Category: Uncategorized

  • My Son Spoke Dutch to the Dog And It Made Me Rethink Everything.

    We’ve followed the One Parent, One Language (OPOL) approach since the day my son was born. He understands everything I say. We read books in Dutch, visit family in Belgium, and Dutch has always been part of our home. But if you asked him to speak Dutch? You’d probably get…

  • Five Conversations Every School Should Be Having Now to Support Multilingual Learners Next Year

    As another school year draws to a close, many school leaders are already beginning to think ahead to September. This period of reflection offers a valuable opportunity to consider what is working well, what could be improved, and how support for multilingual learners can be strengthened across the school. Too…

  • One Year of Every Language Learner

    One year ago, I started Every Language Learner with a simple but deeply important belief: Every language learner deserves to feel seen, valued and included. At the time, I knew there were conversations I wanted to have more openly about multilingualism, EAL provision, language identity, and belonging in education. I…

  • Vocabulary is not just about words: it’s about access, equity, and belonging

    In every classroom, vocabulary is doing more work than we often realise. It’s not just about learning new words. It’s about whether learners can access the curriculum, participate in lessons, and show what they know. For multilingual learners, this is especially important. Because when learners don’t have access to the…

  • Connection First: Supporting Belonging for Newly Arrived Families

    Over the past five weeks, I’ve had the privilege of working for Bracknell Forest Council on a resettlement support project for refugees from Afghanistan. At its heart, this work was about belonging and inclusion, creating the conditions for individuals and families to feel seen, valued, and connected within their new…

  • Part 5: Keeping Families Involved in Small Ways

    International Mother Language Day often opens the door to conversations about language, identity, and belonging. But for many schools, one question remains: How do we involve families in a meaningful way, without adding pressure? Because families are central to this work. They are the holders of language, culture, and lived…

  • Part 4: Use Multilingual Greetings Every Day

    International Mother Language Day often encourages schools to celebrate languages through events, displays, and activities.But some of the most powerful moments of inclusion happen in the smallest interactions. A greeting at the door.A word spoken correctly.A language recognised. These everyday moments can have a lasting impact. One simple and sustainable…

  • The Texture of Home

    Why leaving home is about more than the people we miss. Yesterday afternoon, something quite ordinary and yet deeply significant happened, at least if you’re from where I’m from. A Flemish cyclist won Paris-Roubaix. For many people here in the UK, that sentence won’t carry much weight. But back home…

  • Part 3: Embed Home Languages in Learning

    International Mother Language Day creates an important moment of recognition. But for many multilingual learners, the real question is: Are our languages welcomed in the classroom, or only celebrated on special occasions? Sustaining the impact of International Mother Language Day means moving beyond displays and events, and into everyday teaching…

  • Part 2: Turning Your Display into a Living Language Space

    International Mother Language Day often leaves behind something visible: a display. A wall of languages, a map, a collection of words — something that reflects the linguistic diversity of the school. But too often, these displays are temporary. They are taken down, replaced, or forgotten once the day has passed.What…