January 2022 Parenta magazine

Supporting
children with EAL
• Staff who have access to translation
materials
• Taking the extra time to ensure that
messages and home communications
have been properly understood
• Using stickers and praise
Involve parents
What is EAL?
According to government statistics,
approximately 17% students at the end
of key stage 2 are classed as having
English as an additional language (EAL).
That’s nearly 1 in 6 students in our primary
schools, 79% of which join in the reception
year. Many of these children will be in early
years settings prior to that, so as early
years practitioners, we need to be able to
help these students access the curriculum
and do everything in our power to make
sure these children are not disadvantaged
by their EAL status.
The percentage of EAL children varies
widely from as little as 0.9% in more rural
areas to 76% in some inner city areas.
Some schools and nurseries have counted
the number of languages other than
English spoken by their children as over
40. Since all children, regardless of their
language are entitled to equal access
to the whole curriculum, how can we
effectively help these students to make the
same progress as native English speakers?
The first step is to correctly identify children
who have EAL and according to Ofsted,
all EAL children should be recorded on the
school census. There are many reasons
why children may have EAL, and it is
certainly not a guaranteed predictor of
poor achievement. Many EAL children
are fluent in English or become fluent in
English as they progress through school.
However, many still struggle to access
the education system as fully as those
whose first language is English. The
government definition of a pupil with EAL is
“a pupil whose first language is other than
English.” And a first language is defined
as “the language to which the child was
initially exposed during early development
and continues to use this language in the
home and community.”
This therefore includes:
• Pupils arriving from other countries
and whose first language is not
English
• Pupils who have lived in the UK for
a long time and may appear to be
fluent, but who also speak another
language at home
• Pupils who have been born in the UK,
but for whom the home language is
not English
• Pupils who have a parent who speaks
a language other than English and the
child communicates with them in that
language (i.e. bi-lingual children)
British citizens can still have EAL. According
to a 2020 Government report, 30% of EAL
pupils are white, 41% are Asian and 13%
are black, compared with 85% of pupils
with English first language being white,
4% black and 4% Asian). However, they
are similar to pupils with English as a first
language in terms of other characteristics
with 51% being male, 25% being
disadvantaged and 13% having a special
educational need. For children with SEN
and EAL, it may be more difficult to identify
EAL status due to other SEN issues.
Supporting children with EAL can be difficult
and many early years practitioners can
struggle to communicate effectively with
EAL children because of the language
barrier. However, it is important to realise
that in the early years, children have a
very high propensity to learn, so can
develop quickly with the right support.
And sometimes it is the inexperience of
practitioners rather than the language
barrier which is the biggest problem. So
how can we best support EAL children?
Oxfordshire County Council have produced
an very informative guide on how to do
this which you can access here and we
have some best practice ideas below.
It’s not just about visual aids
It’s important to understand that it’s not
just about picking up new vocabulary and
grammar when learning English. Many
children may have to learn an entirely new
set of sounds, new intonation patterns, a
new alphabet, new social conventions and
non-verbal signals too. In addition, they
may feel isolated and anxious going into
a setting they cannot initially understand.
Best practice would begin supporting
these students even before they have
started attending your setting and may
include:
• Application forms which clearly
identify the first language of the child
• A home visit (in 2s) to the family to
assess the level of English of the
parents as well as the child
• Ensuring that everyone in the setting
is using the correct spellings and
pronunciations of the children’s and
parent’s names
• Training for staff on how to best
support EAL students
Once children are attending your setting,
there are a number of strategies that can
help students to feel welcome, included
and able to access the curriculum. These
can include:
• Using visual aids and signs that the
child can easily recognise (e.g. toilets/
playground)
• Cutting down language to avoid
being overwhelmed – this means
not necessarily using full sentences
but making sure that the essence of
the communication is understood
– remember that words make up
only 7% of communication so using
intonation, gestures and facial
expressions helps
• Translating ‘survival’ words which are
given and explained to the child so
they understand the basics, such as
where the toilets are, where they eat,
how to introduce themselves and say
‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ and to ask for
help
• Other signs and information in their
own first language. Promoting and
using their first language as well as
English will help them feel understood
and more involved and will reinforce
the value of different cultures and
languages
• Using repetition and speaking slowly
and clearly
• Opportunities to speak and practice
English in small groups
• Opportunities to read and to be read
to in English, and at times, in their own
first language
• Learning through play where learning
is natural and achieved through
osmosis
The parents of an EAL child can be a great
resource to help ease the transition into
nursery, and support them with leaning
English at home. Ask parents for lists of
keywords, and exchange translations so
that the parents can use English word
labels at home too.
There are benefits too
According to research, good development
of a child’s first language has a positive
effect on the development of other
languages and situations where children
are able to speak additional languages.
It should also be valued as a positive
skill. Learning and using more than one
language creates additional learning
opportunities for adults too and can often
bring a rich cultural tradition to the setting
to help increase understanding and
tolerance.
More information
• https://www2.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/
sites/default/files/folders/documents/
childreneducationandfamilies/
informationforchildcareproviders/
Toolkit/eal_guidance.PDF
• https://assets.publishing.service.
gov.uk/government/uploads/
system/uploads/attachment_data/
file/908929/Attainment_of_EAL_pupils.
pdf
• https://flashacademy.com/
• https://www.earlyyearscareers.com/
eyc/latest-news/5-tips-to-supportchildren-with-eal/
• https://www.nurseryresources.org/
post/EAL-early-years-settings
• https://www.pacey.org.uk/workingin-childcare/spotlight-on/2-year-olds/
english-as-an-additional-language/
16 January 2022 | parenta.com
parenta.com | January 2022 17