Download resource

Please enter your details to download this resource
Login
 

Enter your details to access this video

Or if you already have an account login to watch the video (if you don't you can register here).
Login
Download Changing shoes activity
Email share link LinkedIn share link Twitter share link Facebook share link
Approximate reading time: 1 minute

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?

  • What would you take?
  • What would you leave behind?
  • Who would you miss?
  • What activities would you miss?

How would you feel about learning the language?

  • Do you think other people would speak English?
  • What if no one spoke English – how would you communicate?
  • Do you think you would be able to make friends?
  • How would you feel if people laughed at you when you tried to speak their language?

How would you feel about your work?

  • How would you understand the lessons?
  • How would you feel if you couldn’t write the alphabet/characters?
  • Which lessons do you think you would understand more easily?
  • What things could your class and teacher do to help you learn?
  • Each group could give a short oral presentation and together come up with a plan for the new arrival.

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.'

Download Changing shoes activity
Email share link LinkedIn share link Twitter share link Facebook share link

More articles from our blog

Becoming bilingual in mainstream schools

Created: Mon 21st Apr 2014

In schools where English is the language of instruction we welcome new arrivals with limited English and, step by step, they become skilled in speaking English. These young learners have a gift, the gift of bilingualism. A skill that has a profound effect on their lives. This skills may affect their identity, the way they are educated, their employment, the friends they keep, marriage, where they choose to live, travel and how they think. The consequences are significant.

Graph and problem-solving activity

Maths and English as an additional language (EAL)

Created: Wed 4th Mar 2020

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.

film roll

Communication through images

Created: Fri 12th Jul 2019

When considering the Chinese language, the Chinese proverb ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ is apposite. Chinese is a complex language of symbols, strokes and pictures, where each picture can mean several words.

Images are a universal language and their power in the classroom shouldn't be underestimated. In this article we look at:

Back to Blog