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Many of us have learnt to spell as a child without being specifically taught the sounds. In the past, the teaching of phonics was discouraged in schools, however, we learnt a lot through sounding out words independently. At a recent course on voice production, the importance of vowel sounds was emphasised as central to pronunciation. They were also emphasised as central to sounding out to help with spelling. Chunking (breaking up words into syllables) also helps to sound out and spell longer more challenging words.
“Scaffolding is the process a teacher uses to model or demonstrate how to solve a problem (in the case of language learning, to support learners with using the language needed to articulate themselves). After modelling, they step back, offering support as needed.”
Scott, 2019
Truly inclusive practice extends beyond adapting materials or managing the classroom so that everybody can access the course content. It is about building a classroom culture where everybody genuinely respects and supports each other, and embraces the diversity inherent in our communities. This is more easily achieved if the members of the group understand themselves well, and what makes them different from each other.
Chances are, if you’ve been teaching English for a while, you’ve provided plenty of feedback to your learners on the accuracy of their writing. Prior to undertaking action research on this practice, it was evident from my observations of colleagues that there were multiple approaches and attitudes towards written corrective feedback.
In previous articles we discussed the need for learners to obtain Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS). These skills need to be the initial focus of learning alongside curriculum content in the early days. Class teachers are required to make significant adjustments to their programme of learning which is not an easy task, especially for those teachers who are new to teaching foreign languages.
Understanding the needs of your learners is essential. Learners who use English as an additional language may also have additional learning needs, and sometimes separating language needs from learning needs can be challenging. Assessment results and classroom work offer some insight; however, taking the time to carefully observe your learners’ behaviours can provide a deeper appreciation of their needs. This can help you consider necessary adjustments or interventions, or support further assessments of specific SEND needs.
In March 2020 International Primary School Almere, along with all other schools here in the Netherlands, went into lockdown for three weeks. Three weeks, we thought? Let's put together some revision packs of what we've learnt recently and email them home!
Graphic organisers can be a powerful tool for learners with dyslexia. They enable learners to plan and structure their ideas in a visual and accessible way. Focusing on getting ideas organised before navigating challenges with grammar and spelling can be a positive approach. The visual scaffold reduces working memory strain by keeping ideas clearly organised and structured. This allows more cognitive space for sentence construction and spelling, which might be challenging.
What could be more powerful for parents than being provided with information, skills, resources and tools to support them as a family unit and educators for their children?
“Scaffolding is the process a teacher uses to model or demonstrate how to solve a problem (in the case of language learning, to support learners with using the language needed to articulate themselves). After modelling, they step back, offering support as needed.”
Scott, 2019
Importance of English language proficiency in school settings
Have you ever considered to what extent a learner’s English language proficiency level affects their academic success in English-medium school?
English language proficiency is usually measured by learners’ ability to use English effectively in different contexts, i.e. how well they can speak, listen, understand, read and write in English.
Including a useful EAL Progress Review and links to different EAL assessment continua
When teaching EAL, assessment procedures need to be in place in order to have a concrete analysis of student starting points.
This area is a minefield! Without other references or expertise to hand, a new teacher often turns to an expert for help… Google! Results popping up on the first page of a search shows the Oxford placement tests on the first page, but are they the answer?
In January 2021, we commenced another lockdown in the UK and put our recovery curriculum on hold. The question on most of our minds was immediately: "How will our EAL learners progress without the English academic and social interaction school provides, and which they need in order to flourish in their language learning journeys?"
When surrounded by nature, one experiences many positive changes, such as emotional well-being, self esteem, resilience, and health-related quality of life (Tillmann, Tobin, Avison, 2018). It was noted that:
Whilst reading a book on reclaiming childhood ('Their name is today' by Johann Christoph Arnold) the chapter on 'learning differences and how to cater for them' triggered thoughts on teaching differences. At the end of the October article it was mentioned that EAL teaching should be evaluated in a different way due to the very nature of the subject and I shall try to clarify why.
Being able to understand and use a range of adjectives can help learners to communicate successfully. Adjectives are essential for adding information or interest to their spoken or written language. They also enable learners to differentiate between items.
There is no denying that in the 21st century, teachers have gone from strength to strength in using technology in the classroom and this has changed the classroom landscape significantly. The digital age has introduced new avenues to explore for learning and teaching beyond the traditional classroom methods.
Last week I saw a film called 'Shadow in Baghdad', it was a film that pulled my heart strings. I was brought up in Manchester, both my parents spoke Arabic at home, both were from Baghdad. What struck me the most after I watched the film was how much I missed hearing that particular dialect of Arabic, the familiarity and warmth of the Middle Eastern people, the sense of security that came with it as well as a sense of longing and regret for a disappearing culture.
Think about the last lesson you taught to English language learners. I’m sure you did some form of planning beforehand. I imagine you probably asked several questions throughout the lesson as well. After all, the foundation of effective teaching is interaction with learners. However, did you think about the questions you were going to ask when you were planning? Did you write down any key questions?
Learners having difficulty with receptive language or following directions may need support with learning propositions.
Tip or Idea: Ask your learner to draw or make an imaginary scene by following instructions e.g. Draw a house at the bottom of your page/Draw a sunshine above the house/Draw a tree next to the house. Extend this further: Can your learner tell you what to draw? Can they make a crazy or funny picture? Can they make a scene with physical objects?
The language show this year in Olympia made me even more aware of the gift of having more than one language. One of the stand's motto was 'monolingualism can be cured', another 'Speak to the Future' (www.speaktothefuture.org) campaigns to promote the teaching of languages in schools in the UK. Since this September all children in primary schools will be taught a language as the government finally realised that, in a mobile world, a second language is essential for a country's economic development.
Learning Village is an invaluable tool for deaf learners with or without EAL. The use of image as the main language of instruction provides visual cues to support your learners.
Tip or Idea: Deaf learners may need to lip read or see speech physically modelled to support their understanding. Using our resources in an adult-led small group session and/or using the demo learner as a teaching tool can be very powerful for deaf learners.
Sports are often an integral part of any culture. Children grow up playing or watching sports at home with their family from a very young age. Apart from the immediate family environment, schools also promote the benefits of an active lifestyle with Physical Education (PE) being an essential part of the school curriculum and a process that uses bodily movement to promote learning while playing a variety of sports games (Peter, 2015).
Although Inclusion is a central theme of UK policy, there are limited directives on EAL provision in mainstream classes (Costley 2014) This can have implications for international environments too, which model their practice on the UK or have UK trained teachers. Policy has significant implications for teachers who may be underprepared to support EAL pupils.
Feedback is the buzz-word and, as with most things, it is not being reinvented, but constantly readapted. In recent years, we see more formal national approach. One can become overwhelmed with the copious elements that need to be considered when feeding back to learners.
March is Women's History Month, an opportunity to study the often overlooked contributions of women throughout history. However, Women’s History Month should be about more than just studying famous women. It provides an opportunity to refine our understanding of history so that it includes women in every aspect of accounts of past lives. Women’s History Month is an opportunity to challenge traditional narratives and really explore women’s contributions to the world.
The language of Maths is often considered a language of its own, and this can sometimes be a difficulty for EAL students when they are learning English. NALDIC explain that if EAL learners are not supported to develop mathematical English, they are less likely to be able to fully-participate in the lesson, which could lead to them not being able to make sufficient progress in the subject.
As a Head of Early Years in an international school following the EYFS and IPC curriculums it has always been important to ensure that the teaching of the English language is done in the classroom without the help of specialist EAL support. Early years teachers are great physical, visual talkers!
One of the key principles of teaching in the Early Years is that bilingualism has an advantage and that as the first language it has a continuing and significant role in identity, learning and the acquisition of additional languages.
It is Friday morning; the Head teacher comes to tell you that on Monday morning you will have a new student arriving who does not speak much English. How can you give a successful welcome for that student given the time frame?
Parents are integral to schooling for any child, and one of the key opportunities to discuss how a child is developing is during parents evening (Macbeth, Pg 362). However; how do you support parents of an EAL pupil during parents evening? Many questions come to mind, “Will the parents understand me?”, “Do I need to find a translator?”, “What questions will they ask me” etc.
You may be able to recall a lesson where learners were fully engaged and motivated. These teaching experiences are deeply rewarding for educators and essentially one of the reasons why we enjoy our jobs as teachers. However, realistically, teachers often face the reality of being unable to reach some students until they present lesson input slightly differently.