Dual language learners and four areas of early childhood learning and development: what do we know and what do we need to learn?

Dual language learners are a steadily growing student population in several countries, including the United States – and especially in early childhood. Consequently, any efforts to develop strong early childhood programming must include practices which support multiple areas of DLLs’ development. From a domain-specific lens, I synthesize the empirical literature on instructional practices for supporting young DLLs’ learning and development in four areas: language and literacy, social-emotional, science, and mathematics. Through this synthesis, I identify practices such as drawing upon DLLs’ home languages during language and literacy instruction. I also offer ideas for next steps in the research, including developing lines of research for supporting DLLs’ learning in math and science.