Family volunteers and young learners participating in a school community activity.
Photo courtesy of Rachel Hawthorne
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Walk into almost any school in California, and you’ll notice conversations happening in several languages. This is one of the state’s greatest strengths: students who carry rich cultural and linguistic knowledge.
At the same time, many of these students’ parents face a quiet challenge: not being able to communicate in English with teachers, school staff, or even with their children when it comes to homework.
In everyday life, many children naturally take on the role of translators for places like the grocery store, the doctor’s office, or during parent-teacher conferences. While many kids willingly step up, it can become a heavy responsibility. Explaining medical paperwork or test results, for example, is quite the burden on a 5- or 10-year-old. And yet, this dynamic often arises from the very real challenges parents face when trying to learn English themselves.
Learning English as an adult isn’t easy, and it’s important to recognize the reasons many families hesitate to try. Often, it’s because time and energy are limited by long work hours, multiple jobs, or caring for young children. Other times, it’s the cost of transportation needed to attend English classes. There is also the very real fear of being judged. No one likes making mistakes in front of others or feeling self-conscious about their accent. The idea of walking into an English class and trying to speak a new language can feel intimidating. Another important factor is that some parents worry that focusing on English might weaken their children’s connection to their heritage, language, culture, or identity.
All of these feelings are valid. Still, the reality is that English is necessary for everyday life — in school, at work, and in many other spaces across the United States. Learning even a little doesn’t mean leaving your home language behind; on the contrary, it helps ease part of the load that can often fall entirely on children as they navigate school and daily expectations. Unlike adults, children go through this language-learning journey while they are still maturing.
Children aren’t simply adjusting to another language; they are growing up within two worlds at the same time that their brains, emotions and bodies are still developing. At home, they’re expected to maintain their language, culture and roots; at school, they’re expected to succeed academically and communicate fluently in English. For them, it’s not just about learning new words — it’s about building identity, understanding who they are, and finding their place between two languages, two realities, and multiple expectations, all while they are still children.
This is why, when a parent takes their first steps to learn English, something deeply meaningful happens. For a child, seeing their parent sit beside them, try new words, practice phrases, or even make mistakes, creates a powerful moment of connection. In that moment, the parent shares the child’s experience, what the child lives and faces every day in school. That gesture tells the child: “We’re in this together. Your challenges are my challenges too.”
When a parent opens a notebook, practices vocabulary, or attends a community English class, they model perseverance. For the child, it shows that learning involves making mistakes, practicing and improving. It teaches resilience and courage, and it gives them a healthy perspective in showing that learning has no age, nor does it stop in the face of challenges.
When parents learn just a few key phrases — “How is my child doing?” “I don’t understand.” “Can you show me an example?” — it gives teachers an opportunity to recognize parents’ engagement and to offer school resources in the home language, strengthening the connection between home and school. It also helps lighten the weight children sometimes carry and allows parents and teachers to share the responsibility of supporting students as they learn a new language while also developing new academic skills.
Most importantly, families don’t have to take this journey alone. Today, more than ever, there are multiple resources available to learn English.
Community and school-based resources include English classes for adults (ESL) at school districts or community colleges, libraries that offer conversation circles or free tutoring, resources and tools to practice at home, and school parent groups that provide English workshops alongside individual or group meetings.
Learning doesn’t always have to be formal. Everyday ways to practice at home can include reading different types of material together, such as storybooks, short texts, or even street signs and everyday product labels. Practicing daily phrases such as greetings, school-related questions, and simple dinner-table conversations is beneficial. Families can also enjoy music or watch TV shows in English, or use free learning apps on their phones. Parents can go one step further and model this effort by letting their children watch them as they try new words, make mistakes, and keep going.
With just 15 minutes a day, meaningful progress can be made. By taking small steps to learn English, parents strengthen their ability to support their children in school and send a powerful message: “We learn together here.”
When parents and children walk this path side by side, the message becomes clear: Education is not only for children, but is a family value, a shared responsibility, and a lifelong journey. Not only that, but the benefits flow both ways: Children gain confidence and can focus on their studies, while parents find greater ease in daily life, more job opportunities, and stronger connections throughout their community.
Remember: Supporting your child’s English learning does not mean letting go of your home language. On the contrary, it acknowledges your child’s reality and shows that both languages, both worlds, are valuable. Together, families can prepare for a present and a future where both languages open doors, create opportunities, and can be respected, appreciated and applied.
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Rachel Hawthorne has a background in linguistics and over a decade of experience as a bilingual K–5 educator. She currently works as a Spanish assessment designer, where she strives to develop high-quality assessment materials that support multilingual learners and their educators.
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