About Reading

If English is not Your First Language

• Value the first or home language
• Continue to speak the first language as often as possible in front of and with your children
• Encourage children to speak the first language at home and with friends
• Discuss with children the value of code-switching (when to use each language)
• Discuss the school day, homework and reading books in the first language
• Watch age appropriate movies in the first language as well as in English
• Listen to songs from your home country or culture
• Read books to your child in your first language
• Identify words in English that have the same meaning as words in the first language
• Point out any differences in script or text between English and the first language, such as the way pages are turned, the direction words are read, or the shape of symbols
• Be patient as learning a second language takes time
• Praise all attempts at using English for listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Children learning a second or additional language need to learn…

• New sounds and sound groups
• New intonation and stress patterns
• New script or alphabet
• New sound-symbol relationships and spelling
• New vocabulary and word groups
• New grammar, language choices and text types
• Metalanguage – the ability to reflect and talk about language and how it works
• New non-verbal signs, new meanings for old non-verbal signs
• New rules about the appropriateness of language for specific situations and roles
• New sets of culturally specific knowledge, values and behaviour
• New culturally specific view of the world
• An ability to relate to people and to express feelings and emotions in the new language

All the aspects of English that students need to learn take time and may be very tiring for some children. First children will learn basic interpersonal communication so that they can interact with others in English in everyday contexts. This usually takes about 2 years to develop from the time they begin learning English.

Then children will begin to further develop their academic language proficiency. This involves their reading and writing skills in de-contextualised academic situations. Depending on the child’s language background, this could take between 5 – 7 years for children to become proficient in using English successfully for academic purposes.

Development in listening and speaking in English needs to occur before reading and writing skills. It is not expected that children would be able to read a book which contains words beyond their speaking and listening ability. Although the child may be able to decode the words they read, they may not make sense from the words and this may be discouraging for them. Choose books which are interesting, age appropriate and appropriate to the child’s English language level.