“ Doctor Thuy,” he says,“ let’ s look at this penguin’ s body. Which body part did he hurt?”
She points to one of the penguin’ s flippers.“ His arm,” she says.
“ Yes, he hurt his arm. For penguins, we call this his flipper,” Mr. Jensen confirms.“ He has a bandage on his flipper. How can we help him so he can move?”
She thinks for a moment.“ We give medicine to help his flipper.”
“ Why do you think giving him medicine will work?” Mr. Jensen asks.
“ I go to the doctor when I’ m sick, and they give me medicine to feel better,” says Thuy. She pretends to give the penguin medicine from a bottle that is labeled with a first-aid sticker.
Language and literacy learning for multilingual learners is strengthened when vocabulary and concepts are revisited across contexts( August et al. 2018). Mr. Jensen incorporated the target words and ideas in a new context. This gave the children opportunities to hear, use, and apply new language in significant and playful ways, helping them connect ideas from the book to their everyday lives.
Educators can reinforce key vocabulary and concepts through
› Dramatic play › Song and movement activities › Art and writing › Small group conversations › Hands-on investigations
› Connecting to activities shared by and with families
By intentionally revisiting important vocabulary and concepts across experiences, educators create multiple opportunities for multilingual learners to hear, use, and deepen their understanding of new language.
Takeaways for Educators
Preschool educators do not need to speak every language represented in their settings to aid multilingual learners. Through effective read alouds, educators can create rich opportunities for multilingual learners to develop key early language and literacy skills.
As educators reflect on their own practice, they may consider:
› How do I currently encourage multilingual learners before, during, and after read alouds?
› What changes could I make to the multimodal supports I offer or how I integrate key concepts and words across the day?
› In what ways do my instructional materials and texts reflect children’ s cultures, languages, and lived experiences?
When interactive read alouds are intentionally designed to support multilingual learners, they can become joyful spaces where children build language, literacy, confidence, and belonging through enriching interactions with texts, ideas, and one another.
About the Authors
Christina M. Budde, PhD, is an associate professor of language and literacy education at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. Her work focuses on literacy and multilingual learner education, teacher preparation, and evidence-based language and literacy instruction. cbudde @ udel. edu
Christy Tirrell-Corbin, PhD, is executive director of the Center for Early Childhood Education and Intervention and Dean’ s Impact professor at the University of Maryland College of Education, College Park, Maryland. Her work centers on early childhood curriculum, inclusive pre-K practices, and professional learning for early childhood educators. ctc @ umd. edu
84 Young Children
Fall 2026