Welcoming bilingual pupils into primary schools

My daughter came to England with us last year understanding a lot of English but Japanese was her first language. Within a year she now uses English predominately, thanks to a year spent in the local school's nursery. Like other  EAL (English as an Additional Language) pupils I've met in my own workplace, her first reaction to a new language in nursery was one of shock and quietness. Children are listening, assessing and assimilating the new language in this first phase, before they start to communicate. I think my daughter spent 6 months at her first nursery doing so. The staff all thought she was very quiet...so NOT true!! At the nursery she started in January of this year, she was also thought of as being quiet but I think they are seeing her true colours now. Her English is also amazing, full of imagination, questions and excitement. She has had some wonderful and sensitive help from her present nursery; we have seen a huge change in her confidence and language since she has been there.
Here's a link to Dorset County Council's EYFS policy for bilingual children:

Welcoming Bilingual pupils into Primary Schools’ – Dorset County Council

Jolly Phonics sound and actions

I'm really enjoying teaching phonics to my nursery class. They follow the Jolly Phonics programme, which links an action to the letter sound. All the kids like doing them, and many spontaneously produce them when they hear the sounds alone. I think its a really good way for kids to remember English sounds.
http://jollylearning.co.uk/2010/11/03/jolly-phonics-actions/

Bilingual children in the nursery class

I have been working as a teaching assistant in a primary school's nursery for the last few months. About half of the pupils use another language that they speak at home. We need to actively help these pupils to gain new language skills and not expect that they will just 'pick it up as they go along.'

Ideas for teachers of bilingual learners at nursery 
NALDIC (National Association of Language Development in the Curriculum) 

Bilingual kids at my primary school

I've been working as a Teaching Assistant at a primary school for 3 weeks now.
At my school there are children from  lots of different backgrounds...English, European, Pakistani, Carribean. They are encouraged to use their languages in the morning and afternoon register, calling out "Good morning!" or "Good afternoon!" in their own languages. Even children who are English but are familiar with another language use what they know too. It makes everyone's background feel appreciated and included.

In my class we are helping a foreign girl who has few English skills. She is older than the rest of my class, but by playing with other kids and studying basic phonics and math, we hope she can pick up some English. I'm interested in how she will go on.

三週間経って、小学校で働いている私。その小学生は色んな違う素性がいる。イギリス、ヨーロッパ、パキスタン、　とかカリビアン。先生が朝と午後の登緑で生徒の言葉でおはようございます！とかこんにちわ！を言わせる。　あるイギリス人の子供達もちょっとだけでも知っている言葉を使って、たとえばドイツ語で、"Gutten Morgen", "GuttenTag"を言ったりする。みんなの文化と言葉が学校で大事をしているのはすごく感じる。

私のクラスで、英語を話せない子供が最近入ってきた。私のクラスより年上だけど、簡単な数学とフォニックスを勉強したり、遊びながら、英語を段々身につける。どういうふうに行くのは興味持っている。。。

私のバイリンガル・キッズ

私のバイリンガル・キッズ
娘は二歳半です。週に一回、半日だけ保育園に通っていたが、日本語がすごく上手になって来ました。短い間に、急に話せるようになっています。それだけでなく、テーブルをセッティングしたり、飲み物を配ったり、掃除をしたり、変な顔を作ったりします：）
家で英語と日本語を両方使いますし、たまに同じ単語を二つ言葉に言ったりします。「おいで、Come on!」とか「Look!見て!!」を結構言いますね。自分の世界に二つ言葉があると気づいています。その上に、私と英語を使う方が多くなっているの気がします。
でも彼女の普段の言葉は日本語。お父さん、友達、先生、ベイビーシッター皆日本語を話していますから。私は頑張って英語で話さないとダメと思うけど日本は長いで、普段私も日本語を話しています!! そういうわけで娘は英語と日本語を混ぜたりします。でもイギリスに引越すと英語が上手くなります。その時から日本語を忘れないようにしないと！


My Bilingual Kids
My daughter is two and a half and attends a Japanese day care for half a day, once a week. Her Japanese language is coming on in leaps and bounds! Even just for this short period of time we have noticed a great improvement in her speaking skills. Not only that, she is doing so much more....setting the table, pouring drinks, cleaning up and pulling faces to name just a few!!
She uses English and Japanese at home, sometimes saying a word in both languages to express herself. Often she says, 'Come on, oide' or 'Look! Mite!' I have a feeling that she is starting to realize that there are two different languages in her world now, and that she has started to use English more with me now.
However her dominant language seems to be Japanese, as all her play friends are Japanese along with daddy, her teachers and baby sitter. Mummy has to try, try, try to keep her own language in English, but after being in Japan for so long, I often use both.
And so that's why she mixes up her sentences in English and Japanese. I'm sure it will sort itself out once we move to the UK. Then we hope she won't forget her Japanese!