Instructing dual language learners: Are we prepared?

The Philippines.  Bangladesh.  Myanmar.  Laos.  Nepal.  These are only a handful of the countries where both past and current pre-kindergarten students of mine were born, or where their home languages and cultural backgrounds originate from.  Recently, I have learned that the US Census Bureau "projects that by the 2030s, children whose home language is other than English will increase from roughly 22 percent to 40 percent of the school-age population" (Magruder, Hayslip, Espinosa, & Matera, 2013).  This prediction was alarming but significant to me as these children will most likely enroll in a pre-kindergarten program prior to starting elementary school.  And for school districts like my own, English as a Second Language services are not provided for pre-kindergarten students, which means that the responsibility of meeting their diverse needs falls upon my hands.  

The notion that the number of these young children could potentially double in the next fifteen years is troubling, as there is no sole method of preparing their teachers for dual language instruction.  I fortunately have found many suggestions and strategies that can be implemented in the classroom, and many were provided by one particular early childhood professional, Karen Nemeth.  Upon further investigation I learned that Karen Nemeth is an author, presenter, consultant, and founder of the website, LanguageCastle, which contains numerous resources for anyone who works with dual language learners.  She also writes her own blog which contains further information on specific topics of interest, http://www.languagecastle.com/blog/.  As I have read many of her articles, it is an immediate plan of mine to explore the books that she has written, and possibly purchase the ones that are relevant to my current position.  As I have personally seen the number of dual language learners in my own pre-kindergarten classroom increase year after year, I know that I must prepare myself with the knowledge necessary to provide them with the best possible educational experiences.

If dual language learners are present in your classroom or program, what resources do you use to provide for their instruction?  Are you familiar with the work of Karen Nemeth?  Please share your experiences below!

Reference:

Magruder, E. S., Hayslip, W. W., Espinosa, L. M., & Matera, C. (2013). Many Languages, One Teacher: Supporting Language and Literacy Development for Preschool Dual Language Learners. Young Children, 68(1), 8-12, 15.