NALDIC has been lobbying
for many years for greater recognition of the language and learning
needs of EAL pupils and for the specialist role of the EAL teacher.
Whilst the needs of the EAL pupils are being increasingly acknowledged,
there is less recognition of the role of the EAL teacher in terms
of nationally recognized EAL specialist teacher training and qualifications.
In 2008, the TDA funded NALDIC to undertake a national audit of training to inform the 5 year National EAL Strategy. This audit, which included information about over 200 courses involving over 11,000 staff in 2007-8 found an inconsistent picture. The content of much training was induction or entry level which might reasonably be expected to form part of every teachers’ initial teacher education. There was very limited provision for EAL early professional development and some evidence that the absence of nationally agreed content areas has led to CPD and vocational provision that is reactive rather than progressive, and to development issues being displaced by short term foci. onlu 12% of the training was accredited, and only a quarter was sustained over a term of longer. The major gap identified by survey respondents was sustained and accredited CPD for EAL specialists and coordinators. In addition, there were difficulties in potential participants accessing useful information about CPD and training opportunities. The full report can be downloaded here audit_englishasanatlanguage
In order to teach (and be paid as a qualified teacher) in maintained primary and secondary schools in England, you will need to have qualified teacher status. The TDA website explains possible routes and courses - http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/thetrainingprocess/youroptionsinfull/trainingproviders.aspx including post or professional graduate courses (PGCE - 1 year- full or part time) B Ed/BA with QTS (3 years) and work based routes such as the graduate teacher programme.
Currently you cannot qualify directly as an EAL specialist by any of these routes. You first need to take initial teacher training either as a class teacher in a primary school or a subject teacher in a secondary school. Some teacher training routes will provide you with the opportunity to take an option in EAL, particularly those in metropolitan areas like London.
If you do not have QTS, you could possibly obtain an instructor post in a school, but the salary is less than that of a qualified teacher and the school would need to show that it could not appoint a qualified teacher.
If you do not have a first degree and relevant experience in schools, you may be able to obtain a post as a specialist or bilingual teaching assistant although the salaries are again much lower than for a qualified teacher or instructor. The NVQ Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools qualification fits in with the new National Qualifications Framework and includes the following L2 and L3 specialist modules:
Level 2 Unit Contribute to supporting bilingual/multilingual pupils
Level 3 Unit Supporting bilingual/multilingual pupils
Level 3 Unit Supporting children and families through home visiting
Level 3 Unit Provide bilingual/multilingual support for teaching and learning
Looking for jobs, you may want to search for 'EAL' or 'EMAG' posts. EMAG stands for Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant and is the main funding mechanism for additional work with EAL learners. The Times Educational Supplement job search at is a good place to start at http://jobs.tes.co.uk/home.aspx
As the professional association for EAL, NALDIC's position is that the needs of bilingual learners are best met by qualified teachers and other professionals with additional experience and specialist qualifications which relate specifically to EAL. We support the development of specialist EAL initial teaching qualifications and a clear qualificatory framework for colleagues wishing to make a career in this field.
As a service to the profession, we are happy to provide details of post graduate accredited EAL related courses below. This is for information only and inclusion in this listing does not imply endorsement by
NALDIC of either course or course content. If you would like a course included here, please contact the web editor.
Those interested in further research may also wish to consult our listing of institutions offering research degrees and supervision in the field of EAL, bilingualism and related areas of study.
NALDIC believes that a coherent strategy for EAL learners must include the provision of appropriate specialist initial training and continuing professional development including:
The establishment of a recognised professional qualification at different levels
The inclusion of EAL in Initial Teacher Training
The identification and dissemination of good practice in relation to EAL and bilingualism
The identification of the knowledge and skills needed by all staff working with EAL pupils
As a result of the Aiming High consultation process, the DfES awarded funding to two consortia for a national pilot programme of professional development for specialist teachers of English as an additional language and one for specialist bilingual assistants. The aim of the DfES funding is to pilot existing courses which already provide professional development opportunities to specialist EAL teachers to ‘enhance the role of the specialist so that they can use their expertise to develop more effective partnerships with classroom teachers, to provide expert advice and lead whole school training.’
The
University of Birmingham/NASSEA offers an MEd/Diploma/Certificate/BPhil
in Bilingualism in Education. This is a flexible, distance learning course which aims to consolidate the extensive knowledge and skills of more experienced practitioners, including Special Needs co-ordinators and EAL specialists who require a recognized qualification in this area. For many EAL specialists, the programme will provide a theoretical foundation that will enhance their practice. The assignment topics relate theory to practice within the students' working contexts. The programme is offered as an Advanced or Postgraduate Certificate, B Phil, Postgraduate diploma and MEd. The Postgraduate Certificate programme is offered in partnership with NASSEA. For more details see http://www.education.bham.ac.uk/programmes/cpd/courses/bilingualism_in_education.shtml
Teaching English as an Additional Language (TEAL) Postgraduate Certificate
(3 modules of 20 credits each) September 2009 - June 2010
Do you want to develop your knowledge and expertise in working with pupils for whom English is an additional language?
This programme is delivered in Canterbury on Saturdays throughout the academic year. Canterbury is close to the M2/A2 in Kent - easily accessible by both road and rail (Victoria, Waterloo East or Charing Cross).You will normally be expected to have QTS and in addition, you should have at least three years' relevant teaching experience and access to EAL learners in classroom contexts, necessary for completing your assignments. In the first year the modules are as follows:
Term 1: Introduction to TEAL (an overview of key issues)
Term 2: Second Language Acquisition and Learning in the Classroom
Term 3: The Structure and Teaching of English in Curriculum Contexts
Assignments are linked to classroom practice and you will be offered individual and group tutorial support. If there are enough students we offer a Diploma year which explores language, culture and pedagogy for second language learners in more depth. For general information and application forms contact: Department of Language Studies Secretary: 01227 782585 Email: language.studies@canterbury.ac.uk
The
EMAS department at CEA Islington has been offering
an accredited course on 'Meeting the Needs of Ethnic Minority Students
Across the Curriculum' for three years. The course consists of lectures, workshops etc. as well as
school based support enabling the participants to relate their acquired
knowledge/skills directly to their own practice in schools. Assessment
will take the form of essays, presentations etc. On completion,
participants will receive a Certificate, accredited by the University of Greenwich
(worth 60 credit points).
An Online Accredited Course Level 2 Certificate: ‘Ethnic Minority Achievement’. (Accredited by the University of Greenwich) was launched in January 2007. Assessment: Candidates must complete three (3) full assignments chosen from the units they have studied. A further 3 short tasks must be completed for the remaining three units. Course fees: £60 per unit or £300 for the full course of three modules (six units). For more details contact CEA@islington EMAS or see the Islington website at http://www.islingtonschoolsemas.net/online%20accredited%20course.htm
University
College, Chichester, in collaboration with West Sussex Education
Department, is offering a Postgraduate Certificate course Language
development in the Classroom: Support for Bilingual Pupils in Schools.
The course comprises three MA Modules: Understanding
the educational experience of bilingual pupils; Bilingualism and
second language acquisition; and an Independent
studies module in which participants are asked to carry out
a small-scale action research project. The course aims to increase
participants' ability to respond positively to linguistic and cultural
diversity and to develop responses to facilitate access to the whole
curriculum.
The programme is delivered
on a residential basis over three weekends in Midhurst, West Sussex,
and is part funded by the TTA.
The
Centre for Language in Primary Education is offering
two courses for EMA specialists. EMA1 Supporting the Teaching
and Learning of Ethnic Minority pupils is a ten day course for
Teaching Assistants and is accredited by the University of Greenwich.
EMA 303 Supporting the Role of the EMAG co-ordinator/experienced
EMAG teacher is a five day course is for teachers wishing to
extend their specialist knowledge in this field and provides the
opportunity for teachers to conduct a small piece of action research
in an area of interest or concern. This course is accredited by
the University of Greenwich. Contact Ann Ross annr@clpe.co.uk CLPE, Webber Street, London SE1 8QW,
Telephone 020 7401 3382/3
Goldsmiths offers a modular MA in Education: Culture Language and Identity (180 credits). This includes a core taught module on culture, language and identity (30 points), a dissertation (60 points) or report (30 points) and a further 3 or 4 modules of choice(30 points each) including ;
Bilingualism and Biculturalism in Education
Culture, pedagogy and curriculum
Multilingualism and Early Literacy Learning
For further details
contact: Dr Carrie Paechter, Head of MA programme Tel: 020 7919 7355 or email admissions@gold.ac.uk
The University of East London is offering a 30 credit module/short course on Bilingualism in Education. This course has been running since 1987 and supports participants to address bilingual issues relevant to their school and practice. Through the course, participants are empowered to lead and sustain the development of bilingual practice in their schools through:
Collaboration and discussion with colleagues from other schools;
The use of research and new ideas to inform analysis, action and evaluation;
Structures to support practitioner enquiry and practice;
Opportunities to share work, ideas and innovations with the wider professional community through journals, periodicals and the world wide web.
The module can be undertaken as a short course or part of a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma, or MA in Education Practice . For further details contact: Nazmin Uddin: educationpractice@uel.ac.ukTel: 020 8223 2738 or Helen Mitchell:h.mitchell@uel.ac.uk Tel: 020 8223 2157
The Institute of Education, in partnership with Redbridge LA
Post graduate certificate in Teaching English as an Additional Language course
The Institute in partnership with Redbridge LA is offering this course which is specifically designed to meet the professional needs of teachers who are teaching bilingual learners in schools.
The course will be offered at two sites, the Institute of Education in central London, and Redbridge Teachers' Centre, and will run part time over one year. It will lead to a qualification, a Postgraduate Certificate in the Teaching of EAL at Master's level. The option of using the credits obtained to continue your studies towards a Postgraduate Diploma or Master's Degree award will also be available for suitably qualified candidates.
The course will require each participant to produce a course assessment which will include a portfolio of work, a case study, an action research assignment and evidence of effective classroom practice through two lesson observations.
MODULE ONE: The language development of bilingual learners (H-level*)
MODULE TWO: Effective practice: bilingual pedagogy and learning across the curriculum (M-level)
MODULE THREE: The professional role of the EAL teacher (M-level)
Further information
For more information about the course, you are welcome to contact:
Dr Catherine Wallace 020 7612 6536
Culture, Language and Communication
c.wallace@ioe.ac.uk
Course Administrator 020 7612 6568
Culture, Language and Communication
Kings
College London is offering a part time MA in Language, Ethnicity
and Education.
The MA is one of ten dedicated lines in subject-based
areas offered along with one broad-based generalist pathway and
is designed for teachers, lecturers and educationalists in all phases
of education who are interested in further study in this area. The
programme, although rooted in practical experience, places an emphasis
on the theoretical study of education. Each programme is made up
of six units or courses. In consultation with staff, students select
six of these courses of 20 credits each in order to construct a
portfolio of 120 credits.
MGSS
Coventry offers 2 Further Professional Studies Certificates in EAL.
Each certificate is spread over 2 terms (Autumn and Spring) and
can be taken on an assessed or non-assessed basis. The certificates
are accredited by the University of Bristol - Graduate School of
Education and successful completion of each certificate gives 30
points towards the 180 credit points needed for an M. Ed degree.
Certificate participants will be required to attend two study days
each term.
Contact Sandra Howard on 02476 717800 or sandra@mgss.net
University of Bedfordshire
As part of its MA in Education, the university of Bedfordshire offers two modules related to EAL
SEN and EAL: OVERCOMING OBSTACLES TO LEARNING.
When children learning English as an additional language (EAL) show learning difficulties, it is not easy to determine whether the cause of the problems is special educational needs (SEN) or language difference. This course is designed for teachers who wish to understand and overcome that dilemma. The course
aims to:
support participants to develop an advanced understanding of developmental issues that arise when second language acquisition is affected by learning difficulties.
enhance participants' ability to respond to the teaching needs of pupils learning EAL who have learning difficulties or SEN;
train participants in a case study approach to professional development in this field; prepare experienced participants for leadership roles in this field.
EAL in multiethnic schools
This module aims to:
Promote a positive view of what can be achieved in a multiethnic school in all aspects of school performance
Enhance participants’ ability to describe, justify, implement and evaluate a wider range of teaching and learning strategies when working in a multiethnic setting.
Meet the developmental needs of teachers who are new to this area of work in terms of theoretical understanding and practical skills and the ability to benefit from working in collaboration with other teachers with expertise in the field.
Enable those who have established skills in specialist roles to consolidate and extend their expertise, in particular, to broaden and deepen their grasp of theoretical issues and their critical appreciation of the implications of different approaches to classroom practice.
A further focus of work will be on enhancing their ability to work effectively in collaboration with other teachers.
The
Northern Association of Support Services for Equality and
Achievement (NASSEA) with University of Birmingham
Bilingualism in Education programme
This course offers a flexible system incorporating a Postgraduate Certificate (1 year), Postgraduate Diploma (2 years) and a M.Ed (3 years), all accredited at Master's level. Ed.D Language Studies in Education also available.
Bilingualism in Education is a distance learning programme with distance materials for home study supplemented by a tutorial group once each half term on a Saturday. Tutorial groups are organised regionally according to students' locations.
Students also have access to online library resources and access to university library resources in their area of the country through UK Libraries Plus.
Entry requirements
The NASSEA route of the course is open to teachers (with QTS) in England.
Module details
The first year consists of the following modules:
Introduction to Bilingualism in Education
Academic Language and Learning for Bilingual Learner in curriculum areas
Teaching and Learning in EAL:Special Studies in Bilingualism in Education
The second year consists of the following modules:
A choice between:
Introduction to Bilingualism and Special Needs
Portfolio of work
Management and Leadership in EAL
Special Studies in Bilingualism:Guided Professional Reading
Practitioner Inquiry in Education (for MEd students only)
The third year is for dissertation writing
For more information on the course, please contact Melanie Griffin
(NASSEA regional programme coordinator) at m.griffin@bury.gov.uk
The Open University TESOL course has been recommended
by members. The course - Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages Worldwide (E841 01)is one module of the Open University's
MA in Education and three units of the MA in Applied Linguistics
of Macquarie University, Sydney.
The content of the course includes
Analysing English in a Global Context - the structure and nature
of the language as a functional communicative system.
English Language in its Social Context - the process
of teaching and learning a language.
Innovations in English Language Teaching - the English
language curriculum, its relationship to theories and findings
of applied research and how curriculum changes can be introduced
into classroms and other English teaching environments.
For more details contact
the Open University
The
School of Education, Swansea Institute of Higher Education
offers a part-time MA (Ed) for practising teachers in Bilingualism
and supporting pupils for whom English is an additional language.
The programme consists of taught modules and a dissertation.
Module 1: Inclusion: a focus on Education for Racial Equality (1/2
module, 15 points). 3 days attendance and one assignment of 3 000
words.
Module 2: Introduction to bilingualism (full module, 30 points).
6 days attendance and one assignment of 6 000 words.
Module 3: Bilingualism and Literacy Development (full module, 30
points)
Module 4: Bilingualism and Special Educational Needs. (1/2 module,
15 points)
Module 5: Research Methods in Education.(full module)
Following the completion of Part 1 students can opt to receive a
Post-Graduate Diploma in Education or continue to Part 2 to undertake
a dissertation to complete the MA (Ed). (60 points, 20 000 words).
Students can also opt to complete a Diploma in Postgraduate Education.
This involves taking 6 modules each of which require three full
days attendance. Each module is assessed by a 4 000 word assignment
worth 20 points at level 6.
Module 1: Inclusion: a focus on Education for Racial Equality
Module 2: Introduction to bilingualism.
Module 3: Bilingualism and Oracy
Module 4: Bilingualism and Reading
Module 5: Biliingualism and Writing
Module 6: Bilingualism and Special Educational Needs.
Further information from Dr. Sue Lyle, MA (Ed) programme Director
s.lyle@sihe.ac.uk
Teaching ESL students in mainstream classrooms, Language in Learning across the Curriculum - Teacher Development Course (LILAC)
Language in Learning across the Curriculum (LILAC) is a teacher development course devised and published by Department of Education and Children’s Services, South Australia. It is a revised and improved version of an earlier course, ESL in the Mainstream that several local authorities have used for training mainstream teachers.
The course introduces teachers to the language-related needs of ESL (EAL) students and aims to help them develop teaching practices which address these needs. It also aims to ‘develop teacher’s awareness of how to accommodate the cultural and linguistic diversity and experiences of ESL (EAL) students’.
Teacher participants work through nine modules, each running for about two and a half hours. During the workshop sessions, they are encouraged to develop collaborative working relationships and a shared understanding of how to support EAL students. They are also supported to trial suggested strategies and reflect critically and openly on their teaching. In between the workshops, there are readings and practical activities, which means a total of fifty hours specialist ESL professional development is provided. Although the materials were developed and written for Australian schools, they transfer very easily to the UK context. They are particularly suitable for schools wishing to train teachers in how to plan for and extend the writing of advanced bilingual learners.
The tutors for these courses are trained in providing a variety of processes to cater for different learning styles, including tutor input, whole group discussion, small group activities, examination of case studies, video viewing, classroom-based research and reading of relevant articles. This new version of the course, covering the four language skills, has been redeveloped with an emphasis on academic language and functional English in the context of genre theory and language development across the curriculum.
The tutor programme is an intensive five-day train-the-trainer style professional development program for experienced ESL informed teachers. Training is delivered in host schools around the world to small groups of between 10 and 20 teachers. Successful graduates become resident school-based tutors.
In 2008, the TDA funded NALDIC to undertake a national audit of training to inform the 5 year National EAL Strategy. This audit, which included information about over 200 courses involving over 11,000 staff in 2007-8 found an inconsistent picture. The content of much training was induction or entry level which might reasonably be expected to form part of every teachers’ initial teacher education. There was very limited provision for EAL early professional development and some evidence that the absence of nationally agreed content areas has led to CPD and vocational provision that is reactive rather than progressive, and to development issues being displaced by short term foci. onlu 12% of the training was accredited, and only a quarter was sustained over a term of longer. The major gap identified by survey respondents was sustained and accredited CPD for EAL specialists and coordinators. In addition, there were difficulties in potential participants accessing useful information about CPD and training opportunities. The full report can be downloaded here 
The establishment of a recognised professional qualification at different levels