1. Cultural + Linguistic Diversity in Practice
Hannah Issa
Abraham Moss Community School, Manchester

2. Cultural + Linguistic Diversity in Practice
Aims:
To provide a snapshot of pupil diversity at Abraham Moss Community School in Manchester
To highlight some of the issues that this creates
To look at some practical strategies for addressing these issues

3. Abraham Moss Community School
Pupil Diversity at
Abraham Moss Community School

4. Pupil Mobility
Cheetham Hill has been an arrival point for families moving into the city for 200 years.
Pupil mobility in school is very high. (25%)
80+ pupils join the school from outside the UK every year.

5. Cultural Diversity 1274 pupils: high school, 388 primary
(1662 in total).
Pupils or their families have come from around 60 different countries.
Around 97% of pupils are from an ethnic minority background.
(UK: 25.9%, Manchester: 53.8%)
55% of pupils are Pakistani heritage.
Around 3% of pupils are white British.

6. Linguistic Diversity
There are more than 60 different languages spoken in the school.
77% of pupils with English as an additional language – EAL.
40% of pupils not fluent users of academic or standard English.
Around 90 EAL beginners.
National totals for EAL: 15.2%

7. Every teacher has a responsibility…
National Curriculum Section 6 Language and Literacy
Teacher Standards Section 5: Meeting Different Needs

8. The National Curriculum Framework
6.1 Teachers should develop pupils’ spoken language, reading, writing and vocabulary as integral aspects of the teaching of every subject. English is both a subject in its own right and the medium for teaching; for pupils, understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum. Fluency in the English language is an essential foundation for success in all subjects.
(See also sections 6.2 Spoken Language, 6.3 Reading and Writing and 6.4 Vocabulary)

9. Understanding the Needs of Pupils with EAL

10. A Typical Pupil with EAL… ?
Pupils with EAL are all different. These 3 pupils are in Y10:
Ahmed is Libyan. His parents are university students. He is well-educated and literate in Arabic but new to English. He’s returning to Libya in a few years.
Sara is a Kurdish asylum seeker from Iraq. She has had interrupted schooling and is not literate. She is very quiet, sits alone and sometimes refuses to work.
Farhaan was born in Manchester. He speaks English with friends and Punjabi at home. His written and spoken English is colloquial and lacks technical accuracy.

11. True or False?
It is best to place EAL beginners in low ability sets when they first arrive because they need time to concentrate on learning English.
EAL beginners make faster progress in school if they practise speaking English at home with their family as much as possible.
EAL learners who are literate in their first language usually find it easier to acquire good literacy skills in other languages.
FALSE
FALSE
TRUE

12. Creating an Inclusive and Welcoming Classroom

13. What is this lesson about?
Pear tree – PRODUCER
Aphids – Live off the pear tree eating leaves – HERBIVORES – Primary Consumer
Ladybird – Eats the aphids, another living thing – what is it ? CARNIVORE – Secondary consumer
Sparrow – Eats ladybirds – Carnivore – tertiary consumer – PREDATOR and PREY
Hawk – Eats sparrow – CARNVORE – PREDATOR
EAL Checklist 3: Start with Clear Objectives

14. EAL Checklist Use a clear, simple font.
Include lots of visuals / practicals.
Start with clear objectives (previous slide).
Make every lesson a LANGUAGE lesson.
Identify, teach and model key language.
Use collaborative pair / group tasks.
Use well-structured language-focused resources.

15. a g (difficult for pupils new to the alphabet)
EAL Checklist: 1
1. Always use a clear, simple font.
Always use a clear font.
Comic Sans is a good choice.
a g (difficult for pupils new to the alphabet)
2. AVOID OVER-CAPITALISATION
3. Use clear, legible handwriting.

16. EAL Checklist: 2
isosceles
Use lots of visual, practical (and bilingual) resources:
Make models
Develop pupils’ dictionary skills
Demonstrate
Keep Google Images open

17. EAL Checklist 2: Include lots of visuals/practicals
Action Strips
Graphic Organisers represents conceptual relationships between people, objects, events or situations.
Graphs, Charts and Tables
Venn Diagrams
Pupils can gain or demonstrate understanding of complex concepts

18. speaking listening reading writing
EAL Checklist: 4
Make every lesson a LANGUAGE lesson:
Build in opportunities for:
speaking
listening
reading
writing

19. The Language Continuum
Modelling or deconstruction of text
Practical group task
Language accompanying action
Language constitutes the text
Everyday
Concrete
Informal
Personal
Here-and-now
Technical
Abstract
Formal
Impersonal
Generalised
Recounting to the class
Independent writing
Formal presentation
(EAL Theory: Pauline Gibbons)

20. Language Accompanying Action or Visuals
Practical group task
Technical
Abstract
Formal
Impersonal
Generalised
Recounting to the class
Everyday
Concrete
Informal
Personal
Here-and-now

21. EAL Checklist 5: Teaching Strategies
Collaborative activities
Develop oracy through sharing information
Students of all levels work together
Language redundancy
Recasting
Repetition
Paraphrasing
Active listening
Small pieces of information build towards a whole

22. EAL Checklist 5: Use collaborative pair / group tasks
Pupils have already built up some knowledge and understanding of the topic and language
Modelling or deconstruction of text
Language constitutes the text
Technical
Abstract
Formal
Impersonal
Generalised
Dictogloss
Pupils take notes as they listen to an academic text read aloud at normal speed. They then work in groups of 3 or 4 to reconstruct the text exactly from their shared notes.
(Lots of information about dictogloss on the internet.)

23. Dictogloss Listen but don’t write anything.
Listen again. This time, note down words or phrases.
Share your notes in 2s or 3s to rewrite the text exactly as you heard it. Aim to reproduce both the content + the language structures accurately. Each person needs a copy of the reconstructed text.

24. Check your Text: The Carbon Cycle
The amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere is controlled by the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide is removed from the air in several different ways. These include dissolving into the oceans and photosynthesis. There are also several processes that return carbon dioxide into the environment. For example: respiration by plants, animals or microbes; combustion caused by burning wood or fossil fuels and finally thermal decomposition of limestone, which occurs in the manufacture of iron, steel and cement.

25. Collaborative Tasks

26. EAL Checklist 6: Identify, teach and model key language.
Modelling or deconstruction of text
Language accompanying action
Language constitutes the text
Everyday
Concrete
Informal
Personal
Here-and-now
Technical
Abstract
Formal
Impersonal
Generalised

27. Identify, teach and model key language
DARTS
Directed Activities Related to Texts

28. EAL Checklist 1. Use a clear, simple font. 2. Use lots of visuals.
3. Start with clear objectives.
4. Make every lesson a LANGUAGE lesson.
5. Identify the language your students need to know.
6. Model the language your students need.
7. Plan instructions + questioning carefully.
8. Teach key words + structures explicitly.
9. Use graphic organisers.
10. Use DARTs.
11. Divide text into manageable sections.
12. Use collaborative group tasks.

29. Practical Experience

30. Teaching Practice / CPD + EAL
Experiment with practical EAL strategies as soon as possible this half term:
Plan + teach a lesson that includes:
an explicit language focus;
resources differentiated for EAL;
collaborative group work;
recount or performance talk.

31. Abraham Moss Community School