‘Language is the most powerful tool in the development of any human being. It is undeniably the greatest asset we possess. A good grasp of language is synonymous with a sound ability to think. In other words language and thought are inseparable’ (Vygotsky 1986).

İlk Beş offers  English - Turkish bilingual program for whole day.

Children under six years of age are still in the stages of acquiring their  first language. However, by three years of age, they have achieved much of the development of spoken language. Many children at this age are already  fluent in their home language, which provides a sound basis for learning English as a second language. By this time children have knowledge of language and how it works. They are practiced in communicating with others and will transfer these skills to the learning of their second language.

Children learning English as a second language need explicit modelling and language teaching, appropriate time to acquire the new language and quality exposure to English. This requires early childhood professionals to be knowledgeable about the way children learn a second language, the stages of acqui- sition and the recognition that children differ in their rate of acquisition.

For young children interaction with adults and other children is the key to the acquisition of language. For infants and toddlers their early interaction with parents and caregivers provides the basis for communication and learning in both the home language and in the second language.

In the early stages of learning English as a second language children should hear contextualised lan-guage; that is, language supported by visual materials and opportunities to handle objects. They need to tie known concepts to new vocabulary. Visuals provide clues for learners.