Teachers who work with English as a Second Language learners will find ESL/ESOL/ELL/EFL reading/writing skill-building children's books, stories, activities, ideas, strategies to help PreK-3, 4-8, and 9-12 students learn to read.
Bilingual Families
Frequent questions
Expert answers
Where can I find information about services for people with learning disabilities outside the United States?
There are several organizations with world-wide membership that may be able to assist you.
Learning Disabilities Worldwide: LDW is an international organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals with learning disabilities. They strive to increase awareness and understanding through multi-lingual media productions and publications that serve populations across cultures and nations. Their educational enrichment programs are designed to serve individuals with LD, their families, and the professionals in their lives. They publish the largest peer reviewed journal, “Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal”, and present the annual “World Congress on Learning Disabilities.”
International Dyslexia Association: The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a nonprofit, scientific, and educational organization dedicated to the study and treatment of the learning disability dyslexia. IDA focuses its resources in four major areas: information and referral services, research, advocacy and direct services to professionals in the field of learning disabilities.
How common are language-based learning disabilities?
According to the International Dyslexia Asssociation and the Learning Disabilites Association of America, about 15% of the population (close to one in seven) has a learning disability. Of the students with learning disabilities receiving special education services, 70-80% have deficits in reading.
Luckily, there is plenty of information on how to address the needs of these children. More information on strategies to help children with learning disabilities is available on LD OnLine and Reading Rockets.
I am raising my children to be bilingual. What can I do to make them strong readers?
As a parent, you play a critical role in helping your children develop into good readers! You may already be taking the most important first steps by exposing them to books and by reading books with them. By keeping books within easy reach (such as in a basket on the floor), they can explore them when interested. If you don’t already do so, you may want to consider making a quiet time with books part of your children's daily routine. For example, you can read stories together right before naps or bedtime or after a bath. If reading stories becomes a consistent part of their daily routine, they will most likely come to expect, enjoy, and be calmed by this relaxing and intimate time that you share.
The following articles will give you ideas on ways to promote literacy and to share the joy of reading together:
- Helping Your Child Become a Reader
- Simple Ways to Encourage Learning
- The Early Years Are Learning Years
- Reading with Your Child
- Tips for Sharing Books
- Making Music: Literacy Tips for Parents
By giving your children positive experiences with books, you are instilling in them a genuine, lifelong passion for reading and learning — a priceless gift! Please use the following link to find numerous resources about English Language learners. Many of these articles address the concerns of teaching bilingual students in all the academic areas.
Is it OK to speak to my child in my native language?
Talking to your child regularly lays the foundation for her language and literacy development. If you are most comfortable with your native language, you will be better able to communicate your feelings and ideas in that language. You can use words to label objects and describe what is happening as a way of teaching new words. You can recite rhymes and poems to develop her awareness of sounds. You can take turns talking about the day, things she notices, and books that you read together.
By talking together, you teach your child about the purpose of language, while helping her express her feelings and ideas. And by speaking to your child in your native language, you also teach her about her culture and her identity.
Excerpt from "Talking with Children." Reprinted with permission from PBS Parents.
Will speaking to my child in my native language make it harder for him to learn English when he goes to school?
Before children start school, they may be exposed to English on TV, in the playground, and in the print they see on cereal boxes and street signs. Children will learn a lot about English from the environment around them. If your child has also had some formal exposure to English, such as going to a playgroup in which English is the primary language spoken, then school can provide additional opportunities for him to learn the language.
Children and teachers alike can serve as models, helping your child communicate what he knows and can do. You may even be surprised by how quickly he picks up the language as he plays and learns alongside other English-speaking children. If your child has had no formal exposure to English, he will use what he knows about his native language to learn English — which will be a major task. Talk with your child's teacher about your goals for your child, as well as any concerns you have.
Excerpt from "Talking with Children." Reprinted with permission from PBS Parents.
I look forward to coming back again and again. After all, I must learn myself. We can't teach what we don't know.
~ Maria C.
