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Everyone is talking about differentiation for EAL in whole class teaching, but how do we actually approach it consistently and effectively?
At Across Cultures we have been developing some systematic ways of approaching this in a structured, yet flexible format. In the downloadable plan you'll see a framework to support EAL teachers with planning for content learning alongside language learning. The plan is based about the theme of sea pollution and provides a writing frame for a persuasive text.
This lesson follow a particular format:
1. Pre teach vocabulary of the text type. There are many games for supporting learners with remembering new vocabulary.
2. Introduce the theme, text type and ensure comprehension of text.
3. Reproduce sections of the text day by day with support of writing frames, the vocabulary learnt and the text.
4. Recreate the entire text without support.
Effective assessment for learning (AfL) is ‘informed feedback to pupils about their work’ (Shaw, 1998). As Broadfoot et al (1999) discuss, there are five key ways in which we can enhance learning by assessment. These steps can be universally applied to all learning and all learners, and thus address the learning needs of EAL learners in physical and virtual classrooms. They are:
Learners are often faced with the challenge of carrying out research for their class project work, and often schools invest heavily into non-fiction readers which can be used for such projects. Non-fiction books are a vehicle for learning all sorts of information about life and the way the world works. These books are also invaluable for helping EAL learners to develop a range of literacy skills, which in contrast to fiction books, require a different type of literacy skill because they use a narrative tone (Lines, 2009).
‘Stories and storytelling are fundamental to the human experience.’ Nunan (2012).