I teach a support group of EAL learners in Year 6. We study the same content as all other English classes and take the same assessment. It’s just that the content and lesson resource needs a bit of adapting to… Read More ›
ESL
Some general tasks for a new EAL department
I’ve posted a bit about the process of setting up a new EAL department. I’ve mentioned target setting, establishing teaching and learning principles, quality assurance processes, long- and medium-term planning, blah blah. You can view the posts through my Teaching… Read More ›
EAL long-term and medium-term planning
I recently shared an example unit of work from our EAL syllabus. Here some further insight into the long-term and medium-term planning for our syllabus. We are only in the second year of setting up our provision. Year 1 was… Read More ›
Reflection: Drop-in observations
Informal drop-in observations are the way forward. Well, they’re the norm in many places. But where they’re not, they should be. Why invest all that time in recruitment, have teachers go through round after round of interview, sometimes do demo… Read More ›
Intensive English programmes at international schools
Some half-thoughts on Intensive English Programmes at international schools. Feel free to comment and share your experiences. Intensive English Programmes have become a big thing at international schools in my region. As part of my recent job hunt, I researched… Read More ›
EAL support for disciplinary writing
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 ›
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 ›
Primary Science Resources
I was tagged in a post about Primary Science resources on LinkedIn: Thanks for the tag Silvina Mascitti. I had a few suggestions but LinkedIn didn’t like something about my response (maybe too long? Too many links? Not sure –… Read More ›
Reflections on my EAL role
I’ve just finished a stint working in English as an Additional Language (EAL) at an international school. It’s been a really interesting experience, and one that has changed my direction in both teaching and writing. I know many teachers (especially… 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 ›
ELT Planning 