Empowering Parents to Support Language Learning at Home

Our English as an Additional Language (EAL) Department once again hosted their EAL Workshop, Empowering Parents at Home. Working together with parents to provide tools so they may help their children succeed is of high importance to us.  

This wonderful parent professional development session focused on language acquisition and the ways in which parents can support their children as language learners. To ensure that the information was as accessible as possible, translated materials and translators were provided so parents of all language levels could engage and talk through strategies with one another.

Specifically for parents with children in the EAL program, this workshop provided strategies for helping their children at home with schoolwork despite not identifying as fluent in English themselves. For example, it may be beneficial to encourage your child to study the language, learn the difference between social and academic language, and encourage your child to identify areas of confusion in texts that they read.  

Group sessions also allowed participants to explore a variety of language myths and how to socially-emotionally support their child. For example, “younger children are more effective at learning a language than older children.” This is a typical concept that arises out of the need for older and younger children to learn a language in different ways. Parents explored different excerpts in educational literature and had opportunities to discuss their own experiences.  

SCIS uses the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) English test in order to assess all students. Giving our parents access to look over their child’s results enabled them to understand the varying needs across skill types, such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  

Throughout this workshop, parents were given practical tips and concepts from the EAL Coordinator of their child's division. From the brain science behind language development to strategies for vocabulary acquisition and how to use effective writing structures, our parents added a variety of tools to their belt. One such tool was through learning the practice of extensive reading. This is one of the easiest ways to improve language. Through this practice, students choose their reading material that is relatively easy for their level and read for at least 20 minutes which is equal to roughly 150-200 words. 

This is a way for children to read for pleasure and not schoolwork. It provides children with ways to begin engaging and taking ownership of their learning in a way they can enjoy. This is a simple practice that can be done daily to improve vocabulary, grammar, reading speed, and create learner autonomy. Parents were then given tangible materials and had the ability to discuss with other parents what they were learning and how to implement these ideas in their homes. Many conversations lasted after the workshop as they excitedly discussed the research and methods to be used to support their child.  

We are happy to continue providing resources that ensure our parents and students have everything they need to confidently persevere with their English language education. 

SCIS. Positive Contributors.  

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