One size does not fit all....
My pupils write reasonably in English, but it is obvious they don’t understand how academic English works. What do I do?
- Your pupils need to add more formal, academic language to their repertoires. If they learn to speak in the way you want them to write, they will be able to write well.
- An easy way is to model the language you want.
- Another is to get pupil to do tasks in small groups.
- They can complete the task using informal language, but in order to report back to the whole class they have to use more formal language that is like writing. “In our group we saw” needs to become “Our group observed” or, better still, “Our observation...” .
The road to academic literacy
According to the DfE, 61% of EAL learners in English state schools are recorded as D/E - Competent
DfE (2020) English proficiency of pupils with English as an additional language
How can we help?
Whether you are just getting started with your EAL strategy or have an established approach which just needs some tweaks, we can help.
From our popular EAL Handbook and online courses, to our bespoke training and consultancy, we have the experience and tools to help. We regularly provide whole school training on this very issue.
"The impact was immediate and tangible: for weeks afterwards staff were telling me how delighted their students were to learn how easily they could make their writing more formal by turning verbs into abstract nouns and that they knew the name for this process: nominalisation."
Online courses
EAL Handbook
Our EAL Handbook features a section on developing academic language and we regularly provide whole school training on this issue.
The handbook includes:
Teaching more advanced learners of English
– Developing the skills of more experienced learners of EAL
– Building and securing vocabulary
– Suggestions for listening activities
– Suggestions for speaking activities
– Suggestions for reading activities
– Suggestions for writing activities
GOLD EAL Quality Mark for bilingual school in France
Congratulations to the International Section of the Lycée and Collège Saint Anne in Brest (France), where students are taught in both English and French.
Free resources
Visit our free downloads library to access these resources
How to write History the way that historians do
Useful verbs for historical analysis
Example History and Geography resources
Looking for a university accredited EAL course ?
A six month, part time course accredited by the University of Greenwich. Unit options include ‘Assessment & tracking’, ‘Advanced EAL learners’, ‘EAL in an international school context’ and ‘Plurilingualism’.
Consultancy
Consultancy
Our consultancy work is grounded in a deep understanding of what makes a school tick in a multicultural setting, rigorous analysis of data, and a thoughtful appreciation of the context…
Training
Training
Our training takes many different forms, all firmly rooted in whole school development, empowering teachers and leaders to effect change throughout the school…
Resources
Resources
As a support to our consultancy and training work, we have a developed a number of resources for teaching staff and schools, available for purchase or to download for free…