ESRC Research Seminar
Tuesday 20th April 2010
Social inclusion and links mainstream education
How has the Goldsmith’s bilingual learning research project
contributed to Tower Hamlets language policy?
Jamal Uddin
National Drivers
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Every Child Matters
European language policy for 21st century
Primary and Secondary National Strategies
Primary Literacy and EMA Strategy
National Languages Strategy
KS2 and KS3 Framework for languages
Every Language Matters
Government Guidance on Community Cohesion
Primary Curriculum
Developing language in the primary school – Literacy
and primary languages
The Tower Hamlets Context
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Two thirds of children and young people are from minority ethnic
communities
Over 100 languages
54% speaks Bengali/Sylheti
26% English as their first language
The remaining 20% was made up of over 100 home languages
Somali accounts for 2.6% and Arabic 1%, followed by Turkish
(0.9%) and Yoruba (0.9%).
Other home languages include most European languages, some
African languages, other languages from the Sub-Continent and S.E
Asia, with Portuguese, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian having
entered the top 20 in the last few years
Local Demands
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Language and cultural learning
Competent in mother tongue and intercultural understanding
Self esteem, fluent bilingual and competent in mother tongue
Moral education
Social skills – respecting elders and loving younger
Family values and social cohesion
Religious education and values in faith
Good out of school provision
Good school attainment
Good GCSE results in all subjects including languages
Grow up with potential plurilinual skills that could help their adult life
and professional career
PUPILS IN TOWER HAMLETS AND THEIR LANGUAGE
LEARNING NEEDS
Pupils in the borough can be divided into groups according to their language learning
needs as follows:
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EAL or native English speakers who are fully fluent in two or more languages
EAL pupils who are proficient in English and native English speakers who are working
at or above national expectations, but who might still have issues with academic
English
EAL pupils and native English speakers working below national expectations and
need to develop literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking & listening)
EAL new arrivals with little previous education and no English
EAL new arrivals with full schooling and little/some English
Deaf pupils who use sign language
HI (Hearing Impaired) pupils who need modified language
Blind pupils who use Braille
VI (Visual Impaired) pupils who need modified print
MSI (Multi Sensory Impaired) pupils who may need alternative methods of teaching
and learning through a multi sensory curriculum and alternative means of recording
Pupils with additional learning needs may need access to learning and language
through communication modes and augmentative communication devices
Tower Hamlets Languages Policy
Deaf/Hearing
Impairment
Communication
/ English
language and
literature
EAL
Modern Foreign
and
Community
Languages
TH Languages
Policy
Support for
bilingual
learning
ESOL
British Sign
Languages
Out of school
Mother Tongue
teaching and
community
cohesion
Ethnic Minority
Achievement /
First Language
Assessment
Translating the policy into practice
Mother Tongue
Policy
TH Languages
Policy
TH Modern
Foreign and
Community
Languages
Strategy
EMA Policy
Support for primary modern languages
• All Key Stage 2 children to have access to modern foreign and
community languages teaching and learning throughout Key Stage
2 as part of school curriculum;
• A minimum of 60 minutes of modern languages teaching per week
within the curriculum time, as either 30 minutes x 2 sessions or 15
minutes x 4 sessions or the best possible model that fits within
school timetable, expertise and resources;
• A smooth transition of languages skills form Key Stage 2 to Key
Stage 3 and full recognition of primary language learning when
children transfer to secondary school;
• High quality of language teaching meeting Ofsted requirements
• All children to have the opportunity to access to learning of their
preferred languages so that they could explore full potential of their
linguistic skills as they grow up in adult life and professional career.
Community language or EU language – factors to
consider when selecting appropriate languages!
• Local community languages and it’s growth and
demand
• Primary schools should be aware of the
languages being taught at secondary schools
and vice – versa
• Languages of the economic world
• Languages the children and their families want
to learn
• Expertise within the school and local community
Community language or EU language – factors to
consider when selecting appropriate languages!
For example:
Over 54% of pupils in most our schools speak Bengali as
their native or local community language. Most schools
have large number of Bengali teaching staff and teaching
assistants. Schools could easily priorities to teach Bengali
as a modern language as it would be much simple and
straightforward to teach given fact that the expertise and
resources that are already available in schools.
However - choice for languages should be made after
consultation with parents, local communities and
governors, and in the light of the languages taught at the
secondary school into which the primary tends to feed.
Key principles
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There is no single way to teach a new language but there will be broad
agreement about approaches to language teaching and learning and that
should be delivered inline with Rose recommendations in primary
curriculum;
Primary schools should focus on teaching more than one language
including one community language and one EU language;
The national Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages and the Tower Hamlets
Key Stage 2 Scheme of Work for Modern Foreign Languages should be
used as first points of reference;
Schools should feel free to create their own courses and teaching activities,
relevant to the experiences and interests of their own children;
Teaching needs to take full account of the different experiences, strengths
and needs of all children, i.e. setting suitable learning challenges;
Responding to diverse needs and overcoming potential barriers to learning
and assessment for individuals and groups;
Providing opportunities for cross-curricular links through topics of real
interest and relevance to the children within the school;
Collaboration with out of school mother tongue provisions
(specifically contributed through bilingual research work)
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There needs to be close liaison between community language classes and
the mainstream schools. This will ensure the exchange of ideas and
information as well as a pooling of resources. It will also aid continuity of
experience in children’s learning.
In this way the community language teachers can gain knowledge of
mainstream pedagogies, whilst mainstream schools can also learn from the
variety of teaching approaches developed in out of school projects.
For mainstream schools, collaboration with community language classes
would help deliver the Extended Schools agenda and fulfil the duty to
promote community cohesion.
It is recommended that mainstream schools:
Offer premises for use by mother tongue classes after school and at
weekends
Share resources such as ICT facilities
Invite mother tongue teachers to relevant INSET days in order to exchange
knowledge of pedagogies
Invite mother tongue teachers to parents’ evenings to discuss children’s
progress
Local Authority central support
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Disseminate outcomes of research findings
Continue to develop/refine core curriculum building on the Tower Hamlet Languages
Policy, Curriculum Framework for Community Languages, Schemes of Work for
Languages
Ongoing advice to schools on strategic planning for PML, SEF and Ofsted inspection.
Delegate capacity building standard funds to schools according to govt funding
formula and on the basis of the analysis of progress being made by every school
Review and update local authority funding priority for community groups and
voluntary sector organisations delivering out of school languages provision
Ongoing support with a specialist language tutor from local authority community
language services
Establish a programme of exchange visits to EU and other countries to increase
intercultural understanding, knowledge of the target languages and teaching and
learning pedagogy
Languages website to provide online resources, teaching materials and audio-video
activities to support modern foreign and community languages teaching
Qualitative and quantitative research work to identify the methodology and benefits of
language teaching and disseminating good practice across the schools
Borough wide support to celebrate International Language Day and European Day of
Languages
Training and professional
development support
• Deliver ongoing CPD for both skilled MFL teachers as well those
teachers who are lacking language skills
• In-house staff briefing sessions delivered to schools
• Training and curriculum support for FLA (First Language Assistants)
• Training for headteachers and SLT on PML
• Capacity building training for community groups and Third Sector
organisations in running successful language projects
• In-house training for schools on PML model teaching
• In-service training and CPD for community language tutors
• Joint training for class teachers, FLA and MT teachers
• WLCL course for community language tutors and FLAs
Partnership and transition between primary
and secondary
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Working within extended school clusters
Working within learning networks
Working closely with primary and secondary link advisers
Using resources and expertise across local authorities
Working alongside community groups and voluntary organisations
local cluster or network between feeder primary schools with
secondary
Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 network meeting
primary teachers and pupils visiting secondary schools (or vice
versa)
video, telephone or email meetings
pupil information being sent to secondary schools
Quality Assurance
• Monitoring visits to schools by PML
advisory teacher and SDAs
• Ongoing monitoring by schools – SLT
• School Development Plan and SEF
• Languages portfolio
• Cultural event – children performance