Innovations in English language teaching for migrants and refugees

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a profound impact on teachers and learners. In the schools sector the National Strategies was a ‘systematic attempt at a national level to drive improvements in standards through a focused programme of managing changes in the way that core subjects are taught in classrooms’ (DfE 2012) . Skills for Life was the national strategy for improving adult literacy, language and numeracy skills. It led to the introduction of the adult ESOL Core Curriculum, standardised national tests for learners and new teacher training qualifications. In engaging teachers in structured professional development and investing in a coherent learning infrastructure, the National Strategies and Skills for Life have loomed large in the working lives of teachers and their learners’ experiences in the classroom. Both policies were part of what has been described as the new public sector managerialism. With a focus on issues of economic efficiency and increasing productivity, they were characterised by massive centralised control and a consequent loss of autonomy for teachers. Neither the National Strategies, nor Skills for Life, nor the New Labour government that introduced them is with us any more. The chapters in this collection suggest ways in which teachers of migrants and refugees are freeing themselves of the recent prescription and centralisation inherent in national education policy. The teachers in this volume question some of the assumptions that lay beneath the surface of the National Strategies, Skills for Life and other New Labour policy initiatives. The creative approaches of many of the authors of the chapters in this collection may be taken as evidence that the yoke is off and teachers are beginning to explore the new freedoms afforded them, with fascinating results. There is evidence of the development of more critical pedagogies, with questioning of the role of the teacher and learner and a desire to centre the learning on the experience, knowledge and needs of the individual. We hear directly from learners as they describe the place of language and language learning in their lives and there is reference to ‘bringing the outside in’ (Cooke and Roberts 2007), drawing on learners’ own experiences and lives outside the classroom to develop teaching and learning resources and strategies. A few notes of clarification are needed to aid the reader unfamiliar with one or other context or indeed both. With net immigration into the UK of around 252,000 per year, there has been high demand for ESOL classes with participation rising throughout the period of the Skills for Life strategy. ESOL provision in England is generally organised with reference to five different levels. These are shown below with their rough equivalence to Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels and to the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). ■■ Entry level 1 / CEFR A1 / SCQF 2 ■■ Entry level 2 / CEFR A1(A2) / SCQF 3 ■■ Entry level 3 / CEFR A2 / SCQF 4 ■■ Level 1 / CEFR B1 / SCQF 5 ■■ Level 2 / CEFR B2(C1) / SCQF 6 In English schools children who speak languages other than English are increasing in number year-on-year. There are currently a million five- to 16-year olds in English Introduction | 5
schools who are bilingual or multilingual. The 2012 annual schools census shows that EAL learners now represent 17.5 per cent of all pupils in English primary schools and 12.9 per cent of all pupils in English secondary schools 1 . In urban areas this rises – more than half the children in inner London schools are now thought to be EAL learners. Teaching and learning in most English state schools is organised around five key stages as in the table below. Key Stage Year Age School type 1 1–2 5–7 Primary school 2 3–6 7–11 3 7–9 11–14 Secondary school 4 10–11 14–16 5 12–13 16–18 Sixth form college, secondary school or further education college The sites for EAL and ESOL provision are different, though some ESOL classes for parents take place in schools and learners at Key Stage 4 or 5 may be studying at further education (FE) college, in the same environment as ESOL learners, and are often taught by the same ESOL teachers. Responsibility for EAL and ESOL sits in different government departments. The chapters in this volume are organised chronologically. There are three chapters with a focus on primary education, four secondary, one 16 –19 and six adult ESOL. While we used the phase of education as an organising principle, many of the ideas discussed could be equally applied to other age groups. For example, the biographical approaches described by Dina Mehmedbegović have also been used successfully with primary children and with adults, as has the Creative ESOL approach. Primary Writing bilingual stories: developing children’s literacy through home languages – Justine Dakin Justine uses a case study approach to describe a successful primary school project in which pupils learning EAL created illustrated books in English and their home language with the collaboration of their parents and other community members. The children had different levels of literacy in English and in their home languages. Justine demonstrates how the project enabled them to combine and enhance their skills to produce their bilingual texts and reflects on the importance of valuing children’s home languages and literacies. Developing vocabulary in a multilingual classroom – Latika Davis Latika focuses on the explicit learning and teaching of vocabulary across the primary school curriculum. She argues for a clear focus on developing academic vocabulary and shares some of the successful strategies used by teachers in primary classrooms 1 Figure taken from the NALDIC website: www.naldic.org.uk/research-and-information 6 | Introduction
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Page 5 and 6: 2 Foreword Melissa Cudmore The Brit
Page 7: language users also makes it diffic
Page 11 and 12: knowledge and expertise in addressi
Page 13 and 14: of the Wolf review (DfE 2011), may
Page 15 and 16: 1 Writing bilingual stories: develo
Page 17 and 18: guide for new Polish parents and ch
Page 19 and 20: the children’s awareness of trans
Page 21 and 22: Estela recognised ‘oni’ or ‘t
Page 23 and 24: References Baker, C (2006) Foundati
Page 25 and 26: 2 Developing vocabulary in a multil
Page 27 and 28: Teaching vocabulary English as an a
Page 29 and 30: Here we can say that bus, day and b
Page 31 and 32: classroom activities, since many of
Page 33 and 34: It is important for the print envir
Page 35 and 36: The classroom ethos supported and c
Page 37 and 38: 3 Valuing home languages Clare Ward
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Page 41 and 42: home language if you want to’ had
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Page 45 and 46: of the home languages spoken within
Page 47 and 48: Teaching and learning in diverse sc
Page 49 and 50: Toni enjoys being at Great Northern
Page 51 and 52: oroughs with recognised leading tea
Page 53 and 54: Besides setting a good example by b
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All three students were happy with
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In search of high level learner eng
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of developing victim identities. Ju
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in their own ways. A Kosovan boy wh
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■■ A comedy clip filmed by a gr
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mother who was born there, and he h
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‘European Autobiography Festival
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Issues Curriculum in ELT Change Man
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Since this time, although in many s
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If a school has an EAL teacher in p
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My first priority was to give consi
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For teachers, the course provides a
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for mainstream planning and teachin
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Issues Creative in ESOL: ELT Change
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During the case study term, we were
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creatures who lived there. As a res
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he had learned, having independentl
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In relation to our use of critical
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Class blogging in ESOL Creative ESO
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Learners with disrupted formal educ
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Examples from practice: the E2 clas
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ability to navigate and use digital
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New literacies present a challenge
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Richard Gresswell has been working
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9 Providing emotional support to ES
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which the emotional difficulties of
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in the past or face the emotional d
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Whilst having the information befor
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Refugee Council (2005) A Study of A
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10 The use of mobile technologies a
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Case Study 2 - the eGo ESOL project
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for use in the classroom or after v
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page, where to click, where to conf
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Carol Savill-Smith believes firmly
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11 The personal made impersonal and
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Researchers have noted the connecti
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Case study two: participant-led dif
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to classes (as in case study one) o
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confidence in a home language, whet
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ESOL in the Hebrides and Island Voi
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knows some Polish too, and now she
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terms of home languages and levels
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The challenge for the tutor can as
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interest in developing Gaelic skill
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References Cook, VJ (ed) (2002) Por
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13 Responsive teaching and learner
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less quickly forthcoming, but when
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the learners were interested, wante
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Of course, not every lesson will pr
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References Cambridge ESOL (2008) Di
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14 A ‘social turn’ in ESOL? Joh
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language to boot), and to square th
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A Dogme approach clearly raises cha
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In their report of an action resear
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Here’s an example of how one teac
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differs from the villages where the
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References Appleby, Y and Barton, D
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David Mallows is Director of resear
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Innovations in English language teaching for migrants and refugees

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