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Games are one of the most effective ways to support both SEND and EAL learners because they reduce anxiety, increase engagement, and make language learning fun! Structured games also offer additional benefits for SEND learners by encouraging attention, turn-taking, and understanding routines. Visual rules, simple instructions, and predictable formats also help reduce cognitive load whilst keeping learning active and inclusive.
Tip or Idea: Games don’t have to just be played at desks. Think about ways to allow learners to be active, too! Try using outdoor areas like the school field; use a ball to throw and catch when taking turns speaking; or try placing words and picture cards around the room for learners to find and match.
Learning Village resource: Games are not just for younger learners. Our resource Group Games using Multiple Learning Styles includes fun ideas such as Agent ALFA. In this game, learners work in teams to solve a mystery by collecting and decoding clues that help them identify the undercover double agent (Agent ALFA).
Kinaesthetic learning - or ‘learning by doing’ - involves physical and hands-on activities. Learners may prefer to touch, feel, and experience things first hand, and thrive on movement, exploration, and interaction with the world around them. For many learners, including those with certain SEND needs such as autism and ADHD, this approach is engaging, motivating, and effective in supporting learning retention and understanding.
As well as being interesting and engaging, non-fiction texts help to develop learners’ academic vocabulary and support learning across the curriculum. Learners can use non-fiction texts to develop knowledge, retrieval, and comprehension skills, and this can be developed even further with higher level skills such as analysis and evaluation. Learners with SEND may find the bite-sized facts, clear sections and subheadings, and accompanying diagrams or illustrations in non-fiction texts less overwhelming than a longer narrative text.
Learners, with or without EAL, may have special educational needs. These needs often require a range of carefully selected strategies and approaches to help learners reach their full potential.