Pupil A
Pupil A is at Early Acquisition (Stage 2) of his English language development. He has been visiting dad in Scotland regularly before the family decided to move here permanently in summer. At the start of the school year he is offered a small EAL group support to help him expand his survival language. He enjoys the story corner and chooses books that seem familiar themes or he knows in his home language. Given his early stage of English language, he doesn’t shy from group work, joins in conversation and volunteers answers. In class, he engages in reading and writing tasks and although he shows difficulties with spelling, he attempts to write independently and when in doubt checks spelling with his supportive buddy. He is able to follow instructions and remembers prior learning. At home conversation is predominantly in his first language. His knowledge of phonics and phonological awareness in his home language is very good and he applies strategies to draw on similarities between the sounds. His vocabulary and literacy in home language appear quite advanced. Pupil A joined the school at start of new term in P4. Parents seem very keen to engage with school, and ask for an interpreter due to language barriers. From the initial meeting Pupil A’s literacy in his home language is very good. He enjoys reading and writes his own comic strips.
School staff might use https://worldstories.org.uk/ and Book Creator App to support Pupil A’s literacy in English and his home Language.
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World Stories
World Stories offers a wide range of stories in different languages accessible online for free.
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Book Creator
Pupils can create a bilingual iBook.
Pupils can create a bilingual iDictionary.
The Book Creator increases pupils’ abilities to learn about multiple cultures.
As pupils create and publish books about their own experiences they will take pride in the work they have accomplished.
Book Creator enables pupils to create a project that is truly interactive with embedded video, audio recordings, annotated images, and text using both English and home languages.
Book Creator allows pupils to use multisensory features.
Book Creator gives pupils a voice to help generate ideas and synthesize information regardless of their level of English.
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Supporting Home Languages is important in children’s second language acquisition:
• Continuing to use home languages alongside their new language acquisition will make the process of learning English faster and easier
- Academic progress is improved when both languages are developed through school.
- Students acclimate and learn better when their own languages are present.
- If home languages are valued and celebrated within the school environment then this sends a powerful message to pupils about their identity.
