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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.
One example is a girl who refused to speak English for the first term. She spoke only French to the teacher in the EAL lessons who in turn would give her explanations in French (although it was a group lesson conducted in English). After a term and a half she started to settle, she loved her new friends and school, and spoke only English and made good progress but it was important for her to have that settling in time.
Finding a buddy who speaks the new arrival's home language, preferably in the same year, can be a great help in the beginning as they can relax and express themselves effortlessly in a comfortable language. The amount of concentration needed to follow a school day in a new or less familiar language is draining and exhausting. Both parents and educators are often unaware of the toll this takes on the child.
This footage of two siblings settling in their new school in Russia revealed some surprises for the parents who were under the impression that the younger brother settled in effortlessly as he a did not show any signs of having difficulties.
Tips for starting the year:
Glance over these features of best practice for new arrivals:
As teachers, we recognise that meaningful home-school communication is essential for establishing school practices and instilling positive life values that will guide our learners throughout their lives.
It is often easier for learners who are new to English to cope with the arithmetic areas of the mathematics curriculum, rather than with problem-solving activities, as the former require the use of less English. It is important that children learning EAL are familiar with and able to use mathematical language to achieve their potential in all areas of the subject.
Our EAL learners are by no means a homogeneous group of learners and their needs in our classroom will vary to a considerable extent. As teachers may find it challenging at times to successfully cater to different EAL needs in class, developing a deeper understanding of those needs can help us address them more effectively through a number of tips and strategies.