Young children are amazing to watch. They learn to talk, interact, socialise and share their thoughts and emotions in a relatively short time, and many children can do all this in two or even more languages!

Bilingual children who develop a language at home that is different from that of the education setting have to learn to navigate between two languages and two cultures, and they need to adapt and respond to their environment.

Early years settings like Pre-schools, Montessori settings or créches are becoming increasingly diverse and it is important that these settings constitute a safe space where all languages are valued, respected and supported. 

In Ireland, it is not common to find early childhood educators who are fluent in multiple migrant languages and in-depth learning about cultural and linguistic diversity is not always part of professional training.