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Working with
EAL Students
Louise Prior, SCL
(English Whole School)
Date: 22/08/ 2013
Induction Week
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Educator and author, George
Sampson's words from 1922
remain so relevant today: “Every
teacher in English is a teacher of
English, and all our pupils will
benefit from a consistent
approach.”
(Geoff Barton)
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Aims
To consider second language acquisition by:
• Exploring barriers
• Looking at how we can support the learning
and understanding of EAL students
• Using strategies and tools to ensure students’
needs are being met
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Task: Exploring Barriers to Learning
Family
Young
Person
Community
School
Educational
Setting
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Family
• Many parents do not have proficient
language skills themselves
• Lack of spoken English in home
• Cultural expectations of boys and girls
• Aspirations of different ethnic groups
School or Education setting
•
•
•
•
Community
• Limited access to activities and
facilities
Low self esteem
Lack of Bi-lingual resources
Prior education
Lack of motivation
SRS Students are not a
homogenous (same) group
 Many students born in UAE and other Arabic
countries but enter school having limited experience
of literacy in their own mother tongue and in English
as their second language
 Their school careers, life experiences and family
backgrounds are wide and varied - many do not
speak English in the home.
 Within secondary classroom there is a tremendous
diversity in students’ ability and oracy and literacy
skills.
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Some things SRS students say
 “You want me to open/close the light?”
Missing out the auxiliary verb ‘Do’? And using ‘open’
wrong context.
in
 “We go now?” instead of ‘Will we’ or ‘we will’.
Translating literally from Arabic instead of using English
skills.
 You will find students punctuate their sentences with
Arabic phrases such as ‘Yani’ and ‘Wallah’ … encourage
students at all times to talk English in BC classes.
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classroom enables you to support them
better
Most of this student data is available either on SIMS or
on your class sets/lists
• Country of origin
• First language
• Education History
• Current Working Levels
• Ethnicity
• IEPs
You should use this to inform your planning and
differentiation. It is expected that you keep records and
use this in your formal Lesson Observations.
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Multi-sensory learning within the
Classroom
When learning new vocabulary
students need to
See them
Hear them
Read them
Use them in
another context
Write them
Put them in a sentence
Revise them
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Instant Support Strategies
Translate
Use visual aids
Use bilingual or picture
dictionary
glossaries
mindmap
Listen
attentively
to student
Simplify
texts & focus
on key
words
Explain ,
model
language
Use the
internet
Label
diagrams
Draw pictures11
Using Point, Quote, Explain (PQE) Modelling Answers & Paragraphs
•
Emilie and her Grandfather show great kindness to Joey
and Topthorn. They tend to their wounds and make sure
that the horses have food, warmth and shelter. “It was
little Emilie and her Grandfather who insisted they should
look after us. They rubbed us down and saw to our sores
and bruises. They fed us, watered us, and groomed us and
somehow always found enough straw for a nice warm
bed.” Expressions such as “look after”, “rubbed us down”,
“saw to” tell us how gently the horses were treated. Other
evidence is the “fed us, watered us”, “groomed us” and
“warm bed”. This shows how Emilie and her Grandfather
welcomed the horses and made them comfortable. This
reminds us of how ….. Point Quote and Explanation
SYNONYM STARTERS FOR KEY WORDS
blissful
gleamed
stinging
developed
treats
enjoyed
kindly
weird
hurtful
simple
delightful
appreciated
established
clothing
basic
warm-hearted
exhausted
luxuries
shattered
humble
traumatised
garments
shone
strange
How to SUMMARISE
Select key words in the question and
circle them
Underline the key features from the
passage that relate to the question
Make sure that you find at least 8
points
Mark each of them with a number
Answer in a paragraph using a topic
sentence relating to the question
Reword (where possible) the main
point from the chosen features
In your OWN words
Sequence using Firstly, Secondly,
Moreover, Finally or other suitable
link phrase
Express yourself using third person,
present tense, formal tone and
accurate spelling & punctuation. NO
introduction or conclusion required
Further support strategies
 Learning Objectives need to be clear, concise and specifically linked
to the success criteria and skills eg:
L/O To be able to solve a linear equation with unknowns on both
sides using the balancing method.
 Highlight key parts of sentence structure – verbs, nouns, subject
 Pre-teach words and given them emphasis through voice tone
 Provide opportunities to practise words through different contexts
 Use visual organisers, tables, charts, writing frames and diagrams
 Provide word banks or clouds to support language
 Use Learning Mentors or colleagues (if team teaching) to visually
harvest learning
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Classroom Strategies
Give time
to plan and
to talk
Cue them
Create
in – know opportunities
their
for groupwork
names
Abdullah
Encourage
oracy
Make eye
contact
Check understanding
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Some useful linking connectives
firstly
as
Above all
otherwise
alternatively
secondly
furthermore
initially
moreover
alternatively
likewise
As well
whereas
Instead
of
similarly
For instance
Additionally
finally
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In his text, Don’t call it Literacy,
“Our most effective teachers will, as
well as knowing their subject, have
used the specialised vocabulary of their
subject: its one way that we will have
identified them as experts. Yet this in
itself isn’t enough. Great teachers
don’t just use big words. Its about
teaching – not just using – the
specialist vocabulary of our subject.”
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“Its about knowing the key
vocabulary, the nouns, verbs
and connectives, that help us to
express our knowledge in the
language of the expert or
enthusiast.”
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Key Points to Remember
 Bilingualism is an asset.
 The first language is key to an EAL pupil’s identity,
learning and acquiring an additional language. “If they
speak in broken English, it’s because they know
another language.”
 Mental challenge can and should be kept appropriately
high through the provision of linguistic tools and
contextual support.
 Language acquisition goes hand in hand with cognitive
skills (perception, reasoning, rationalising, evaluating …
higher order thinking) and academic development with
an inclusive curriculum as the context.
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Useful Links/Websites
• http://tmenglish.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=181:5-ways-to-givepositive-feedback&catid=12&Itemid=134
• http://www.creativeeducation.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/02/developing-the-writing-skillsof-eal-students/
• http://www.languageswithoutlimits.co.uk/eal.html#ESOL
• http://worditout.com/
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