English as an Additional Language (EAL)
English as an Additional Language (EAL)

emanaid

emanaid

Contents Introduction 2 What are Schools’ Responsibilities for Inclusion under the National Curriculum? 2 What is an EAL learner? 3 Inclusion for EAL Learners and How Their Needs are Met 5 Factors that Impact on the Quality of Inclusion within the Classroom 6 The Role of Assessment to Provide a Baseline of Information to Support AFL 7 Access and Engagement Strategies Relevant to Design and Technology 8 Attainment and the Use of Learners First Language 9 Focussed Practical Tasks (FTPs) 10 Additional Support by ‘Buddying Up’ 10 Classroom Support 11 A Supportive Classroom Environment 11 The Teacher’s Role in
Inclusion for EAL Learners and How Their Needs are Met
An inclusive classroom provides an education for all students regardless of their strengths or weaknesses. It eliminates separation within the classroom based upon a student’s ability. The National Strategy has high expectations for all learners and the inclusion of pupils learning EAL is a fundamental principle.
“The Ofsted report Managing support for the attainment of pupils from ethnic minority groups (October 2001) identifies factors that enable bilingual learners to develop their English successfully: * joint planning between mainstream and specialist ethnic minority achievement (EMA) staff; * a focus on the content of the lesson, ensuring appropriate cognitive challenge; * a parallel focus on the language necessary to complete the task; * activities that enable pupils to rehearse and explore the language they need; * opportunities to use and build on their first-language skills, where appropriate; continuing support with writing through, for example, the use of matrices for organising information and writing frames for more extended contributions.” (DfES, 2002)
Providing an accessible education to learners in a language that is not their first is not an easy task. “Teachers must plan a variety of tasks and roles to ensure that learners acquire the skills and knowledge in the school’s curriculum at a level commensurate with those