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Scenario: You are moving to a new country (pick a country which has a different script such as China, Saudi Arabia or Bangladesh). You can only take a suitcase with you. Discuss your thoughts on the following groups of questions;
How would you feel about moving?
How would you feel about learning the language?
How would you feel about your work?
Plenary: Feedback the information from the groups.
Progress the thinking: “Using your understanding of how someone may feel about arriving in a new place and not being able to speak the language – can you think of actual things we can do in our class or school to help our new classmate settle in?”
Put together an action plan as a class with up to 5 concrete ways they can help.
This article follows ''A Recipe for a Successful Start for New Arrivals in School.'
When I was teaching early literacy to adults some years ago, I had two teenage students from a refugee background join one of my classes. They were beginner-level English as an Additional language (EAL) learners and both were non-literate. They had been expelled from the local high school for fighting. At the time, there was a national fundraising campaign to support children in troubled parts of the world.
The start of a new school year can be a daunting experience for new EAL arrivals. Some may be devastated to leave their friends, schools and homes. Some may be excited at the experience of a new adventure, but for all arriving with little or no English can be an alienating and exhausting experience. It is important to gain an understanding of how the child feels about the move to enable them to settle well.
Memory plays a crucial role in learning, by enabling the storage, retention, and retrieval of information. Some learners may have specific memory challenges such as short attention span, working memory limitations, difficulty with retrieval, or challenges organising and categorising learning. Learners with conditions such as dyslexia or ADHD may find memory processing more challenging.