This book is a user-friendly, practical resource aimed at early years practitioners and students. The book provides clear guidance on how to support learners with EAL in early years settings, with reference to the new EYFS statutory framework.

With a focus on the prime area of communication and language, the book addresses the following topics in depth:

• What does EAL mean?
• How children learn languages
• Helping children to settle-in
• Creating a suitable environment
• Adult-child interaction
• Building positive relationships with parents and carers
• Observation, assessment and planning
• Working with children with communication difficulties.

Parents' and practitioners' views and perspectives are included throughout the book, to add further insight into many of the key issues. Case studies also feature in each chapter, to highlight real life situations as well as to share examples of good practice.

A resource section, containing photocopiable home activity sheets and checklists, as well as lists of key words and phrases in some of the most commonly spoken languages in the UK, can be found at the back of the book.