Great Idea: Social inclusion for the classroom

What is Social inclusion for the classroom?

Social inclusion for the classroom refers to strategies teachers might use to enable EAL learners to move towards integrating socially and forming friendships during class time.

“In the classroom” as used here includes reference to non-academic sessions such as registration and tutor time at secondary school, as this is when many peer-to-peer social interactions take place. However, the scope of this article does not include whole school events such as assemblies, lunch, or playtimes/ break times.

 Social inclusion is one of The Bell Foundation’s Key EAL Principles and here we provide examples of what this might look like in practice in the classroom for learners using EAL across the primary and secondary age range, and at various stages of English language proficiency.

Examples of activities

Activities which involve the learner in classroom routines from the outset:

Year 2. A recently arrived Band A learner moves around the class with a buddy, giving out the sugar paper for a poster making activity. There is a choice of three colours, which have been rehearsed with the learner. At each group, the Band A learner asks, “What colour do you want?” and responds to the answer with the correct paper. Eye contact is made, smiles are exchanged, the Band A learner says “You’re welcome,” in response to thanks. The buddy is on hand for back up and troubleshooting.

Year 8. The science asks a band B learner to collect and put away equipment as part of a small group. This involves putting the equipment in its correct cupboard or shelf. The teacher has chosen learners who are responsible and kind, and they chatter amongst themselves as they work and show the Band B learner what to do. The group receive merit awards or equivalent as a reward.

Activities which take an asset-based approach. Rather than focussing on what an EAL learner cannot yet do, emphasise what they bring to the activity.

Year 3, science. The children are making posters in groups about the requirements of plants for life and growth. The teacher says that there will be extra points awarded to any group which produces a poster in more than one language. Multilingual learners are therefore clearly an asset to each group and their expertise is enthusiastically sought, resulting in meaningful interactions and contributions.

Year 4, geography. A shy and recently arrived Band A learner who speaks and is literate in Arabic, works with a Band E peer. This classmate was born in the UK and also knows some Arabic. They are tasked with creating bilingual labels for a wall display about Antarctica.

Year 6. As part of world languages day, a confident and outgoing Band C student takes the register in her home language. First, she teaches the class, teacher, and TA to respond in Latvian, then she calls the register. There is laughter as she corrects the teacher’s pronunciation.

Activities in which the learner is grouped with carefully chosen peers for speaking activities in class:

Year 1, science. A learner working at band A is grouped with three other children, one of whom shares his home language. They are looking at minibeasts and drawing them. Much chatter in both languages ensues.

Year 9, drama. A learner working at band B is grouped with four others and tasked with creating three freeze frame mimes to illustrate different verses from The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. The learner using EAL has an illustrated version of the poem to help her, and this provides some inspiration for the whole group as they look at it together and plan their frozen pictures.

Year 10, English literature. As a precursor to studying Romeo and Juliet, groups of learners have some questions to debate, including:

Should teenagers always obey their parents?

Is an arranged marriage better or worse than a love marriage?

Do you believe in love at first sight?

A learner working at Band D is put in charge of feeding back from her group to the rest of the class. This means everyone must make sure she has understood and recorded their discussions and knows what she is going to say.

Examples of opportunities to invite new learners to attend extra-curricular clubs or groups based on their interests. This is fertile ground for developing genuine shared interest friendships:

Year 5. A learner working at band B who is quiet and shy is invited to attend a small group lunchtime craft club run by a TA for children who find the hurly-burly of the playground overwhelming. The TA asks another child who attends the group to invite and accompany her.

Year 7, tutor period. A PE teacher is visiting different form groups during tutor time to recruit new members for the Y7 cricket club. Having been tipped off that a new Band A arrival likes the sport, he makes sure to visit that class and invite him by name, along with two other children. The three arrange to go together.

Year 11. A learner working at band C who is good at maths is asked to be a helper at a maths homework club for KS3 learners. This is an elite position for trusted students who are able mathematicians and involves interactions with the teacher, fellow mathematicians from KS4, and with struggling KS3 learners.

How Social inclusion in the classroom works

It is not possible or indeed desirable for teachers to engineer friendships, and this becomes more difficult the older learners become. What teachers can realistically engineer are meaningful interactions between learners, providing opportunities in which friendships may germinate. This works best when such opportunities are asset or interest based and part of normal classroom routines and activities.

Top Tip: Be aware of your learners’ levels of proficiency in English, literacy levels in their home language(s), their interests and aptitudes, and whether they present as shy or outgoing. Then look for suitable opportunities in your lessons to learn and practise spoken English in a safe environment, within collaborative activities.

 Whilst learners are in the earliest stages of English language proficiency, meaningful interaction will take place largely through their home language, which can be enabled in the classroom by encouraging its use. Celebrating their multilingualism as an asset, as in the examples above, can help boost their status and self-esteem.

Learners in the earlier stages of Proficiency in English can also benefit from being included in practical tasks where verbal interaction is incidental, such as giving out or putting away equipment.

As proficiency in English grows, collaboration can be encouraged by appointing learners to key roles in group work, such as the one who reports back to the class, or, for a less extrovert learner, the role of scribe.

Why is Social inclusion for the classroom a Great Idea for EAL learners?

“EAL students reported high levels of anxiety on first arrival at the school, due primarily to their inability to communicate effectively with their English-speaking peers” (Evans et al, 2016).

Learners using EAL need to feel safe and have a sense of belonging to their class, school and wider community, to maximise their opportunities for success. This is especially important for children seeking asylum (McIntyre and Abrams, 2021). It is important to build and promote an inclusive environment where everybody is a valued contributor to the classroom and to school life, including recent arrivals who do not yet have full proficiency in English. Research by Evans et al. (2020) noted that English language acquisition, social integration, and sense of identity are interlinked and connected to educational achievement, and that social inclusion is a key component of overall inclusive practice.

References

Evans, M., Schneider, C., Arnot, M., Fisher, L., Forbes, K., Liu, Y., and Welply, O. (2020) Language Development and Social Integration of Students with English as an additional Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Evans, M, Schneider, C. Arnot, M. Fischer, L. Forbes K. Hu, M. and Liu,Y. (2016) Language development and school achievement, Opportunities and Challenges in the education of EAL students

Flyn, N. (2022) Spoken English for EAL learners,  in Chalmers, H. (ed.) The research ED guide to English as an Additional Language. John Catt Educational, pp 113-123

McIntyre, J., and Abrams, F. (2021) Refugee Education: Theorising practice in schools. London: Routledge