If English isn’t your child’s first language, you may be wondering how to teach them to read and write in English while still preserving their native language skills. Fortunately, helping bilingual children with comprehension and reading doesn’t have to be tricky. Here are three ways to help bilingual children with reading and comprehension, and how your child care center can help. 

Reading and Comprehension Tips for Bilingual Kids

1. Read Frequently

Make reading a priority with your bilingual child. Read with them as much as you can, and consider picking up some dual-language books so they can correlate new words with ones they are already familiar with. This also helps them retain reading and comprehension skills for their native tongue. As you read with your child, enunciate clearly. If they’re struggling, consider explaining what you read in their native language, but use English more often as their skills improve. 

2. Enroll Your Little One in Child Care

Spending time in programs like child care can be helpful for kids because they can learn from their peers. As kids talk and play with their peers, they can learn conversational English, which can help later when they read with you. Additionally, child care classes give kids the chance to enjoy stories read by their teachers, which can give them the chance to learn in a new environment. 

3. Label Items Around the House

Take cues from bilingual child care centers and label items throughout your home in both English and your native language. Doing this helps your child understand that two different words can mean the same thing. This can have benefits during story time. Constantly seeing labels next to the items they represent can also help your child to associate certain letters with the spoken name of certain objects. 

If your child needs an educationally rich environment to boost their English reading and comprehension skills, consider making A Brighter Rainbow Learning Center of Billerica, MA, part of your little one’s day. While in one of their early learning, child care, or preschool programs, your child can gain crucial speech, reading, and comprehension skills, helping them to develop the abilities they need to do well in school. Find out more about how they can help by visiting their website or giving their office a call at (978) 670-9222.