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Supporting EAL Students at Our SchoolBY KYLIE CHACON

2Definitions

ESL students- are learners from language backgrounds other than English(LBOTE) who are learning English as an additional language as well as developing literacy skills in English.

EAL students- (English as an Additional Language)EAL, second language learners and bilinguals are preferred

terms to be used to highlight their ability to communicate in two or more languages.

New Arrival- newly arrived ESL student.

3‘Put yourself in their shoes.’

Activity- Mr. Khaama introduces himself and gives the staff members some instructions followed by questions, in Persian.

Discuss- How they felt trying to follow simple instructions & answer questions in another language?

Consider- how a New Arrival and/or a EAL learner is feeling, learning in a second language?

The child may experience a sense of overload and exhaustion from trying to listen in a strange language and make sense of all that is going on around them.

Try this activity in your class, in the EAL learners first language, to give class members an understanding of the difficulties but also highlight what the child does know in their first language.

4Who are our EAL students?

All New Arrival and Refugee students need to be identified , assessed and monitored.

A detailed assessment portfolio needs to be created is of each child’s language development according to the ESL scales for their classroom and EAL teacher to ensure differentiated teaching is taking place.

5Multicultural Education

It is the responsibility for all NSW Schools to ensure inclusive teaching

practices which recognize and value the backgrounds and

cultures of all students and promote an open and tolerant attitude

towards different cultures, religions and world views.

This is supported by the : Cultural Diversity and Community Relations Policy: Multicultural Education in Schools.

6What help will the children and their teacher get?

New Arrivals Program(NAP)- provides short term additional ESL support for eligible newly arrived students in primary and high schools.

The 1st and 2nd phase students will have some small group directed learning.( withdrawal & parallel)

The 1st ,2nd and 3rd phase students will have some collaborative teaching time(team teaching) in their class

Resource EAL teaching will take place where program & resource advice is given and materials are adapted for class teachers

7Role of the EAL teacherAssess EAL students on enrolment( using the ESL scales), record in Maintain ESL and apply for funding

Prioritise EAL needs in the school by using Maintain ESL

Develop EAL program based on identified ESL needs

Plan and Teach EAL program (Work collaboratively) with class teachers to develop programs and practices which support English language and literacy learning across key learning areas.

Update Maintain EAL at least twice a yearComplete the ESL Annual Survey and New Arrivals Survey

8Role of the class teacherAssist EAL students in their class to develop the competence in English necessary for achieving the outcomes of the key learning areas.

Develop and implement teaching programs, practices and strategies that address the English Language and Literacy learning needs of EAL students in key learning areas

Work collaboratively with EAL teachers, counsellors and other personnel to ensure appropriate support, assessment and reporting for their EAL students.

9When programming consider…

EAL students diverse socio-cultural and linguistic needs

They enter school with varying levels of prior education and knowledge of English

Some were born in Australia but lived in another country while their parents worked & lived in Australia

Others have arrived as permanent or temporary migrants, refugees or international students

Some have had the same amount of formal schooling in their home country

Others have had severely disrupted or no schooling due to family issues, war or civil disorder.

Some have literacy skills in their first language while others do not

10When programming …Recognize the impact of Resettlement Issues

stress

Culture shock

Impacts of new environment

Changes in

PhysicalSensory Cultural

Internal manifestation,e.g.sadness, anger, fear,

lonelinessExternal manifestation,e.g.Withdrawal, acting out, fatigue

Settlement process responses

Alienations from new cultureComplete rejection of new world

Alienation from old cultureEuphoric involvement with new world

Bi-culturalismA positive ability to live comfortably between two cultures

11When programming consider…

Where the child is at? Use the child's initial and/ or recent assessments to gage where

they are at according to the ESL scales Consider age/stage of schooling. Has the child had any schooling? Has the learning been interrupted? What level of proficiency does the child have in his/her first

language Is the child responsive or silent? Is the child familiar with the English alphabet or with a different

script? Is the child familiar with the conventions of English writing such as

left to right, front to back and punctuation?

12When programming consider..

What the child can do initially?

Drawing, colouring, cutting, pasting Looking at picture books/bilingual books Sequencing pictures Writing in their own language Matching sorting games, jigsaw puzzles Working on the computer- English language/ vocabulary activities Cutting pictures from magazines and creating a vocabulary book Copying from a neighbor What ESL level (ESL Scales) they are at and what this means they

can/can’t do?

13When programming

Use the Language Framework Have a language focus for all KLA’s Use the Language Framework for programming created by

Gibbons(1991).

Topic Activities Language functions

Language structures

Vocabulary

14Promote EAL students’ meaning making through…

Communicative activities Problem solving tasks Discussions Bilingual learning Parallel groups Collaborative teaching/programming with an ESL

teacher

15For New Arrival students the teacher can…

Create a classroom environment that is welcoming, allows for risk taking, values cultural and language diversity and has a language focus in all KLA’s

Smile Use body language and signing to communicate Pronounce the child’s name correctly Learn to say some greetings and phrases in the child’s language Don’t raise your voice to try to be heard Don’t over correct. Praise any attempts to communicate Provide a buddy to show the child around and be company during breaks Have someone who speaks the child’s language to translate upcoming

events, notes activities etc.

16For EAL learners the teacher can…

Create a classroom environment that is welcoming, allows for risk taking, values cultural and language diversity and has a language focus in all KLA’s

Have someone who speaks the child’s language to translate upcoming events, notes activities etc.

Seek a bilingual helper( parent) to be involved and work on parallel tasks in EAL students first language within the classroom

Have parents, grandparents and/or community helpers read or tell stories, in first language to same language students and whole class

Make sure the student is developing friendships and is happy on the playground

17What resources are available?

EAL teacher New Arrivals Resource Kit(borrowed from Equity library)- contains

teacher resources and age/level appropriate student resources Equity Library- online borrowing and resource advice DET Equity webpage- Equity resources- ESL Scales etc. DET Intranet/Curriculum Resources/Multicultural

Education/Resources1. Online picture dictionary for ESL beginners- in 40 languages2. Online Math's dictionary for ESL beginners3. Thematic picture dictionary & workbook for ESL beginners

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“The limits of my language are the limits of my life.” (Wittgenstein, as cited in p119, gibbons, P, Learning to Learn in a Second Language, 1991.