EAL - English as another Language
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At Beecholme we celebrate the fact that every child is unique. We appreciate our ethnic diversity and understand how challenging learning a new language and being taught in that language can be. Within our lessons we endeavour to incorporate all needs of all children and especially those who have moved from a home country to England and find a language barrier.
The school appreciates the need for children to maintain their home language skills which is essential for language development. However, we are certain that full immersion in English and a celebration of full British values when starting in an English school promotes faster understanding and comprehension. We encourage full parental participation and are always keen to offer ideas and suggestions to parents who are willing to immerse their children in English in order for them to succeed in school.
Whilst you need to continue to speak with your child in his/her home language, start practising English also at home.
Don’t worry if your English isn’t perfect or if you make mistakes. Any mistakes that he / she hears will be corrected later in life.
Try choosing one activity at a time for practising English, for example getting dressed. Choose some phrases related to this activity from a text book or on the internet and then concentrate on using them correctly.
Have a look at The British Council’s video tips where you can listen to families speaking English together in various situations.
One of the best ways to get children interested in doing something is to let them observe you enjoying that activity. For example, reading English books or newspapers. Watching English DVDs and listening to English music. If you’d like them to be interested in English, show them that you are interested in English. Remember, they will learn these good habits from you.
At Beecholme we try to encourage home learning to support all EAL children develop the skills needed to access the curriculum. This often includes additional support for language development at home.
For some children we assign homework to their class pages and personalise it for them. For general support, there are lots of activities for children to do on this page.
We will happily provide more information for you on home learning, just make an appointment to see Miss Morris.
For more advanced EAL learners, who are fluent in English, have some educational fun and play some interactive grammar games online.
You can become a member of LearnEnglish Parents to download learning resources. As a member you can also watch video tips and download articles from language learning experts. Go to their Parents forum to share ideas and ask questions about helping your child learn English.