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Like it or not, everyone involved in education in early 2021 is learning a relatively new and constantly evolving language... the language of digital/online/remote learning. Of course, having access to digital devices - and the Wi-Fi or data to use them - as well as the ongoing support of teachers and parents, are vital for pupils, but remote learning also needs a degree of fluency in the language of 'online English'. Arguably true for all pupils, I'm going to focus in this article on those pupils who are 'remote learning' through English as an Additional Language (EAL) - and specifically, those at the early stages of English language acquisition.
I've been lucky enough to have worked with hundreds of teachers (mainly primary) in London and Bristol over the years, exploring together how to identify and develop effective strategies for teaching EAL pupils. Does this EAL pedagogy apply to online learning? From my perspective, the answer is a resounding 'yes'. Can we use our EAL expertise when planning and teaching online lessons? Yes! In our changed world of having to spend huge amounts of energy on digital development, let's remember that our teaching skills and expertise remain - and let's find new ways of applying them to the online learning context.
Ahead of this, let's remind ourselves of some key elements of EAL pedagogy:
Regardless of the curriculum focus, it can be useful to consider elements 1-3 above when planning a lesson or series of lessons for a topic in any subject area. As remote learning is the topic of interest here, I'm going to suggest some content and strategies to develop early stage EAL learners' fluency in 'online English', so that they can better engage remotely.
The resource accompanying this article gives examples about how to consider these elements when planning lessons for the topic of 'online English', including vocabulary and language structure flashcards. You can download the resource by clicking on the buttons at the top and bottom of this article.
It's all about access and comprehensibility. As in the face-to-face classroom, pupils at the earlier stages of English language acquisition will be better able to understand and respond during online lessons when the language - in relation to the content - is made clear, starting with fluency in 'online English'.
References:
New to English can be supported in many different ways. Here's one school's approach:
Assessment
All learning is based on assessment. Children arrive and sit a baseline assessment. After analysis of result children are provided with appropriate provision. Interim progress reports on progression in EAL, phonics and writing are reviewed every half term.
Beginners
Beginner EAL Learning Intervention (EAL Intervention)
When considering the Chinese language, the Chinese proverb ‘a picture paints a thousand words’ is apposite. Chinese is a complex language of symbols, strokes and pictures, where each picture can mean several words.
Images are a universal language and their power in the classroom shouldn't be underestimated. In this article we look at:
What tools are there if you have a sixth sense that something is not quite right?
At what point does a teacher start to question whether an EAL student’s lack of progress is due to English Language Development (ELD) issues or due to specific learning differences (SpLD).
These questions come up again and again. Learning English as an Additional Language is not a learning difficulty, however 20% of EAL students will follow the norm of having specific learning differences (Chapter 1, SFR24/2012, GovUK). Therefore, there is a possibility that an EAL student has SpLDs.