I’ve been writing a bit about disciplinary literacy this week. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s *basically* how people communicate, share knowledge, etc within a particular discipline. For the purposes of teaching EAL, think about how we teach… Read More ›

vocabulary
EAL support for mainstream English
What does ‘EAL support’ look like in (or alongside) mainstream English lessons. Here’s an example of some support I provide to help with literature. It was with a Year 7 class (all learners on the EAL register). They were studying… Read More ›
Retrieval starters in EAL
Just a quick one! Nothing groundbreaking here, ha! We used ‘Smart Starts’ at my last school. They called it a ‘Do It Now!’ which I thought was intense… Anyway, it was basically a retrieval task which the learners could get… Read More ›
Helping EAL learners to review subject content
In yesterday’s post, I mentioned how EAL teachers can provide opportunities for learners to use new language – whether that be in mainstream classes or in additional support slots. This post looks at how we can support EAL learners with… Read More ›
Consolidating mainstream teaching and learning in EAL lessons
Our EAL provision last year was a mix of in-class support along with some ‘additional English’ classes. When learners came to me for additional English, which in total was about two hours a week, I’d have already supported them over… Read More ›
EAL in tutor time: building word knowledge
Last term, I was asked to do a quick EAL ‘assembly’ during tutor time (15 mins max). The aims were up to me. I just went for something simple: point out patterns in language, remind learners to help each other… Read More ›
EAL Science: Command words/phrases
Just a quick share – something we’ve been doing in EAL. Our learners in KS3 and KS4 are developing their knowledge of task types, both for in-class activities and for their exams. I’m doing little ‘command word challenges’ as starters… Read More ›
Some regular EAL activities
Here are few things I do / use in my EAL practice that didn’t feature much (if at all) when I worked at the British Council. I’m just sharing for general interest and it’s actually been prompted by some of… Read More ›
Poetry lesson: What do you hear?
Here’s a short poetry task that worked well with YLs and teens. It’s based on a poem from A Nest Full of Stars by James Berry. Before you ask, no. I haven’t suddenly gone all NLP. Aims Create a… Read More ›
EAL: History / Geography reviews
Here’s another insight into day-to-day EAL planning. Usual disclaimer on the look of the resources – time restraints, okay?! History and Geography were tough for our EAL learners in Term 1. They are so English-heavy and there’s tonnes to cover…. Read More ›