With more than one million children in state-funded nursery and primary schools using English as an additional language (EAL) – 30.4% nursery and 22.8% primary (DfE, 2024) – the government’s commitment to improving early years language skills is very much welcome.
However, revisions made to the 2024 Early Years Foundation Stage framework may continue to have adverse implications. Last year, the DfE made the following change:
We went from: “For children whose home language is not English, providers must take reasonable steps to provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning, supporting their language development at home.”
To: “For children whose home language is not English, providers may take reasonable steps to provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning, supporting their language development at home.”
The potential impact of this revision demands serious consideration, particularly in cases where “may” could get interpreted as “we no longer have to” or “it is no longer important to”.
With diverse multilingual classrooms being the norm, it is important that school leaders are aware of these implications so they can ensure that the linguistic resources a child brings to the early years classroom may continue to be welcomed and amplified.
The figures above tell us that almost one-third of children in nursery are exposed to a language at home other than English. For some of these children, the early years setting may be their first contact with the English language, while others may have been exposed to or developed English at home, alongside one or more additional languages.
For these children, not having their home language recognised as a legitimate component of learning can have a negative impact on how they view themselves and their place within the classroom and wider society.
As Professor Sonia Nieto, a teacher educator who is multilingual herself, poignantly reflects: “I quickly learned that English was for serious learning at school, while Spanish was reserved for family, a private affair. It was a lesson that would take me years to unlearn.” (Nieto, 2020).
Benefits of using home language
Far too often, the linguistic and cultural identities of children who use EAL get overlooked as early years practitioners may not have experience or training in how to promote multilingualism or feel obligated to use only English.
Senior leaders can help build the confidence and multilingual practices of their early years practitioners by sharing the benefits of using a child’s home language as outlined below.
A sense of belonging
A child’s linguistic repertoire – all the languages and literacy practices a child knows (i.e. languages used to sing songs, tell stories, read books, etc.) – plays a vital role in their social identity, sense of belonging, and emotional wellbeing.
Creating early years spaces where multilingual children feel their languages and cultural practices are included and valued will help them thrive as they learn and explore new environments.
Caroline O’Dwyer, a school inclusion lead, shares an example from her school where they use family members or bilingual teaching assistants to read multilingual books to children: “The main benefit we see when we use books in the children’s home language, is their communication ability. When they first arrive, they are confronted by the unfamiliarity of an English space and are withdrawn and silent and can become very emotional.
“When they encounter their own language at school, they start feeling calm and safe and have a sense of belonging, and this leads, within a few weeks, to the start of learning English.”
Learning multilingual songs and greetings, labelling items in different languages, and using home language during play, all demonstrate a value for multilingualism.
Family engagement
For many families the home language forms an integral part of family life. It is used to communicate and build relationships with family members who may not speak English, either here or abroad, and to interact with home communities, maintaining cultural and religious practices. Not safeguarding the inclusion of a child’s home language in the EYFS framework, risks promoting an English monolingualism environment and a sense of language inequality which could ultimately suppress a child’s pride in or use of their home language, potentially damaging important relationships and identity.
Multilingual parents or care-givers will be as diverse as multilingual children themselves. Many may be new to English and to early year settings in the UK. Seeing their home language valued and used for learning at their child’s school will help to create a sense of belonging for them as well, allowing opportunities to build stronger home-school connections.
Playing and learning
Bilingualism is positively correlated with attainment and is not a barrier to learning (Strand & Hessel, 2018). The reason for this is that children who use EAL will naturally use all their language resources as they build up new meanings and new languages (Cummins, 2000).
Curtailing or excluding a child’s use of home language in early years settings could actually hinder their development, as it impedes the child from building on strengths and skills developed while learning their home language.
Ironically, in the same year that revisions were made to the EYFS framework, the DfE also stated that: “Young people who are confident in an additional language are at a huge advantage in life; not only in regards to social and cultural advantages but also academic advantages such as increased cognitive flexibility, adaptability and performance across a range of subject areas.” (DfE, 2023)
Given the significant benefits of using a child’s home language, The Bell Foundation is urging the government to revisit the amendment as part of its commitment to overhaul early years education.
In the meantime, there are many ways early years leaders can continue to promote the use of a child’s home language in their settings/schools.
What can leaders do?
Approaching the use of home language in the early years requires an ability to look at existing practices in school from a multilingual mindset. To support with this, The Bell Foundation recently published a resource entitled “EAL in early years settings”, offering guidance and strategies (see below). You can find further information inside the guidance that supports each of the following.
Getting to know your EAL learners
Include questions about a child’s language resources as part of nursery intake or parent-teacher conferences:
- What languages are spoken at home?
- What are the family’s language practices (i.e. who speaks what language to whom and when)?
- What are the family’s literacy practices?
- What are some words in the child’s home language that might be useful to know, for example words parents use to comfort or praise their child?
School policies
Consider creating or reviewing your school’s language policy so that it:
- States your position on language and the use of home language in early years settings.
- Expresses evidence-informed beliefs around multilingualism.
- Clarifies expectations for early years practitioners around language use.
Family engagement
Consider how multilingual families may have different concerns about their children than traditional monolingual families who use only English. For example, parents may:
- Have concerns about their own English proficiency.
- Question what language to speak at home.
- Have concerns about their child not being able to communicate needs in English and show what they know in assessments administered in English.
- Fear barriers to English could lead to their child being misclassified as having a speech or developmental delay.
As you and the practitioners in your setting engage with multilingual families:
- Regularly request input from families regarding their language aspirations, expectations and/or concerns.
- Use translation apps such as Google translate or professional or adult family relations to interpret when necessary.
- Provide families with accessible information to address any questions or concerns they may have regarding multilingualism.
- Share information on the advantages of being multilingual and continuing to use and develop the child’s home language.
- Engage in on-going discussion with families regarding their children’s language development and learning, both at home and at school.
- Create inclusive and welcoming environments where multilingual families can connect during coffee hours, educational evenings, cultural events, etc.
Classroom practice
The Bell Foundation’s early years guidance linked above provides practical classroom strategies that are aligned with the EYFS framework. Consider sharing these strategies with your early years practitioners as they aspire to teach EAL through classroom activities while providing children with opportunities to develop and use their home language.
Finally, support early years practitioners by offering CPD around areas such as:
- Exploring one’s own beliefs, values, and biases around language.
- Strategies for using a child’s full linguistic repertoire.
- Strategies for supporting English language development.
- Observing or assessing for English language proficiency as part of identifying appropriate additional language support.
- Building relationships with multilingual families and communities.
Final thoughts
A major aspect of early years education is creating a sense of belonging for all children at school. The role home language plays in achieving this is vital and may require leaders to reimagine what early years education looks and sounds like within a welcoming and thriving multilingual environment.
- Sheila Hopkins is a trainer at The Bell Foundation, a charity working to overcome exclusion through language education. Visit www.bell-foundation.org.uk. Find previous articles from The Bell Foundation's experts via www.headteacher-update.com/authors/the-bell-foundation
Further information & resources
- Bell Foundation: EAL in early years settings: Guidance and strategies: www.bell-foundation.org.uk/resources/detail/eal-in-early-years-settings-guidance-and-strategies
- Cummins: Language, Power and Pedagogy, Multilingual Matters, 2000.
- DfE: Press release: More pupils of all ages to study languages, 2023: www.gov.uk/government/news/more-pupils-of-all-ages-to-study-languages
- DfE: Academic year 2023/24: Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics
- Nieto: A lifetime of language, literacy, identity, and solidarity, Literacy Research: Theory, method and practice (69,1), 2020.
- Strand & Hessel: English as an additional language, proficiency in English, and pupils’ educational achievement, University of Oxford, Unbound Philanthropy & The Bell Foundation, 2018.