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we have seen, it only occasionally was used linguistically. However, when childrenare encouraged to use the first language, staff comment on how much confidenceit gives them, when, for example, ‘we used to get it [Russian] wrong and he’d be likeno you’re saying it all wrong (laughs) (…) all the children loved it you know they weresaying what can you teach me what can you teach me’ (teacher, S3).This acknowledgement of the power of the L1 and the confidence gained in usingit generally only seems to extend as far as the children teaching the class ad hocwords (also evidenced in S4). However, it does lead to both bilingual and nativeEnglish-speaking children gaining in awareness of linguistic and cultural issues andis found to some extent in all the schools (although significantly less often in S4than the remainder). A more typical approach to a formal mentor and buddy was touse a fellow L1 speaker, whether this be from the same year group or not. This haspositive and negative repercussions, as the TAs from S3 acknowledged, when theydiscussed their worries for a Russian girl who was missing some of her own classtime to translate for a younger boy. This practice was opposed strongly in S5, withthe headteacher there being concerned that ‘when they first come here if you’vegot two Spanish-speakers together they will still be Spanish-speakers and theirminds and ears will not be open to absorbing the language’. This, along with manyof the discussions above, highlights the differences in approaches taken acrossthe diverse schools of northern England, and their lack of certainty and knowledgeabout what best practice might be.Implications and recommendationsIn considering provision of support for bilingual children, the use of the L1,and attitudes towards immigration and bilingualism, we have seen that theschools in this study adopt different approaches to the challenges they face.This is unsurprising given EAL’s lack of a position within the curriculum and theconsequential lack of centralised support or strategy. Some of the opinionsexpressed by participants in this study reflect the monolingual habitus (to adoptBourdieu’s term) of the UK education system, and are not likely to change in theforeseeable future. However, it is possible to draw recommendations for actionfrom this study.1. Initial Teacher Education should train new teachers on EAL issues andmore appropriate CPD and training is needed for existing teachers andTAs, to ensure that all staff responsible for EAL have an understandingof Second Language Acquisition processes, research in the field of EAL,and an understanding of the importance of using the first language in theclassroomMost teachers in this study remain convinced that they have not receivedadequate local authority training in dealing with bilingual children (with notableexceptions in S1, S2 and S5). TAs feel significantly worse in this respect, especiallyin S3, although the TAs in S1 and S2 have benefitted from more training than manyof the teachers elsewhere have received. This is clearly related to the number ofbilingual children in the local area but there may well be lessons to be learnt fromthe North West in terms of an efficient approach toward the provision of support144 | UK Primary School