Course Details
Supporting EAL pupils in the classroom
Many schools now include pupils whose first language is not English. These pupils bring enrichment and diversity, but also present classroom and subject teachers with challenges. Even where an English as an additional language (EAL) specialist is available to offer support, teachers must provide for these pupils on a day-to-day basis.
The aim of this course is to provide professional development for school employees – teaching and support staff – who work with children whose first language is not English. It introduces a range of practical strategies for including and supporting EAL pupils in the classroom and suggests how to design a classroom to help these pupils learn and incorporate their needs into your planning. It also explains why it is so important that EAL pupils reach the highest level of English proficiency. You're encouraged to reflect on whether your teaching allows all pupils in your class access to the school curriculum.
As you work through the course, you will:
- understand why every teacher needs to be a language teacher
- become aware of the need for EAL pupils to master higher-level English
- know how to question and group EAL pupils to the best effect
- identify ways of incorporating the needs of EAL pupils into your planning
The course provides opportunities to consider recent thinking on EAL teaching together with research and suggestions for practical tasks in the classroom. Taken in conjunction with another course – Understanding EAL and bilingualism – it provides a common language and understanding with which to discuss EAL pupils.
Author Biography
Meet the course author:
Coreen Sears spent 20 years in Brussels, Belgium, teaching English as an Additional Language in three international schools. At the International School of Brussels, she was head of the EAL department in the primary and early childhood departments. In 1995, she was awarded a sabbatical leave from ISB and a Fellowship in International Education from the European Council of International Schools. This time and funding enabled her to research and write her book: Second Language Students in Mainstream Classrooms (Multilingual Matters).
Since then she has given presentations and workshops in schools and at conferences around the world. On her return to the UK, she has made it her business to re-connect with the EAL and bilingual scene. She continues to write and speak on the needs of EAL pupils in our schools.