John Stainer

English as an

Additional Language

 

New arrivals whose first language is not English

Children who have lived in the UK for a long time and may appear to be fluent, but who also use another language at home.

Children who were born in the UK but for whom their home language is not English

Simultaneous bilinguals (those learning 2+ languages from birth)

At John Stainer, we celebrate the diverse range of cultures, languages and religions represented by our pupils, their families, and the world in which we live.

We work with children and their parents/carers to make it possible for every young person to participate fully in their education and to secure strong academic progress and personal outcomes and to enable individual children to learn effectively with greater independence.

Each week, we announce Language of the Week, when we introduce the children to everyday phrases in a chosen language that is spoken in our school. Everyone aim to use this language to greet each other throughout the week.

lotw italian.pdf

 We are aware that having to learn a new language can be daunting for children and their families. So, to ensure that each child’s needs are effectively met and to reduce the challenge that comes with learning English, from the onset, the head teacher and another member of the pastoral team meet with EAL children and their families. We value these meetings as we believe that they are the precursor to establishing a good relationship with our parents.

During these meetings, a profile is created for the child. This forms the first stage of their induction period as it provides an insight into the child’s personality, proficiency in their first language, experience of language at home, their educational background, including whether they have attended school before and whether they have any SEND. This also allows us to find out more about the child’s family, their interests and their experiences in their country of origin as well as in the community.

This provides relevant information which allows our staff to assess and track EAL children’s language skills, adapt their planning, engage other children sometimes in the form of talk partners or playground buddies, and tailor the learning environment to address the needs of our bilingual learners. This process has been proven to facilitate rapid progress in all areas of our EAL children’s learning.

To access a copy of our language proficiency framework please see below, which is included in our induction pack. This framework allows staff to work out children’s baseline level and track their progress towards fluency in English.

Targeted Interventions

We believe that language acquisition goes far deeper than immersing children into whole class, language rich sessions. We know that there are some exceptions as some aspects of English need to be taught directly, through a communicative approach. Our highly experienced staff are trained to provide targeted interventions to ensure that these skills are taught. These sessions are short and focussed and may be done on a one to one or small group setting.

At John Stainer, we use Flash Academy alongside good quality first teaching, to ensure basic skills are not missed.

Our ethos and attitude here are John Stainer is such, that our children’s confidence is boosted and that children, including those with EAL, are able to thrive.

 

Spellings for children with EAL - these are all very important words that children need to learn how to spell.

However, word lists are key vocabulary from our lesson sequences used with New Arrivals, or those at the early stages of learning English here at John Stainer.

We believe that learning to read and to write these words from an early stage will certainly help children with EAL to accelerate the process in which they communicate in English.

Click on the links, at the top of the page, to access the activities. Practise these by using the read, cover, write check method for at least 5 nights. Remember to join your handwriting if you can.

EAL club

We run weekly sessions of EAL club which is led by our trained members of staff. During this time, children have an opportunity to consolidate their learning and boost their confidence by using spoken language.

However, the word lists below are key vocabulary from our lesson sequences used with New Arrivals, or those at the early stages of learning English here at John Stainer.

 


To access a copy of our language proficiency framework please see below, which is included in our induction pack. This framework allows staff to work out children’s baseline level and track their progress towards fluency in English.

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Since October 2016, the DfE requires schools to include EAL proficiency levels on an A to E scale, with teachers using the ‘best fit’ model:  Eg:  A (New to English); B (Early Acquisition); C (Developing Competence); D (Competent); E (Fluent)