Bridging Language in PreK
By Veronica Murillo
Early Childhood Department
Preschool Instructional Coach
Irvington Public Schools
NJTESOL/NJBE, Bilingual/ESL Early childhood / Pre-K – K Representative
As early childhood educators, we can promote the maintenance of young multilingual learners’ home language in the classroom and use it as a bridge to connect their prior knowledge with new learning in English. Over the past three years, as a preschool instructional coach, I have been dedicated to coaching teachers in the best practices to achieve these goals. It is common to use visuals, gestures, and realia to help young learners acquire English. In addition to singing songs, counting in students’ home languages, and using survival words for basic directions and interactions, teachers are now teaching key academic vocabulary in students’ home languages. They compare languages and identify similarities between students’ home languages and English.
At Irvington, preschool teachers are implementing a 5-step bridging technique throughout the week. On the first day, they introduce vocabulary in both English and the students’ home languages. On Day 2, they review these words and explore their similarities and differences, such as cognates or similar beginning sounds. On Day 3, they recall what they have learned about their vocabulary and select a letter to focus on for the next two days. On Day 4, they identify one word that begins with the same letter sound in both languages. For example, “apple” in English and “avión” in Spanish both start with the sound /a/. Finally, on Day 5, they review the vocabulary, recall the similarities between the two languages, and identify one more word in each language that has the same beginning sound.
The bridging technique has encouraged multilingual students to become more engaged in the classroom while they learn both English and maintain their home languages. Additionally, English-speaking students benefit from learning a second language. One significant challenge has been the limited availability of bilingual teachers to support the bridging technique. However, the positive outcomes for teachers, students, and parents have shown us that we cannot let the shortage of bilingual teachers be a barrier to progress. This year, we invited 20 English-speaking teachers to join the Multilingual Cohort Group. They have received training on how to bridge languages effectively and have been provided with translation devices to assist them in this process. Importantly, they are not alone; bilingual colleagues and parents can also serve as valuable resources for these teachers.
As educators, we have a responsibility to serve all our students. Therefore, it is essential to grow professionally and ensure that our young learners remain multilingual across grades through the simple practice of the “bridge technique.” Together, we can create a more inclusive and enriching learning environment for all our students.
