Raising achievement of English as additional language pupils in schools: implications for policy and practice.
Feyisa Demie and Kirstin Lewis (2017) ⭐
Identified strategies where schools were successful on raising achievement of pupils with EAL.
providing strong leadership on equality and diversity
understanding a pedagogy to best support pupils of EAL
targeted support towards progress
an inclusive curriculum which recognises and celebrates pupils cultural heritage
use of performance data for school improvement
Big issue affecting children achievement is the language barrier
For EAL children to have full access to the curriculum they need to be fluent in English
research evidence in England shows that pupil's fluency in English is a key predictor of their achievement in national tests at age 11 (Strand and Demie 2005)
results shows that children in the early stages of EAL fluency development had lower KS2 test scores in all subjects than their monolinguistic peers (Demie and Strand 2006; Strand and Demie 2005)
however, pupil with EAL who were fluent in English achieved significantly higher scores in all KS2 tests than their monolinguistic peers. This trends continued into secondary education as well (Demie 2017).
Therefore I need to consider how I teach children with EAL so that they can achieve fluency in the future so that they can achieve their full potential in their exams.
strong relationship between the stages of fluency in English and education attainment
empirical evidence shows that the performance level of EAL pupils increases as flunecy in English increases
Quote"Pupils in the early stages of fluency perform at low levels and EAL pupils not fluent in English achieve significantly below White British pupils who speak English only. The findings also confirm that the achievement of EAL pupils who were fully fluent in English far outstripped those of pupils for whom English was their only language." (p.428)**
How long does it take to acquire academic English fluency for EAL pupils?
Quote"It takes about 5-7 years, on overage, for EAL pupils to acquire academic English fluency. However, the speed of English language acquisition varies between stages of levels of English. On average, pupils are classified at Stage 1 (beginner) for about a year and a half, before moving to becoming familiar with English (Stage 2), where they typically remain for about two years. It takes about another two-and-a-half years at Stage 3 (becoming confident in English) before they can be classified as fully fluent. (Demie, 2013;8).**
This is supported by previous international research into how long it takes to acquire English fluency for EAL pupils - Collier 1987, 1992; Cummins 1992, 2000.
Cummins and Collier both agree it takes 5 to 7 years for bilingual pupils to become fluent and catch up tp their peers.
Complex relationship between educational attainment, ethnicity, EAL and language background (Demie 2015)
new research into EAL attainment improves our knowledge and understanding of educational outcomes of Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and EAL pupils in England moving away from Department for Education (DfE) analyses (Demie and Hau, 2017; Demie, 2015)
several reports also highlighted the need for greater understanding of implications of increasing diversity in language of the UK school population (Murphy 2015; Naldic, 2014; Tereschenko and Archer, 2014)
government policies on EAL fail to recognise positive effects of language diversity in UK schools and the challenge is for researchers to shape government policy to improve classroom practice.
Government policy on EAL
government recognises the huge group of children within the English educational system from beginners in English through to those who have English to a certain level but aren't fluent
DfE (2006) carried out research into raising achievement of bilingual learners
recommendations - teachers use strategies of talk partners, use of first language to support children's learning
interestingly these are the same strategies for early learners of EAL
initial assessments, use of buddy systems for new arrivals, personalised learning, individual targets, an interactive learning environment, opportunity for talk (role play, talk partners) and opportunities for silence are essential for EAL learners
clear from DfE literature that we should teach English and not the child's first language, research supports the use of the child's first language on the whole (DfE 2012)
DfE disagrees with using the child's first language and states that first languages should not be a consideration in teaching EAL children and an English only approach should be used (DfE 2012)
many studies however support the use of the first language when supporting early EAL children (Michael et al, 2016; Arnot et al, 2014; Krashen; 1999)
suggest that a child with a strong education in their first language will find English more comprehensible
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teachers however need to be aware of differing needs of EAL children and their backgrounds
government is wrong that the first language should only be used at home when research in England and internationally shows supporting EAL pupils in their first language helps their classroom learning (Arnot et al, 2014; Krashen, 1999; Michael et al, 2016)
Recent research
recent research identified reasons why schools' success in raising achievement level in EAL children include: quality of teaching, effective leadership at all levels, effective use of an inclusive curriculum, diversity in the school workforce, strong values and high expectations and affective use of data to monitor and teach EAL performance (Demie 2017; Demie and McLean, 2016; Ofsted, 2009).
Definition of EAL
"English as an additional language (EAL): EAL refers to learners whose first language is not English. Pupils learning EAL are not a homogeneous group; they come from diverse linguistic, cultural, ethical and educational backgrounds. They may also be at different stages of English language acquisition (from complete beginner to fully fluent) and may also already be fluent in several other languages or dialects." (p.432-433)
Strong leadership on equality and diversity
headteachers set high expectations for the senior team and the whole staff
relentless focus on improvement, particularly in the quality of teaching and learning, effectives use of data and higher achievement by students.
headteachers were well supported by senior teams who were effective in guiding, monitoring and evaluating many aspects of the school's work
staff were trusted and valued, expectations of all pupils' social and academic achievement were high and schools were deeply embedded into their community
levels of expertise to support students learning EAL was outstanding
staff were trained in specific techniques promoted by the Raising the Achievement of Bilingual learners in Primary Schools pilot programme, January 2004 eg. planned opportunities for speaking and listening, use of first language, talk partners, pre-teaching and application of these throughout the curriculum.
schools had good self-evaluation in all areas
pupils and parents views were sought regularly, were valued and used to inform changes
high commitment to ensuring pupils with EAL were included in all activities and care and concern for all pupils was of high priority
emphasis on collective responsibility throughout the school
regular meetings took place to address issues raised about a specific pupil
"Equality of opportunity is at the core of school life" (p434)
Effective teaching and learning in the classroom
all school staff including senior manager and TAs were responsible for the achievement of EAL pupils and understood how how quality teaching for all pupils was synonymous with high quality practice for EAL learners.
schools had reviewed their curriculum to ensure it was appropriate, accessible and engaging for the diverse school community.
learning is contextualised through experiences and visuals and was closely linked to a thematic approach to learning
one teacher claimed "we wouldn't even consider starting something without visual support"
also paid attention to 'how learning is presented? what does it look like?'
prior to a new topic, vocabulary was identified and explored, displayed, modelled and added to, so that children would hear and use the target vocabulary within different contexts across the curriculum.
learning sequences were exemplified through working walls which were used as tools for prompts during lessons.
focus on talk through the curriculum, with language development prompted through adult modelling, talk partners, talk frames and expectations of responses being giving in full sentences.
teachers were good role models for language development
Quote "In the Early Years, pupils learnt English through carefully planned opportunities to both hear and use English in meaningful activities and experiences. Adults scaffolded pupils' learning through role play, songs and rhymes and circle time activities, developing contextual understanding and providing essential repetition of the language focus."
On entry EAL pupils were assessed in English using the LAs stages of English and NC descriptors.
LA's stages of English
recognise that EAL learners needs vary greatly from beginner to advanced learners.
throughout the 1990s and 2000s four stages of English have been used to describe the different stages of English through which pupils commonly progress.
stages are used as a diagnostic tool to analyse future teaching, track pupils progress and provide baseline information.
pupils literacy and numeracy skills were also assessed in their first language to ensure that teaching was pitched at the appropriate cognitive level.
assessments led to individual target setting and additional interventions including EAL talk sessions for small groups. one-to-one support booster sessions and mentoring of pupils with EAL by bilingual TAs, running alongside high quality EAL provision in the classroom.
staff adopted a holistic approach incorporating a range of strategies known to be effective for EAL learners
collaborative learning, focus on talk and vocabulary development through the curriculum, an experiential curriculum and promotion of first languages in the classroom as a tool for learning.
give opportunities to plan talk and drama in their home language but also to develop and rehearse their English in a non-threatening environment in which learners feel safe.
Home languages were used in classrooms and as a tool for learning
pupils with the same language were encouraged to support each other
encouragement of talk partners in the first language, drama and talk for writing - where they can then develop and rehearse English before contributing to the class.
Effective targeted support for EAL pupils
teamwork underpinned support for students with EAL
termly learning assessment meetings look at the needs of individual pupils and their EAL targets drawn from assessments were discussed with headteachers, deputy HTs/inclusion managers and EAL staff, and interventions were put into place monitored regularly for effectiveness.
schools had designated EAL teachers, support staff, many of whom are bilingual support teaching and learning
Quote "One school the bilingual teaching assistants were placed in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Year 1, to help pupils build their confidence, encourage them to develop their first language and support their English. Placing bilingual teaching assistants here also helped build sustainable partnerships with parents as bilingual teaching assistants were often able to communicate with parents and therefore engage them in their children's learning and the life of the school" (p. 437)**
improvement is implemented through clear induction processes, targeted interventions to improve EAL proficiency in English, one-to-one support interventions in English and maths, personalised programmes and differentiated teaching for EAL pupils to meet individual needs
should be specific emphasis on the difference between EAL children and those with SEND
schools sometimes have a designated EAL co-ordinator who had oversight of EAL provision throughout the school
they regularly oversee and observe class teachers with an EAL focus and discuss targets with teachers and TAs to improve future practice, and update EAL registers and oversee target setting for individual pupils.
Targeted support from EAL support staff
supporting adults had all received specific training in routine and specific interventions to raise achievement eg. whilst the teacher led the lesson, support staff modelled English language for pupils using visuals
Quote "While pupils might move quickly from Stage 1, being new to English, to secure Stage 2, becoming familiar with English, they often needed additional support to develop more demanding language for learning, for example to operate successfully in written activities. Much group/one to one world was done to support this." (p. 439, 440)
Quote "Key adults, often teaching assistants, who were described as 'buddies', were assigned to newly arrived pupils who had no knowledge of English, especially when they shared the same language. In one school, newly arrived pupils were often given a set of key visual prompt keys to aid communication within their first days. In the words of one child, these included 'the magic words, please, thank you, hello, I am sorry.' Many teaching assistants also ran clubs, taught mother tongue as a foreign language and provided interpreting when needed." (p.440)**
Effective use of assessment for monitoring and tracking EAL pupils
use of EAL data was a significant driver for raising achievement and narrowing gaps
individual teachers use data for informing teaching and learning and to inform their lesson planning; inform accurate targets for individual students; arrange grouping for teaching and learning so that they can set high expectations.
Quote 'The school has a good system for assessing and mapping the progress of pupils with EAL at individual and group level. A wide range of data on English levels of fluency and National Curriculum levels are analysed by ethnicity, levels of fluency in English and gender, enabling the school to identify support needs and organise the deployment of resources appropriately, whether for pupils with EAL or understanding groups.' (p.440)
Quote 'There is a strong focus on learning in the school to make sure no students with EAL falls behind. Through detailed monitoring and tracking, students with EAL who fall below the expected level or are at risk of falling behind, are quickly identified and individuals are targeted.' (p.441)**
all teachers had tracking sheets for pupils which identified types of support received at previous schools.
EAL sheets usually also provide extra details including date of birth, place of birth, date of arrival in the UK, ethnic background, home language, stage of fluency in English, date of admission, attendance rate, eligibility for free school meals, SEN stage, mobility rates and years in school to track progress of group and individuals so that no student gets forgot.
teachers use effective data usage to evaluate the quality of provision and identify targeted support for differentiated groups of students