Liren South-West Public School “facta non verba” Lauren Piras and Elizabeth Salvagio EDUC373

School Profile: Located in Sydney’s South West 85% of students are EAL 87% of students are LBOTE Access to ICT 3 computers in each classroom Interactive whiteboards Access to Ipads Most dominant cultural backgrounds: Assyrian Vietnamese Arabic Italian Pacific Islanders

Specific EAL Needs Low literacy rates Low academic morale disengagement across all KLA’s low self -efficacy Lack of home literacy environments Disconnection between home and school literacy practices

Strategies: Teachers need to have a robust knowledge of the multicultural multilingual experiences of all students in their classroom (Diaz & Harvey, 2007) This understanding will help teachers better implement strategies to assist students to overcome their low sense of morale and self-efficacy. Questions that teachers need to address at this stage are: How long have students been learning English? What is their level of literacy in their first language? What level of progress are they making in learning English and other KLA’s? What is the access to English students’ have out of school? handbook.pdf

Interactive Whiteboard Have images of the concept being taught on the IWB Have the different phrases and concepts on the IWB in the different language backgrounds of the students within the class This can be done through talking to people from the same cultural backgrounds as the students, working with translators and the families of the students. Milambiling (2011)

Wordle Teachers and students can both interact with Wordle, by having a concept being taught, put into the different languages the students speak

WordPress WordPress is a website, that allows students to write blogs about anything they wish. Teachers could incorporate this with their teaching or students could write their own blogs. Students are encouraged to post and write about other texts and resources from their home languages; this could include newspaper articles, religious texts and calendars (Diaz and Harvey, 2007).

Story Board Creator It is important for students to have opportunities to work in both English and their home languages. This activity allows students to create a storyboard in English and their home language. This allows students to work in their various languages in order to build confidence and engagement (Milambiling, 2011).

Google Translator Students can listen to different words in different languages, particularly the languages of students in the class. This builds self-confidence and allows students to feel safe using different languages in the classroom. In addition to using Google translator, the students whose home language is being listened to, they can assist with pronunciation. This is also an opportunity for teachers to show students the origins of some words, further highlighting the Greek and Latin connections to English. Caution: this activity would only be used for single words or small phrases, as Google Translator is not always accurate. Cummins, 2005

Kids Website Creator This can be an ongoing strategy throughout the year Students have the opportunity to be creative and express themselves in ways that they feel comfortable This can be done both in class and at home, assisting bridge the gap between the home and school disconnection

Summary Our different strategies are aimed at assisting students build on their confidence with literacy by creating opportunities in the classroom for use of both English and their home language It’s designed to create a classroom environment accepting of different languages and the use of them when acceptable Our strategies allow students to feel successful with their literacy skills and see the relationship between English and their home language in order for them to feel a sense of achievement and confidence

References Automattic Inc. (2005). Word Press. Retrieved from: Clever Prototypes (2013). Story Board That. Retrieved from: Cummins, J. (2005). A Proposal for Action: Strategies for recognizing Heritage Language Competence as a Learning Resource within the Mainstream Classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 89, Department of Education (2007). The ESL Handbook. Retrieved from: book.pdf Diaz, C., & Harvey, N. (2007). Other Words, other worlds: Bilingual identities and literacy. In Makin L., Diaz, CJ., Mc Lachlin C. Literacies in Childhood Changing View, changing practice. Marrickville, NSW: Elsevier.

References continued … Feinberg, J (2013). Wordle. Retrieved from: Kids Website Creator (2009). Kids Website Creator. Retrieved from: Milambiling, J. (2011). Brining One Language to Another: Multilingualism as a Resource in the Language Classroom. English Teaching Forum, 1,