Assessment is a natural and integral part of effective teaching, with teachers continually assessing learner progress and identifying next steps for teaching and learning (DfE, 2020). Teachers assess learners for multiple reasons but one of the most pressing tasks for teachers is to assess their newly-arrived EAL learners’ level of English proficiency. This is an essential step before they embark on providing appropriate support and start planning effective learning to help integrate the new students into school life (Bachman & Palmer, 1996; Davison & Leung, 2009).
Five key reasons to assess learners’ English language proficiency in schools
English language proficiency assessments available on the market (e.g. BELL Foundation EAL assessment framework, ELLP, WIDA tests, Oxford placement test, Cambridge assessments, or AssessEP by Across Cultures) are designed to help teachers build an understanding of their learners’ ability in the four language skills - listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
Carefully choosing a summative EAL assessment for your new arrivals is a vital step towards collecting valuable information on your learners’ starting points in English. However, accumulating information on discrete language skills may not really give you a complete picture of an EAL learner’s potential. Instead, understanding a learner’s background, interests, and personality traits on top of assessing their level of English proficiency may be a more holistic approach to assessing your new arrivals, viewing the learner as a whole person whose background needs to be valued.
Where do I start?
- Prior to any attempt to formally assess the learner, prioritise an informal conversation/interview with them (and their family, if possible) on the day of arrival or within the first week. A few simple questions will offer useful information on whether the learner is able to engage in meaningful interaction and the degree to which they are able to sustain a conversation with an adult. This could be followed by planned observations of what the learner can do in class in the next couple of weeks. Support staff working closely with new arrivals can be an invaluable source of information at this stage.
- Download our New arrival EAL learner profile template and keep updating this profile that is designed to include background information on prior schooling and literacy in their first language. An ‘All About Me’ booklet can also shed more light on the learner’s personality.
- After a few weeks, you may wish to use a formal language proficiency assessment covering all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), vocabulary size or phonics and letter formation where necessary.
Across Cultures’ assessment tool, AssessEP (Assessing English Proficiency), provides online reading and listening assessments and offline speaking and writing assessments for multilingual learners aged 7+, as well as a short pre-diagnostic test to determine suitability for the main diagnostic assessments. Approximate alignment with BELL, CEFR, and ELLP is provided. AssessEP is ideal for admissions testing and summative spot checks of progress.
You can book a free demonstration and a trial of AssessEP here.
Key challenges and considerations in assessing EAL learners
i) Is it a lack of understanding or language barrier?
New arrivals may have strong literacy skills and subject knowledge in their home language, but may need time before they are able to demonstrate their knowledge in English, sometimes solely due to the language barrier more than anything else. A period of silence or hesitation is a natural stage in the EAL learner’s integration into a new environment and may be signs of stress or emotional barriers, rather than lack of understanding.
As an EAL teacher, I have also noticed the learner’s personality, level of confidence, or willingness to take risks while using the language have always been strong predictors of speed of language acquisition and overall academic success. Equating limited English proficiency with limited cognitive ability, additional needs, or lack of subject knowledge is a common misconception that teachers should be mindful of while making judgments about a learner’s performance. To make more accurate judgements, you may wish to consider:
- Assessing subject knowledge in home language and planning for L1 use in subject specific lessons where possible. This will require some bilingual support (digital tools or bilingual staff or pupils, for example). L1 use in your lessons should allow you to assess your learner’s level of literacy in L1.
- Incorporating practical problem-solving activities to assess cognitive abilities and understanding rather than language production.
You will find a number of ideas on how to assess the learner’s level of literacy in their home language, using technology even without being a speaker of their language, on our downloadable resource that can be accessed through the buttons above and below this article. L1 literacy will be the foundation for English language development and should always be taken into account.
ii) The impact of transition or trauma
Some learners may have experienced trauma, displacement, or disrupted schooling, which can affect concentration, emotional regulation, or their engagement with assessments (Finn, 2010).
For these learners, teachers should always seek to:
- Create a safe, stress-free environment for assessments.
- Build trust through positive, supportive interactions before a formal assessment.
- Provide model answers where necessary during assessments.
- Give them extra processing time.
iii) Assess and reassess, as progress takes time
As new arrivals take their time to adapt in their new context, you will need to plan for ongoing, formative assessments as well. Ongoing assessment and keeping a good record of learner data on a longitudinal level will allow you to evaluate both learner progress and the effectiveness of your EAL provision (Cummins, 2000). You may need to consider:
- Using teacher observations, learner portfolios, and self-assessments as part of tracking progress (Clarke, 2001).
- Scaffolding existing formal assessments with visuals or by reducing the size of a task or the degree of learner freedom in completing an assessment task, i.e. provide sentence starters, guiding questions, or gap fills instead of freer tasks (Booth, 2012).
Assessing new arrivals is not merely about placing EAL learners at the correct level, it is about understanding a bit more about who they are and giving them the right tools to help them succeed. With this more empathetic and dynamic approach to assessment, teachers can create a truly inclusive learning environment based on building a more accurate picture of a learner’s true potential.
References
Bachman, L. & Palmer, A. (1996). Language testing in practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Booth, D. (2012). Scaffolding during the formal assessment of young EAL learners: A New Zealand case study. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 35(1): 5-27.
Clarke, S. (2001).Unlocking Formative Assessment: Practical Strategies for Enhancing Pupils' Learning in the Primary Classroom. Hodder & Stoughton Educational
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power, and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Davison, C. & Leung, C. (2009). Current issues in English language teacher-based assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 43: 393-415.
DfE (2020). English proficiency of pupils with English as an additional language. Accessed online
Finn, H.B. (2010). Overcoming barriers: Adult refugee trauma survivors in a learning community. TESOL Quarterly, 44(3): 586-596.
