Reaching children with English as an additional language

last updated:01 Dec 2009

Caroline Brown was concerned about Ali, one of the boys in her Solihull foundation class. His first language was Pashto, he spoke little English and she wanted him to become more involved in whole-class sessions.

When she attended a GTC Behaviour for Learning (BfL) event she was keen to explore how to reach English as an additional language (EAL) learners.

Caroline and her colleagues explored good research, using the GTC’s BfL anthology for early-career teachers. They looked at:

• what effective teachers believe and how they promote learning behaviours
• research findings about commonly-used strategies.

Finding a research question
Caroline, along with her mentor Julie, decided her question should be: ‘Can ICT help engage a learner with English as an additional language during whole class sessions?’ She knew children with EAL benefit from visual learning, and so she searched for relevant research. Caroline also talked to the school’s EAL lead teacher, and observed Ali.

She noticed when the Smartboard was not used in whole-class sessions, Ali was distant – playing with his shoes, stroking the floor, looking at posters or simply slumped. But when she used the Smartboard more often, Ali became more confident and attentive, calling out, naming objects and raising his hand. He was visibly excited about taking part, says Caroline. The Smartboard visually encouraged Ali’s interest in lessons and improved his participation.

Caroline benefited too. She became more confident about EAL, more enthusiastic about the Smartboard, and shared her new techniques in staff meetings.

Ali's name has been changed.