What do you mean by children that have English as an additional language?
English as an additional language (EAL) refers to a child initially exposed to a language other than English. They usually speak this as their main language from a young age and continue to use it regularly at home or in the community.
They may come from a range of socio-economic, ethnic and religious backgrounds and will have varied educational backgrounds. Some pupils will have had little or no education, whereas others will have experienced a full but possibly different education system.
Why do these pupils leave their countries?
EAL children and families arrive in the UK for a variety of reasons such as:
- Economic reasons
- Professional reasons
- Better life chances, a more prosperous future
- Family links
- Fleeing from war
- Persecution due to political or religious beliefs
- Prejudice, racial hatred
- Segregation in country of origin
- Violations of human rights
A number of other factors will have an impact on the development of pupils' language skills and their ability to apply these skills to their learning across the curriculum:
- The age at which pupils enter the educational system
- Their previous experience of schooling and literacy in their first language
- Their knowledge, skills and understanding of languages and the school curriculum
- Home and community expectations and understanding of the education system
- Support structures for learning and language development at home and at school
Salford Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service (EMTAS) offers the following advice, support and training to Salford primary and secondary schools with EAL learners:
- Best practice strategies for EAL new arrivals (whole school)
- Best practice strategies for EAL new arrivals in the classroom
- Best practice strategies for advanced learners
All training sessions will include the following:
- Raising awareness of the ethnic, cultural, educational and linguistic backgrounds of new arrival EAL pupils
- Understanding the emotional and linguistic challenges faced by the pupils
- Knowledge of how language is acquired
- Development of a range of strategies and resources to ensure access to the mainstream curriculum
- Promotion of equality and inclusion
For more information, please contact the EMTAS team on 0161 778 0410 or email emtas@salford.gov.uk.
This page was last updated on 15 March 2024