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Getting behaviour 'right' is crucially important for all schools. Ensuring that we have a 'fit for purpose' behaviour policy that caters for all pupils throughout their schooling - including EAL pupils - is vital for the feel and culture of our schools, as well as for allowing pupils to feel safe and be in the right environment to learn to their full potential.
As we all know - and as a quick Google search will tell us - different countries have different expectations for their pupils. Expectations that may differ from country to country (to name just a few) include elements such as:
For example, when showing that they are listening to a teacher in a class conversation, some pupils may have been taught to cross their arms, while other pupils may look down as a sign of respect, and others may have been trained to track the teacher to demonstrate active listening.
When we are designing and realising our behaviour policies, it is important to be mindful of our EAL pupils. With pupils joining us from an array of different backgrounds and cultures, with different expectations and experiences of norms of acceptable behaviour in schools and towards teachers, how do we create a fair and enforceable behaviour policy? And how do we unpack this policy for our pupils, so that they can be fully functioning and happy participants in class and in the school community as a whole?
With all the minutiae and variants of responses and behaviours that pupils can show and experience, it is not surprising that arriving at a school can be overwhelming and confusing for new pupils. That is why it is vitally important that we spend time unpacking behaviour policies, empathising with pupils and pre-empting things that may go wrong, as well as modelling and emphasising those behaviours that we do want to see.
Here are a few ideas of some practical actions that we can take to support our EAL pupils when thinking about acceptable behaviour:
You can download a template for a behaviour chart with space for translation by clicking on the buttons at the top or bottom of this article.
These are just some of the many ways that we can unpack our behaviour policies for our EAL pupils, and scaffold positive behaviour in school. Using images and translation, we can make our expectations clear, and help new arrivals navigate the often confusing school environment, to reach their full learning potential.
References:
Cowley, S. (2001). Getting the buggers to behave. London, Continuum
Scott, C. (2020). An English as an Additional Language Programme: Learning through images for 7-14-year-olds. Abingdon: Routledge
Scott, C. (2012). Teaching English as an Additional Language 5-11: A Whole School Resource. Abingdon: Routledge
Worth, D. (2021). ‘Creating behaviour policies in multicultural settings’, TES, Viewed 20th November, 2021, access here
In my experience, teachers often have quite strong feelings about the use of a pupil’s L1 (first language) in the classroom - it is either encouraged or forbidden. Garcia and Sylvan (2011) describe monolingual education as outdated in our current ‘globalized’ world and discourage the practise of imposing only one language. In fact, they suggest that teachers should support students in developing their awareness of their first language as well as the language of instruction.
We are all faced with very different learning situations at the moment and home learning has become the current norm. The challenges it poses are significant. Parents often have limited time available to support learners, limited understanding of where to start, sometimes a lack of technological know-how in accessing online classrooms - or even a lack of access to an online environment altogether. These issues are exacerbated amongst parents with limited understanding of the school language.
August is the time to take that well-deserved break from school, colleagues, and learners, and to rest, have fun, and hopefully enjoy some much-needed sunshine. Without a doubt, summer is when many teachers around the world recharge their batteries before the craziness and delight of the new academic year start all over again.