Bilingualism

published:  July 2009

What helped pupils with English as an additional language (EAL)?

Bilingualism is an important yet under-researched field of study.  Ofsted (2005) defined advanced bilingual learners as: ‘pupils who have had all or most of their school education in the UK and whose oral proficiency in English is usually indistinguishable from that of pupils with English as a first language but whose writing may still show distinctive features related to their language background’.

A pilot project set up in January 2004, aimed to increase ‘the confidence and expertise of mainstream primary teachers in meeting the needs of advanced bilingual learners and also raising the attainment of bilingual learners’. As the pilot developed it grew to include less advanced bilingual learners too. The pilot aimed to improve attainment of all these learners in literacy and numeracy, and to promote effective pedagogy and practice for pupils with English as an additional language. The pilot was set up by the Primary National Strategy (PNS) in partnership with the Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA) Unit within the DfES in seven local authorities (LAs).

This month the RfT team have selected and summarised a study that reported on:

• how pupils and teachers benefited from the pilot
• the role of LA consultants in participating schools
• teaching and learning approaches
• how teachers and pupils were supported during the pilot
• the school factors that supported the programme, and  
• interventions and practice that were influential in achieving the aims of the project.

The study is:
Raising the Achievement of Bilingual Learners in Primary Schools: Evaluation of the Pilot/Programme by Kerensa White, Karen Lewis and Felicity Fletcher-Campbell (2006) DfES London: Research Report RR758.

Although the study refers to ’bilingual’ and ‘non-bilingual’ as well as learners with English as a second language, in this summary we have opted for the terms EAL and non-EAL learners for simplicity.

Because this programme involved individuals and organisations at different levels – LA, school, teachers – there is considerable detail about organisational and management issues connected with the programme. Nonetheless, the importance of the learning environment and whole school support is clear and we have highlighted how closely the two are interconnected in this summary. The summary is illustrated with examples from the study and is complemented by a number of case studies which provide extra detail about schools’ practice in relation to EAL teaching and learning and about the key role of EAL specialist teachers.