EAL
"A different language is a different vision of life."
Federico Fellini
What is EAL?
A first language other than English (EAL) should be recorded where a child was exposed to this language during early childhood and continues to be exposed to this language in the homes or the community. If a child was exposed to more than one language, the language other than English should be recorded (DFE Guidance for school census, Spring & Summer 2014)
EAL at St Stephen's
We are very fortunate to have many languages spoken at our school. We know that EAL is a gift and is celebrated in our school. A 2023 census shows that our children speak - Punjabi, French, Hungarian, Urdu, Kosovan, Romanian, Bengali, Gujarati, Bulgarian, Malayalam, Hindi, OD’A, Moroccan, Portuguese, Telagu, Farsi, Pashto, Arabic, Polish, Tamil, Yoruba, Chinese (Cantonese), Albanian, Manx Gaelic, Turkish, Dari, Nigerian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Spanish, Fatse, Sindhi, Persian and Shqip.
Children who speak English as an additional language at St Stephen's are assessed and tracked termly using the Solihull EAL Primary Tracker. This is an assessment framework which has been developed to support teachers in tracking the progress of their English as additional language (EAL) learners in Years 1-6. There are 8 steps in the acquisition of English in the 4 skill areas; Listening and Understanding, Speaking, Reading and Writing. It enables staff to assess and track the progress of the receptive and expressive English language skills of their EAL learners.
When children arrive at St Stephen's, after a settling in period of up to 6 weeks, children are assessed using the table below.
All children are supported by quality first teaching in their own classrooms. EAL children are identified on teacher's planning and planned for as appropriate by class teachers. If children require additional support and intervention to access the curriculum, then teachers may seek support of the EAL lead or the EAL specialist teaching assistant we have in school who can provide a wealth of resources and expertise to support the child further in class. The EAL specialist works in classes with children twice a week to ensure they continue to have full access to the curriculum.
Useful websites
https://www.duolingo.com/
https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/
http://www.letshavefunwithenglish.com/
https://www.storynory.com/
