Participants should complete the pre-course activity and answer the following questions:
A few points to note:
Knowledge:
Skills:
Understanding:
Share the Across Cultures aim.
How did the resource file develop?
Originally developed for UK schools delivering the National Curriculum and later, international schools running other curricula, the aim was to support teachers in offering good provision for EAL learners in schools where English is the language of instruction.
After a successful application for partial funding to write the resource file, over time, this developed into a practical, useful guide to supporting EAL learners that became widely used in London and then in many schools throughout the UK. Schools welcomed the support and highlighted that children using the resource file made very good progress.
Over time, more extensive research was completed to allow the programme to evolve into a book, called Teaching Children English as an Additional Language: A Programme for 7-11 Year-Olds. This programme has been used worldwide, with children in UK and international schools. It was then further developed to include a wider age range, offering a broader selection of survival language and advice and guidance on many aspects of catering for children learning English as an Additional Language, with a whole-school focus. The latest development includes the Learning Village, a teacher-managed online learning tool for 6-16-year-old EAL learners in schools that fits seamlessly with the resource books.
The manuals for this course are written by Caroline Scott, BA DipM NPQH MA, author of ‘Teaching Children as an Additional Language: A Programme for 7-11 year olds’, ‘Teaching English as an Additional Language 5-11, A Whole School Resource’ and ‘An English as an additional language (EAL) Programme: Learning through images for 7-14 year olds’. Caroline’s background includes:
This is a flexible course. You can deliver the training in a number of ways.
The course is divided into 9 strands.
Each strand varies in length. Allow at least 2 hours for each strand of you will be delivering this in your school.
Participants receive an Across Cultures Teacher Certification if they attend every session and produce evidence that:
Receiving an Across Cultures Teacher Certification is a recognition that participants are able to make a positive impact on EAL learners’ progress and inclusivity using the Across Cultures resources. Mail [email protected] about starting a course.
The training may also be delivered more flexibly, concentrating only on certain strands. However, in these instances, participants will not be eligible for the Across Cultures Teacher Certification status.
Review the EAL Framework Rubric and explain that after each session you will be asked to use your own professional judgment to decide where to place your school on the professional learning journey.
Strand overview:
Preparation:
It’s important to start your session with an introduction that includes:
Prepare two flip-chart pages titled according to the following pre-course activity questions:
Ask participants to write their answers to question 1 on a post-it note and stick it to the flip-chart page, titled accordingly. Then do the same for question 2. Participants can refer to their pre-course activities for inspiration.
Share some of these reflections.
(Time guide: 10-15 minutes)
Explain that:
Across Cultures uses English as an Additional Language (EAL) to refer to learners who are acquiring English as an additional language. It can be used interchangeably with English as a Second Language (ESL). More information on ‘What is EAL?’ can be found on this link.
If you are training in an English-speaking mainstream outside of the UK (or even within the UK), you may be using different terminology for similar terms. Differences may include references to year group ages or just simple spellings.
Participants must ensure they have a few pages of a notebook available for Reflection and Action Points. Participants will have opportunities to contribute to these pages throughout the course.
Explain that most linguists would agree that languages share the following:
Languages are systematic
Languages are symbolic
Languages are social
Knowledge needed to acquire a language:
Explain that:
In the coming days we will be learning more about the knowledge needed to acquire a language.
Saville-Troike, M (2007) Introducing Second Language Acquisition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Provide the participants with a first-hand experience of what it might be like to be a new arrival.
NB: Two possible scripts are provided here. They can be translated into any other language. You also find visuals of the language learning experiences on the Across Cultures Framework Hub. This includes ‘Snake Story’ and ‘About Snakes’ (although these do not need to be the stories you choose).
We suggest, if you do not speak another language, or your ‘other’ language is known by the participants, that you ask someone who can speak an alternative language to prepare the language learning experience in advance and deliver it during the session.
Explain to participants:
Imagine you are a young learner (specify an appropriate age for your context). You arrived in the country last week. You are in your first lesson and you don’t speak the language.
Participants need to listen to the story.
Provide the participants with a first-hand experience of what it might be like to be a new arrival:
You will need to read the story twice. Read it once without reference to anything else (just read from the page). Then read it with reference to the pictures and with actions in context.
Snake Story (first version: to be read aloud in another language: no English should be used)
Last year I saw a snake in the garden.
I think it came from the forest.
The snake was yellow and brown.
I gave it a pizza, chips and a hamburger but the snake wasn’t happy.
The snake slept under the tree and was not well.
My mother and father came to see it.
I told the snake to return to the forest.
I said “go home, go home” and the snake slithered back into the forest and I never saw it again.
Snake Story (second version: to be read aloud with actions and visuals. See ‘Snake Story’ on the Across Cultures Framework Hub)
Page A – Vocabulary introduction (point to each picture, say the word in the other language and signal for the class to repeat after each one). Use simple questions in the other language like “what’s this?” and point and say “do you understand?” and “well done.”
Page B – Last year I saw a snake in the garden. I think it come from the forest. (Point to the forest and mime using your hand moving from the forest to the garden)
Page C – The snake was yellow and brown. (Point to the snake and the garden as you say the words. Each time you say “I”, point to yourself, then point to “yellow” and “brown” as you say these words)
Page D – I gave it a pizza, chips and a hamburger but the snake wasn’t happy. (Point to the pizza, chips and hamburger as you say the words)
Page E – The snake slept under the tree and was not well. (As you say “slept”, close your eyes and tilt your head as if to sleep. Make a sad face when you say “not well” and point to “under the tree” as you say it)
Page F – My mother and father came to see it. (Point as you say “mother” and “father”) I told the snake to return to the forest. (Point to yourself to signal “I” and point into the forest as you say “return to the forest”)
Page G – I said “go home, go home” and the snake slithered back into the forest and I never saw it again. (Again, point to yourself as you say “I” and point into the forest again, using your hand to wave goodbye)
Finish by saying in the other language “Do you understand?”
Another possible learning experience is also available on the Across Cultures Framework Hub (About snakes).
This process must be done entirely in the other language without slipping into English for any reason. Even if the participants do not understand, you need to proceed. This is designed to help them experience what this might be like for a new arrival.
(Time guide: 15 minutes)
After listening to the new language experience, in pairs, participants answer the questions in Activity 1.1 (Shared Document).
Explain to participants:
This course is about finding helpful solutions to the difficult yet rewarding task of supporting young EAL learners on many levels in the mainstream, e.g. in cultural transition, assessment, accommodating for different levels of proficiency in class.
(Time guide: 10 minutes)
Highlight the importance of success and share the quotes emphasising:
Give some thought to factors that hinder children’s learning if they have limited proficiency in English.
Each point has an example. Read each bullet point and provide an example or comment for each (see the notes in brackets after each point):
Learners of English as an additional language need support in:
There are other factors that hinder the EAL learner written in the pre-session reading activity by Jupp, 1996. Please also refer to this in the pre-session information in the Participant’s Handbook.
(Time guide: 10 minutes)
Explain the internal factors in language learning:
Some key internal:
Ellis, R. 2015, Understanding Second Language Acquisition, Oxford
Explain the external factors in language learning:
See Further learning – Strategies for raising students’ motivation
Ellis, R. 2015, Understanding Second Language Acquisition, Oxford
Explain the purpose of this dictogloss activity:
Explain the dictogloss procedures on the slide.
Begin with reading the following and then go through each step listed on the slide. Participants must try to reconstruct the text exactly as it is read (Activity 1.2):
“It is important to remind ourselves that we are expecting our young learners to achieve survival language, intermediate then advanced proficiency as well as academic language proficiency almost immediately in order to access their curriculum. It is not a short term learning experience. Evidence suggests that it takes between five to seven years to achieve native like proficiency.”
August & Hakuta, 1997; Cummins, 1981; Lindholm-Leary & Borsato, 2006; Thomas & Collier, 2002 in Welcoming Linguistic diversity in Early Childhood Classrooms, Murphy, 2011.
Discuss:
Reiterate to participants:
(Time guide: 10 minutes)
Provide the participants with 5-10 minutes to read ‘Further Reading: young language learners’ in Strand 1. Answer the questions in the Shared Document (Activity 1.3).
The first 2 questions will have been answered in the dictogloss.
(Time guide: 10 minutes)
What are the four stages of early language learning?
Can you name some strategies to help in the non-verbal stage?
Clarke (1992, p17-18) highlights strategies to support children’s language development at the non-verbal or ‘silent’ second stage:
Name some differences between older and younger learners identified by Dimroth?
Findings by Dimroth (2008) highlight some differences between older and younger learners. These findings show that older learners stick to one-to-one mapping between word order and information structure for a longer time than younger learners. For example, older learners spend more time on forming better word order in sentences than younger learners. Dimroth also notes that transfer of language has a huge impact on the adoption of a new language; due to a young learner’s prior language limitations, this will have an effect on new language acquisition. Findings also show that children’s ability to judge the complexity and usefulness of language learning tasks, as well as their ability to make informed choices in language learning, differ greatly from older learners. Additionally, most older learners make random but clever choices, in comparison with their younger counterparts. This requires a deeper understanding of the functioning of a language and communication, which younger learners don’t seem to have. Consequently, guidance for younger learners in their quest for English language acquisition is needed.
On a more positive note, Dimroth finds that younger learners copy forms of language from the input, resulting in more practice of the target language, whereas older learners may not attempt this, feeling that it’s not worthwhile. This aspect can be utilised positively in role-plays and in general open discussions, where children are encouraged to speak.
What is metacognition and why is this significant?
Effective metacognition in language learning can be a powerful tool to support language learning. Metacognition is simply defined as ‘thinking about thinking’. Anderson (2002) describes metacognitive learners as “knowing what to do when they don’t know what to do”. It’s about being able to self-regulate your own learning. Findings show that children who acquire regulatory skills succeed at challenging tasks (Zimmerman, 2002). Children have a grasp of the cognitive process from school age, but their ability to self-regulate is not developed. Parents and teachers can foster self-regulation through guidance, for example, by providing models of effective language learning strategies or by emphasising the value of self-correction. Metacognitive language learning strategies can be pre-taught through strategy instruction.
Explain:
Any new arrival entering the English-speaking mainstream will want to access the common language as quickly as possible in order to ‘survive’. This type of language is referred to by Cummins (2003) as Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS): the skills needed for oral fluency and for developing appropriate social language (seen in the diagram here as language that appears above the water – visible language). This is often referred to as ‘survival language’ or ‘everyday language’ at Across Cultures. This level of language needs to be achieved, alongside cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP). CALP refers to the linguistic knowledge and literacy skills needed for academic proficiency (seen in the diagram here as language that appears under the water, often unseen or unused in everyday situations).
Ask:
Often learners have varied levels of proficiency in each language for different situations, e.g. the language of the home and the language of school.
Sometimes, a language learner stops using one language and the other begins to dominate. In these cases, there is a danger of subtractive bilingualism (an additional language at the expense of the first). We must foster both in order to enjoy additive bilingualism (an additional language gained whilst the first language continues to be fostered).
The illustration here shows that “Conceptual knowledge developed in one language helps to make input in the other language comprehensible.” Cummins (2000). For example, if a learner has a fundamental understanding of the concept of fairness in one language, they can immediately translate this concept into another language, rather than relearning the concept.
More information – Using your home language (Strand 1) can be assigned as post-session reading.
Read the slide which emphasises the importance of home language to support learning in English and to foster a learner’s identity.
The use of different languages together (translanguaging) can be a support tool for learning. Watch the video on Ofelia Garcia ‘What is Translanguaging?’
Ask participants:
Ask participants to reflect on the questions (Activity 1.4 and 1.5).
On completion, refer to ‘More information – some ideas to support students’ home language development’.
Participants can highlight useful ideas.
(Time guide: 10 minutes)
Read the slide containing advice to provide to parents
Explain:
Consider what learners could achieve in their home language in advance of learning topics in class.
The content of home projects do not need to be the same as the curriculum topics. However, if you are learning about life in a small, European village on the coast in class, perhaps the home project could be about life in a small village on a coast in a different country.
Consequently, learners would develop vocabulary in their home language which could then be used to articulate themselves in English.
All participants should ensure they read the ‘More information’ sections within Strand 1 that have not been covered in the session.
Allow participants 5 minutes’ reflection time to add to their Reflection and Action Points notes.
Ask the participants to look back at the session in their handbook – how could this work in their context?
Tasks for participants: