Dear Parents,

Welcome to ________ Elementary. It is our pleasure to work with your child

and support them in in their academic studies. Our school is a culturally diverse
school that values the cultural backgrounds and languages of all our students. Not
only do we teach students how to become proficient English language learners but
we also foster and encourage the development of our students first language skills
and promote the exploration of cultural identity.
We understand that you may have concerns about first language use at
school, however wed like to assure you that your child will benefit both emotionally
and educationally from the continued development of their first language. Learning
a new language can be overwhelming for many students therefore allowing your
child to continue to develop their first language skills will help your child feel more
comfortable and confident as they learn English. Moreover this will have a positive
impact on their education. Research shows the benefits of first language use to
learn an additional language as follows:

Dual language use promotes the development higher level thinking and
problem solving skills
First language use allows children to experience a sense of cultural stability
and continuity
Children who have well-developed first language skills have been shown to
develop additional languages more easily
First language use in the classroom allows your child to participate in
classroom activities at their full leaning potential which creates more
meaningful learning opportunities
Past knowledge and experience can be easily retrieved by students in their
first language and this can be used as a starting point for building knowledge
in a new language
Frist Language can help students understand concepts and vocabulary in a
new language
Students can be active participates in the classroom by participating in
meaningful conversations with other students who speak their first language
Bilingual skills provide students with future career opportunities

After learning the many benefits of continued first language development we hope
you will support our teaching values. Some ways that we foster the development
language skills and cultural identity at our school are as follows:

Throughout the school year our school celebrates many cultural celebrations
and students are encouraged to share their own cultural traditions and
knowledge with the class
Students create displays and posters in the classroom using multiple
languages to communicate meaning
 Our school library has a collection of multilingual books that are available to
student and parents, and students are encourage to continue developing
literacy skills in their first language
Students are given opportunities to complete work in dual languages (first
language and English) which deepens their comprehension of materials
learned
Thank you for your support, we believe education is a partnership between parents
and teachers and we welcome your participation in our school. If you have any
further questions or concerns I would be happy to meet with you in person.
Kind Regards,
Ms. Martens
English Language Learner Support Teacher
References and further reading suggestions for parents on this topic:
Mandy roots, Many Voices. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/manyroots/
Cummins, Jim. Students Speak for Themselves: Identity Texts and Literacy Engagement.
http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/files/ELLidentityTexts.pdf