At last estimate, New Jersey has over 427,000 dual language learners between the ages of 0 and 8. That means that nearly half a million children are growing up in homes where two languages (or more!) are spoken. If you have a dual language household, you know the challenge of finding materials for your whole family that both support dual language learning and encourage a lifelong love of reading.
Let us help you! The Burlington County Library System has a wide range of materials written in languages spoken all over the world, and perhaps, in your very own home. From online resources like LOTE4Kids and Libby, to our print collection, you’ll find something to read for your whole family.
Our first resource is LOTE4Kids, a collection of digital picture books with a whole host of stories available in a variety of languages. LOTE stands for “Languages Other Than English,” and they are not joking about that! Would you like to read a story in Bengali AND English? You can! Lietuvių kalba AND English? Sure thing! ASL and English? Absolutely!
At last count, there were more than 7,800 stories in over 100 different languages available through LOTE4Kids – and they’re adding new stories and languages all the time. LOTE4Kids also makes sure they use native speakers and not an AI-generated voice to tell their stories, to ensure both correct pronunciation and accurate translations.
Many of the titles offer a version with English narration, one with narration in the language of your choice, and one with bilingual narration. You can also access many titles as a bilingual flipbook *you* narrate! Access LOTE4Kids through our website or download a handy app to use on your phone or tablet!
When looking for materials in other languages, Libby might not immediately spring to mind, but it ought to – Libby’s Digital Newsstand has an impressive range of magazines in an array of languages other than English, including French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, and more.
If you want to brush up on or maintain your language reading skills, take a look at your options through Libby - magazine checkouts are unlimited, so you can borrow as many as you like. You can even subscribe to a magazine you particularly enjoy and be notified every time a new issue arrives! Read about fashion in Spain, cooking in Japan, or cycling in France – and practice your language skills at the same time.
If physical media is more your style (because who doesn’t love paper-y books?), our print collection includes books for both kids and adults in a variety of languages such as Spanish, German, Portuguese, Polish, Hindi and Russian, among others.
BCLS offers many options for families and folks in dual language households to find reading materials that support them in their native language, but offer a foothold in English, as well. Find these resources on our website, in the library, or ask for assistance at the reference desk! We’ll help you find what you need.
