Resources for Bilingual Children – Good Practices and Teaching Methods

Bilingualism is a resource — but educational support must be specific

In the classroom, the label “bilingual children” can describe very different situations. Some children grow up with two languages simultaneously. Others use one language at home and begin systematic learning of the school language in kindergarten or primary school. Others may already be literate in one language but enter a new education system. Their dominant language, vocabulary, confidence, reading, writing and academic-language skills may all differ.

The teacher’s first task is therefore not to conclude that the child “does not know the language,” but to identify what the child can already understand, say, read and write in each language and in which contexts. European work on multilingual classrooms treats linguistic and cultural diversity as a resource that should be used positively while the language of schooling is developed systematically. The Council of Europe likewise includes plurilingual and pluricultural competence and mediation within contemporary language education.

The multilingual classroom is now a normal European reality

The European Commission reports that 15.5% of 15-year-old students in the EU speak a language at home that differs from the language used at school. The same source notes that only around 30% of teachers feel that their initial training prepared them to teach in linguistically diverse classrooms. The important distinction is this: the challenge is not the existence of multiple languages itself, but whether the school has the methodology, resources and professional capacity to work effectively with that diversity.

UNESCO has also repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that many learners worldwide do not receive education in a language they speak or understand well. For teachers, the practical implication is clear: when a child must understand new content and decode an unfamiliar language at the same time, cognitive load increases. Support should reduce the language barrier without reducing the intellectual level of the task.

From “play – communication – language” to a complete learning system

The original 2020 version of this article placed the triad “play – communication – language” at the centre of practice. That idea remains useful, especially in early childhood and primary education, but it can now be expanded into a more complete system. Play creates a motivating context, communication creates a real reason to use language, and the teacher gradually introduces vocabulary, structures and academic expressions needed for participation in learning.

Useful supports are usually concrete: objects and actions, images, gestures, sentence frames, short repeatable routines, visual organisers, pre-teaching of key vocabulary, pair work and opportunities for the learner to formulate an idea first in a stronger language before transferring it to the school language. The home language can also be used through bilingual glossaries, word comparisons, family stories, first drafts and peer discussion.

How can artificial intelligence help teachers?

The most useful role of generative AI here is not to “teach instead of the teacher,” but to reduce the time required to prepare differentiated materials. From one base text, a teacher can create a shorter version, a key-word glossary, comprehension questions, language frames, a picture sequence, a dialogue, a mini-game or a home-learning activity. Different learners can receive different levels of language support while working toward the same learning objective.

AI can also assist with first drafts of bilingual glossaries, example sentences, visual stories and family communication. However, automatic translation should never be treated as final, particularly for less widely supported languages, dialects, culturally sensitive expressions or specialised school terminology. UNESCO recommends a human-centred, age-appropriate and privacy-aware approach to generative AI in education, with attention to data protection and pedagogical validity.

A useful workflow is: AI creates a draft → the teacher verifies it → the learner interacts with it → the teacher observes the result → the resource is improved. Do not enter sensitive personal data about a specific child into public AI systems, and do not allow generated material to replace live communication, play, collaborative activity or professional teacher judgement.

Updated resources for teachers and children

Some links in the original 2020 publication became outdated, local or difficult to verify. This revised version keeps useful Bulgarian practice examples and adds current international libraries that can realistically support multilingual teaching and resource creation.

What should teachers observe?

Progress in multilingual learners should not be measured only by the number of words learned. Teachers should observe whether the learner understands instructions, participates in conversation, asks questions, tells a coherent story, uses language for academic tasks and gradually needs fewer supports. In reading, decoding should be distinguished from comprehension; in writing, the quality of the idea should be distinguished from the accuracy of the language form. An error can be evidence of learning in progress rather than lack of ability.

It is especially important not to draw premature conclusions about learning difficulties solely from limited proficiency in the school language. When concerns persist, assessment should consider the child’s language history, development across the languages they use, previous educational experience and observations from family members and relevant specialists.

Families are not passive observers

Families can support rich conversation, reading, storytelling and play in the language they naturally use with the child. Teachers should not create a false choice in which parents are told to “speak only the school language at home.” It is more valuable for children to receive high-quality language interaction, stories, explanations and questions, while the school builds bridges toward the language of schooling. Bilingual instructions, visual materials and short translated messages can be useful when needed, but they should also be checked for accuracy.