The context
Learners who speak English as an Additional Language (EAL) face a Herculean task. As well as developing their English, they are also studying science, maths, history, art, and so on, and the curriculum does not wait while they catch up with their language learning.
Since the mid-1980s, it has been policy in England to include learners who use EAL in the mainstream education system. This has been a reaction to segregated withdrawal practices when learners are taught separately from their peers. In particular, there were concerns about withdrawal that focused on language education at the expense of curriculum content, denied learners access to other educational opportunities, and reinforced a sense of difference, or more precisely, deficiency. The subsequent changes in policy were “designed to remove a barrier to equality of access to education” (Leung, 2005) and were intended to increase integration.
The Bell Foundation advocates a fully inclusive approach to the education of learners who use EAL, which is set out in our guidance for schools. So, how can schools make sure that learners using EAL can learn English alongside accessing the full curriculum?
Research (Evans et.al., 2020) has led to the design of the inclusive education model, which promotes the inclusion of multilingual learners for their academic, social, and linguistic benefit. This model rests on the need for teachers to be trained, equipped and resourced to provide language support for multilingual learners that is targeted and tailored to their level of proficiency in English.
Explore our updated guidance for an overview of the social, academic and linguistic benefits of integrating EAL learners into mainstream lessons, together with key considerations around the implementation of out-of-class interventions.
What are the benefits of inclusive classroom teaching?
The benefits of an inclusive model are evident for multilingual and English monolingual learners:
Social
- Learners who use EAL feel included and welcome when they are supported in mainstream lessons.
- Collaborative learning in mainstream classrooms encourages communication, which can develop friendships and encourage mutual understanding.
- Support from other learners, for example in a buddy system, builds empathy among English-speaking learners and helps to build confidence among multilingual learners.
Academic
- Academic inclusion, which means multilingual learners follow a broad and balanced curriculum in a supportive, age-appropriate classroom, ensures equality of access to educational provision and improves life choices and opportunities.
- Learners have access to teachers who have specialist knowledge in their subject.
- Learners can access the full range of subjects their school offers to prepare them for future study and work.
Linguistic
- Learners can develop the appropriate vocabulary knowledge and discourse for each subject in the context of mainstream subject teaching, for example the need to use nominalisation in history, or the passive voice in science reporting.
- Teachers and other learners can provide language models, including during collaborative work, and multilingual learners can experience exposure to a wider range of ways of speaking in English.
- Speaking and writing during mainstream lessons provide opportunities for multilingual learners to get feedback on whether they are communicating successfully, as they monitor responses to their spoken and written contributions and get help through strategies like recasting to develop their academic language.
What do teachers need to nurture inclusive classrooms?
The latest Ofsted toolkit includes a focus on EAL provision. Teachers need ongoing professional development to equip them to address the language needs of inclusive multilingual classes. Ideally, teachers should be led by a trained and resourced EAL Co-Ordinator, who can share information about multilingual learners such as their level of proficiency in English, identify professional development needs and plan appropriate training, and monitor the progress of multilingual learners.
Find out more about training and resources, EAL Strategies and Great Ideas, and Learning resources.
Out-of-class interventions: some considerations
Just as learners using EAL are a diverse group with different backgrounds, different levels of proficiency in English, and different language profiles, so the contexts in schools are different too. This means that in some circumstances, schools may need to make provision for extra teaching for multilingual learners outside of the normal curriculum. What guidelines can schools follow to ensure that these interventions don’t undermine the right to social, academic, and linguistic inclusion?
- Make sure that any intervention has a specific purpose, for example for new learners to access catch-up English lessons, if they are very new to English.
- Make sure that any intervention is time-limited, so that any time away from the classroom is short-term and doesn’t lead to learners missing out on key curriculum learning.
- Make sure that the work in extra lessons is linked to what the learner’s peers are covering in the mainstream classroom.
- Involve subject and class teachers in planning any out-of-class interventions, so that they can make sure the work being covered will benefit the learner once they return to the mainstream class.
- Assess the impact of any intervention to make sure it is of value.
- Consider interventions that are least disruptive to the main curriculum, for example those that can happen after school, during PE lessons, or during form periods.
To access more information about inclusive approaches, explore The Bell Foundation’s guidance Creating Inclusive Mainstream Classrooms for EAL Learners.