Glen Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Hi I need some suggestions to make life easier for a little boy aged 2 and a half starting in my group next week. He does not speak any English having lived in France all his life. His mum is French but his dad is English. They are both anxious for him to settle in and for him to learn English Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catma Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Maybe you could get some dual language texts (Library?) if possible that he can read at home and then also in your setting, try to use french and english to help him clue in, eg when counting, also lots of visual cues for regular requests, eg take pictures of the children doing what you want at regular times, sitting on the mat, getting their fruit etc and laminate them to use as cue cards. Hope that helps! Cx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorna Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 I had a little boy in Reception last year who did not speak any English when he joined and 2 French parents also with limited English. I tried to make sure that with everything we did ther were picture cues for him so that he would have some idea of what we were talking about. I also had 11 hours support from a company called BLISS- they sent in a French speaking Teacher who worked and played alongside the child and would carry out tasks I asked them to in his own language - not much support... but helpful. The child's English came on in leaps and bounds... although at first he was unable to communicate verbally with us he could let us know what he wanted through gesture and expression. I can't really say more that that... and I appreciate that your child is much younger... but I hope that this is of some use L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 In the past we have used photos of activities going on in each room posted on the doors, together with a pictorial "timetable" of the day in general. You know the score Register, Choosing(by pics, displayed in info area, and on doors),Lunch Routines (Toilet, wash hands etc, lunch) Afternoon choices, circle & group times, snack time, and collection time. This has been displayed in the hallway, or parent info area, and the other parents benefited too. Choosing activities were all together, this way the parents could see the variety of activities on offer. I have also had the benefit of a ESL support worker to work with the family, encouraging the family to speak English in the home as well as the native language. One child I have worked with in the past was Polish. Four years later, he in fluent in both languages, teaches other children "rude" words in a foreign language, and his Mother, so inspired by his progress went to college this year to take English classes. Janet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen Posted September 10, 2004 Author Share Posted September 10, 2004 Thank you all for your suggestions. I was thinking of visual aids - dual language texts is a good idea and a good learning experience for all the children Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Glen had exactly the same problem on Wednesday...2 1/2 yr old mum and dad just moved from France and he speaks no english...... took my french cd in today as our french is extremley basic...................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catma Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 If you have any budget then Mantra Publications do good cd roms in many languages and good learning materials too. Don't forget though that many if not most children will go through the "Silent period" when starting to be exposed to a new language. This is normal. His parents should also be encouraged to make sure he is developing oracy and language skills in his mother tongue too. This will support his development of English as he will have the internalised "Hooks" on which to hang the new language he is learning. Otherwise children can simply develop poor skills in both languages. Activities at first need to be embedded in a strong context but maybe with a lower cognitive demand such as naming, repeating and copying but moving swiftly as confidence builds to a higher cognitive level but still rich in context, such as sequencing, describing, following instructions and comparing . Trentham Books publish some very useful materials on supporting E2L children. Have fun Cx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 Grandma and Me from Living Books is lovely programme for the computer. It automatically has french English and Spaniish on it. It tell a story and is easily interacted with. Our children loved ti last year it did make them aware of other languages when they accidently logged on in French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rea Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 WOW!!! I can see!!! Must get eyes tested, Oscar your post was SO easy to read. I've been sqinting at the screen for months Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hali Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 :wacko: :rolleyes: Ive been studying french all wekend and written some sentences down for our little french boy tomorrow so that hopefully i can communicate with him............goodness knows if he will understand though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inge Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 We enlisted help from the local Ethnic Minority Association, who came and visited the child and parents giving us lots of advice and help, even an IEP for the child to follow. we found speaking to the parents very helpful, and us learning the mother tongue of the child for counting, and basics like table chair stand sit etc as well as learning head shoulders knees and toes for all children to learn together in the child's home language. This gave the child the understanding that their mother tongue was just as important as English. Parents gave us phonetic lists of any words we needed and the child eventually began to speak to us in both languages. Parents were encouraged to speak both languages at home, so the child valued both languages. this instance was Malayalam as the language but we currently have children with Spanish, and Malayalam as their mother tongue and a child with Portuguese starting in a few weeks. We find with patience the children learn very quickly. We use dual language books, signs and posters, and pictures for routines but find the other children help a lot showing the child what to do when or where to go. give the child time and show you value both languages equally will give him confidence to use them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Hi Inge, Great to see you getting stuck straight in! Welcome to the site - perhaps you could tell us a bit about the setting you work in. Looking forward to hearing more from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted September 16, 2004 Share Posted September 16, 2004 And hello from me, too! Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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