by EAL educator

The items on the following list could be interpreted as an indication that the outcomes of bilingual learners and learners of EAL have slipped out of the Government’s line of sight, but it is clear that educators are working harder than ever to raise standards of English language proficiency. Here are some of the latest happenings in the realm of EAL teaching and learning:

Ofsted’s proposed inspection framework makes no mention of bilingual or EAL learners.

Ofsted’s inspection framework has previously advised inspectors would pay particular attention to the outcomes of named ‘groups of learners’, including ‘learners for whom English is an additional language’.

The proposed new framework (under consultation until 5^th April 2019) makes no such mention of EAL learners. It aims to report on the quality of education a school offers in a more general sense, with less scrutiny of internal data and no preference for particular methods of teaching or assessment.

The Department for Education no longer requires schools to report on EAL learners’ proficiency in English.

In a move that was labelled ‘a retrograde step’ by the National Association of Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC), EAL learners’ English proficiency will no longer be included in school census data. Both NALDIC and the language education-promoting Bell Foundation have urged schools to continue to assess pupils’ English proficiency, in order to effectively identify their learning needs and measure progress.

Being a learner of EAL is by itself a poor indicator for future attainment, but levels of English proficiency paint a much clearer picture. EAL learners with higher English proficiency are considerably more likely to achieve academically, while EAL learners with lower English proficiency are more likely to achieve lower grades.

Mark Sims, Ofsted’s EAL lead, suggests schools should focus their energies on intervention to increase pupils’ English proficiency during EYFS and Key Stage 1, so that pupils can access the National Curriculum for as long as possible with higher proficiency in English.

Teachers feel under-resourced when it comes to communicating with the parents of EAL learners.

A 2018 YouGov survey commissioned by ClassDojo found that 72% of teachers did not feel their school had enough resources to help parents of EAL learners with their English skills. The survey also revealed that 60% of teachers felt they received less feedback from parents of EAL learners. The clear picture is that teachers feel communication with the families of EAL learners is lacking.

Technological solutions, including Google translate, are aiding communication across language barriers but there are questions over the accuracy of translations. A further concern is the ability of schools to provide pastoral care to some of the most vulnerable pupils and families in their communities due to low levels of English proficiency.

Including EAL learners is what works best for them.

It is difficult to make sweeping statements in terms of what works well for EAL learners, such is the range of abilities and other factors at play. There is some degree of consensus that it is most effective to keep EAL learners in the classroom, teach necessary academic language explicitly and scaffold discussions around the subject matter through structured language (see Tower Hamlets Progression in Language Structures.)

It is not considered effective to exclude pupils from classroom experiences until they have acquired a greater level of English, as doing so removes the immersive language environment of the classroom, perhaps the most versatile resource we educators can employ.