Contents
1.Introduction
2.Information for school/mentor/tutor
3.Guidance for student
4.School Task. Observing, planning and teaching a lesson to demonstrate inclusive teaching of EAL (individual or group)
5.Activities: Find out more about …
Activity A: Finding out about bilingualism
Activity B: Investigate the diversity of children in schools and classes
Activity C: Find out about specialist staff
Activity D: Promoting access and engagement
Activity E. Find out more about Advanced Bilingual Learners and New Arrivals
Activity F: Audit of learning environment and curriculum resources inclusive for all children, including bilingual children
Activity G: Finding out about children who are refugees and asylum seekers, and other vulnerable groups.
Activity H: Find out about learning to read and write in a first and second language.
Activity I: What do you do when learners of EAL do not make expected progress?
Appendix 1. Guidance for observation/ planning
Appendix 2: Record of Lesson Observation -English as an Additional language (EAL)
Appendix 3. Assessment
Appendix 4. Strategies for beginners
Appendix 5: Learning Environment Audit
References and annotated reading list
Websites
This document is a work in progress and was developed by Judith Flynn and modified by Jonas Thiel.N/B Some of the activities and accompanying information are adapted from Activities for PGCE students devised by Sneddon (2012). Contributions from students, teachers, mentors, tutors etc. are welcome and anyone who contributes will be acknowledged. Please contact
1.Introduction
The aim of this portfolio is to equip Manchester Met student teachers to:
- Support bilingual pupils by promoting a view of bilingualism/multilingualism as cultural capital;
- Support language development of all learners, including learners at various stages of bilingualism;
- Support all learners for a life in a multilingual world.
This portfolio follows a model successfully developed in a number of pilot schools and functions as an important link between university-based education and school based training. Before moving on, we believe that it is important to clarify a few significantpoints:
Firstly, it is important to note that we usethe notion of EAL learners interchangeably with the government definition of a bilingual (or multilingual) learner. EAL learners are, hence,
‘all pupils who use or have access to more than one language at home or at school – it does not necessarily imply full fluency in both or all languages.’ (DfES 2003, cited in British Council, 2016: online)
In fact, we prefer the notion of Bilingual Learners to that of learners of EAL (as is also reflected in the title of this portfolio). There are three main reasons for this. To begin with, we believe that the notion of Bilingual Learners more adequately captures the complexity of the multiple ways in which children and adolescents acquire English as an additional language. Moreover, we hope that the word-choice “Bilingual Learners” expresses the fact that bilingualism in the UKisonly one specific example of bilingualism more generally. In other words, it situates bilingualism in a global context. Most importantly, however, we hope that the terminology of“bilingual learners” more readily expresses one crucial fact: bilingualism is an asset(and not a deficit) and it is our task as teachers to try to ensure that bilingual children develop in all of their languages and not just in English.
Secondly, bilingual learners can be categorised into two broad groups: children who grow up with two languages from birth (simultaneous bilinguals) and children who learn English after learning their first language (sequential bilinguals). The exact pointat which simultaneous bilingualism stops and sequential bilingualism starts is, however, subject to substantial debate in the research community.We will use McLaughlin’s (1984) definition which argues that a child can be considered a sequential bilingual if she acquires the second language after the age of three[1].
Lastly, while you will have the opportunity to engage with a multitude of academic research in the body of this portfolio, we believethat two research findings deserve their place in this introduction.
- The role of the first language for sequential bilinguals is paramount.Hence, the often encountered (butill-founded)advice to parents of bilingual children to speak English at homeis not only counterproductive, but also poses a threat to thecognitive and linguistic development of bilingual children due to the dangers of so called subtractive bilingualism(e.g. Cummins, 2000; King and Fogle, 2006; Wright et al., 2000).In other words, please advise parents of bilingual children to speak their first language to their children in order to foster additive bilingualism.
- A full bilingualism/multilingualism promotes(certain) cognitive skills (cf. Bialystok, 2001). This means that the conception that bilingualism leads to long-term confusion and reduced cognitive performance is, put simply, wrong. Again, the only danger that remains is not fostering the first language development of our pupils.
By providing you with this portfolio, we therefore hope to contribute to an emerging understanding of the radical complexities involved in bilingual language development as well as supporting you in the quest to become thecritical, reflexive and inclusive teachers you deserve to be andwho children deserve to be taught by.
2.Information for school/mentor/tutor (PGCE Secondary)
As far as possible, the school/mentor/class teacher/school-based EAL specialist is invited to
- Support the student(s) to undertake a school task (section 4) and activities (section 5) to show how their schools meet the needs of their diverse populations. The student will need to take the initiative to observe and discover information relevant to diversity. This will include looking at areas such as ethos, policies, admissions, statistics, displays, teaching, staffing, links, curriculum and parental involvement.
- If possible and appropriate, arrange,, for the student(s) to observe, plan, teach and evaluate a lesson for a target group[2] of children that includes one or more bilingual children (not necessarily recently arrived).This also includes for the student to consciously make explicit reference to language development and curriculum needs (in accord with the guidance and documents in the appendices).
- Observe the student(s), providing written feedback (Appendix 2) and engaging in a discussion around issues relevant to EAL and diversity.
3.Guidance for student (PGCE Secondary)
The EAL portfolio intends to support you in developing a critical understanding of thelanguage development needs of all learners, including the needs of bilingual learners. With this in mind, the portfolio includes aschool task and a range of suggested activities. Both the school task and the activities will be helpful for your future career as an inclusive teacher. Please note the following:
Please try to complete theschool task, where your school context allows for this.
In addition to the school task, tryto complete some of theactivities, as appropriate and where your school context allows for this. These can be undertaken either on your ownor in partnership with othersduring (or after)the placements. Theactivitieswill assist you in considering the range of aspects that are important formeeting the specific needs of EAL pupils.
You are responsible for the initiation and completion of the school task and the other related activities. The portfolio will then serve as a record of this.
You can also add extra sheets to record additional experiences and/or academic reading.
Please also note that the portfolio can significantly assist you in your writing of assignments that reflect onthe inclusion and teaching of bilingual learners, e.g. The Inclusive Learning Assignment.
4.School Task. Observing, planning and teaching a lesson to demonstrate inclusive teaching of EAL (individual or group)
Please Note:Alternatively, you could reflect and evaluate on a lesson you have already taught. Please see the EAL lesson plan (Appendix 1) for strategies and the EAL Lesson Observation form (Appendix 2)for record keeping.
You need to ask your subject mentor/class teacher/school-based EAL specialist to arrange for you:
- To observe a lesson inclusive of an individual or group of bilingual pupils, paying particular attention to the teaching strategies used. This would preferably include a pupil who is new to English, but not necessarily so. (See Appendix 1)
- To plan and teach a lesson to an individual or group using the usual MMU/your chosen lesson plan pro-forma. Please consultAppendix 1to support you in this task. In particular, you need toshow strategies that seek to develop the children’s academic English, repertoire of language as well as furthering their understanding of curriculum content.
- Ask your mentor / class teacher to complete an EAL lesson observation form(Appendix 2)
- Include an assessment of language use (Appendix 3)of a written sample or transcript of spoken language, to comment on text, sentence and word level. Compare this with your peers.
Evaluation of impact on children’s learning
Following the lesson, with your mentor, evaluate the impact of your teaching, using the EAL lesson plan (Appendix 1). That is, how well did you feel you contributed to children’s accessto and engagementwith academic language? Did some children respond better than others? What strategies worked best?How did children respond to links to home languages/cultural diversity?
5.Activities: Find out more about …
You can complete the following activities independently from the placement. Try tocomplete at least three of these activities by the end of the programme. Please ensure to complement your reasoning with observations whenever applicable.
Activity A: Finding out about bilingualism
Read the following documents:
Read about the dilemmas faced by children (Primary focus):
Rich, S. and Davies, L. (2007)Insights into the strategic ways in which two bilingual children in the early years seek to negotiate the competing demands on their identity in their home and school worlds, International journal of early years education vol:15 iss:1 pg:35 -47Answer the following questions, incorporating aspects from the literature.
Do you know anyone who is bi or multilingual?What are the benefits of bilingualism for adults and pupils?
What can the teacher do to encourage positive attitudes towards community languages?
Activity B: Investigate the diversity of children in schools and classes
Read Chapter 1 in Conteh (2012). Do you think the children in any of the schools you have taught in might fit into any of the following categories of learners (ibid)?
- Second and third generation members of settled ethnic minority communities(advanced bilingual learners)
- Recent arrivals and new to English with little prior schooling
- Recent arrivals and new to English who are literate in their first language(s)
- Asylum seekers or refugees whose education has been disrupted due to war or other traumatic experiences
- Isolated learners in school settings with little prior experience of other bilingual learners
- Children of parents who are studying or working for a short period of time
Activity C: Find out about specialist staff
Where possible, ‘interview the person responsible in your school for coordinating provision for EAL (EAL coordinator, inclusion coordinator, teacher in charge etc.)’ (Sneddon, 2012:7).
Find out the following information:1) What staff, if any, ‘are employed in school to support learners of EAL (teachers, teachingassistants, bilingual instructors, bilingual assistants etc.)?’ (ibid) Compare your findingswith the this quote:
In 1985 the Swann Report recommended that pupils learning EAL be taught
alongside their peers in the mainstream classroom to ensure full access to the
curriculum and to avoid stigmatisation.
While withdrawal is still practised in many schools for a variety of purposes, it is
generally recommended that specialist teachers, where they are available, work in
partnership with mainstream class teachers. This involves joint planning and
assessment as well as team teaching in the class. Rather than to support a group
of children, the expertise of the specialist EAL teacher is harnessed to make the
lesson as a whole accessible to the EAL learners in the class, by meeting their
specific identified needs. The idea is that all teachers in school should develop
strategies to teach bilingual pupils effectively, even when not supported by a specialist. (ibid)
2)Answer these additional questions by Sneddon (2012:7)
How is support organised in schools? Are children withdrawn from theclassroom? If so, for what purpose and by whom are they taught? Are childrensupported by a teacher or teaching and learning assistant in the classroom/in a group? Is partnershipteaching practised? How do staff liaise, plan and assess?
For additional information, view the following video:
3) If your school does not have any specialist support staff, read to find out what possibilities are available:
Activity D: Promoting access and engagement
Investigate how to promote access and engagement of children in the early stages of schooling and Early Years.
Pupils learn language by interacting with other pupils[3]. Read Drury (2004), Chapter 3 in Gregory, E., Long, S. & Volk, D. (Eds.) Many pathways to literacy: young children learning with siblings, grandparents, peers and communities. London :RoutledgeFalmer. (Primary focus)How can/does the teacher and other adults promote interaction?
How can the same principles be applied in later key stages?
Read the following relevant texts and outline two aspects that you found interesting.
Primary school contexts:
(Pages15/16)
Secondary school contexts:
Read Access and Engagement documents in your subject area to find supporting strategies.
Activity E. Find out more about Advanced Bilingual Learners and New Arrivals
Assessment:Usethe information on advanced bilingual learners and Appendix 3 for early learners in order to estimate a child’s stage of Englishdevelopment. Discuss this with your mentor (Sneddon, 2012). If you do not have early stage learners in your school use the writing sample below.
Find out more about New Arrivals:
What teaching and learning strategies can you use with New Arrivals? (See Appendix 4)Note the following quote by Ofsted (2005:1) on advanced bilingual learners:
“Advanced bilingual learners are defined as pupils who have had all or most of their school education in the UK and whose oral proficiency in English is usually indistinguishable from that of pupils with English as a first language but whose writing may still show distinctive features related to their language background.”
In addition, Sneddon (2012:14) argues that
Advanced learners may have learned to decode print effectively and appear to begood readers, but fail to understand fully what they are reading. You will need to thinkcarefully about the vocabulary and structures that you need to introduce to children toensure their understanding of a text. Shared and guided reading provide idealopportunities to do this. Children will also need support in writing: good models andthe provision of specially designed writing frames will be particularly helpful.
Also, consult the following link: (37 – 41)
What strategies can you use to help Advanced Learners acquire standard written and spoken English?Other interesting resources:
- Find out about the distinctiveness of EAL theory and pedagogy:
Activity F: Audit of learning environment and curriculum resources inclusive for all children, including bilingual children
Schools respond differently to cultural and social diversity. These views are outlined in Fredericksonand Cline(2008) and can be summarised as follows:
- Ignore cultural, social and linguistic differences of children (known as the colour-blind view in the case of ethnic diversity)
- Promote multiculturalism and social diversity and actively celebrate and explore diversity in the curriculum
- Viewdifference as an equality issue and promote equality, anti-racist and anti-discriminatory policies
These views can also be applied to disability, gender and other“protected characteristics” in the Equality Act (2010). All schools have a duty to actively promote equality and are meant to respond to the Act by publishing annual equality targets.
For more about the debate on multiculturalism read Modood (2006):
Optional reading: Moore (2000) Chapter 4. Teaching, Learning and Culture
Engage with the Insted website
Complete an audit of the learning environment (Appendix 5)
- Find out about your schools’ equality policies and targets and report here.
- Find out what languages are spoken by the children in the school or classroom
- What resources are available in the children’s languages (either in the classroom or elsewhere in the school)? (Standard 3)Consider displays, books, dual-text books, tapes, CDs orTalking Pens, posters, software, games etc.
(For an idea of the kind of resources that are available, you may want to look at
;and other sites)
From the audit of the learning environment and resources, decide which of the viewpoints summarised above are taken by the school and critically evaluate to determine what the school is doing and/or whether it could to more to promote cultural diversity. How do you think schools should respond to cultural and social diversity?Activity G: Finding out about children who are refugees and asylum seekers, and other vulnerable groups.
Follow Sneddon’s (2012:18) prompt:
Find out if there are refugee children in your school. What additional support isavailable to them? Does the Local Authority provide any support for theschool? In case there are no opportunities in your placement school to meetrefugees, we recommend you make use of the websites below to find out more about the needs of refugee pupils and about strategies recommended to meet them.
Explore the following sites for their suitability:
Summarise your findings below. Focus especially on ways how you could educate your class about refugees in order to combat misinformation and stereotypical views.Activity H: Find out about learning to read and write in a first and second language.
Read the following texts: