Closing the gap for advanced EAL Learners Graham Smith, July 2016

Introductions

A working definition from The EAL Academy EAL is an approach to school improvement rooted in the teaching of language for academic success and a thorough understanding of pupils’ prior learning

Assessment Manny Vasquez, NALDIC Conference 2015 EDCBAEDCBA

EAL Proficiency Codes Where ‘Proficiency in English’ is required, it is expected that schools will assess their EAL pupils against a five point scale of reading, writing and spoken language proficiency outlined below and make a ‘best fit’ judgement. New to English [Code ‘A’] Early acquisition [Code ‘B’] Developing competence [Code ‘C’] Competent [Code ‘D’] Fluent [Code ‘E’]

New to English [Code ‘A’]: May use first language for learning and other purposes. May remain completely silent in the classroom. May be copying/repeating some words or phrases. May understand some everyday expressions in English but may have minimal or no literacy in English. Needs a considerable amount of EAL support. Early acquisition [Code ‘B’]: May follow day to day social communication in English and participate in learning activities with support. Beginning to use spoken English for social purposes. May understand simple instructions and can follow narrative/accounts with visual support. May have developed some skills in reading and writing. May have become familiar with some subject specific vocabulary. Still needs a significant amount of EAL support to access the curriculum. Developing competence [Code ‘C’]: May participate in learning activities with increasing independence. Able to express self orally in English, but structural inaccuracies are still apparent. Literacy will require ongoing support, particularly for understanding text and writing. May be able to follow abstract concepts and more complex written English. Requires ongoing EAL support to access the curriculum fully. Competent [Code ‘D’]: Oral English will be developing well, enabling successful engagement in activities across the curriculum. Can read and understand a wide variety of texts. Written English may lack complexity and contain occasional evidence of errors in structure. Needs some support to access subtle nuances of meaning, to refine English usage, and to develop abstract vocabulary. Needs some/occasional EAL support to access complex curriculum material and tasks. Fluent [Code ‘E’]: Can operate across the curriculum to a level of competence equivalent to that of a pupil who uses English as his/her first language. Operates without EAL support across the curriculum.

Code A: beginners The Chinese scenario

Code D: competent “That little black dress” “My cute little red two-seater convertible sports car” Can we change the word order? How does SPAG explain the word order?

What is different about literacy in a multilingual school? The pupils’ knowledge of other languages and the metalinguistic awareness that comes with that knowledge The need for explicit teaching of how texts work –The register continuum The unexpected gaps in pupil vocabulary –collocations The staff’s knowledge of other languages

The washing line

Text questions What? Who? How?

The Register Continuum What (Field) Who (Tenor) How (Mode) Everyday Intimate Informal, face to face Most spoken like Highly technical Impersonal Very formal Most written like

The Register Continuum Field Tenor Mode Ummm… I’m not sure your viewers believe this guff about Neapolitan pizza being very special Get it anywhere. Keeps the kids happy. Most spoken like This is probably because being an alien import with an unfamiliar name it contains a built-in mystique Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 509/2006 of 20 March 2006 on agricultural products and foodstuffs as traditional specialities It is so ubiquitous that thirteen percent of the U.S. population consumes it on any given day. Most written like

The register continuum most written like _____________________________ (adapted from Martin 1984)

Collocation Catch aGo byGo in theGo on theThe first bus car bicycle

Collocation suspicion initial widespread unfounded arouse cast fuel dispel dismiss allay

Collocation reservation initial widespread unfounded arouse cast fuel dispel dismiss allay

Nottingham Academic Word List ocab/index.htm

Contact details Graham Smith M: T: E: W: