Haven't read all the other comments, but I was working on my PC last night, and had the TV news on in the background. I was vaguely listening to the TV but not watching it. An interview with the teaching assistant you mentioned started. When she started to talk, I involuntarily turned towards the TV screen because I could not understand what she was saying, and wanted extra information by looking at her lips moving, so that I could follow the story. Needless to say it took a few minutes to get used to the muffled tones. If I can't understand her instantly, with English as my main language, what chance has a 5 year old whose first language is not English? verity74