Learning outcomes

Knowledge:

• Know about supporting multilingualism across the curriculum
• Know about planning for new arrivals

Skills:

• Be able to consider content against language learning
• Be able to identify cognitive involvement in language tasks and activities

Understanding:

• Develop planning in your school

 

Strand Overview

Planning (Strand 5):

5a. Are content-learning challenges (learning outcomes/objectives) identified?
5b. Are language-learning challenges (learning outcomes/objectives) identified?
5c. Is the content suitable for age and language background?
5d. Does it include appropriate, comprehensible learning opportunities for learning curriculum concepts? Within early years, are there opportunities for learners to exploit the learning context?
5e. Are there planned opportunities to access higher-order thinking skills?
Within early years, is there considered opportunities/strategies to extend learners’ thinking?
5f. Is the progression of learning suitably considered?
5g. If reading is present, are reading activities appropriately levelled so they are comprehensible as well as appropriate for reaching the learning challenge (learning outcome/objective)? Within early years, are appropriate, accessible interactive reading experiences included?
5h. Are resources suitably selected to be adaptable to the language and content needs of EAL learners at every level of proficiency? (E.g. use of graphic organisers, visuals, real-life items and so on). Within early years, do open-ended resources (e.g. sand, blocks, water and play dough) and hands-on experiences allow adults to considered the language learning opportunities they can exploit within a rich, stimulating environment.
5i Are learners grouped appropriately for learning? E.g. are they collaborating with different members of the class to provide a broad range of interactions. Within early years, are adults considering small, focused interactive opportunities in a variety of situations to support language development?

Teaching (Strand 6):

Integral to learning
6a. Does the session provide appropriate comprehensible input to all learners from any language background? For example, is there clear modelling with a variety of demonstration from practical work, visuals, gestures or collaborative learning? Within early years, is a skillful adult responding in a way that allows learners to access the learning.
6b. Does the session include opportunities to access higher-order thinking skills? For example, does the teaching introduce appropriate curriculum concepts or enable questioning? Within early years, is there sustained shared thinking (two or more individuals working together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, or extend a narrative e.g. tuning in, listening carefully, looking at body language, showing genuine interest, smiling, nodding.
6c. Are opportunities for speaking and listening integral to the session? Within early years, are adults an active partner in the conversational process? E.g. expanding and extending language (child has a go then the adult models/scaffolds/extends the language.) *
6d. Is time allowed for clarification of learning and a variety of feedback? (E.g. peer feedback, teacher feedback, self-assessment?) Do they have enough time to listen, process and respond?
6e. Is the session paced appropriately for all levels? Within early years, considering the wait time for responses and when to instigate a response.

 

Slide 2 – Mainstream classroom

Define ‘mainstreaming’ and then share the guiding principles.

Note the inclusivity of each point. We are going to provide you with ways to accomplish this inclusivity.

1. Mainstreaming should provide a full range of educational opportunities to all students, eliminating social and racial barriers.
   
   • How can we make international-mindedness integral to the learning experience?
2. Mainstreaming should provide opportunities for English language learners to interact socially and with English proficient peers.
   • How can we support learners in becoming competent in social language?
3. Mainstreaming should provide opportunities for groups to function effectively once successful instructional strategies are employed.
   • How can we equip teachers and learners with successful instructional strategies?
4. Mainstreaming should provide opportunities for all teachers to consider the language demands of all the students in the classroom.
   • How can we cater for language learning alongside day-to-day curriculum content?

 

Slide 3 – Supporting multilingualism across the curriculum

Revisit this quote to emphasise that it’s not just about mainstreaming, but also about fostering multilingualism across the curriculum. Supporting emergent bilinguals needs to be integral to the process of learning.

 

Slide 4 – Planning for EAL New Arrivals

Recap Cummins, who defined CALP (Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency) and BICS (Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills):

BICS is Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills. It refers to the ‘surface’ skills of listening and speaking, which are normally acquired quickly by many learners. It is also referred to at Across Cultures as ‘survival language’.

CALP is Cognitive/Academic Language Proficiency. This refers to a learner’s needs to be sufficiently proficient in the language to access the academic demands of the curriculum.

These two elements require planning. It can be extremely challenging to ensure all survival language is covered within the context of the curriculum. It is therefore advisable to ensure the survival language is covered separately, as well as within the curriculum.

 

Slide 5 – Consider content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

Read the quote:

“CLIL is a dual–focused educational approach in which an additional language is used for learning and teaching for both content and language. Each is interwoven, even if the emphasis is greater on one or other at a given time.”
(Coyle, Hood & Marsh, 2010)

See notes below for further explanation:

“The educational success of CLIL is in the content-and language-learning outcomes realised in classrooms. It offers pathways to learning subject-specific language terminology, developing cognition, greater authenticity, motivation, the need for learners to understand the essential ‘nuts and bolts’ to use the language as well as a greater understanding of acquiring and learning language.”
Coyle, D., Hood, P., Marsh, D (2010) CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

We will look at how to do this in more detail.

 

Slide 6 – Consider content and language

This activity is designed to start the process of considering planning for language learning alongside content (CALP and integrating content and language).

Divide participants into groups of about 4. Each group needs to have a person to scribe what is being said.

Participants in each group predict the impact of new transport links on a village. Allow the participants to use their own words without you prompting them.

Discussions will, most likely, include technical vocabulary such as: noise pollution, congestion, overcrowding, etc… Participants should also come up with some language structures, such as ‘It will..’ ‘It might…’ ‘Perhaps…’ This is the ‘language prediction’ (refer to Activity 5.7 in the Shared Document showing the language structures by text type after the activity).

Activity inspired by Tower Hamlets, Progression in Language Structures, 2013.

 

Slide 7 – Recording your activity

On completion of the previous activity, view a way to record the work.

Explain:

Teachers need to consider the outcomes of the learning challenge. Participants should use the same method to collect both the vocabulary and the language structures. Within the group, one person may scribe (activity 5.1), with the rest focused on completing the task.

The commitment to scribing real interactions will have a powerful impact on selecting the right language needed.

Point out that it’s easy to assume the language requirements for a task and then find that they don’t quite fit with the outcome you require.

 

Slide 8 – Geography – consider content and language

Show two examples of how a learning challenge can be used for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners of English. Point out the vocabulary focus for the beginners/starters, the language structure and vocabulary for intermediates and the more advanced activity for the more fluent learners.

 

Slide 9 – Science – consider content and language

Show two examples of how a learning challenge can be used for beginners, intermediate and advanced learners of English. Point out the vocabulary focus for the beginners/starters, the language structure and vocabulary for intermediates and the more advanced activity for the more fluent learners.

 

Slide 10 – History – consider content and language

Give the participants this objective and ask them to consider how they could differentiate for the EAL new arrivals. Emphasise the importance of vocabulary for beginners/starters and language structures for intermediate learners.

Provide 5-10 minutes for each example and allow some time at the end of each for feedback.

Note that the participants’ examples should follow a similar structure. Intermediate activities should include language structures with interchangeable vocabulary. All EAL learners should have a strong emphasis on vocabulary.

Use the cross-curricular planner as a reference (see Cross-curricular planner in Strand 4) to source appropriate language topics.

Participants can note down their ideas, then share their thoughts (Activity 5.2).

(Time guide: 20 minutes)

 

Slide 11 – Art – consider content and language

Repeat the previous activity for the Art objective listed (Activity 5.3).

Again, use the cross-curricular planner as a reference (see Strand 4).

 

Slide 12 – Consider using substitution tables

Share the substitution table with the participants.

Activity 5.4:

Participants create a substitution table for advanced, intermediate and absolute beginner learners using the objective in either Activity 5.2 (to produce a structured account of life in ancient Egypt) or 5.3 (to question and make thoughtful observations about starting points for their work).

Activity 5.5:

Provide some relevant curriculum objectives for participants or ask participants to choose their own curriculum objective. Use these curriculum content objectives to create substitution tables that could be used for:

• Advanced English proficiency learners
• Intermediate English proficiency learners
• Absolute beginner learners.

Ask the participants what key vocabulary and language structures they identified when creating these substitution tables.

Participants can use either the cross-curricular planner (see Strand 4) or the language structures by text type to help.

 

Slide 13 – Cummins’ Framework

Look at the EAL learners’ framework to identify cognitive involvement in language tasks and activities.

Share Cummins’ framework and note that:

EAL learners need to access context-embedded learning of high cognitive demand – although this can be very difficult in the early stages of learning.

Learning should not be of low cognitive demand and context-unembedded, e.g. copying incomprehensible material.

 

Slide 14 – Bloom’s taxonomy

Note the levels of thinking and share the stages.

 

Slide 15 – Examples of types of activities you may put in each quadrant

This slide shows how Bloom’s taxonomy fits in with Cummins’ framework to identify cognitive involvement in language tasks and activities.

Insert tasks and then level of thinking into each quadrant of the framework (Activities 5.6 and 5.7).

 

Slide 16 – Consider language structure requirements

Show the assessment for learning form, which covers a broad progression in language learning (activity 5.8)

Which language learning challenges would work well to teach alongside the curriculum objective?

 

Slide 17 – Progression in language

Is it possible to differentiate language structures according to text type (see Activity 5.9, which provides a framework for selecting vocabulary, text types (or functions) and language structures and refers to ‘Language structures by Text Type’, showing language structures at a beginner level by text type).

This can also be used to assist the participants in differentiating their language learning objective alongside their content learning objective.

 

Slide 18 – Post-session learning

All participants should ensure they read any ‘Further learning’ sections within Strand 4 that were not covered in the session.

 

Slide 19 – Reflection and Action Points

Allow participants 5 minutes’ reflection time to add to their Reflection and Action Points notes. Point participants to the EAL Framework and to Strands 5 and 6 in the Handbook to support their reflection. 

Tasks for participants:

• Are there practical tasks found in this session you can ask participants to try out themselves?
• Can they then feedback on these tasks in a follow-up session or at a later date?