Tips for Parents on How to Help Students Achieve ELL Success

The English Language Learner (ELL) program at Concordia is committed to providing students with the support they need to fully participate in the rich English learning environment we strive daily to create. One of the things that the Concordia ELL program believes strongly in is the power of continued mother tongue (also known as native or first language) development at home and its positive impact on English language development at school.

The level of development in a child's mother tongue is a strong predictor of their English language development success. Children who come to school with a solid foundation in their mother tongue develop stronger literacy abilities in the school language.

Some of the ways that Concordia encourages parents to support mother tongue development at home is by:

• Reading to or with their child every night.
• Providing regular and consistent time for meaningful conversations or topic discussions.
• Playing activities and games that promote listening and following directions.
• Obtaining books about school-based topics of study, in their child's mother-tongue.
• Singing with and to their child.
• Modeling good listening behaviors (make eye contact, ask clarifying questions, and occasionally repeat what is being said).
• Asking questions to their child that require more than a yes/no answer.
• Maintaining close contact with their child's ELL coach and teacher(s) to stay aware of what their child is studying in school so that they can also discuss it at home.
• Asking for help if they do not understand something or have questions/concerns. The Concordia faculty and staff are here to help!

Language is a gift, and one that we at Concordia see as given and nurtured both at school and at home. In short, when the language of home and the language of school unite together, both languages nurture each other and build confidence and greater success for students.

Submitted by Concordia Student Support Coordinator Jaime Thomas

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