English as an Additional Language

EAL Coordinator: Miss. Paulina Mikulicz:  p.mikulicz@harrisrainham.org.uk 

What do we mean by EAL?

English as an Additional Language (EAL) refers to the support provided to students who are learning English but speak a different first language. EAL learners often require specialized teaching methods to help them develop proficiency in English, especially in academic settings. The focus is on improving their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, so they can effectively communicate and participate in school, work, or social environments where English is the primary language. EAL differs from English as a Second Language (ESL) because it acknowledges that English may not be the learner’s second language, but rather their third or fourth.

Students with EAL

Students with EAL are students who speak English as an additional language. Students who are EAL may have no or limited ability to communicate in English, may be fluent in English or be anywhere in between. EAL students may have had previous academic experience or may have never been in the school system. EAL students may have arrived in Britain voluntarily, alongside their parents, have fled due to political unrest or have been born in the country. It is very important to state that students with EAL are not regarded as SEN, solely because depending on their level of proficiency in English, multilingual children who are learning EAL may face linguistic challenges and may need targeted language support, devised by EAL specialists, to help them learn both the language and all their subjects in English.

EAL Proficiency Levels

The EAL Curriculum

The EAL curriculum has been created by the EALco of the Academy. The needs of each EAL student to access the full curriculum have been taken into consideration and were carefully planned to ensure intervention provides students with the best opportunities for language acquisition and academic progress. All subject teachers consider the language limitations of the students when planning the mainstream curriculum and ensure they can support students with EAL to develop their reading, writing listening and speaking within their subject area.

Assessment and Monitoring

The newly arrived EAL students will complete a bilingual interview and initial assessment with the EAL Co-ordinator which will determine their English proficiency. They will be fully integrated into mainstream school to allow them full access to the entire curriculum. They will be buddied up with a student in their learning guide, ideally one who the new arrival can communicate in their L1 language with, therefore allowing for deeper social interaction with pupils their age. Withdrawal from lessons will be for specific purposes only, such as intervention, assessment, interviews, or progress meetings; it will be time-limited and liked to learning which will aid within the mainstream lesson curriculum. The progress of EAL students will be closely monitored by the EAL Co-ordinator and students will be moved up sets as they acquire proficiency in the L2 and make mainstream progress. Teaching and support staff are responsible for putting in place appropriate scaffolding of the lesson for the EAL students – EAL Co-ordinator will be available to liaise with teachers to provide support and advice as well as strategies of best practice which will promote the development of EAL pupils.

Excellent Opportunities

EAL pupils are encourages to attend the wide variety of extra-curricular activities Harris Academy had to offer. Our biggest success is the Young Interpreters Scheme which we have launched this year. The scheme is a way for bilingual pupils use their language skills in a variety of ways to help new arrivals access English and feel part of the school. Alongside English-only speakers, they learn different strategies to clarify, explain and ‘interpret’ a whole range of school activities, systems, and procedures to new entrants through the medium of pupil–friendly English where first language isn’t shared by other pupils or adults. The scheme available to both bilingual and monolingual learners and is very powerful in developing empathy amongst English speakers towards some of the challenges and difficulties that pupils new to English may be facing. Young Interpreters undergo specific training to prepare for this role and are selected on the basis of different personal qualities they may have. The support they can offer to a newly arrived pupil can be very reassuring from a parent or carer's point of view at a time when their child may be adapting to substantial changes.

Intervention and Assessment

• Proficiency Grade A – B (New to English & Early Acquisition) - Students will be removed from lessons, for individual intervention and will study English as an additional language, through phases built upon one another.
• Assessment: Students will be assessed before intervention begins with a pre-existing HAR EAL proficiency test to identify their proficiency grade. They will also be assessed throughout each stage of intervention during the year, after every term to check their progress and update relevant databases using both written and spoken language. Speaking will be regularly assessed within intervention sessions; tasks will be related to the current learning phase. The assessments will be carried out by the intervention lead who is paired with the student.
• Proficiency Grade C (Developing Competence) - Students will be removed from lessons, for group intervention and will study English as an additional language, through phases built upon one another.
• Assessment: Students will be assessed before intervention begins with a pre-existing HAR EAL proficiency test to identify their proficiency grade. They will also be assessed throughout each stage of intervention during the year, after every term to check their progress and update relevant databases using both written and spoken language. Speaking will be regularly assessed within intervention sessions; tasks will be related to the current learning phase. The assessments will be carried out by the intervention lead who is paired with the student.
• Proficiency Grade D – E (Competent – Fluent) - Students will be monitored throughout the year to check progress in mainstream lessons but will not be removed for individual or group intervention to study English as an Additional Language.