EAL Teaching and Learning Best Practice - Print version

All students are entitled to fulfil their potential. Students who are learning English as an additional language in your secondary school bring a range of experiences; drive to succeed, literacy in first language, previous educational experience and links with other students from the same community will all impact on the type of support that students require. EMAS advisory teachers can provide comprehensive advice, support and training packages and work strategically with SLT, middle leaders and alongside subject specialists and support staff to help schools ensure the progress and attainment of their pupils learning EAL.

The distinctiveness of learning EAL

Both extensive research and Ofsted agree that EAL learners who make best progress are taught within the mainstream curriculum, but their needs are distinct. The most significant distinction is that they are learning through a language other than their first language.

EAL Teaching and Learning requires using strategies to meet both the language and the learning needs of EAL pupils in a wide range of teaching contexts. Thorough initial assessment; a personalised induction process; participation in mainstream lessons; a tailored series of lessons for new arrivals with EAL and subsequent English support targeted to individual language needs, allows pupils to continue to develop their English skills and understanding of the curriculum in parallel.

Newly arrived pupils

Coventry continues to welcome many pupils arriving from all over the world. Our ethnic and language profile is, like the rest of the UK, constantly changing due to global forces and international migration patterns. There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ new arrival. Each student has a different background and life experience. A student arriving in the UK with their family to take up employment or study staying in settled housing copes differently from a refugee escaping conflict.

A whole school approach is key when working with new arrivals. The induction process and resources used in lessons for students with EAL should be tailored to suit the needs of each student, considering the cultural, linguistic and academic needs of newly-arrived students and recognising the positive contribution this group of students can make to the school community. It is important that new arrivals see their language and culture positively reflected around school and within the curriculum. Building partnerships with parents and new communities is similarly an essential element of working with your new arrivals.

First language opportunities

There is research evidence that bilingualism underpins intellectual advantages. It also highlights the important role of the first language in the child’s learning and in their acquisition of additional languages. Once students have developed cognitive and academic language, they can transfer much of this learning to additional languages. Students benefit enormously if they are given opportunities to continue to develop their first language alongside English. EMAS can support schools in providing opportunities to study community languages, and support to gain qualifications at GCSE and AS/A2 level in many languages.

More advanced learners of English

A distinction needs to be made between social, basic interpersonal communicative skills (BICS) and cognitive and academic language proficiency (CALP). Generally speaking, students learning an additional language can become conversationally fluent in the new language in two to three years but may take five years or longer to catch up with monolingual peers in the development of cognitive and academic language.

Pupils who have been learning English for two years or more still need significant support to develop their writing. Appropriate support involves:

• Scaffolding their language
• Extending their academic vocabulary
• Clarifying figurative language and consolidating knowledge of different genre

The ability to write English effectively is crucial to demonstrate knowledge and learning and to achieve in assessments, GCSEs and Post 16 study. EMAS advisory staff can provide training and support for your school to ensure continual academic language development within its teaching practice. Research shows this planning benefits and enhances academic attainment of all pupils in secondary schools.

EAL Teaching and Learning Best Practice - Advice for Early Years Foundation Stage Settings

Coventry EMAS has developed an excellent relationship with private and voluntary settings as well as EYFS provision in primary schools. We deliver bespoke and centrally based training and provide MLA support. If a setting requests additional support we can provide a home language and English Proficiency assessment for EYFS children from a trained teacher.

Key advice points

Settling in

• Gather information on school entry in regards to the language background and family context of the pupil.
• Assess pupils’ English language proficiency to establish a baseline for their language development.
• Use Multilingual assistants (MLAs) to help pupils understand the environment and setting routines.
• Visual support is vital – make everything visual, especially by using photographs that provide an immediate and ‘real’ context. Take photos of routines – lining up, putting coats on, eating fruit at break time etc. and these can then become reassuring flashcards to show the children when they first start. They will help parents too.
• Support pupils with settling in by encouraging the use of home language as they develop bilingual skills.

Creating a welcoming and multicultural environment

• Build on pupils’ literary experiences by reading stories and rhymes from around the world as well as texts that reflect a variety of ethnicities.
• Ensure the environment is welcoming with multicultural resources, signage and displays that reflect the languages and culture of the local community.
• Cultural differences: be aware that pupils share similar, early years experiences to their peers but will also have very different experiences too. They may never have experienced nursery schooling and have no idea about the expectations of the EYFS setting. This will include their parents too.

Creating a ‘talking’ classroom

• The EYFS curriculum is language friendly but children will need opportunities to practice and consolidate language, not just learn new vocabulary. Repetition is important.
• Staff need to model language, explaining activities as they do them so that children can hear English used clearly.
• Language is best learned through activity and engagement, so plenty of creative games and activities are helpful, especially if language structures are repeated and then built upon.

Valuing home school relationships

• Involve parents in decision making and encourage them to engage and communicate with school, making use of MLA support or bilingual staff to translate where appropriate.
• Communicate with parents in English through a variety of channels (spoken and/or written English) and establish the best method for each family regarding their English proficiency and literacy skills.
• Make written materials translation-tool friendly so that it is possible for families to use translation aids such as Google Translate.
• Invite parents in to help share their cultural knowledge – could they tell a story in home language, cook something traditional, or share their knowledge of different subjects?

Assessing English proficiency in Reception

EMAS are aware that assessing English Proficiency in the Early Years Foundation Stage can be difficult due to a lack of available resources aimed at EAL learners. Therefore, we have been working together with colleagues in Early Years settings facilitating a working party to develop a bespoke set of scales for Coventry schools and other Early Years settings to assess and record the English proficiency progress of our English as an additional language (EAL) learners in EYFS. We are currently trialling our EYFS tracker [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7608/emas-eyfs-tracker], accompanying support strategies [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7404/emas-eyfs-support-strategies] and language background form [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7405/draft-eyfs-language-background-form] in Coventry schools. Please contact us if you wish to offer feedback or find out more.