Virtual School/Equalities Learning
English as an Additional Language
Guidance for Teaching Assistants Primary
Working with
children
learning
English as an
Additional
Language
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Contents
Background Information
Support for New Arrivals
Information from the tda
Tda information: supporting maths
Tda information: literacy
Interventions for EAL pupils
Talking Partners
Talking Maths
Young Interpreters
Useful websites and further information
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The aim is to promote support for independent learning. Don’t do the work
FOR the child. Instead, promote inclusion.
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Background Information
Children learning English as an additional language are not a uniform
group.
Some children are born in the UK but speak little or no English other
pupils have had age-appropriate schooling and are literate in their home
languages. They may know all about a subject but have not yet developed
the English vocabulary to show this. Other pupils enter an English school
for the first time and have not yet learned to read or write in their home
language. In some counties formal schooling does not start until several
years later than in the English education system so children may not have
the same school experiences and will not have covered the same
curriculum. Some countries have a much more formal learning style and
children and parents may not be used to a “learning through play”
approach in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Some families move
house in order to find work so some children have already attended
several schools before they arrive in yours for the first time. Some
children experience an interrupted education through moving schools
frequently and/or returning to their home country for extended visits.
Finding out about the child’s language/s and prior experiences of
education
Find out as much as you can about the languages spoken in the home:
some pupils speak more than one language outside school. For example,
parents/carers may speak different languages; the family may speak one
form of a language but read and write it in another form (such as people
who speak Sylheti and read and write in Bengali); some members of the
family may speak English; the pupil may use yet another language for
religious purposes; and some pupils have lived for a time in a third
country before arriving in the UK and have picked up the language there.
Find out as much as you can about a child’s previous education and
schools attended.
BICS and CALP It takes a child about two years to become socially
fluent in English and this is knows as BICS Basic Interpersonal
Conversational Skills but about7 years to achieve CALP (Cognitive and
Academic Language Proficiency) so pupils will continue to need extra
visual support, scaffolding and high quality speaking and listening
activities otherwise their progress will plateau and they will not achieve
their full potential. It is really important to encourage parents/carers and
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pupils to maintain and develop home languages because this provides a
sound basis for the learning of English as an additional language.
Support for New Arrivals.
 Find out as much as possible about the child’s country and home
language/s. The school library service has an excellent selection of
dual language and multicultural books.
 Provide clear signs round school
 Create a visual timetable and other key visuals such as word mats
dual language maths vocabulary.
 Group the pupil with good role models for language and learning
 Start a “new vocabulary” book with pictures. Write the word in
English (always use “a” with nouns) and encourage parents and
carers to write the word in the home language
 If the pupil is literate in the home language encourage him/her to
write in this at first and to use a bilingual dictionary
 Set up a buddy system with other children.
 Encourage active listening and opportunities for a pupil to show his
or her understanding without needing to speak. eg. By holding up a
card
 In whole class carpet sessions sit with the child and encourage
interaction, draw diagrams for explanation. It’s amazing what you
can do with a whiteboard!
Allow the child to hear several other people speaking before asking for an
oral contribution and allow extra time for thinking and answering.
Experience has shown that all EAL learners benefit from taking part in
whole-class and group activities where there are clearly defined
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objectives, interactive teaching approaches, opportunities to listen to and
join in planned talk, and where the meaning of texts is made clear through
visual support and oral explanation. Story telling with props and the
approaches outlined in Talk For Writing are ideal for scaffolding EAL
learners.
Pupils who are already literate in a language other than English will
already know the conventions of reading and will actively search for cues,
such as the relationship of letters to sounds. They will also seek
contextual and picture clues to meaning. For these pupils books provide a
powerful medium for learning English, and they usually make rapid
progress in English language acquisition and literacy. There needs to be a
focus on reading for meaning as decoding skills can be in advance of
comprehension as the child develops a wide vocabulary in English.
Pupils who have not yet learned to read and write in their first language
will still need to have the early reading experiences that all learners
undergo in the process of becoming literate.
Hearing texts read aloud and talking about the story, the characters or the
topic of an information book is an invaluable part of the process. Early
learners of English may not be able to have this experience at home in
English, so reading or sharing books with a Teaching Assistant either
individually or in a small group, in addition to taking part in literacy work in
lessons, will greatly enhance their language and literacy development.
Many favourite stories are now available in dual language editions and
can be turned into a story sack shared in the child’s home language with
parents and carers which will enhance the child’s understanding.
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TA roles in supporting pupils who are learning English as an
Additional Language (from TDA induction training for Primary Teaching
Assistants)
Planning
 Being aware of lesson objectives
 Discussing access strategies for focus pupil
 Contributing ideas based on knowledge of pupil’s progress
 Having clear expectations of TA roles within the lesson
 Where appropriate, being aware of the role/intervention planned for
by the teacher, as stated in the short-term plan.
Preparation
 Ensuring appropriate visual aids/props are available
 Ensuring a dictionary is available
 Preparing any specific resources required by focus pupils.
Delivery
In a whole-class session, sitting near pupil in order to:
 echo the teacher’s message
 explain the teacher’s message
 encourage engagement
 encourage responses to question
 rehearse responses
 act as a talk partner, or facilitate pupil working with another pupil as
talk partners.
● echo the teacher’s message
● explain the content of the lesson
● signal to the teacher when the pupil is ready to answer.
In group/individual work:
● encouraging talk and acting as a role model of English
● explaining key words
● demonstrating/supporting the task
● supporting reading
● supporting writing through talk, scaffolding (ie. writing
frames/sentence starters
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At any time during the lesson the TA can observe a group or individual
pupil’s engagement with the teacher’s presentation or the group’s or
pupil’s approach to any task/activity.
Review
● Discuss successful/less successful aspects of the lesson in relation to
the focus pupil
● Feed back specific detail on the focus pupil’s progress within the lesson.
Mathematics
EAL pupils may know a lot of mathematics, but this might not be
apparent. These pupils may recognise written numerals on paper or on
the board, but may not know the words in English. For example, they may
recognise “36”, but not the word “thirty-six”. It can be difficult to find out
exactly what these pupils are able to do if they are unable to explain.
TAs may need to give EAL pupils picture clues or keywords to help them
understand instructions. You can encourage the pupils to watch others
and to learn how to play a game or do an activity from observation or use
appropriate equipment with EAL pupils to help them understand what to
do.
Learning and using vocabulary is important in mathematics especially for
EAL children and they need to be given opportunities to learn and use
new vocabulary. Try using games that involve simple words and phrases
picked up from other players. TAs can encourage children to repeat
number sentences, such as “nine add six equals fifteen” or “five times four
equals twenty” in chorus with other pupils.
It is really important to model sentences and phrases using correct
mathematical vocabulary. As soon as EAL pupils feel confident, they
should be encouraged to speak in complete sentences.
Don’t forget these strategies are beneficial for EAL pupils but that they will
help all pupils with their mathematics.
Some low-attaining pupils, or those who are not yet fluent in English, may
not understand a question the teacher has asked. It is worth repeating it,
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perhaps using simpler vocabulary or explaining the vocabulary that is
being used. Remember, however, that some pupils might become
dependent on an adult repeating questions and instructions to them and
won’t expect to have to listen to the teacher. It is important that pupils
don’t become too dependent on the TA.
• repeat discreetly questions the teacher asks and help the pupils find an
answer
• alert the teacher if a pupil has an answer
• ask questions that will help pupils to think when they are discussing in
pairs
• observing pupils and making notes about their responses to questions
Pupils who are not yet fluent in English, are often reluctant to speak out in
front of the class, even when they have an answer. TAs can attract the
attention of the teacher or occasionally, if appropriate, give the pupil’s
answer for him or her.
Sometimes teachers ask pupils to discuss a question in pairs before they
give an answer. Often EAL pupils need support in this. Ensure pupils are
familiar with the appropriate terms and have practised answering in full
sentences
Sit near the less confident pupils in the review at the end of the maths
lesson and whisper prompts to them. Don’t distract the pupil from what
the teacher is saying or be disruptive for the rest of the class.
Some ways of supporting the teacher in the daily Literacy lesson
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Tips for Drawing in reticent pupils
These are the pupils who are too timid to put up their hand and answer a
question.
Examples of how you can do this: “I think Jarek has an idea”, “Kelly has a
good example”, “Go on, Ben”.
Dropping helpful pointers
Starting the ball rolling, such as: “I can see something that starts with that
sound on your desk”, “I think we were talking about one of these the other
day”.
Supporting pupils
Drawing pupils in and encouraging the less-able and less-confident,
including those with particular learning, social or emotional difficulties,
such as by nodding, smiling and giving encouragement, saying “Hmmm”,
making eye contact.
Joining in and making contributions
For example: joining in songs or shared reading aloud, to encourage the
pupils; making contributions to keep discussion going when it flags (but
being careful not to pre-empt the pupils). This can be useful as long as
TAs are careful not to interrupt unnecessarily when the teacher is hoping
for responses from pupils. Sensitively staged contributions can provide a
useful model for the pupils of how to join in – the sort of content, tone,
length and manner of contribution required.
Demonstrating for the teacher
Under the guidance of the teacher TAs can demonstrate activities such as
using a dictionary, scanning a passage, working out a spelling.
Raising questions or problems
This includes raising questions or problems which a pupil or the teacher
can answer, pretending not to understand so the teacher can go through
a step-by-step tuition, or acting as a character in a book.
Echoing the teacher
Repeating or rewording phrases for pupils who need extra help; for
example saying: “That’s right, look for the speech marks”, “See where Mrs
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Goodwin is pointing”,” Remember what you’ve been told about blending
phonemes to read words!”
Acting as a partner for a less-able pupil during discussions
When pupils are given opportunities to think and discuss to generate
ideas or develop a point to feed back to the class, TAs can help reticent or
less-able pupils to formulate a response and alert the teacher that they’re
able to make a contribution. This guarantees less-able pupils a secure
and risk-free opening through which they can contribute to the class.
Using supportive props
Supporting the use of teaching ‘props’, such as changing screens on
whiteboards, holding up pictures, showing objects to think and discuss to
generate ideas or develop a point to feed back to the class,
Supporting group discussion (including the use of additional
languages)
This includes reinforcing speaking and listening skills: for example,
ensuring everyone is given the opportunity to contribute, considering
alternatives, asking for clarification. It is sometimes useful, particularly
with younger children, for TAs to get involved in the discussion
themselves, for example by taking a part in a role-play scenario and even
being in role themselves. Asking pupils questions can support their
thinking: for example, “What do you think will happen next?”
Introducing and reinforcing specific vocabulary
This can be done before, during or after an activity and is particularly
useful for bilingual learners. For example, use of the term ‘phoneme’ while
helping a pupil to write a word, using photographs to revise key
vocabulary and aid an oral recount of a trip. The Letters and Sounds
materials include specific examples of activities that aim to engage
children and to develop and extend their use of language, sounds and
words.
Helping pupils with activities
When a new activity is introduced to a group, pupils need a lot of support
(taking it step by step) to manage and understand it. Once they know a
basic activity – such as where children recognise the first letter of their
name and sound this out to learn letter/sound correspondence, or how to
organise a spelling investigation – they will have learnt some principles
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that they can be gently reminded of when the same activity is used in a
different context.
Assisting during group and independent work
• Small group phonics activity
• Guided reading and guided writing
• Supporting group discussion
• Introducing and reinforcing specific vocabulary
• Helping pupils with activities, eg. playing Pelmanism (memorising letters,
words or sounds)
• Assessing progress to feed back to the teacher and recording this in a
way that best fits the school’s assessment systems
Interventions for EAL pupils
In many schools with a rising number of pupils new to English and
schools with a growing number of EAL pupils on role Teaching Assistants
play a vital role in induction and through small group and individual work.
New Arrivals Small group and individual support
Talking Partners 10 week intervention programme
Talking Maths 10 week intervention programme
Young Interpreters training for pupils to be effective buddies and
interpreters
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Talking Partners:
1. What is it and where did it come from?
The original speaking and listening programme was developed in
Bradford. It has been used extensively in other authorities.
It is a structured speaking and listening programme suitable for children
learning English as an additional language. It is not suitable for newly
arrived learners and is designed for pupils operating at L1 Threshold on
the QCA extended language levels. It is also suitable for native English
speakers and is used to develop their expressive language.
Delivery: Initial assessments Renfrew and story retelling. Assessments
repeated at the end of the programme.
10 week programme 3x20 minute sessions per week split into 2x10 min
activities
delivered by a school TA.
T.A will need time for planning and recording. Approx 40 mins per day
Children should not be removed from core subjects for the programme.
(Could use assembly time/quiet reading time)
Resources:
Equalities Learning Officer has a set of 10 weekly plans most suitable for
pupils in Y2/3
Nurturing Talk- comprehensive resource pack based on Talking Partners
KS1-3
Talk across the curriculum Bradford
PNS Speaking, Listening, Learning working with children in key stages 1
and 2
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Talking Maths
This is a scheme developed by Liverpool Maths Team and aims to
develop the use and understanding of mathematical language.

Talking Maths is a 10 week programme comprising of 3 X 20 minute
sessions per week with an emphasis on developing the use and
understanding of mathematical language. Each session is made up of 2
X 20 min practical activities

There are 3 stages in each activity: Stage 1 the adult partner supports
the child through modelling, demonstrating and prompting. As the
children gain confidence they are guided through the 2nd and 3rd stage
where the partner will extend the use of language and questioning and
promote more independent interaction. There is very clear guidance on
the stages for each activity on pages 19-36 on the handbook with
guidance on the language focus for each activity. This is followed by
extended activities for Y4-7

The programme can be administered by a teacher, teaching assistant or
adult helper working with a group of 3 children

There is minimal preparation and planning in administering the
programme.

Recommended resources are listed in appendix A of the handbook and
most resources can easily be found in a primary school.
 Why do we need it?



Mathematics is about problem solving.
Problem solving requires thinking skills.
Thinking skills require academic language
 Who is it for?

The typical pupil profile is that of a child who is showing mathematical
potential but who would benefit from developing their use and
understanding of language in the context of mathematics.
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Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
A. On The Table
A. What’s Different?
A. Let’s Say, Let’s Play
An activity that presents a
collection of objects ‘on the
table’ to stimulate
discussion, questioning and
interaction and provide
opportunities for sharing
mathematical vocabulary
This activity presents
a variety of objects
that show differences
and similarities to
compare and contrast.
It provides opportunity
for asking and
answering questions,
estimating, measuring
and checking results.
A chance to practise maths
vocabulary through songs,
rhymes, actions, pictures
and games. This is a fun
activity which could use
resources already known
to children/adult or
developed by themselves.
B. Puppet Problem
Solving
In this activity, the puppet
plays a central role in
introducing the problems to
the children. It can:
 Introduce the
problem
 Ask the children for
help
 Make silly mistakes
 Help generate ideas
 Encourage checking
strategies
 Help find the right
answer
B. Copy Cats
B. Detectives
‘Copy Cats’ is an
opportunity to use simple
barrier games to provide
a purposeful context for
using mathematical
language.
Be a detective...
Barrier games provide
children with the
opportunity to give
precise, clear instructions
and become active
listeners
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


Ask questions
Use clues
Solve problems
Young Interpreters Scheme
This is a scheme developed by Hampshire Ethnic Minority
Achievement Service which aims to use pupil interpreters to support
the emotional well being of newly arrived pupils and families who
are learning English as an additional language.
 Training a group of pupils as ‘interpreters’ using the
‘Hampshire Young Interpreter pack’ (Separate training for
pupils in KS1 KS2 and KS3/4)
 Values this group by giving them an official role and status
within the school
 Through this group, providing additional peer support to newly
arrived EAL learners either through first language or child
friendly English.
 Communicating and celebrating the group’s work with parents
and carers.
 Adding to and extending the buddy system for new arrivals,
not replacing it.
 Sending positive messages to all about valuing bilingualism.
 Working with this group to listen and respond to the needs of
pupils, parents and visitors with EAL on a day to day basis.
 A member of staff is appointed as co-ordinator for the scheme
and delivers a short training course using the Young
Interpreters pack.
 Special assembly to award Young interpreters with badges and
Yong Interpreters pack to which parents are invited.
 Pupils, overseen by co-ordinator, support new arrivals in
school. This could include supporting new pupils at playtime
and helping them make friends, helping show new families
round school, helping welcome parent’s at parent’s evenings,
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supporting new pupils in a variety of ways in class by being
good language modes, helping explain things in child friendly
English.
 Pupil interpreters help train the next set of Young Interpreters
Schools in Hampshire have reported the following benefits.
 Pupils developed empathy towards new arrivals and an
increased understanding of some of the challenges they
face.
 School staff, including office and lunchtime supervisors,
are supported.
 Parents and carers of new arrivals felt reassured.
 It offers more extensive and focussed peer support in
addition to a buddy system.
 Pupil interpreters received recognition and used bilingual
and communication skills to develop strategies to clarify,
explain and interpret using home languages , visual
support or child friendly English.
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Useful websites and information.
Translating and interpreting advice
Allyson Carty Partnership Development and Participation Officer
CCC Children’s Services
Blencathra House
PO Box 10
Whitehaven CA28 0BN
Tel. 07554438474
Email allyson.carty@cumbria.gov.uk.
EAL advice and training
Rachel Lee Equalities Learning Officer (EAL)
East Wing First Floor Kingmoor Business Park Carlisle CA6 4SJ
Tel. 01228 221188 mobile 07876396970
Email rachel.lee@cumbria.gov.uk
Website Cumbria County Council, Children’s Services, Education
and learning, Information for schools, virtual schools equality
learning, EAL
www.literacytrust.org.uk The Early Years section has an English as an
Additional Language are with a useful series of downloadable advice
leaflets in several languages called Talk to your Baby. Despite the title
they are suitable for children up to 3 years old and included titles such as
Talk To Your Baby Using Your Home Language, Making The Most Of
Television, Sharing Songs and Rhymes as well as some downloadable
games including Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See and Handa’s
Surprise.
www.mantralingua.co.uk/
Dual language books, a small selection of toys and games for visual
support and story retelling or story sacks, talking pens, cds and dvds plus
welcome booklet which enables Nurseries to print off school information in
several languages
www.education.gov.uk
For the latest Department of Education information regarding Early Years
Foundation Stage and English as an Additional Language
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www.primaryresources.co.uk
Translated letters for parents can be found by going to the “other” section
down the left hand side and going to EAL resources
Language of the month www.newburypark.redbridge.sch.uk/langofmonth
Say hello in many languages and activities to promote language
awareness
Websites for dual language books, songs and rhymes
Little Linguist www.little-linguist.co.uk
Mantra Publishing www.mantralingua.com/uk
Milet Publishing www.milet.com
Hounslow Language service www.hvec.org.uk
multi lingual talking stories and multilingual songs and rhymes cd and
booklet
Dual language songs on cd www.babyboomboom.com
This CD features nursery rhymes and songs in English and a second
language. Currently choose from English and either French, German,
Spanish, Italian or Polish.
Words in both languages are included with the CD. Songs include:
Emas4success www.emas4success.org
Lots of information and games for new arrivals with links to other useful
websites.
Racing to English is a CD ROM with more than 250 fun & flexible
language activities for you to print out and use with your pupils/students
www.racingtoenglish.co.uk
Collaborative Learning www.collaborativelearning.org -‘talk-for-learning’
activities in a range of subjects
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