EAL
Supporting EAL children in school
Yeading Infant school has over 25 ethnic groups. A large number of them speak English as an additional language (EAL) - this means that they understand and speak another language at home. There are over 36 different languages spoken by the children in our school. The most popular languages spoken are Punjabi, Urdu, Tamil, Somali and Arabic
At Yeading Infant School linguistic, cultural, religious and ethnic diversity are valued and celebrated. Every child is supported to achieve their full potential. In each year group there are a number of children who arrive with very little English or none at all. However, by the time they leave us in Year 2, they have either begun to develop more independence in using and applying English: or caught up with their fellow peers and have gained good results in line with the national average
Throughout the school various strategies are used to support the EAL children. Staff have been trained by an EAL consultant so that all the teachers are able to use various strategies to support the EAL children. For example, children who speak little or no English are supported through short speaking oracy sessions which supports children in gaining confidence in understanding and speaking. This takes place in small group or one-to-one.
Where possible, teachers use the home language to explain and teach. We also have a buddy system for translation and support. This allows the child to feel secure and comfortable in their new environment.
Other strategies used by teachers for all EAL children are:
- modelling and providing opportunities for the children to use the correct terminology in lessons
- using lots of visuals and practical activities
- having dual language storybooks and tapes
- meetings with parents to show how best to support at home. Where possible the first language is used.
