Increasing numbers of learners who are refugees and who are learning English as an additional language are entering our schools. Glynis Lloyd sets out practical strategies for the work of EAL coordinators, along with helpful guidelines for good practice

 

According to the 2022 School Census, 19.5% of all learners in England use English as an additional language (EAL).

Multilingual learners are an asset to their schools, raise aspirations across the whole school body, help all learners build compassion and global perspectives, while possessing rich linguistic resources that form a foundation for their learning in English.

Multilingual learners need support and care as they adapt to a new schooling system, learn English, and learn in English. However, broader challenges for work in EAL include the increasing invisibility of EAL in public policy, curriculum documents and governance; no ringfenced funding; and little or no accountability of schools and local authorities to higher authorities.

Professional challenges for EAL coordinators may include limited access to training opportunities for the position both within initial teacher training (ITT) and as part of CPD, as well as insufficient time allocated to their work and the added responsibility for SEND provision in their school.

In this challenging context, how can headteachers guide and support EAL coordinators in their schools and help them arrange their priorities and conduct their work in ways that serve the best interests of their learners?

How can schools invest in staff, resources, and training to reap the rewards of creating learning environments in which new arrivals thrive?

 

 

Adopt guiding principles

“Creating a culture where values around the inclusion of EAL students are explicit and shared across the school makes for a coherent and cohesive bedrock on which any effective practice can build.” (Evans et al, 2020).

The overarching principles that guide EAL work are inclusion and equity.

Adopting these principles will guide approaches to welcoming new arrivals across the whole school and provide a foundation for EAL work across four key areas.

 

1, Academic

 

  • Welcome and include EAL pupils in mainstream classrooms and expose them to the full curriculum.
  • Set and maintain high expectations of EAL learners by providing support and setting appropriate challenges.
  • Accommodate the strengths, talents, and needs of each individual learner.
  • Recognise each individual child’s language and education profile: what languages they speak, how much schooling they have had in each language, and when they started learning in English.

2, Linguistic

  • Create a multilingual school environment where all languages are visible and heard.
  • Implement an assets-based approach that recognises the rich language repertoires of EAL learners. They have knowledge in the languages they know, they may engage in literacy practices in the languages they know, and as multilingual learners they know about language.
  • “Schooling is fundamentally a linguistic process,” (Schleppegrell, 2004). Link language learning with content learning in all subjects. Identify key language content and build language support into all lessons.

 

3, Social

  • Build a welcoming and inclusive environment across the whole school.
  • Make sure that children who are learning EAL are included in all activities.

 

4, Teachers’ attitudes

  • Create a school culture in which teachers view EAL learners as assets to the whole school.
  • Create a clear separation between EAL and SEND and recognise that learners using EAL are simply children who are exposed to and use languages other than English at home. EAL is not an SEN or disability and only a small minority of learners using EAL will also have SEND.

 

Effective implementation of EAL strategies

Now let us turn to some practical strategies to support EAL coordinators and create opportunities for effective leadership and implementation in EAL teaching and learning.

The strategies draw on the experience of schools that have worked in EAL education over several years, on best practice guidelines from international contexts, and on research in the UK, including the work of The Bell Foundation.

 

 

Clarify the role and responsibilities of the EAL coordinator

According to Bellsham-Revell and Nancarrow (2019), the responsibilities of EAL coordinators vary from school to school and could include:

  • Identifying and keeping records of learners using EAL, monitoring their progress in English and working with colleagues to track their curriculum attainment.
  • Identifying and assessing pupils’ language development needs; planning, teaching, and monitoring support where required.
  • Supporting staff to develop their understanding and use of EAL pedagogy.
  • Working with the senior leadership to ensure the needs of learners using EAL are embedded within the school development plan.
  • Working with colleagues to ensure that the curriculum and resources reflect the diversity of the school community and support learning.
  • Working with parents/carers to support their role in their children’s learning (see resources for advice from The Bell Foundation regarding parental involvement).

If the EAL coordinator is new to the role, perhaps taking over from a previous incumbent, useful first steps are:

  • Clarify the exact nature of the role, including whether it will include teaching learners using EAL, whether it will include managing a team of teachers and/or teaching assistants, and how much time has been allocated to the role.
  • Explain what framework is in place in your school, including an EAL policy, an EAL plan, and procedures for how new learners are welcomed and included. See our advice on school policies for help with your language plan (see resources).
  • Locate and share any records of learners using EAL, including their proficiency in English attainments.
  • Review what the understanding of and knowledge about EAL is among your whole staff, and what ability they have to teach and support learners across all subject areas.

 

 

Identify networks, support, and training opportunities

The more investment the headteacher and the whole team place in EAL plans and work, the more impactful the work of the EAL coordinator will be. “Central to developing good practice is the need for specific, ring-fenced funding to support EAL children, as well as on-going teacher support and training.” (Evans et al, 2020).

  • Set out how you and your senior leadership team can support the work of the EAL coordinator, including what funding you can make available for their work.
  • Make sure that you allocate sufficient time to the role, so that the EAL coordinator’s work can have maximum impact across the school.
  • Identify how the teaching staff can best engage with and support the work of the EAL coordinator.
  • Put the EAL coordinator in touch with any members of your school’s board of governors, with EAL coordinators in your multi-academy trust or your school’s area, and staff in your local authority who might have experience or resources in EAL provision. See resources below for a link to our EAL programme materials.
  • Work with the EAL coordinator to identify what their professional development needs are and identify courses that could boost their understanding of EAL welcome, inclusion and provision, including of a school-wide EAL pedagogy. The Bell Foundation has training opportunities (see resources).

 

 

Devise and enact action plans

  • Make sure that your school’s EAL plan puts the EAL coordinator in charge and able to lead and sets out the roles of the senior leadership and the rest of the staff clearly.
  • Make sure that the plan starts at day one for a new arrival and focuses on the admissions process, then moves on to the welcome and induction process, setting out what will happen to new arrivals in the first few days they attend your school. See our new arrivals advice (see resources).
  • Make sure there are profiles of all new pupils learning EAL and that these are shared with their teachers. Encourage teachers to see the unique nature of each child’s language and schooling background, and to devise support and expectations for that child appropriately. See our guidance Creating a learner profile for plurilingual learners who use EAL (see resources).

 

Conclusion

Adopting key guiding principles, defining the EAL coordinator role clearly, identifying support, networking and CPD opportunities, planning and implementing practical strategies, and accessing resources will lighten the load and increase job satisfaction for EAL coordinators and help to create a school-wide welcoming and inclusive environment for all new EAL learners – one in which they can thrive and reach their full potential.

  • Glynis Lloyd is a trainer at The Bell Foundation, a charity working to overcome exclusion through language education. For details, visit www.bell-foundation.org.uk. Read previous articles from The Bell Foundation's experts via https://bit.ly/htu-bell

 

 

Resources from The Bell Foundation

 

References, resources & further reading

  • Auslander & Yip: School-Wide Systems for Multilingual Learner Success, Routledge, 2022.
  • Bellsham-Revell & Nancarrow: The EAL Coordinator: The first 100 days, EAL Journal, NALDIC, 2019: https://naldic.org.uk/publications/eal-journal/issue-7/
  • Chalmers (ed): The ResearchED Guide to English as an Additional Language, John Catt Educational, 2022.
  • Conteh: The EAL Teaching Book: Promoting success for multilingual learners, Sage Publications, 2019.
  • Evans et al: Language Development and Social Integration of Students with English as an Additional Language, Cambridge University Press, 2020.
  • Hampshire County Council: Young Interpreter Scheme: https://bit.ly/2WER0EX
  • Schleppegrell: The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective, Routledge, 2004.
  • Sharples: Teaching EAL: Evidence-based strategies for the classroom and school, Multilingual Matters, 2021.