Supporting Children with EAL
- 1. Supporting Children with English as an Additional Language Christine Booth and Shipa Chowdhury Early Years Leader and Bilingual Assistant Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS)
- 2. What do you think? • It is best to treat everyone the same so there is no discrimination • It may take an EAL learner 5 or more years to acquire English to the same level as their monolingual peers • Speaking another language interferes with learning English • EAL learners should only speak English at school and speaking English at home will really help • EAL is a special need • An intial period of silence when learning a language is quite normal and can be beneficial • Code-switching (moving between one language to another) is often beneficial to children learning. It should not be discouraged
- 3. Bilingualism is an asset, and the first language has a continuing and significant role in identity, learning and the acquisition of additional languages. Supporting Children Learning English as an Additional Language; guidance for practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage (2007) Download pdf from www.naldic.org.uk
- 4. Guiding Principles • Children from diverse backgrounds need to feel secure, safe and included in school • Bilingualism is an asset, with the first language having a continuing role to play in identity and learning • Intervention and support focused on addressing achievement gaps – ‘closing the gap’
- 5. The diversity of EAL students • • • • • • Diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds Different educational experiences Different background experiences Different emotional contexts Transferable skills in L1 Part of a community or an isolated learner
- 6. Communities in Brighton and Hove
- 7. What does EMAS do? • Central Service • Team of teachers, bilingual assistants and home liaison officers • Work with families • Promote home language • INSET • Multi agency work • Monitor achievement
- 8. EAL acquisition • ‘Silent period’ – Stephen Krashen • Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) - Jim Cummins 2 years plus • Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) - 5-7 years
- 9. Some strategies for a positive start • • • • • • • • • • • • Welcoming body language Good visual support Repetition Slow, clear and simple speech Think about when and how to give information Allocate a buddy or key person Find out as much as you can about the child and family and the language/s they speak Learn key words in a child’s home language Spend time with the child and parent together Give things a family can take away and look at e.g.photo Allow children to be observers Have high expectations of the children but allow time
- 10. New arrivals in primary/secondary Buddy up new arrivals with strong language and behaviour models , or someone who shares their language. Help new arrivals to settle in and start to socialise with peers. Students learn from other students. Use group work to help EAL students hear positive English language models. Think about grouping and setting – Vygotsky’s ZPD.
- 11. The Language Aware Teacher
- 12. It is important to pre-teach vocabulary Provide children with a list of words and phrases appropriate for use in a writing task.
- 13. Recasting Children may remain in their comfort zone when developing EAL. A way to avoid this is recasting. If a child gives an answer or statement that is grammatically incorrect, praise them for the content of their answer and then recast it to them as the prefix to a follow-up question. e.g. ‘We play football yesterday’ ‘You played football yesterday…..tell me who you played with.’
- 14. Back to start Thinking Time This allows all children to reflect on questions and content. Children learning EAL may further benefit from the extended time for processing. Give children time to rehearse their answer Build thinking time into the lesson – “30 seconds silent thinking from now.”
- 15. Model Speaking and Listening • Model speaking and listening exchanges. • This could be done with another adult or with a child. • Teach the importance of active listening.
- 16. Allow time to observe others and rehearse • Think about where you position children at circle time • Children need lots of repetition e.g. core rhymes and stories • Look for opportunities for children to talk 1-1 with adult or in role-play • Keep cognitive challenge high
- 17. Back to start Providing a mirror and a window Planning and resources should reflect the cultural experiences of the children in the class and provide positive experiences of diversity and promote inclusion. Ensure lesson starters are culturally familiar to all children. This will help engage and motivate EAL learners from the beginning.
- 18. Pictures speak louder than words Use ‘Key visuals’ , i.e. diagrams, charts, grids, tables, flow charts, graphs, mind maps. Use real objects where possible for younger children. Makaton and a visual timetable are very helpful.
- 19. What support? • It is November. It is Fatima’s first day in Y4. She has recently come from Afghanistan with her mum and dad and three younger siblings. She is very distressed • Maia has just started nursery. She was born in the UK and speaks Polish at home. Likes to play on the bikes and in the sand. Has only just settled. Does not interact with adults or children. Speaks in single words in first language and English • Rabi is Bangladeshi. He is in Y2. He is good at speaking English. He is below expected levels in reading and writing • Ho Yi is Chinese. Her mother is at university. She is now entering Y1. She was newly arrived in Reception. She is quite shy, but had bilingual support in Reception and spoke very fluently in Mandarin. Her EYFSP scores were slightly below expected levels
- 20. Top Tips • • • • • • • • Make your classroom a welcoming place Work with the family and other agencies Encourage first language Use visuals eg. visual timetable Plan for talk Model and scaffold Be language aware Provide concrete examples
- 21. Teaching Practice Task • What is the system for supporting children with EAL in the school? • Find out the languages spoken in your class/ the school • Are there any children receiving EMAS support? What do they receive? • Identify a ‘language aware’ teacher. What strategies to they use? • Be language aware in your lesson planning and teaching • Look at how the learning environment supports children acquiring English • How do the school monitor achievement of children with EAL?
- 22. EMAS are on facebook. Please like our page: https://www.facebook.com/BrightonHoveEMAS