LEARNING IN 2+
LANGUAGES
Ensuring Effective Inclusion for
Bilingual Learners
Training Materials
The Education of Bilingual
Learners in the Current
Scottish Context
Legislation
The needs of Bilingual Learners are embedded in
Scottish Educational Legislation
– The Education (Additional Support for Learning )
(Scotland) Act 2004
– The Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc Act 2000
– The Children (Scotland) Act 1995
– The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000
– National Priorities and Ambitious Excellent Schools
Introduction to Bilingualism
Learners with English as an Additional
Language (EAL) come from all types of social, educational,
linguistic, emotional and cultural backgrounds.
Definition of Bilingualism
Bilingual Learners
are learners who function in
more than one language
in their daily lives
Myths



The brain has a limited
capacity for language
First language is a barrier to
second language
Second language acquisition
can only be successful at the
expense of the first
Current Research


The brain has unlimited
capacity for learning
The more you learn, the
more you can learn
Dual Iceberg Theory
Language 1
Language 2
Benefits of Bilingualism

Greater knowledge of how
language works
Aids development of decoding and
other literacy skills
Helps with additional language
learning

Enhanced problem-solving
abilities
Useful for Maths and ICT

Heightened creative
potential
Helps with writing and critical
understanding

Greater appreciation of
language use
Aids recognition of context and
audience
One wheel can get
you places.
So can a big wheel and a
little wheel.
However, when your wheels
are nicely balanced and fully
inflated you’ll go
safer,further and faster.
adapted from Cummins,J 1981
Meeting the Needs of
Bilingual Learners

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Good practice for bilingual
learners is good practice for
all learners
Bilingual learners bring
diversity to monolingual
learners
There are cognitive benefits
for monolingual learners
who work with bilingual
learners
Language Proficiency
Social Purposes
Academic Purposes
The Multilingual School
New Arrivals and
Beginners in English
 Welcoming, Accessible and
Structured Approach at
Enrolment
 Effective and Accurate
Information Gathering
 Referral to the EAL Service
 Appropriate, Supportive and
Challenging Educational
Programme, within the
Mainstream Curriculum
Strategies for Supporting Beginners
in English

General

Speaking and
Listening

Reading

Writing

Vocabulary
Strategies for Supporting
Beginners in English
Present exercises using English and
Dual Language Dictionaries
Develop glossaries of vocabulary
related to subject
Highlight key words to list in
alphabetical order
Emphasise five key points of lesson
Provide sentences, based on topic, to
order
Compose sentence halves to be
matched
Create gaps in sentences to be filled
Form True/False statements
Supporting the Development
of English as an Additional
Language in the Classroom
Planning and Managing
Appropriate EAL Support



Class and Group
Allocation
Planning for EAL
Learners
Functions and Role of
the EAL Service
Class and Group Allocation
 Place in appropriate
group for age
 Take account of
previous educational
background
 Involve in mainstream
activities from the start
 Mix with articulate
speakers of English
 Consult EAL Staff
Implications for Teachers

Careful grouping
Take account of learner potential and
advantages of collaborative
learning
Respond to findings from careful
monitoring

Level and type of support
Take account of social fluency and
ability with academic language

Underperformance in Written
Tasks and Formal Assessment
Check tasks and assessments are
appropriately scaffolded
Be aware that passive language skills
develop faster than expressive

Discrepancies in expected
progress
Language may not progress in line
with curriculum. Additional support
required.
Presentation of Class Task
Cummins’ Model

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Plan lesson with quadrant in
mind
Avoid red sector, whenever
possible
Cognitively Demanding
Context Embedded
Context Reduced
Support bilingual learners to
cognitive demand, with little
contextual clue, by working
through sector which is green
Cognitively undemanding
Planning for EAL Learners
Social processes
Cognitive processes
Linguistic processes
What does the learner bring to
the task?
What are the task demands?
What additional support needs
to be planned?
Appropriate Support for EAL
Learners

Holistic approach

Interaction

Independence in
learning
Holistic Approach


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Gather and share all
relevant information
Value and utilise home
languages for learning
Plan for individual
cultural identities and
for the diversity
reflected in Scottish
schools
Reproduced from the UNESCO Courier
Interaction

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Discuss aim and purpose of
learning
Activate previous
knowledge
Build in collaborative
working
Ensure cognitive challenge
Independence in Learning


Teacher acts as mediator
for learning
Methods used are based on
learning styles and
educational/cultural
background

Challenges are met and
risks taken with learning

Reflection on knowledge as
integral aspect of lesson
Functions and Role of EAL
Support Staff
Strategic Support


Support school policies to
meet the requirements of
the current legislative
framework and promote
best practice
Contribute to staff
development
Functions and Roles of EAL
Staff
Operational Support


Work collaboratively to
support the planning,
review and assessment
process
Provide support which
may involve direct
teaching to individual
learners or to groups
which include native
speakers of English
Partnership with Parents
and Carers
Welcoming Parents and
Carers
Assessing the Progress
of Bilingual Learners
Holistic Assessment
In particular:

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Prior knowledge and skills
brought to learning in
English
First Language Proficiency listening, speaking, reading
and writing
Length of time spent within
an education system
Language Support Needs


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Ability to communicate
Success with accessing
the curriculum
Mastery of technical
aspects of language
Stages of English Language
Acquisition

New to English

Early Acquisition

Developing Competence

Competent

Fluent
Tools for Assessment

Formative assessment
Regular in-class observation
Samples of language use in English and First Language
Class work and writing in both languages

Summative assessment and use of published test materials
Bilingual Learners with Other
Additional Support Needs
There will be a Range of Other Additional Support Needs as
encompassed by the Additional Support for Learners Act (2004)
Need to determine whether
lack of progress is due to
English as an Additional
Language Development or
to Learning Difficulty
Good Practice
Build up a profile over time through
careful tracking of progress
Early identification
Reliant on accurate and complete
enrolment information and
continuity
with regard to family links
Evidence Gathering
It is important to assess:

Language background – EAL and
home language

Educational
background/experience

Possibility of similar difficulties in
the home language

Teachers’ observations

Potential problems with
standardised tests

School and outside factors which
may affect learning
Planning and Mechanism for
Review of Support

Collate information from all staff
who work with the learner and from
parents/carers

Involve parents/carers throughout

Seek and take account of the views
of the learner


Draw up an appropriate support
plan and agree to review on a
regular basis
Work within the school’s staged
support system
Refer to all principles within “Learning in 2+ Languages”
throughout the process