Inclusion

Secondary

Exploring the reasons and remedies for underachievement

A look at the findings of a major piece of qualitative research commissioned by the DCSF in 2006. What are the reasons for underachievement at KS2 and KS3 English, and what can be done to help? Little Ilford School in east London took part in the research. With high levels of English as an additional language, literacy has a very high priority at the school. Slow-moving pupils are identified early on in KS3 and targeted with a range of interventions including reading in small groups and one-to-one sessions with experienced staff. Using the results of the DCSF research, this programme looks to reveal why some pupils who achieve Level 4 at KS2 do not progress to Level 5 at KS3.

Back on Track - KS3 English

Resources for EAL are evaluated

Three teachers evaluate three different resources for teaching EAL pupils. Neena Patel recommends a pen that scans words and phrases from different subjects and translates them into speech in up to 15 languages. Janet Dodds suggests a DVD of vocabulary in different languages which also includes maths tests for students who can't speak English. While Angelina Daniel advocates a series of graphic Shakespeare texts with specially designed illustrations, key scenes and plot summaries. Teachers from schools around the country comment on these resources and share their ideas on some of their favourite resources including ones you can create yourself.

EAL Shakespeare, Dual Language DVD, Talking Pen

Sue Cowley coaches a teacher with a class of Year 8 EAL learners

Behaviour expert Sue Cowley advises on ways of encouraging and engaging learners as a teacher takes a Year 8 science lesson with a challenging class of EAL learners for the first time, in this classroom-management resource. Sue observes through hidden cameras as Jan Williams teaches, advising her on how to use the students with a better understanding of English to explain tasks to others who may be struggling, in this pedagogy video. Jan, who's head of teaching and learning at The International School and Community College in Birmingham, also learns to adapt her skills for smaller, more intimate groups by lowering her voice and addressing and encouraging more personally. Sue also highlights the way Jan successfully uses repetition and visual clues to make the learning less literacy dependent. Sue is impressed by Jan's use of hands-on activities for learning scientific vocabulary, including paired work and a word search. With the addition of Sue's covert coaching, Jan's well-organised lesson ensures the EAL pupils are fully engaged with the learning.

Engaging EAL Learners

A lecture for trainee teachers on EALs and promoting inclusion

Watch a practical lecture for trainee teachers on teaching English as an Additional Language (EAL), identifying the needs of EAL pupils and helping them overcome the barriers to learning which they face. Drawing on current research to deliver the PGCE lecture, Maggie Webster, senior lecturer in primary education at the Faculty of Education, Edge Hill University, then puts the research into a classroom context. Maggie also addresses promoting inclusion, explaining how to support EAL pupils, and she discusses the merits of immersion or bilingualism, before looking at how the use of language and visual keys can aid understanding. She gives practical examples using key ITE texts and examples from real school situations, linking theory to practice. This lecture may also be of interest to newly qualified teachers (NQTs).

English as an Additional Language

Techniques for integrating immigrant and refugee students

Full of examples of how to successfully integrate students, two teachers at a secondary school with a high percentage of pupils from immigrant and refugee backgrounds share their techniques for helping students settle in. Bristol Metropolitan Academy has over 30 language backgrounds, with students coming from countries as varied as Somalia and Poland. Teachers Basia Everett, from Poland, and Deborah Lewisohn Aikman, from the USA, both love their work. As strangers in a new country they empathise with the fears of their pupils and have both devised an approach which especially allows for pupils to express their feelings as well as learn English. Both teachers describe how their motivations have helped them work with SEN students and how their teaching goes beyond EAL issues, and includes making their pupils feel safe place and happy about their new home.

English as an Additional Language - EAL

Focus on a strong literacy strategy having beneficial impact

This programme, which focuses on one child's experience, shows the impact a strong literacy strategy can have on teaching and learning. The message that literacy is the foundation of all learning is getting through at Little Ilford School in East Ham. Almost ninety per cent of the children in the school speak English as an additional language and raising standards in reading, writing, talking and listening has been a considerable challenge. Through its literacy tactics, the school has already witnessed significant improvements in results. As well as focusing on literacy across the curriculum, the school employs several intervention strategies. Teachers is the second of four programmes exploring literacy at Little Ilford School.

KS3 Teachers

A NQT delivers a lesson to a class which has many EAL pupils

Speaking and listening skills are often sidelined at Key Stage 3 in favour of reading and writing. Teaching Talking 2 follows Kate Bomford, a newly qualified teacher at Swanlea School, east London, as she plans and delivers a lesson based on Louis Sachar's novel Holes. Structuring opportunities for purposeful speaking and listening into the mainstream work of the curriculum is especially important at Swanlea, where most of the pupils have English as an additional language. This Year 8 lesson involves pair work and a group sorting activity. Kate helps the class use speech to hypothesise and develop their thinking about some of the main characters and their motivations. Kate's mentor is John Yandell, her former PGCE tutor at the Institute of Education. Together they review a video of the lesson and discuss problems, achievements and ways forward. The pupils themselves offer opinions on what works well for them and how much they appreciate the time to talk. "It helps me think", says one pupil.

KS3/4 English - Teaching Talking 2

Evaluating EAL pupils with mainstream teachers and specialists

Valentines High School in Redbridge has over 69 per cent of its students with EAL. It is a richly diverse school, 78 per cent of students are from ethnic minorities and there are over 50 languages spoken by the pupils. In this programme we see how mainstream English teachers work in partnership with EAL specialists to include early stage English learners in lessons. The focus is on a lesson which looks at assessment, evaluation of student levels and progress monitoring. The lesson also includes a range of strategies: <ul> <li>Pairing up EAL students with more able students</li> <li>Using assessment for learning techniques such as traffic lights and questioning</li> <li>Encouraging group discussion to help all students regardless of level</li> </ul> Valentines has high expectations of all pupils regardless of their ability in English. Diversity is celebrated rather than looked upon as a problem to be overcome.

Managing EAL - Secondary - Plotting Progress

A life in the day of two early stage EAL pupils

Valentines High School is a successful urban comprehensive where 69 per cent of pupils have English as an additional language. This programme looks at the cases of Ibrahim and Theebika, who are both EAL pupils at the Redbridge school. Ibrahim struggles to read and write in his first language, Turkish, while Theebika has already got an A grade in GCSE German, her third language. From football at lunchtime, community mentoring and an after-school Turkish club, we see a school day in the life of Valentines High School and a whole school approach in action. This episode looks at how the school includes these students in mainstream classes and what interventions and strategies are in place to support them.

Managing EAL - Secondary - Strategies Around the Clock

Four schools' challenges and successes with immigrant pupils

Discover the varying effects of the arrival in Britain of children from the new EU states such as Poland, in this whole-school video for primary and secondary teachers, leaders and headteachers. Since EU expansion, the UK has seen a transformation in the nature of immigration, with Europeans from the newly admitted eastern states becoming the dominant group. Much is made of the negative effects of immigration, but this video looks at how four schools which have integrated large numbers of newly arrived Polish students across the key stages, are not only coping but are also seeing benefits from the arrivals. Most of the new students arrive with very little English, but all four schools have been successful at including them, regardless of whether they've been able to draw on an existing Polish community.

Professional Development for Quality Teaching

Whole school

> Secondary Inclusion

> EAL