ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how teachers can create a multilingual literacy environment and use this as the springboard for learning and teaching. It differentiates terminology and discusses some of the advantages and difficulties that pupils, for whom English as an additional language (EAL), encounter in the primary classroom. The chapter shows the important role that language plays in children's lives at home and at school. It provides a range of teaching strategies that can be employed to support learning across the curriculum. The chapter discusses how teachers can support pupils who are in the process of learning English as an additional language. It explores how teachers can ensure the bilingual learners have access to the whole curriculum by building on their existing linguistic skills and by using a range of practical strategies. Teachers should view a child's multilingual or bilingual talents as an asset in the classroom.
