This document provides information about English language learners (EAL learners) and strategies to support them. It discusses who EAL learners are, how they differ from other learners, challenges they face in acquiring a new language, and frameworks to understand their language development. It then outlines specific strategies schools can implement to support EAL learners, including providing scaffolding, using visuals and first language support, collaborative learning, and explicit vocabulary and language instruction. Finally, it shares details about the EAL support program at Twickenham Academy, including intervention groups, assessments, advisory services for teachers, and processes for welcoming new EAL students.

1. K A M I L T R Z E B I A T O W S K I
E A L T E A C H E R A N D L I T E R A C Y C O O R D I N A T O R
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3
English as an additional
language

2. Who are EAL Learners?
New Arrivals: coming from a school and/or a country where little
or no English is used (Stages 1-2)
Others may speak, read or write some English
Born in the UK: may have had limited exposure to English before
starting school
Advanced learners of EAL: beginner bilinguals orally fluent,
have English skills necessary to operate effectively in spoken
English, but not be proficient in using academic language (Stages 3-
4)
EAL pupils have a broad range of bilingual experiences.
Most have made the UK their home, but some are accompanying
parents on fixed-term contracts with international companies
Understanding of how EAL students transfer their L1 (first
language) to L2 (second language) is imperative to help them attain

3. Who are EAL learners?
“Pupils learning English as an Additional Language
(EAL) share many common characteristics with pupils
whose mother tongue is English, and many of their
learning needs are similar to those of other children and
young people learning in our schools. However, EAL
pupils also have distinct and different needs from other
pupils, by virtue of the fact that they are learning in and
through another language, and that they come from
backgrounds and communities with different
understandings and expectations of education, language
and learning.”
(NALDIC 1999)

4. How are they different from other learners?
They are learning a new language through L1
They need to learn the content of the curriculum
whilst at the same time learning the English
language
They will be affected by their culture, ethnicity,
religion and attitudes towards them
They need strategies meeting their language and
learning needs at the same time

5. I’m not like them
and they’re not
like me. I stand
out.
I’ve never
been to school
before. It’s
really exciting.
I’m shy. I’ll just nod
my head and copy.
That way I won’t get
laughed at or told off.
Can I eat this? Can I
do that activity? What
will my family say?
But will I like it?
I miss home.
Why did I get
sent to this
awful place?
How can I get
away from it?
I just can’t keep
up… it’s really
tiring, but I have
to succeed for
my family to
survive in this
country.
We get to
discuss things
much more...
Why do some
people seem to
avoid talking to
me? Why do they
speak to me like
I’m dumb?
At my other
school I had
much more
interesting work.
All I do here is
sit quietly and
copy.
Where and
when is my
next lesson?
Everyone else
can do the
work, knows
where to go
and what to do
next.

6. EAL: The Learning Context
Socio-cultural
proccesses
EAL
Learner
Cognitive
development
Academic
development
Language
development
Socio-cultural factors
impact on EAL
learners ‘ language,
cognitive and
academic
development

7. BICS and CALP
BICS
Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills
 Survival English developed within 1 year;
 Communicative skills (BICS) within 2-3 years
CALP
Cognitive and Academic Language Proficiency
 5-7 years to operate on the same level with their monolingual peers
 Developing full academic proficiency (CALP) may take longer
Language development needs are often
masked by oral competence!!

8. Cummins’s Framework Quadrant
B
DA
C
Cognitively demanding work
Activities requiring deep thinking
Cognitively undemanding work
Activities that can be completed without much thought
Concrete
Context embedded
Abstract
Context reduced
(pupils have little
knowledge and
can’t relate to)
For CALP, Quadrant B is required; for lessons in C: linguistic and contextual support is required; D is
tempting (copying is one example), but should be avoided!

9. Cummins: Thinking Skills
B
DA
C
Cognitively demanding
Cognitively undemanding
Context
embedded Context reduced
Generalises
Compares and contrasts
Summarises
Plans
Classifies by known criteria
Transforms and personalises
Recalls and reviews information
Seeks solutions to problems
Parrots: repeats utterances ofs
adult or peers
Copies: reproduces information
from board or texts
Reading to find specific
information:
• Identifies, names, matches, retells
Transfers information from one
medium to another:
• Applies known procedures
• Describes observations
• Sequences
• Narrates with sense of
beginning, middle, and end
Argues a case using evidence
Identifies criteria persuasively
Develops and sustains ideas
Justifies opinion or judgment
Evaluates critically
Interprets evidence & makes deductions
Forms hypotheses, asks further questions for
investigation, predicts results
Applies principles to new situation
Analyses, suggests solution and tests

10. Cummins: Thinking Skills
Effective planning:
challenging learning experiences
supported both linguistically and contextually - scaffolded and
modelled lesson framework
Contextual support for pupils’ learning EAL includes:
Making connections with and building on pupils’ experience
Creating space to use existing knowledge
Giving opportunities to talk around a topic across the curriculum.
Encouraging the use of first language
Building a framework for organising thinking, using key visuals
Using visual clues
Providing concrete examples of impersonal and abstract concepts

11. Planning for EAL students
EAL students
Learning
Objectives
Scaffold activities to ensure cognitive challenge; use
extension rather than simplification of learning
Language Focus Teach content-based language: vocabulary, language function,
structures and grammar
Use plenary to reflect on language use and language learning
Context Consider socio-cultural knowledge
Resources Contextual and visual support
Writing frames
Key visuals (graphic organisers)
Bilingual resources
Use support staff Provide opportunities for pre-teaching, speaking and listening
and evaluation of language learning
Use bilingual or multilingual skills
Joint planning: EAL teacher with class/subject teacher

12. Planning for EAL students
Demonstrating and modelling Demonstrate instructions practically
Model examples of the types of language required
for specific tasks, at word, sentence and text/genre
level
Collaborative learning Focused oral interaction/planned talk, in pupil’s
preferred language
Monitor and reinforce understanding through
questioning
Provide opportunities for oral rehearsal
Differentiation Group with good language role models
Plan differentiated tasks
Whole class, group or paired work before moving
onto individual activities
Use first language Use first language to enhance understanding of
key vocabulary and concepts

13. Support strategies
Strategy Example
Inclusive environment:
Make sure your student can access your
classroom’s environment
Display labels and signs in home
languages
Reflect diversity in visual displays
Relate to the pupil’s cultural
background within the curriculum and
enable the pupil to draw on his/her own
experience
Pairing and mentoring
Make sure the students have buddies
and make sure they are used
Friendly and out-going pupil
Good role model of English
If there is a pupil with the same first
language in another class make
arrangements for them to meet at other
times

14. Support strategies
Strategy Example
Practical activities:
Get the student to be involved in
practical activities in your lessons
Get them to collect books or distribute
equipment
Visuals:
Provide as many visual aids in different
formats as possible
Pictures
Diagrams
Photographs
Flash cards
Picture dictionaries
Computer programs
Produce a set of picture cards for the
pupils to use to communicate needs
(ask for a communication fan if
necessary)

15. Support strategies
Strategy Example
Key words :
Give short vocabulary lists for every
unit and examples of required key
language
Illustrate key words with simple pictures
Pre-teach key words before a unit and/or of key
words for each unit,
lesson, using a bilingual peer or support
assistant
Get the student to keep their own personal
vocabulary book
If the pupil is
literate in first language, they should be
recorded in both languages, with a definition in
first language
Key visuals:
Scaffold learning using key visuals
Tables
Timelines
Venn diagrams
Matrix charts
Flow charts
Pyramid diagrams
Mind maps

16. Support strategies
Strategy Example
Dictionaries: Encourage them to bring their own
dictionary to school or use what is
available at the school
Talk:
Opportunities for talk should be
planned
A ‘silent’ period is often a stage of
development in learning EAL and a
pupil should not be forced to respond
Create activities for scaffolded talk
Use paired discussion before starting
written work

17. Support strategies
Strategy Example
Collaborative activities:
Plan for regular collaboration with
other students
Group tasks facilitate involvement,
belonging with peers and the need to
experiment with language in
order to complete a task
Language is modelled by peers
A non-threatening environment for
learning

18. Strategies for Advanced Learners of EAL
Assessment for Learning:
Use of peer and self-evaluation
Set and share challenging targets
Use on-going assessment to inform planning
Scaffolding:
Draw on pupils’ previous experience
Ensure dual focus on language and content
Collaborative activities
Use Key visuals, e.g. flow charts, cycle diagrams
Use writing frames and sentence starters
Plan for the effective use of ICT

19. Strategies for Advanced Learners of EAL
Speaking and Listening:
Value and use first language
Share and practise new ideas
Provide good models of English
Ensure availability of peer support
Subject-specific language:
Reinforce key vocabulary
Teach grammatical features of specific tasks
Model language conventions of different subjects
Explicit teaching of examination language

20. Strategies for Advanced Learners of EAL
Time for students:
To think in language of choice
To plan
To rehearse
To translate
Use other adults:
Target support for individuals and groups
Promote accelerated progress in specific curriculum
areas

21. Languages at Twickenham Academy
Pashto, 4
Lingala, 4
Farsi
, 7
Albanian, 18
Urdu, 7
Polish, 15
Swedish, 5Portuguese, 5
Panjabi, 5
Arabic
, 8Italian, 1
Vietnamese, 4
Somali, 4
Akan, 1
Bulgarian, 3
Russian, 2
Serbian, 2
Nepali, 2
Lithuanian, 2 Thai, 1
Yorub
a, 2
Chinese, 2
Bengali, 3
Romanian, 2
Hindi, 2 French, 2
Spanish, 2
Sinhala, 1
Turkish, 1
Croatian, 1
Swahili
, 2
Gujarati, 0
32 Languages
Pashto Lingala Farsi Albanian Urdu Polish Swedish Portuguese
Panjabi Arabic Italian Vietnamese Somali Akan Bulgarian Russian
Serbian Nepali Lithuanian Thai Yoruba Chinese Bengali Romanian
Hindi French Spanish Sinhala Turkish Croatian Swahili Gujarati

22. What do we do for EAL Learners at Twickenham
Academy?
Provision for students:
 Targeted support for EAL students in small intervention
groups (up to EAL Level 3 in KS3 – English / Literacy;
underperforming students in KS4 – English, Maths, Science)
 1-to-1 EAL teaching to lower EAL levels students as required
 In-class support for students across the entire curriculum in
close collaboration with subject teachers
 Paired Reading (Unitas TextNow) programme for selected Y7-
Y8 EAL students

23. What do we do for EAL Learners at Twickenham
Academy?
Monitoring students’ progress – ensuring
improvement:
 EAL Register
 EAL Levels grids
 Support Logs
 Teaching and Learning Logs
 EAL Provision Map
 Analysing pupil trackers and planning appropriate action
 Individual Education Plans for lower level students (usually up
to L2)
 Re-assessing students’ levels on a half-termly basis

24. What do we do for EAL Learners at Twickenham
Academy?
Advisory role:
 Promoting Language for All across the entire school:
Training sessions (CPD)
Advising teachers on successful strategies with EAL learners (both
at early stages of English language development and advanced
learners)
Producing newsletters / advice / strategies documents for the
entire school
Door open for any teacher who wishes to receive personal advice
on how to better teach their EAL learners

25. When a new student arrives
Interview with a parent / parents
Initial assessments / collaboration with the Inclusion
Team
Tour of the school and explaining any arising issues
Finding a buddy for the initial period
Monitoring the student’s progress (Success Criteria
for New Arrivals)

26. Most useful documents
EAL Portal
EAL Register
EAL Stages grids
EAL Parental Interview forms (for new- and mid-
phase arrivals)
IEPs (for students at levels 2 and lower)
Success Criteria
Scaffolding Resources (at EAL Portal)
Cross-curricular Teaching Strategies for New
Arrivals

27. Acknowledgements
A lot of the material in the slides above has been
adapted from (2004) Milton Keynes Council’s
Supporting pupils with English as an Additional
Language