EAL

EAL at Marshalls Park Academy

EAL (English as an Additional Language) is the term used to describe students whose first language is not English and speak languages other than English at home.

Our intake has changed significantly over the last decade, and it is extremely important that we draw upon the experiences, heritage and culture of our EAL students to continually enrich our school community. As a school we have worked extremely hard to move forward and adapt to ensure our EAL students are made welcome and integrated right from their first day in school. They experience teaching and a curriculum that enables them to both access the learning but also improve their ability to speak and read the English language.

We are extremely proud that we were awarded the EAL Quality Mark Silver Award in July 2024 for the quality and diversity of the work that is going on for and by our EAL students. 

https://theealacademy.co.uk/silver-eal-quality-mark-award-for-marshalls-park-academy/

We have a full time EAL coordinator who works with staff, students and parents to continually develop and improve our EAL provision.

The coordinator oversees the initial assessment of EAL students on arrival into our school, decide on the level of support needed and then create passports where appropriate. These detail the issues confronting each student and give strategies for their teachers to help overcome them and aid the students to flourish.  The EAL coordinator also provides regular INSET and support to staff to further develop, our excellent practice. 

Once such strategy is Learning Village, which is an online blended learning programme that supports pupils who have English as an additional language (EAL). The Learning Village is an image-base English as an Additional Language programme, therefore accommodating for learners of any language background. The programme provides three strands of learning. It teaches everyday survival language, to help learners with functional social language. It includes a full phonics programme (Letters and Sounds scheme), and also academic and technical curriculum language to support learners with accessing the curriculum. The Learning Village helps the learners to develop their vocabulary and understanding of English language structures

How do the children learn on the Village?

The Learning Village identifies three essential elements of the teaching and learning process for EAL learners which is:

Learn:
Listen, read, say, check, hide, write & review

Practise:
Complete practice games

Assess:
Complete an assessment of the learning

Once the children have completed the learning process the programme then generates their results. This is monitored closely by their teachers and the EAL coordinator to identify any difficulties that the children may be experiencing with their learning.