Comment Teaching our pupils in a new language... English
methods to improve provision for EAL learners.
I spoke to Hollie O’Sullivan, head of EAL at Great Barr Academy – a school with 2,500 pupils of which around 600 are EAL and which has more than 20 home languages.
The magnitude of the challenge is compounded by the fact that many
Great Barr Acadmey is also using technology in exciting ways to reduce teacher preparation and increase pupil engagement, notably through a system called ‘FlashAcademy’, for which I am an ambassador and which Hollie told me “has revolutionised the department”.
I’ve been impressed by Learning Labs, the city-based company behind the FlashAcademy app, which won the Innovation in Education category at the recent West Midlands Tech Awards, run by the Post’s sister website BirminghamLive.
The platform has been adopted by more than 20 per cent of Birmingham’s schools and it allows pupils to learn English independently at their own pace and level via their home language.
The visual lessons support learners with low literacy, the teacher dashboard helps schools keep track of progress and access to the app at home means learning can continue outside of the classroom.
Claire Evans, deputy headteacher at Anderton Park Primary School in Sparkhill, also shared her school’s journey in recent years to improve measures for students speaking one of 39 different home languages.
They are keen to try a variety of teaching methods to make English accessible for all and are passionate about celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion among their students. The school uses the platform alongside established classroom methods so “children get the best of both worlds”, said Claire.
These approaches have made me hopeful about our ability to contend with the EAL challenge and help disadvantaged pupils fulfil their potential.
Open-minded practitioners who are welcoming innovative learning ideas and different types of technology into the classroom are helping to transform these students’ lives.
Educators should focus their attention on the benefits of bilingualism rather than considering it a weakness, as improving EAL provision in schools has positive effects on overall literacy, school attainment and the general wellbeing of pupils.
I will be speaking more about strategies at the EAL Birmingham conference in May to explore best practice techniques and would love to talk to more schools about their experiences and ideas surrounding EAL teaching.
You can contact me on Twitter @ NickBaileyLit.
How do you help pupils express themselves fully when they are struggling to form simple sentences in English?
Nicholas Bailey is an actor who supports young people in schools through workshops and is an education ambassador for FlashAcademy