Teaching Children English as an Additional Language

A Programme for 7-12 Year Olds

Caroline Scott

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2008
• eBook ISBN: 9781134055470
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Here is a typical classroom scenario: out of the thirty children, two-thirds speak a different language at home and only speak English at school. Even though many pupils' English skills are almost non-existent, teachers are expected to provide the national curriculum for every child in the class.

Teaching Children English as an Additional Language solves this problem with a ten-week teaching programme of units and lesson activities for children aged seven–eleven (Key Stage 2) new to English. It will help these children learn some very basic English sentences, questions and vocabulary, to get them through regular day-to-day routines more easily. By offering a flexible step by step approach this book helps EAL teachers to:

• identify learners' individual needs
• teach grammar and vocabulary
• support teaching through speaking and listening
• assess pupils to inform future planning

The programme also contains emergency lessons to support learners in the first three days, cross curricular links, ways of using a home-school learning book and an opportunity for the child to make a booklet about themselves. It fosters the child's home language, incorporates different learning styles as well as including a wealth of carefully tailored, themed resources. The programme is complete with activities, resources and assessment materials and helpful tips on how to develop a successful EAL department.

1
An introduction to teaching children English as an additional language (EAL)

Here’s a scenario.

There are 30 children in a class. A third have spoken English all their lives and speak English at home. Two-thirds speak a different language at home and only speak English at school. Most of the latter pupils have a limited vocabulary and poor grammatically structured sentences. Five of these pupils have recently arrived in the country, they hardly understand anything the teacher says, they can’t spell their names, and as a result of the language barrier and huge change in life circumstances, they are very easily distracted from tasks. Through differentiation, the class teacher has the very difficult job of providing the national curriculum for every child in this class.

This is a very real situation. I have been there and I managed to make it work. However, I did not have the time to consistently provide these EAL learners with the most effective teaching and learning experiences. I read copious amounts of information on how to accommodate these learners. Most gave good advice (QCA, 2004b) but they didn’t provide easy solutions to support the new arrivals. In my opinion, this area has the potential for a curriculum of its own.

I have therefore written this programme for anyone who needs to support new arrivals and would like an ‘easy to use’ introduction to English for 7–11–year-old children. This could include class teachers, support staff, EAL staff or schools with limited provision for new arrivals. I hope you find it helpful.

EAL barriers to learning

So what are the issues?

Learners of English as an additional language need support in:

■Producing and understanding the sounds of English that differ from their first language

■Distinguishing between different sounds in English (e.g. bed/pet, hard/heart/art)

■Understanding oral sets of instructions

■Processing language that is expressed quickly

■Understanding and using appropriate intonation and stress

■Following whole group interactions

■Understanding and using statements, questions, offers and commands

■Understanding the meaning of particular language features in texts which we might take for granted, such as prepositions (e.g. between, under) or adverbs (e.g. quite, very)

■Understanding oral texts not supported by visual/concrete cues

■Learning appropriate non–verbal communication

■Identifying the keywords in a message

■Putting words in the right order

■Understanding new vocabulary, especially increasing technical language

■Understanding lexical metaphor (e.g. ‘I’m pulling your leg’, ‘time flies’)

■Learning the appropriate language for playing collaboratively

■Learning the appropriate language to interact socially with adults and peers

■Developing an understanding of appropriate school behaviour.

(DETE, nd)

With so many barriers to learning, it’s hard to know where to start. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA, 2004b) highlights three principles for developing an inclusive curriculum that can support teachers’ planning for new arrivals. These are:

■Setting suitable learning challenges

■Responding to pupils’ diverse learning needs

■Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils.

In addition, they outline ways in which teachers can achieve successful planning as well as some useful strategies that can be used to teach new arrivals (see Chapter 4).

I have seen throughout my career many useful lists. However, I have yet to find a practical and effective way to address all the new arrivals’ needs whilst committing myself to a time–consuming full–time teaching job. Time is of the essence and, with all due respect to every hard working teacher, I wonder how they find the time to plan effectively for the EAL learner.

This is a practical, easy to follow programme, complete with resources, for teachers with tight time constraints to help children learn English as an additional language. This book offers practical answers to help new students move into English quickly.

If you would like training in this programme please contact the author at [email protected].

2
An introduction to the programme

How it works – in theory

This programme can be taught by an English as an additional language (EAL) teacher, class teacher or teaching assistant. It requires a 1 hour and 15 minutes withdrawal lesson every day (possibly during Literacy), which could be split into a 1 – hour lesson and a 15–minute revision session at a different time in the day.

The programme is effective for EAL ’individuals or groups of pupils for finely tuned, time–limited withdrawal’ (DfES, 2006a). It is finely tuned as it provides for the needs of individuals and groups of children, following a baseline assessment and an assessment for learning (see Appendices 2 and 4). It offers opportunities for learning through speaking and listening, practising, applying, extending and evaluating. Its duration is based on a pupil’s understanding of key basic vocabulary and grammar structures and should be no more than 11 weeks.

This withdrawal programme offers good provision for EAL pupils. Such provision often cannot be made when one class teacher is expected to differentiate daily for such a huge range of learners. This is especially significant during a subject such as Literacy when one 11 year old may be reading a complex novel and another 11 year old is an EAL learner who may barely be able to read their own name. It isn’t impossible, but who has the time?

Of course, it is important to emphasise that ‘children learning EAL need to learn more than just vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation’. However, we can’t ignore the children’s distinct requirements for the basics in English. They are essential for fulfilling the learner’s basic needs. ‘Many bilingual children suffer low self–esteem because of early frustrations and language related difficulties in school. A cycle of failure, low self–esteem and subsequent expectations of continued failure must not be allowed to develop’ (Gibbons, 1991). Children need to feel safe, settled, valued and have a sense of belonging to the class (DfES, 2002). The whole experience for a new arrival can be extremely stressful and we must do everything we can to support a smooth integration into their new English–speaking environment.

It’s true to say that ‘a major weakness of any pre–designed language course is that it remains a matter of chance whether or not the topic and structures of the course have anythin...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1 An introduction to teaching children English as an additional language (EAL)
• 2 An introduction to the programme
• 3 The programme
• 4 Tips on inclusion
• 5 Resources
• Appendix 1 EAL guidelines: QCA approach to planning and effectively teaching children EAL
• Appendix 2 Baseline assessment
• Appendix 3 Baseline assessment answers
• Appendix 4 Assessment for learning forms
• Appendix 5 Extended scale for EAL in England and Wales
• Appendix 6 EAL optional planner
• Appendix 7 Example EAL optional planner
• Appendix 8 Resource sheets
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index