̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Michael Evans

Mixed early progress highlights need for sustained support for pupils with English as an additional language

tdk25 — Thu, 16 Jul 2020 10:04:14 +0000

̽��ֱ��finding is one of numerous results and recommendations in a new book about the language development of EAL pupils, and its impact on their attainment and social integration. ̽��ֱ��book, authored by a team of academics from Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin and Durham Universities, examines the complex relationship between language, education and the social integration of newcomer migrant EAL students.

According to the School Census, there are currently over 1.5 million EAL pupils in England, and the proportion is steadily rising. ̽��ֱ��trend is similar in many other English-speaking countries.

̽��ֱ��book builds on three years of research involving over 40 schools across the East of England, funded by the Bell Foundation, and highlights much good practice by teachers working in multilingual classrooms. But it also points to inconsistencies and gaps in support for EAL pupils, stemming from an absence of national guidelines, targeted assessment, and systemic problems in areas such as teacher training and school-parent communication.

EAL pupils themselves were found to make uneven progress during their first two years in English schools. While many became competent English-speakers, their written English frequently lagged behind. ̽��ֱ��authors suggest this pattern may be further exacerbated by reductions in funding for EAL support.

As well as analysing the progress of EAL pupils, the study proposes a model for a more inclusive approach to teaching EAL students.

Dr Karen Forbes, Lecturer at the Faculty of Education, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said: “At the moment, it is often left to individual teachers or schools to decide how to handle the challenges of a multilingual classroom. While many do excellent work, EAL pupils inevitably have a variable experience. Teachers and schools should be able to draw on a structured framework and a proper knowledge base so that they can give these pupils the sustained linguistic and educational support they often need.”

̽��ֱ��research suggests that while many schools rightly prioritise the integration of EAL learners into mainstream lessons, some will need ongoing, one-to-one support, especially with developing more academic English, long past the point where they appear socially-integrated and able to hold a casual conversation.

This is just one symptom of a wider need to provide schools with a structural basis to give EAL learners individualised, ‘child-centred’ support, the authors argue. They stress that the ‘EAL’ label does not describe one type of pupil, but encompasses a wide range of previous educational experiences, interests and skills.

Encouragingly, many of the schools surveyed actively encouraged an inclusive and positive environment for EAL pupils. Teachers also employed various tactics that could form part of a wider framework to support them, such as group learning and buddy systems, translated texts and different visual aids.

But the study finds that many such interventions are devised locally, by schools or individual teachers, absent more structured or systematic guidance. This can lead to inconsistencies: for example, teachers varied their approach to when EAL pupils could use their home language, which often left students confused about when to use English.

̽��ֱ��researchers argue that other mechanisms are needed to give teachers a more solid foundation for working with EAL pupils. Teachers consistently enthused, for example, about the ‘vital’ support provided by dedicated EAL co-ordinators and bilingual support staff. But many schools that the researchers surveyed have struggled to sustain such services given that funding is no longer ring-fenced for this purpose.

̽��ֱ��book also highlights the need for more EAL-specific, specialist training for teachers, both for their professional practice and to help them work successfully with local minority-ethnic and migrant communities, especially those unfamiliar with the English system of education. This is only covered briefly in most teacher-training courses, and rarely forms part of their continuing professional development or ‘on the job’ learning.

Critically, the researchers also suggest that parents of EAL pupils and their communities are an untapped resource of knowledge, strong educational values and expertise.

̽��ֱ��researchers found that many parents of EAL children have a high level of interest in their children’s education, but often are not sufficiently supported to understand context-specific curriculum choices, modes of assessment or school expectations. They argue that, as well as providing translated information and induction materials, schools should establish mechanisms such as EAL parents’ networks, empowering parents within school governance structures to inform the way that they support migrant pupils, ensure that they achieve their potential, and promote positive experiences in school.

“Overall, there is a need for a more systematic, whole-school approach to the education of EAL pupils,” Michael Evans, Emeritus Read in Second Language Education at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, said. “This includes supporting teachers to develop their skills, providing them with a knowledge base on which to draw, and developing an effective communication system to promote parental engagement in schools. If that can be achieved, the benefits will be felt far beyond schools and EAL pupils alone.”

Language Development and Social Integration of Students with English as an Additional Language is published by Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Press on 16 July.

Newly-arrived pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL) often make ‘mixed’ linguistic and academic progress during their first years in British schools, which need a proper framework to give them sustained support, a study suggests.

At the moment, it is often left to individual teachers or schools to decide how to handle the challenges of a multilingual classroom.

Karen Forbes

Taylor Wilcox/Unsplash

School classroom

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Improving support for pupils with English as an additional language

ta385 — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 10:45:00 +0000

̽��ֱ��report identifies opportunities to target outreach to parents of EAL pupils, and develop frameworks and qualifications for English language support specialists to enable better assessment of language proficiency among pupils.

̽��ֱ��researchers, from the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin ̽��ֱ��, were commissioned by the Bell Foundation to conduct a two-year longitudinal study of secondary schools in the East of England between 2013 and 2015.

̽��ֱ��project, which took a new cross-disciplinary approach and linked quantitative and qualitative methods, involved a regional survey of 46 secondary schools as well as tracking the progress of 22 newly-arrived EAL students at two case study schools over a two year period and interviewing dozens of teachers, parents and carers.

Diana Sutton, Director of the Bell Foundation, said:

‘Crude headlines which assert that EAL children either outperform others or are a drain on scarce school resources miss the point. ̽��ֱ��picture is mixed, complex and nuanced, as this and previous research shows.’

̽��ֱ��new research highlights the benefits which such children receive from growing up in mixed-language social groups, and gives an impression of the pace at which they start to feel a sense of belonging as well as academic achievement.

But the survey found that EAL support was uneven across different schools. While some have qualified EAL coordinators managing schoolwide support, others have teaching assistants covering the role, and some have an already overstretched subject teacher subbing in.

Key recommendations in the report include:

‘EAL coordinators’ within schools should be part of a national framework of support specialists for children for whom English is an additional language

Michael Evans, Reader in Education at Cambridge’s Faculty of Education, said:

‘There is a need to develop high quality, Masters level accredited training for the EAL co-ordinator role, akin to the requirements for the new Special Education Needs co-ordinators. ̽��ֱ��role of the EAL Coordinator should be professionalised. Networks could be established and guidelines developed and shared to raise the status of EAL support, and the prominence of those who coordinate it within individual schools, as well as the wider system.’

A model of accountability should be established, similar to Pupil Premium support for those eligible for free school meals, in which resource from the national budget is contingent on pupil progress

̽��ֱ��report warns that there is a lack of accurate information on linguistic proficiency, which can mask EAL pupils’ academic potential. While pupils within the study developed functional oral proficiency within a year, many continued to struggle to use appropriate “academic” English.

Currently, recorded data gives no indication of an EAL pupils’ proficiency and funding is for three years only, after which there is no additional support, regardless of the pupil's proficiency in English. By contrast, in the US, assessment continues and pupils only exit the EAL status once proficiency is achieved.

Embedding EAL training in teacher training programmes, and including EAL inductions as part of the school orientation for newly qualified teachers

In interviews, the researchers found that the parents of EAL students cared considerably about the social and academic progress of their child. However, they also observed that school staff often use very limited definitions of parental engagement, such as attendance of parents’ evenings. Many parents of EAL pupils had little understanding of the school system, leaving them lacking confidence and fearful of engaging, along with barriers of language. This can lead to assumptions about parents that are ‘unlikely to represent actual level of interest’.

Encouraging parental involvement

Claudia Schneider, Principal Lecturer in Social Policy at Anglia Ruskin ̽��ֱ��, said:

‘Schools should take advantage of the opportunities offered by high levels of parental interest, by developing information and communication strategies which reflect an ‘outreach mentality’.’

‘Targeted strategies for encouraging community and parental networks could, for example, offer bilingual support by sharing translations of routine school information. Parents of EAL are significantly underrepresented in school structures, and such cost-effective networks could help integrate this untapped resource.’

̽��ֱ��report’s authors have created a template through which newly-arrived families could be encouraged to get involved by presenting on their country of origin. They also highlight simple technological aids such as embedded widgets on school websites that allow for translated information when clicked on.

̽��ֱ��report contains forewords by the Vice Chancellors of both Anglia Ruskin ̽��ֱ�� and the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge who both have a migration background and highlight the importance of migration for Higher Education.

Cambridge’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, himself the child of Polish immigrants, wrote:

‘[T]he report underlines the need for a holistic approach to EAL children’s experience, involving parents as well as schools. It calls for evidence‐based approaches to the teaching of EAL students, for greater consistency in the assessment of their progression, and for a review of testing that may put them at a disadvantage.’

̽��ֱ��new research builds on the Bell Foundation’s 2014 report on school approaches to the education of EAL students.

Download the Executive Summary of the 2016 report.

Download the Full Report.

A new report on UK school pupils who speak English as an additional language (EAL) argues that their progression in English language proficiency, academic achievement and social integration is closely linked and that a strong professional knowledge base is needed in schools to support the pupils. ̽��ֱ��authors also argue that parents are an ‘untapped resource’ for support and social integration. ̽��ֱ��report makes a series of policy recommendations.

̽��ֱ��report underlines the need for a holistic approach to EAL children’s experience, involving parents as well as schools

Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

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