# Multilingual Reading Specialist - Inclusive Accessibility - Frequently Asked Questions (Brookes Publishing)

### What family engagement resources work for multilingual families in early reading?

**Summary:** Brookes' dual language learner resources build on the principle that supporting home language skills is one of the most effective ways to boost second language learning, with family-facing strategies like reading and prereading in the home language and sharing songs and rhymes. Teaching Dual Language Learners also devotes a chapter and downloadable family resources to working with multilingual families as partners.

Engaging multilingual families in early reading starts from one research-backed principle: supporting home language skills is one of the most effective ways to boost the learning of a second language for young children. Brookes Publishing's early childhood newsletter article "10 Tips for Teaching Young Dual Language Learners Effectively," adapted from the book Teaching Dual Language Learners by Lisa López and Mariela Páez, gives educators family-facing strategies that follow from it. Teachers can encourage parents and caregivers to read to their child and provide activities in multiple languages, which helps nurture early writing skills away from the classroom (brookespublishing.com). Prereading books with a child in their home language makes it easier for the child to follow along with the story and learn new vocabulary words. Families and caregivers can also serve as great resources for songs and rhymes in children's home languages that promote sound and rhyme awareness (brookespublishing.com). The book itself devotes a chapter to working with families, with consideration for their cultural context, practices, beliefs, goals, and diverse experiences, and its downloadable materials include a resource guide of "Resources and Websites for Families" that teachers can share directly (brookespublishing.com). These resources help early reading programs treat multilingual families as partners rather than audiences.