Your EAL questions answered

Until 2011, local authorities received an Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) and were required to use this to support the learning of EAL and bilingual pupils and the achievement of ethnic minority learners . This bulk of this grant was devolved to schools based on a locally agreed formula, although many local authorities retained some of the money to provide a central EAL service. Since April 2011, this grant has been mainstreamed into general school funding and there is no requirement for it to be spent on supporting EAL and bilingual learners. So whilst all schools with EAL and bilingual learners on roll will have some monies within their budgets for EAL, they may choose to spend this in a variety of ways. EAL and bilingual learners do not have specific funds attached to them or their particular language learning needs.

There is still limited research specifically on the effectiveness of synthetic phonics with bilingual children but broadly speaking the consensus is that whilst synthetic phonics teaching and the development of phonological awareness will contribute to bilingual learners’ English reading development, this should not supplant EAL language development work. The ability to decode, a skill which many EAL learners develop rapidly, is often not accompanied by the comprehension skills necessary for achievement within the educational system. Care must be taken to ensure that the teaching of phonics does not displace other activities which support the language and literacy development of bilingual children.

No, there is no nationally agreed curriculum for school aged EAL learners in England.

In England, the policy since the mid 1980s is that EAL learners, with all learners, should have equal access to the National Curriculum with no specific EAL curriculum. The focus has been on delivering National Curriculum English , which has been considered a good model for both first and additional language learning.

No. The statutory requirements for assessing pupils with EAL are the same as that for pupils with English as a first language. Teachers are expected to use the National Curriculum English attainment levels for the assessment of the English language development of pupils with EAL. However many schools do use different assessment methods and materials, including EAL stages.

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. Currently you cannot qualify as an EAL specialist directly. 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. The TDA website explains possible routes and courses.