English as an Additional Language (EAL)

The EAL department motto is “Out of Many languages One School”. We take great pride in the inclusivity of our students who span 5 continents and represent over 50 languages.

All new arrivals, including the Year 7 cohort, are assessed in the areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening and assigned an EAL code to represent their competency in accordance with the statutory measure of English Language Proficiency as instructed by the DfE. This five‐stage scale of English proficiency maps the progress from beginner to fluent users of English and the codes are as follows:

Code A. New to English
Code B. Early acquisition
Code C. Developing competence
Code D. Competent
Code E. Fluent

By assessing students on arrival, we are able to put the necessary interventions in place as soon as possible in order to provide the best start for the bilingual student.

These interventions are:

KS3 induction for new arrivals – identified as EAL code A/B

Induction helps students grasp the language of the curriculum and is used to supplement the lessons that students already attend. The focus is on developing students’ core skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. It can be taught vertically to include new arrivals from year 7 – 9 and can be 3- 5 lessons per week depending on the need.

KS4 EAL Option – identified as EAL code A/B

At KS4, newly arrived students to the country with limited English have Study Support as one of their option choices. It consists of 3 lessons a week and covers a range of themes in order to address the gaps in their English language. The following gives a brief overview of what is covered:

• Listening – the alphabet, numbers, dates, directions, most common questions, appropriate replies.
• English usage – appropriate words for use in cloze exercises such as connectives, appropriate tense, function words, articles, determiners etc
• Reading – reading text to be able to identify punctuation, layout of the text, meaning of the whole text, grammar, vocabulary.
• Reading and writing – following instructions and responding to questions.
• Writing – creative writing with an emphasis on spelling, punctuation, grammar and responding accurately to questions asked.
• Revisiting of - verbs, tenses, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, idioms, homonyms and synonyms, antonyms etc

In addition to English language lessons, the following also takes place over this two-year period:

• Small group and 1:1 tailored support with homework, coursework and assessments with focus on the core subjects.
• Study skills and time management including revision timetables in preparation for GCSE.
• Support with Work Experience in Yr. 10 including telephone interviews and initial visits as well as visiting students on their placements.
• Continued development of students’ skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

KS3 and KS4 in class support

Stage A/B EAL students also receive in class support in their core subjects from a qualified EAL teacher and Language Support Assistants (LSA) who are all bilingual.

How parents can support

The following websites may prove helpful as they include activities and games, all which help with English language development and also provide additional support in the subjects being taught at the school.

BBC Bitesize KS3 / http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/
BBC Bitesize KS4 / http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/
BBC World service Learning English / http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish
British Council / http://www.britishcouncil.org/
A4ESL / http://a4esl.org/
TESOL / http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp
English Club / https://www.englishclub.com/learn-english.htm
World English / http://www.world-english.org
Lexical Tutor/ http://www.lextutor.ca/
Resources to support Inclusion/ http://www.communication4all.co.uk/
ESL Lessons / http://iteslj.org/Lessons/