The Kindergarten English Language Learner

At WCDSB, we are blessed to have many students learning English as an additional language.  If your child’s first language is a language other than English, please tell us about it on the registration form.  If you need support with English, schools can access interpretation services when they are needed.  Please continue to speak, read and write with your child in your language because bilingualism is a gift! Continuing to use your language has many benefits:

  • continues to build literacy in the first language of the child
  • reinforces concepts learned at school
  • encourages ongoing communication between the child and parents
  • strengthens the child’s cultural identity.

Books in many languages are available at the KPL, WPL and Idea Exchange (libraries in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge), and at Early Years Centres. We also have picture books in multiple languages you can ask your educator about.

Ontario schools have some of the most multilingual student populations in the world. Among them are many English language learners-students whose first language is a language other than English. English language learners may be Canadian-born

or recently arrived from other countries. They come from diverse backgrounds and school experiences, and have a wide variety of strengths and needs.

The Kindergarten Program 2016, Ministry of Education