Category Archives: EAL

attitude, bilingual, EAL, Perceptions

Enquiry plan – first draft

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During my research into my equiry plan, I found two diagrams that I liked.

The first is a more traditional and easy to follow flow chart:

 

I like the simplicity of these models and can see them working for teachers as a way of carrying research into a chosen topic.

The second diagram I found is a bit less traditional:

Umbrella of equiry

I like how this one shows all the areas that can be involved in changing your practice.

I am also part of an aspiring middle leadership project and have used their template to formulate my ideas. The link to the working document can be found here:
https://glowscotland-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/gw14mackayclaire_glow_sch_uk/EQPmfwRYY05Fqlrg0HGIVlIBaCrg__8xulR87BY87p_jxA?e=EibxDE

 

bilingual, EAL, mindset, Perceptions, Uncategorized

Update 3

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Since writing the last blog post, I have finalised the staff questionnaire and nine diamond nine for learners. I know that my enquiry will not be over by the time of the final submission for the purposes of this course, and that’s ok. I have allowed myself to not feel pressure to be ‘finish’ and to remember that the impact on the learners and staff is the important part, not the final outcome for our learning festival in June. In fact, I feel that this is an issue that I will revisit and revise each year to ensure the best for my learners and the whole school community.

Questionnaires will be sent out to all the schools in my learning community this week and results will be collated. From that data, I will make an action plan for staff development for each participating school, perhaps even offering different CPD opportunities across the learning community. If you fancy a sneak peek it, you can be accessed here.

Pupil diamond nines and word cloud activities will be implanted over the next few weeks. I am also finalising the plans for our eTwinning Picnic project with teachers in the UK and in Europe. Exciting times ahead…..

Oh and I had a small win – parents night is fast approaching in one of my schools and teachers for the first time didn’t need a prompt to order interpreters to ensure our bilingual families get the best from their meeting. Progess!

bilingual, EAL, Perceptions

What’s already known?

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As an EAL teacher, I use the document, ‘Learning in 2+ Languages’ to ensure the inclusion of my bilingual learners. However I don’t feel that mainstream class teachers are made aware of this policy.

 

It aims to help staff understand better the strengths and development needs of Bilingual learners and to address them more effectively within the mainstream classroom. It states, ‘Inclusion, race equality, cultural diversity, bilingualism and effective additional language provision must be considered by all educational establishments, regardless of their current ethnic composition.’

 

It has checklists and guidance to ensue establishments are providing an inclusion and supportive environment that will benefit all pupils, not just bilingual learners.

You can find the document on the education Scotland website: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/modlang5-learning-in-two-plus-languages.pdf

 

While researching the subject of the perception of EAL learners, I came across a paper entitled ‘Scholarly writers who use English as an Additional Language: What can Goffman’s “Stigma” tell us?’

It highlights the disadvantage EAL writers experience within publishing and explores the idea of stigma (Goffman’s (1959, 1968)). The paper ends by pointing out that EAL writers and English L1 writers should come together to promote an understanding and tolerance of the predicament of the EAL writer.

This is something I try to foster in school: a community and attitude of understanding and cultural awareness. Celebrating our differences rather than letting them alienating.

bilingual, EAL, Perceptions, Play, Uncategorized

Exploring my ‘itch’

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My head is buzzing ideas, some more challenging that others….

1. Playing with your food…..

Recently a colleague and I were discussing play based learning and using multi sensory approaches to help our very young bilingual learners with their phonological awareness and phonetic knowledge. We made a list of things we could use:

shaving foam, paint, mud, pasta…..

At this point my colleague stopped and said “You know one of my nurseries is against using food as a play medium’

At first I was questioning this as I’ve always made play dough with learners, used spaghetti to hide letters, and even jelly to make brains at Halloween! After some further discussion, she told me the head teacher’s reasoning was that in our very deprived area, the children are exposed to food poverty and she thought it sent a bad message. That we, the staff, had so much food, we could afford to play with it.

This made me pause. It made me uncomfortable. I had never even considered this to be a possibility even though I keep spare dinner tickets and biscuits for children who come to school hungry.

I decided this would be my first ‘itch’. I searched twitter and googled.

Play With your Food? Or Not? My Thoughts on Food in Play.

Many of the points raised in the above article are valid and I’m still deciding how I feel about using food, especially from a Learning for sustainability view.

2. Teachers attitudes to bilingual learners……

My second came from my day to day teaching. As an EAL teacher, I know the benefits of being bilingual and the richness a multicultural schools provides for all pupils. However recently, I’ve heard unhelpful comments and some very disappointing statements from class teachers. Does this come from fear of the unknown or pressures to produce and have child on track? How can we make a more welcoming ethos?

So much to think and ponder………