Luiz Octávio Barros was asking about scripts we feed ChatGPT the other day. I mentioned this: Which is a very boring example of an (over the word count) type IGCSE ESL text I generate for correction practice. I’m not *massively*… Read More ›
eal
Conventional, common-sense vocabulary and grammar instruction (Boers)
Boers (2021) outlines six explicit vocabulary and grammar teaching practices that are backed up by research. He does so almost apologetically, noting that most of the practices align with more traditional/conventional methods, and that they also seem ‘commonsensical’. I lack… Read More ›
One of our research areas is missing
I’ve been flicking through Jamie Clark’s Teaching One-Pagers recently, and overall I’m a big fan. Evidence-informed summaries of research and practice – informative, accessible, perfect for the staffroom coffee table. As Oliver Caviglioli points out in the foreword, One-Pagers is… Read More ›
Pre-teaching academic vocabulary
This term we’re trialing an approach to pre-teaching academic vocabulary. Here’s the basic process: Step 1: Subject teachers identify 10-12 items of key vocab for an upcoming topic in either science, humanities, or maths. This should happen a couple of… Read More ›
Using the Bell Assessment Framework in hybrid EAL provision
I’ve written a few things on the Bell Assessment Framework this past year. Here were my initial reflections on implementing the framework, and some musings on how it could be improved. In this post, I share some thoughts on using… Read More ›
EAL Digest, August 2024
I’ve had some help from Adri Szlapak with this update! We’ve been adding interesting EAL stuff to a doc throughout the month. Here it all is! New releases Pedagogies for Equitable Access was released at the end of July. For… Read More ›
‘What a good lesson looks like’
The personal statement for the Assessment Only Route to QTS is 2000 words. In this statement, you should respond to the following questions: So, you’ve got roughly 400 words to address each question. This took some thinking about. Reflecting on… Read More ›
Leading EAL: quality assurance processes
Our senior leadership team (SLT) oversee a broad-ranging quality assurance process at our school. Here are some of the processes we have undertaken as a department to reflect on/ensure the quality of EAL provision in our context. These may seem… Read More ›
EAL INSET: Types of inclusion
This CPD session that explored types of inclusion was for delivered to our EAL department only (4 staff). Why this session? I took a course on EAL coordination through the Bell Foundation back in September/October (see my review here). The… Read More ›
EAL INSET: Leading with oracy
The second CPD session I delivered to the whole high school this year focused on oracy development. Why this session? Our EAL learners need more opportunities to develop their communication skills in mainstream settings. Curriculum coverage and institutional constraints can… Read More ›