EAL: A snapshot

of resources

Strategies:

Buddy SystemsInterviewing studentsKey words Visual cuesAssessment

Group C:JacquiRyanVictoriaSethNickPeter

Language is

not always

clear cutThere are

complexities, mannerisms, idioms; all of which impact understanding.

LEARNING is affected.

You will now be ‘put in the shoes’ of EAL students in

the classroom.

سنوات سبع نرحبوجبة تشكل ما لمعرفةصحية

المستوى تحديد: الرابعوتسمية في األطعمةصحنك

لوحة تصميمتبين التي الغذائيةالالزمة العناصر

صحية وجبة لتناول

Explaining your learning episode

Group 1 Group 2

No visual

cuesLack of task clarity

Resources were given Poor

questioning

Use of visual cuesBuddy

SystemKey words Prior

knowledg

eLevel descriptors

KQ: How did your groups’ resources make you feel as a learner?

BuddyingThe use of a buddy helps students to feel comfortable in the classroom and not overwhelmed.

Evidence: Strategies

Advantages

Buddy

confidence

integration

support

Vygotsky’s ‘Zone of Proximal

Development’ (1978) describes

how the learner can only

perform new functions and

activities with assistance to

master new skills. A buddy can

provide this help non-intrusively.Krashan’s (1988) theory of ‘’input hypothesis’ is similar to Vygotsky’s ‘zone of proximal development’. This looks at language being gained by the learner if it is one stage ahead of their current linguistic level. A buddy can assist with this by explaining what is required in a lesson.

Bruner (1978) looks at scaffolding which uses interaction again to help a student achieve. Buddies

can provide this support if it is done constructively to help achieve a

specific goal.

References

• Bruner, J. (1978) The role of dialogue in language acquisition in A. Sinclair, R.J. Jarvelle, and W.J.M. Levelt (eds.) The Child’s Concept of Language. New York: Springer-Verlag

• Krashen, S. D. (1988) Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. Prentice-Hall International

• Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Evidence: Strategies

Student Voice

KQ: What is it we want to hear from students that will help improve their learning outcomes?Why use Student Voice?

In depth understanding of learnersand needs compared to school data

Improves relationship with our learners

Shares a global perspective across the whole school

Engages EAL students in having an active role in their learning.

Develops personal independence

Evidence: Strategies

Keywords

Keywords are words which are central to a child’s understanding of a topic or subject. This could be words for objects (things), verbs (actions) and also more abstract concepts and processes (words which describe size, weight, position, emotion, time etc.)

Many studies indicate that there is

a strong, positive, reciprocal

relationship between word

knowledge and reading

comprehension (Baumann,

Kame’enui, & Ash, 2003; National

Reading Panel, 2000; RAND Reading

Study Group, 2002).

Vocabulary knowledge enables students to comprehend what they read, and the act of reading itself provides the opportunity for students to encounter and learn new words.

…So the more words students know, the more likely they are to learn new words easily (Shefelbine, 1990)

Strategies for teaching/using keywords or key vocabulary include:

ReferencesBaumann, J. F., Kame’enui, E. J., & Ash, G. E. (2003). Research on vocabulary

instruction: Voltaire Redux. In D. L. J. Flood, J. R. Squire, & J. M. Jensen (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English

language arts (2nd ed., pp. 752–785). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of

the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: U.S.

Government Printing Office. RAND Reading Study Group. (2002). Reading for understanding: Toward a

research and development program in reading comprehension. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Shefelbine, J. (1990). Student factors related to variability in learning word

meanings from context. Journal of Reading Behaviour, 22, 71–97.

Evidence: Strategies

Visual Cues The use of visual cues has been well documented.

These cues aim to create a

Universal language.

Learning Objective

Writing task

Success Criteria

WAL: about how plants use light for foodWAL: about what is in a healthy meal

Task: Fill in the gaps on the ‘leaf structure’ sheetTask: Design an ‘eatwell plate’

Level 5: will be able to explain why leaves are greenLevel 5: will be able to explain why they have chosen foods for their healthy meal

WAL: ce qui est dans un repas sain

Tâche: Conception d'une ‘plaque saine’

Niveau 5: sera en mesure d'expliquer pourquoi ils ont choisi les aliments pour leur repas sain

WAL: about how plants use light for foodWAL: about what is in a healthy meal

Task: Fill in the gaps on the ‘leaf structure’ sheetTask: Design an ‘eatwell plate’

Level 5: will be able to explain why leaves are greenLevel 5: will be able to explain why they have chosen foods for their healthy meal

WAL: ce qui est dans un repas sain

Tâche: Conception d'une ‘plaque saine’

Niveau 5: sera en mesure d'expliquer pourquoi ils ont choisi les aliments pour leur repas sain

Plass et al. (1998) have

suggested that the

linkage of audio to visual

stimulus is particularly

effective in terms of

retention.

The students were able to select appropriate key words in their additional language and therefore learn

Omaggio (1979) further contributed that comprehension in ESL students is more likely when linking ‘chanting patterns’ with pictorial ideas.

However, these strategies are

not solely helpful to EAL

students.

EAL percentages:

-Inner London 49.1%

-Buckinghamshire 12.3%.

(NALDIC, 2012).

Vaid and Frenck-Mestre (2002) discovered that the position of text and images due to visual field was important in billingual learners.

Left- language

Right- Picture recognition

VF VF

Student Earth and Space (levelled task)

Earth and Space (adapted test)

Circuits(levelled task)

Circuits(adapted test)

Billingual student

3a 3b 4b 4c

LA student 4c 4c 4b 4a

A leaf is where photosynthesis happens

Images should be placed on the left hand side of the screen

The learner should have access to text on the right hand side

ReferencesPlass, J.L., Chun, D. M. & Mayer, R.E. (1998) Supporting visual

and verbal learning preferences in a second-language multimedia learning environment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(1), 25-36.

Omaggio, A. C. (1979) Pictures and Second Language Comprehension: Do They Help? Foreign Language Annals, 12(2), 107-116.Vaid, J. & Frenck-Mestre, C. (2002). Do orthographic cues aid

language identification? A laterality study with French-English bilinguals. Brain and Language, 82, 47-53.

Evidence: Strategies

Assessment(Success criteria)

From our recent visit to Hendon School…..Over 50% of the pupils have English as their 2nd language, yet the school out-performs many schools in the area.

KQ: How has this

happened?

Initial Assessment

is crucial.

Some strategies

are………..

Upon entry to the school in year 7 each pupil sits a test : Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing.

The test results determine if they need any extra support. If so, EAL pupils are graded 1-3 to determine how much support they will receive inside/outside of the classroom.

Advanced Bilingual

(ABL) buddy. Induction for ‘New to English’ students is run for a whole term

Differentiated Lesson Plans.

My placement at Queens’ School:

A year 7 student recently arrived from Spain with

Zero English skills.

I find that ICT lends itself very well to EAL.

Let me demonstrate ………

Here is a Spanish demonstration of a software package

called Dreamweaver, used to create websites.

This is how I must have sounded to her ……

JUST FOLLOW THE CURSOR !!

tu comprendes ?

BUT - I had no idea whether she fully understood.UNTIL - I developed a self assessment tool for understanding.

Using my evidence I created a self assessment sheetUsing a self assessment sheet leads to:

Language independence

Instant visual feedback on the students’ understanding.

Inter-cultural symbols Learning Objectives

are simply copied from the board.

= Perfect!!

There are a huge

amount of strategies

that can be used.

We have chosen some

that are easy to

implement and have

proven effectiveness.

The EAL resource kit is also readily available online.

OPEN FOR QUESTION AND ANSWER