There is a moment almost every newcomer parent in Abbotsford knows. Your child comes home with a homework sheet, places it on the kitchen table, and looks at you. And you look at it. And you think — how am I supposed to help with this when I am still learning the language myself?

It is one of the most common and least talked-about challenges facing immigrant and multilingual families in this city. Abbotsford is home to a deeply diverse community where Punjabi is spoken by a significant portion of the population alongside English, and where families from South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, and many other parts of the world are raising children in BC schools every day. According to the 2021 Census data for the Abbotsford region, Punjabi alone is spoken as a primary language by approximately 17 percent of the population — and English Language Learner students make up 17.6 percent of the Abbotsford School District's total student population as of 2024-25.

If you are one of these families, this post is written specifically for you.

The honest truth is this: you do not need to be fluent in English to be an excellent support for your child's education. What you need is the right strategies, the right mindset, and — when the time comes — the right outside support. All three of those things are available to you in Abbotsford.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FIRST — KEEP YOUR HOME LANGUAGE STRONG

Before anything else, let us address the most common mistake multilingual families make in Abbotsford and across Canada: switching to English at home because you believe it will help your child learn English faster.

The research is clear and consistent on this point. Parents should speak to their child in a language they are 100% comfortable with. If parents are not fully fluent in a language, they will not provide the best language input — and interactions with the child may suffer as it is difficult to be responsive when trying to speak in an unfamiliar tongue.

This matters because the strongest foundation for learning a second language is a rich, confident first language. Research shows that strong first language skills can support second language acquisition. A child who has deep vocabulary, strong storytelling ability, and confident communication in Punjabi, Mandarin, Hindi, Tagalog, or any other home language is not behind in learning English — they are ahead. The cognitive and linguistic skills they have built in their first language transfer directly into English acquisition.

Parents can read in their own language at home and assist their older children with homework in their first language and actively help them translate it to English. This is not a workaround or a compromise — it is exactly what the research recommends.

Keep speaking your home language richly and confidently at home. Read together in your language. Tell stories. Discuss the world. Your child's English will come — and it will come faster because of the strong linguistic foundation you are building in the language you both know best.

WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME — PRACTICAL STRATEGIES THAT WORK

Even if you cannot read the homework sheet, there is more you can do to support your child's learning than most parents realise. Here is what research and experienced educators consistently recommend:

  1. Create a consistent homework routine

One of the most important things all parents can do is create a homework routine. Helping your child with homework does not mean you have to speak the language or understand the concept. The structure itself is the support.

Set a specific time every day for homework — after a snack, before dinner, immediately after school — whatever works for your family. Provide a quiet environment by removing or minimizing any potential distractions and make sure that your child has all the supplies they need including pencils, books, and paper.

A child who sits down at the same time every day in the same quiet place builds the concentration habits that make all academic learning easier. This is something every parent can provide, regardless of English fluency.

  1. Show that you take education seriously

If your child sees that you are taking an interest in how they are progressing, it can have a positive effect on their motivation and confidence in school. You do not need to understand the homework to communicate that it matters. Sitting nearby while your child works, asking questions in your home language about what they are learning, and checking that the work is finished before bed are all powerful signals that education is a priority in your home.

Even if you cannot yet speak English yourself, you can still check on your child to see if homework assignments are finished. That check-in matters more than you might think.

  1. Use your home language to explain concepts

When your child is struggling with a concept — not just a vocabulary word, but a genuine idea like what fractions mean or how photosynthesis works — explaining it in your home language is not a shortcut. It is the best possible teaching tool.

You can explain unfamiliar words and concepts in the language familiar to your child and continue to build their literacy skills in the primary language, while practicing and developing English and academic literacies.

If your child understands what a fraction is in Punjabi, they will transfer that understanding to English far faster than if they are trying to learn both the concept and the vocabulary word simultaneously.

  1. Help with the routine, not the answers

Your child will not benefit if they do not think for themselves and learn from their own mistakes. Be available to provide homework help, support, and guidance, but resist the urge to do it for them.

There is no benefit to homework being completed unless the child is learning by doing it themselves. Your role is not to produce correct answers. Your role is to create the environment, the habit, and the encouragement that allows your child to produce their own correct answers. That is entirely possible in any language.

  1. Use translation tools — carefully

Google Translate, DeepL, and similar tools have improved significantly and can help you understand what a homework question is asking. Use these to help yourself understand the task — and then help your child think through it in your shared language.

One caution: do not use translation tools to produce English answers for your child to copy. The homework exists to build your child's thinking, not to produce a finished product. Understanding the question in your language and then working through it together is the right use of these tools.

  1. Connect with other parents in your community

Abbotsford has significant, well-established communities from South Asia, Southeast Asia, and many other regions. Within almost every school community there are parents who share your home language and whose children are one or two years ahead of yours in the school system. Finding one of those families and building a connection is one of the most practical things a newcomer parent can do.

If there is no one in your immediate household available to help with English homework, encourage an older sibling or relative proficient in English to sit with the child and help. Extended family connections, community centre networks, and temple or gurdwara community groups are all valuable sources of this kind of peer support.

  1. Communicate with your child's teacher

BC schools are experienced in supporting multilingual families, and the Abbotsford School District has specific English Language Learner support programs at most schools. Once teachers get to know their students' families, they can often offer better advice to help parents and students succeed with homework.

Do not be afraid to contact your child's teacher — even through a translated note or a brief message — to let them know your language situation. Most Abbotsford teachers will appreciate the context and can adjust how they communicate homework instructions or provide bilingual support materials where available.

WHAT YOUR CHILD IS EXPERIENCING — AND HOW TO SUPPORT IT

It is important to understand what homework feels like for a child who is simultaneously learning content and language. For most children in Abbotsford's ELL population, every homework task involves two layers of challenge: understanding what the question is asking in English, and then figuring out the answer itself. That double load is genuinely exhausting.

Many are balancing regular schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and homework alongside their language lessons, which often happen late in the day when their energy levels are low. In these moments, a supportive environment can make all the difference. If your child struggles, it does not mean they are failing. Struggles are a natural and valuable part of the learning process.

Children need to feel safe to make mistakes because that is how they grow. If they sense criticism or frustration, they may begin to associate learning English with stress or fear. This can lead to hesitation and a lack of confidence in their abilities. Instead, gentle encouragement can help them feel proud of their progress and motivated to keep going.</cite>

This is particularly important to understand in the context of homework. A child who makes a mistake on a homework sheet and is met with frustration — in any language — will become more anxious and less willing to attempt difficult tasks. A child who is met with calm encouragement will try again. Calm encouragement is available in every language.

THE HOMEWORK SUBJECTS WHERE LANGUAGE MATTERS MOST — AND LEAST

Not all homework subjects are equally affected by English proficiency. Understanding where language is and is not a barrier helps you prioritise your support.

Math: the good news

Mathematics is the subject where a parent's English proficiency matters least. Numbers are universal. The logic of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division works the same way in every language. If you are confident in math yourself, you can support your child's math homework completely in your home language — explaining concepts, checking work, and helping them practise — without needing English at all.

This is one of the reasons why Best Brains Abbotsford's Math enrichment program is so effective for multilingual children specifically. Math skill builds independently of English fluency, and a child who is strong in math has one less subject creating anxiety during the school year.

Reading and English: where outside support is most valuable

Reading comprehension and written English are the areas most directly affected by home language background — and the areas where homework support from a non-English-speaking parent is most limited. A parent who is not fluent in English cannot check whether their child's written paragraph makes sense, or help them understand a reading comprehension question about a story told in English vocabulary they have not yet encountered.

This is not a failure of parenting. It is a structural gap — and it is exactly the gap that structured English enrichment is designed to fill.

THE RESEARCH ON HOME LANGUAGE AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

One piece of research stands out as especially relevant for Abbotsford families and is worth naming directly.

Research shows that strong first language skills can support second language acquisition.Children who are encouraged to maintain and develop deep proficiency in their home language while learning English consistently outperform children who are pushed to abandon their first language prematurely. The child who reads Punjabi confidently, tells stories in Tagalog fluently, or does mental arithmetic in Cantonese efficiently is building cognitive skills that transfer directly into English academic performance.

This has a practical implication for Abbotsford families: the best investment you can make in your child's English is not to stop speaking your home language. It is to keep your home language rich, complex, and actively used — and to provide structured English enrichment support outside the home to fill the gap your own English fluency cannot bridge.

HOW BEST BRAINS ABBOTSFORD SUPPORTS MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN

Best Brains Abbotsford serves a significant proportion of families from multilingual and newcomer backgrounds, and our programs are designed with this reality in mind.

English Enrichment for ELL students

Our English enrichment program builds reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and written expression through a structured, certified-teacher-led curriculum that meets each child exactly where they are. For children who are developing English alongside another home language, we do not treat English as something they are failing at — we treat it as something they are building, progressively and with the right foundation.

A child who arrives at Best Brains Abbotsford with strong conceptual knowledge in their home language and developing English vocabulary is not behind. They are ready to accelerate — and our placement assessment identifies exactly that, placing every child at the level that matches their actual skills rather than their grade on a school calendar.

Math Enrichment — the language-neutral subject

As noted above, math is the area where multilingual children can build the most confidence most quickly, because number sense and mathematical reasoning are not language-dependent. Our Math enrichment program develops problem solving, number sense, and mathematical fluency in a structured environment where a child's English proficiency does not limit what they can achieve.

Many multilingual families in Abbotsford begin with Math enrichment specifically for this reason — building early academic confidence in a subject where language is not a barrier, and then expanding to English enrichment as the child's comfort grows.

Abacus — the most language-independent program we offer

Our Abacus program is perhaps the most naturally suited to multilingual learners of any program we offer. Because abacus training is entirely visual and tactile — working with bead positions, patterns, and mental visualisation — it requires no English instruction to deliver results. Children from any linguistic background can participate fully from their first session, and the cognitive benefits — stronger working memory, sharper concentration, faster mental arithmetic — carry directly into every subject they study in English.

For newcomer families whose children are still building English fluency, Abacus is often the most impactful starting point because it builds real academic skill and real confidence simultaneously, in a format that the language gap does not touch.

The free placement assessment

Every new student at Best Brains Abbotsford receives a free placement assessment conducted by a BC-certified teacher. For multilingual families, this assessment is designed to identify what your child actually knows — not what they can express in English. Where language is a barrier to demonstrating a concept during the assessment, our teachers are trained to find alternative ways to evaluate understanding.

There is no pressure, no commitment required, and no judgment. The assessment exists to give you and your child a clear, honest picture of where they are and where they are ready to go. That is true regardless of how long you have been in Abbotsford, what language you speak at home, or how confident your child currently feels in English.

A FINAL NOTE TO ABBOTSFORD PARENTS

If you have read this far, you are already doing one of the most important things a parent can do for their child's education: you are taking it seriously enough to look for answers.

You do not need to speak fluent English to raise a child who succeeds in an English-speaking school system. Thousands of Abbotsford families are doing exactly that — through consistent homework routines, strong home language environments, community connections, and structured outside support for the subjects where the language gap creates the most friction.

The homework table does not have to be a place of frustration. With the right approach, it can be the place where your child feels most supported — in exactly the language that makes them feel most at home.

FAQ SECTION:

Q: How can I help my child with homework if I do not speak English well?

A: You can help more than you think. Create a consistent homework routine and quiet workspace, show your child that education is a priority by sitting nearby and checking in, explain concepts in your home language when your child is stuck on an idea rather than a word, and communicate with your child's teacher to let them know your situation. For subjects like reading and written English where language fluency matters most, structured outside support from a certified English enrichment program is the most effective solution.

Q: Should I stop speaking my home language at home so my child learns English faster?

A: No. Research consistently shows that children with strong first language skills learn English faster and more deeply than children who are pushed to abandon their home language prematurely. Keep your home language rich and active at home — read together, tell stories, and discuss ideas in the language you know best. Provide structured English support outside the home to build your child's English vocabulary and comprehension alongside a strong linguistic foundation.

Q: Is my child at a disadvantage in Abbotsford schools because English is not our home language?

A: Not necessarily. The Abbotsford School District has specific English Language Learner support programs, and many teachers are experienced in supporting multilingual students. Children from multilingual homes often develop strong cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills. The most important factors are a rich home language environment, a consistent homework routine, strong parental involvement in education, and structured English enrichment support to bridge the gap between home language and classroom instruction.

Q: What subjects can I help with even if my English is limited?

A: Mathematics is the subject least affected by English proficiency — numbers and mathematical reasoning are universal, and you can support your child's math homework entirely in your home language. Science concepts can also often be explained in your home language once you understand the question using a translation tool. Reading comprehension and written English are the areas most directly dependent on English fluency, and these are where outside support from a certified English enrichment program is most valuable.

Q: Does Best Brains Abbotsford support multilingual and newcomer families?

A: Yes. Best Brains Abbotsford serves a significant proportion of multilingual and newcomer families and our programs are designed with this in mind. Our Abacus program in particular is highly visual and tactile, making it effective regardless of a child's current English fluency. Our Math and English enrichment programs place every child based on their actual skills — not their grade level — so children developing English alongside another home language are never placed above or below where they actually are.

Q: At what age should a multilingual child start an English enrichment program in Abbotsford?

A: The earlier the better — Best Brains Abbotsford accepts children from age 3 through our Baby Genius Pre-K program, which builds early English literacy alongside numeracy in a low-pressure, play-based environment. For school-age multilingual children, starting English enrichment before significant gaps form — ideally in Grades 1 to 3 — produces the strongest long-term results. A free placement assessment ensures every child starts at exactly the right level.

Q: How does the Abbotsford School District support English Language Learner students?

A: The Abbotsford School District defines ELL students as children whose primary home language is other than English and whose English knowledge is too limited to allow them to function successfully in an English-speaking school environment. The district provides ELL support programs at most schools. As of 2024-25, ELL students make up 17.6 percent of the district's total student population — meaning multilingual families are a significant and well-served part of the Abbotsford school community.

CALL TO ACTION:

Your child's English journey starts with knowing exactly where they stand.

Book a free placement assessment at Best Brains Abbotsford today. Our certified teachers will identify exactly where your child is, what level is right for them, and how we can help — in a welcoming, judgment-free environment that honours where your family comes from.

📍 3720 Townline Rd, Unit 230, Abbotsford, BC 📞 236-622-2074 🌐 bestbrains.com/ca-en/abbotsford 📧 abbotsford@bestbrains.com

SOURCES REFERENCED:

  • The Hanen Centre — Helping Children Learn English as a Second Language (hanen.org)
  • Master ESL — How Parents Can Support Their Kids Learning English as a Second Language, January 2025 (masteresl.wordpress.com)
  • Continental Press — Homework for Beginning ESL Students: 8 Tips for Success, December 2025 (continentalpress.com)
  • Expatica — Help Your Kids with Homework in Another Language, December 2025 (expatica.com)
  • North Canton City Schools — Tips for Parents of English Language Learners (northcantonschools.org)
  • TeachKloud — 10 Strategies for Supporting Children with English as an Additional Language, September 2024 (teachkloud.com)
  • Fun to Teach — ESL: 7 Tips to Foster Parental Involvement with English Learners, August 2025 (funtoteach.com)
  • Learning Ladders — Communicating and Engaging with Non-English Speaking Parents (learningladders.info)
  • Point2Homes — Abbotsford BC Demographics: Population, Income, and More, 2024 (point2homes.com)
  • Wikipedia — Abbotsford-South Langley Electoral District, 2021 Census Language Data (en.wikipedia.org)
  • Abbotsford School District — ELL Program Definition (curriculum.abbyschools.ca/ell/ell)
  • Abbotsford School District — 2024-25 Measuring Up Report: ELL Student Population Data (abbyschools.ca)
  • NewToBC — Immigrant Demographics Abbotsford BC 2023 (newtobc.ca)
  • Best Brains Abbotsford — English Enrichment Program (bestbrains.com/ca-en/abbotsford)