A holistic overview is required to think about the needs of your learners. Not only is this important for specialist teaching of a literacy subject. It applies to general teaching as well. You need to be aware of the impact of bilinguism and multilingusim and the role of other languages in the acquisition of English and literacy. Reflection about the challenges of the first language might be important looking at issues such as the difference between language acquisition, concept of interlanguage, transference of concepts and grammatical forms. You should not only focus on the written word. It is equally important to embrace oral features of language.

Teachers are encouraged to acknowledge and respect languages other than
English
and develop approaches, which help learners make best
use of their primary language when learning new literacy skills in English.
Teachers should also acknowledge the varieties of dialects of English, which apply across the United Kingdom and beyond. These differences might be influenced by regional, ethnicity and socio-economic factors. It is important to reflect how accents have an effect on different audiences. Remember one of your roles, as a teacher is to develop and assist your learners to maintain their personal, social and group identity as part of promoting inclusion.The following video highlights the importance of literacy, language and numeracy to a training or teaching environment.

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