1. Supporting EAL Students at Our School BY KYLIE CHACON 1

2. Definitions  ESL students- are learners from language backgrounds other than English(LBOTE) who are learning English as an additional language as well as developing literacy skills in English.  EAL students- (English as an Additional Language) EAL, second language learners and bilinguals are preferred terms to be used to highlight their ability to communicate in two or more languages.  New Arrival- newly arrived ESL student. 2

3. ‘Put yourself in their shoes.’  Activity- Mr. Khaama introduces himself and gives the staff members some instructions followed by questions, in Persian.  Discuss- How they felt trying to follow simple instructions & answer questions in another language?  Consider- how a New Arrival and/or a EAL learner is feeling, learning in a second language?  The child may experience a sense of overload and exhaustion from trying to listen in a strange language and make sense of all that is going on around them.  Try this activity in your class, in the EAL learners first language, to give class members an understanding of the difficulties but also highlight what the child does know in their first language. 3

4. Who are our EAL students?  All New Arrival and Refugee students need to be identified, assessed and monitored.  A detailed assessment portfolio needs to be created is of each child’s language development according to the ESL scales for their classroom and EAL teacher to ensure differentiated teaching is taking place. 4

5. Multicultural Education  It is the responsibility for all NSW Schools to ensure inclusive teaching practices which recognize and value the backgrounds and cultures of all students and promote an open and tolerant attitude towards different cultures, religions and world views.  This is supported by the : Cultural Diversity and Community Relations Policy: Multicultural Education in Schools. 5

6. What help will the children and their teacher get?  New Arrivals Program(NAP)- provides short term additional ESL support for eligible newly arrived students in primary and high schools.  The 1 st and 2 nd phase students will have some small group directed learning.( withdrawal & parallel)  The 1 st,2 nd and 3 rd phase students will have some collaborative teaching time(team teaching) in their class  Resource EAL teaching will take place where program & resource advice is given and materials are adapted for class teachers 6

7. Role of the EAL teacher Assess EAL students on enrolment( using the ESL scales), record in Maintain ESL and apply for funding Prioritise EAL needs in the school by using Maintain ESL Develop EAL program based on identified ESL needs Plan and Teach EAL program (Work collaboratively) with class teachers to develop programs and practices which support English language and literacy learning across key learning areas. Update Maintain EAL at least twice a year Complete the ESL Annual Survey and New Arrivals Survey 7

8. Role of the class teacher Assist EAL students in their class to develop the competence in English necessary for achieving the outcomes of the key learning areas. Develop and implement teaching programs, practices and strategies that address the English Language and Literacy learning needs of EAL students in key learning areas Work collaboratively with EAL teachers, counsellors and other personnel to ensure appropriate support, assessment and reporting for their EAL students. 8

9. When programming consider… EAL students diverse socio-cultural and linguistic needs  They enter school with varying levels of prior education and knowledge of English  Some were born in Australia but lived in another country while their parents worked & lived in Australia  Others have arrived as permanent or temporary migrants, refugees or international students  Some have had the same amount of formal schooling in their home country  Others have had severely disrupted or no schooling due to family issues, war or civil disorder.  Some have literacy skills in their first language while others do not 9

10. When programming … Recognize the impact of Resettlement Issues 10 stress Culture shock Impacts of new environment Changes in Physical Sensory Cultural Internal manifestation,e.g. sadness, anger, fear, loneliness External manifestation,e.g. Withdrawal, acting out, fatigue Settlement process responses Alienations from new culture Complete rejection of new world Alienation from old culture Euphoric involvement with new world Bi-culturalism A positive ability to live comfortably between two cultures

11. When programming consider… Where the child is at?  Use the child's initial and/ or recent assessments to gage where they are at according to the ESL scales  Consider age/stage of schooling. Has the child had any schooling?  Has the learning been interrupted?  What level of proficiency does the child have in his/her first language  Is the child responsive or silent?  Is the child familiar with the English alphabet or with a different script?  Is the child familiar with the conventions of English writing such as left to right, front to back and punctuation? 11

12. When programming consider.. What the child can do initially?  Drawing, colouring, cutting, pasting  Looking at picture books/bilingual books  Sequencing pictures  Writing in their own language  Matching sorting games, jigsaw puzzles  Working on the computer- English language/ vocabulary activities  Cutting pictures from magazines and creating a vocabulary book  Copying from a neighbor  What ESL level (ESL Scales) they are at and what this means they can/can’t do? 12

13. When programming Use the Language Framework  Have a language focus for all KLA’s  Use the Language Framework for programming created by Gibbons(1991). 13 TopicActivitiesLanguage functions Language structures Vocabulary

14. Promote EAL students’ meaning making through…  Communicative activities  Problem solving tasks  Discussions  Bilingual learning  Parallel groups  Collaborative teaching/programming with an ESL teacher 14

15. For New Arrival students the teacher can…  Create a classroom environment that is welcoming, allows for risk taking, values cultural and language diversity and has a language focus in all KLA’s  Smile  Use body language and signing to communicate  Pronounce the child’s name correctly  Learn to say some greetings and phrases in the child’s language  Don’t raise your voice to try to be heard  Don’t over correct. Praise any attempts to communicate  Provide a buddy to show the child around and be company during breaks  Have someone who speaks the child’s language to translate upcoming events, notes activities etc. 15

16. For EAL learners the teacher can…  Create a classroom environment that is welcoming, allows for risk taking, values cultural and language diversity and has a language focus in all KLA’s  Have someone who speaks the child’s language to translate upcoming events, notes activities etc.  Seek a bilingual helper( parent) to be involved and work on parallel tasks in EAL students first language within the classroom  Have parents, grandparents and/or community helpers read or tell stories, in first language to same language students and whole class  Make sure the student is developing friendships and is happy on the playground 16

17. What resources are available?  EAL teacher  New Arrivals Resource Kit(borrowed from Equity library)- contains teacher resources and age/level appropriate student resources  Equity Library- online borrowing and resource advice  DET Equity webpage- Equity resources- ESL Scales etc.  DET Intranet/Curriculum Resources/Multicultural Education/Resources 1. Online picture dictionary for ESL beginners- in 40 languages 2. Online Math's dictionary for ESL beginners 3. Thematic picture dictionary & workbook for ESL beginners 17

18. “The limits of my language are the limits of my life.” (Wittgenstein, as cited in p119, gibbons, P, Learning to Learn in a Second Language, 1991. 18