Working with EAL Students

1. Working with EAL Students By Becky, Chris, Olivia, and Jennette

2. Essential Question • How can we ensure our EAL students’ experience of learning English does not limit, embarrass or reduce them and instead that it will enable and celebrate each child, as well as create a safe community of learners?

3. Guiding Questions 1.) Do you feel qualified to teach EAL students? 2.) What is your biggest challenge in teaching EAL students? 3.) What are some helpful resources of teaching strategies you have come across for helping EAL students? 4.) How do you successfully engage EAL students in your classroom?

4. Jennette’s Interview • Rahimay Ness – Grade 3/4 teacher in Calgary, AB • 27/30 students are EAL

5. Rahimay’s Greatest Struggle • Assessment of EAL students • “It would be easy to make a quick judgement about what they know…but it takes time and commitment to pursue more than one avenue to make sure their full understanding is represented” • Connecting with parents (“Communication often skewed and misinterpreted”)

6. Helpful Resources • CBE Benchmarks for reporting – clearly lays out the progression for listening, speaking, reading and writing.

7. How to Engage EAL Students • Explicit modeling • Speaking slowly and clearly • Visuals (SMART boards) • Clearly written examples • Use technology as much as possible • Read exams aloud to students • Non-EAL will only benefit by these practices

8. Additional Resources • www.everythingesl.net • www.bced.gov.bc.ca/esl/policy/classroom.pdf

9. Chris’ Interview • Mr. William Hubbard • Grade 3 teacher British International School of Guangzhou

10. What are your biggest struggles? • Well actually I have been rather fortunate in my career and I have never known a class that wasn’t a mix of EAL (or ESL) as I know it. We all make adaptations for different learning styles, or at least we try to, and I have found that it is just a matter of patience and adaptations when I have students that may not be as strong in English as others. Some students do better visually, orally, or need things written on the board to understand, and as long as I make lessons that accommodate those styles I have never had an issue with teaching ESL students.

11. What are your tips for incorporating EAL students? • Inclusive classrooms are the key, not just for EAL students but all students. We spend a lot of time at the start of the year, making my classroom, our classroom. The students need to feel they are part of a little community, that the classroom is a much theirs as it is mine. We spend time making sure we know one another and we establish a friendly atmosphere that is not only conducive to learning but a safe helpful one. What I try and create is a place where we measure success not just for ourselves but as an entire classroom, we help one another. So if it happens that we do receive a new student half way through the year, and as you remember this is quite common in international school settings, that the student is immediately welcomed, and if possible students from his/her home country will be assigned to buddy up with that person just in case there are any language issues. Over all I would say that you need to make each and every student feel they are a part of the class, rather than just trying to focus on 1 or 2 EAL students, if everyone feels they have a stake in it, then those problems (if you can call it that) take care of themselves. Try and not put so much emphasis on making EAL students as something that would be a struggle and embrace it for what it really is, a wonderful opportunity to learn and share with each other and bridge misunderstandings between cultures and people.

12. Olivia’s Interview • Doug Steel • Grade 7 teacher at Silverspring Elementary School, Saskatoon. • Taught in Saskatoon Public for 12 years • Three different schools throughout his career from three different spectrums

13. Doug’s Experience • Only one student in 12 years • Two different extremes • The only EAL student he had was in his first year of teaching at a middle class school • The one student was very motivated and was not a challenge at all

14. Do you feel qualified? • Absolutely not! • Lack of resources • Seeks resources with pictures • Was unaware of the term EAL • Feels like parental assistance is essential • Wants more training, feels like he would be the worst teacher for an EAL student to experience.

15. Becky’s Interview • Jackie Meyer • Grade 1 teacher at Lumsden Elementary School • Taught in Prairie Valley School Division for 19 years • Many different schools throughout career-first year at Lumsden.

16. Jackie’s Thoughts • “EAL is a new thing for me. I have never actually had an EAL student in my classroom until this year. I find the biggest challenge is the lack of resources and time to spend with those who are EAL students.”

17. What are your struggles? • “ I don’t feel as though I was ever educated on how to teach EAL learners and even worse I have been teaching for many years and last year was the first time I had to accommodate and address the needs of an EAL learner.”

18. What have you done to help your EAL student? • “ We have pictures beside a lot of words in the classroom. I use pictures in my directions as well as my lessons. The students also use pictures to communicate amongst themselves. I also find that patience is key. In my case teaching grade one they are all learning so much that it may be somewhat easier for the child.”