Now let’s consider important social-emotional components of a high-quality early learning environment.

Strategies

Learn a Few Words in the Child’s Language(s). Remember that supportive adults make children feel safe. You can learn a few common words, such as “hello” and “thank you” in a child’s home language(s). Learning these simple words conveys to the child that you care about them and that you know a bit about their families’ cultural background.

Remain Supportive When Children Struggle. In every early learning environment, children will have moments where they struggle. In particular, children who are multilingual learners have extra barriers to overcome as they navigate day-to-day activities in more than one language. When children struggle, stay present. Listen carefully and validate the child’s feelings. Discuss possible solutions or engage children in activities that help them relax.

Engage in Reciprocal Conversations. Children who are multilingual learners will feel most valued and able to participate in the classroom when adults truly listen and show interest in what they are doing and saying. Adults can help children label their feelings, ask open-ended questions, give suggestions, and encourage choice and rule-making.

Provide Opportunities for Peer Interaction. Educators should also provide opportunities for peer interaction and allow children to help one another, when appropriate. Opportunities for peer interaction can include:

• Pretend play
• Centers
• Group reading time
• Outdoor play

Invite Families to Help. As we learned previously, families of children who are multilingual learners are integral to the successful education of their children, and they play an important role in helping them feel safe and valued. Educators can involve families in the classroom by asking them to volunteer to assist or deliver any kind of activity they feel comfortable with.

Watch this video (3:39) featuring Dr. Lilian Duran, who talks about setting up a supportive classroom environment. As you watch, identify which strategies she mentioned that create a supportive physical environment and those that support the social-emotional environment. Did she mention any strategies we haven’t covered?

Is my Early Learning Environment Supportive?

Some of you may already be using a measure that assesses the quality of your early learning environment (physical and social) for all children. However, it may not take into account the unique needs of children who are multilingual learners.

The Education Development Center has developed a checklist to evaluate the quality of early learning environments when it comes to supporting emergent bilingual children. It is available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. Feel free to use it to assess the quality of your early learning setting for children who are multilingual learners.

The links below provide access to other resources for creating a high-quality early learning environment that you might want to explore.

• “Colours of us” website: Multicultural Children’s Books for Preschool
• Anti-Defamation League: Children’s Literature

references

Anti-Defamation League. Resources for Educators and Families. [Website]

Colors of Us. Multicultural Booklist. [Website]

Education Development Center. (2019). Supporting Emergent Bilingual Children in Early Learning Checklist. [Website]