ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE
At Adderley Primary School our vision is to develop pupils’ ability to communicate effectively in a wide range of circumstances and equip them with the skills to participate fully and actively in a modern society.
We believe that through building a love of learning, via the media of Cornerstones, we enable pupils to develop culturally, emotionally and socially. We intend that all children will leave Adderley with the skills necessary to succeed in the wider world, able to articulate their opinions, respond thoughtfully to the ideas of others and write clearly for a range of audiences.
We provide a cross curricular approach, using a range of experiences to do this. The children are immersed into an enriched and stimulating Cross Curriculum; with structured language prompts and contextual support. The EAL pedagogy is about using strategies to meet both the language and the learning needs of EAL pupils.
The EAL teaching at Adderley Primary School focuses on individual pupil’s needs and abilities. Upon entry, children are assessed and learning support is put into place in the first week. Class teachers are trained to provide a tailored programme to newly arrived pupils.
Our school provides appropriate materials such as dual language textbooks, dictionaries, writing frames and key word lists. Videos, maps, ICT and story props also give crucial support.
Displays and resources reflect linguistic and cultural diversity.
Staff use a range of support strategies to ensure curriculum access:
- Collaborative group work
- Enhanced opportunities for speaking and listening
- Effective role models of speaking, reading and writing
- Verbal support-repetition, alternative phrasing, peer support
- Visual support, e.g. posters, objects, non-verbal clues, pictures, demonstration, use of gestures, etc.
- Bilingual resources, e.g. dictionaries, on-line support, bilingual staff/pupils, texts, key word lists.
- Writing frames, directed activities related to texts
- Opportunities for role play
- Regular feedback from staff
- Opportunities to focus on the cultural knowledge explicit or implicit in texts
- Discussion provided before and during reading and writing activities, using preferred language where appropriate.
- Further support for pupils’ language development is provided outside the formal curriculum, e.g. in assemblies, school clubs, homework clubs, etc.