Early years and early childhood educators, all over
the world, recognise the importance of establishing
positive connections between homes and schools.
ELT educators working with young learners want to
develop effective communication with the families
of their learners. This research aims to determine
a definition of positive home–school communication
by examining a range of contacts which take place
between English language teachers and parents
of young learners. Face-to-face contacts, telephone
calls, digital and print-based communication, including
written materials that schools send home, were
the subject of analysis in this research. The key data
source was qualitative open-ended interviews with
English language teachers and English language
programme directors or inspectors in eight different
countries where English is a foreign or international
language. The interview data was analysed and key
themes were identified pertaining to commonalities
of effective school–home communication. The
type of successful home–school or school–home
communication was embedded in the local context
and included: 1) a literal or figurative place for parents
and teachers to communicate; 2) opportunities
for dialogue or two-way communication within that
particular space, and 3) respect for parents and
their home languages.