translate
Mantra Lingua's Kitabu Multilingual Library
The Kitabu dual-language eBook library from Mantra Lingua comprises a range of interactive stories for children. Each story has audio in first language and in English. There are many titles which have been translated into various languages. It is an ideal resource to use with children in KS1 and KS2 to support listening, speaking, reading and even writing in first language and in English.
Translanguaging
Translanguaging is the process whereby multilingual speakers use their languages as an integrated communication system. Translanguaging is an extension of the concept of languaging, the discursive practices of language speakers, but with the additional feature of using multiple languages, often simultaneously. It is a dynamic process in which multilingual speakers navigate complex social and cognitive demands through strategic employment of multiple languages. It is believed that the term was first coined in Welsh by Cen Williams as trawsieithu in his 1994 unpublished thesis "An evaluation of teaching and learning methods in the context of bilingual secondary education (Wikipedia, 2020)
- Translanguaging – what is it and how do you plan for it? (Blog and recorded Webinar) URL
  In this post, Eowyn Crisfield answers many of the questions raised in a recent webinar on Translanguaging.
- Translanguaging: The CUNY-NYSIEB Guide for Educators URL
  This online resource (USA context) consists of a printable guide and 6 videos, 'offering dozens of strategies and approaches for teachers working with emergent bilingual students at all grade levels and in all program models.'