Assessing the Needs Of EAL Pupils

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What do we mean by EAL?

EAL is the term used for pupils who have English as an Additional Language, usually the pupil may speak or at least be exposed to another language at home.

The Department for Education (DfE) has released figures for January 2019 stating that the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic origins has been rising steadily over recent years.

  • In state funded primary schools, 33.5% of pupils are of minority ethnic origins.

  • In state funded secondary schools, 31.3% of pupils are of minority ethnic origins.

The largest group of EAL pupils is from Asian origins.

The second largest group is white non-British at 8.1% of the primary school’s population and 6.2 of the secondary school population. This being the second largest group over the last six years.

The figure for EAL pupil however tells a different story:-

  • In state funded primary schools, 21.2% have English as an Additional Language.

  • In state funded secondary schools, 16.9% of pupils have English as an Additional Language.

As you will notice these figures do not account for pupils in Academies.

For further information please see the Department for Education's Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2019

In brief, this translates to more than 1 in 6 pupils in UK schools learning EAL, equating to over 1.1 million pupils.

Your school EAL population

How many EAL pupils are there in your school?

How many were born in the UK and how many are newly arrived to the country?

Which minority ethnic background do they belong to?

Which languages are they exposed to or can communicate in?

Are they receiving any schooling in home language or attending religious classes?

Building a profile of the EAL student prior to arrival to your school

It is very important to get to know the EAL pupil during the admission meeting and on first arrival into the classroom. The following aspects should be considered and noted for staff working with the pupil to be aware of :-

  • Living arrangements – Find out who is living in the household with the pupil. This could vary from nuclear family to extended family and even friends of the family. It is quite possible that there is over-crowding in the household and routine very different from the social norm of the UK. Completing tasks sent home could be difficult, the pupil could be tired due to disturbed sleep or sleeping late. Staff where possible should be aware of this and the impact this is having on the child’s learning.

  • Language – Which language is spoken at home, whether the pupil can read and write in home-language. If the child can speak any English or if anyone in the household is able to communicate with staff to ensure there is a good home school link set up. Who will read any letters sent home or will an alternative form of communication need to be agreed?

  • Schooling in country of origin – It is quite possible that the pupil may have lived in more than one country prior to arrival in the UK. It is important for staff to know how much schooling the child has had, if there any reports are available, if there has been any non-attendance, if any religious or any other types of learning have been undertaken or being undertaken in the UK. Staff where possible should learn about strengths of the pupil.

  • Additional needs: These can relate to diet, changing for PE/swimming lessons. Staff should establish any difficult circumstances the child has endured prior to arrival to the UK.

  • Assessment in home language – If there is availability of staff who can speak the home language of the child then the initial assessment should take place in home language. The result is far greater than assessing the child in English especially if the child is not fully understanding what they are required to do.
Timing of assessment

Although it is important that any assessment should be carried out at the earliest opportunity – it is also imperative that the newly arrive EAL pupil is allowed time to settle into the new school environment whose norms, teaching style and communications is very different to the child’s past experience. Formal style of testing may not be suitable for EAL children because of the potential language barrier, unfamiliar vocabulary or cultural items. Informal observations of activities undertaken by the pupil may be the starting point and a getting to know the child whilst participating in a variety of tasks.

EAL and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

The further assessment of EAL learners who are making slow progress requires particular care. Although teachers want to identify additional needs as early as possible, it is important to avoid diagnosing a learning difficulty where there is none (a false positive) or not diagnosing a learning difficulty where one is present (a false negative).
Initially, EAL learners should be expected to make progress in learning across the curriculum at a similar rate to their peers whatever their starting point. Once they have secure literacy skills in at least one language they should be able to make the same or possibly faster progress than their peers as their bilingualism can be a cognitive advantage. However, if the EAL learner is not making good progress after 6 to 12 months in a supportive learning environment with EAL support, staff should, in the first instance, follow the guidelines set out in the SEND Assess-Plan-Do-Review cycle before escalating concerns.

So how can you assess your newly arrived EAL pupils?

The key to supporting an EAL pupil is effective assessment. The Bell Foundation and NASSEA (Northern Association of Support Services for Equality and Achievement) have produced the EAL Assessment Frameworks for schools. This allows staff to the pupil using the A-E grading system. Grade A represents the skills of a new to English pupil and E represents a proficient speaker of English. Each grade has descriptions for speaking, listening, reading and writing – see section below.

New to English - Code A (EAL Assessment Framework for Schools)

EAL 

Stage 

Listening & Understanding Speaking Reading Writing
Step 1

Understands home language.

Watches and joins   in routines/activities.

Follows instructions using key words/gestures.

Follows short sequences of instructions.

Silent period.

Speaks in home language.

Non-verbal gestures.

Echoes words/expressions.

Simple naming vocabulary

Basic, formulaic spoken exchanges.

Unclear pronunciation.

Minimal/no literacy in English

Awareness of print and able to recognise letters and symbols

Early reading skills, eg CVC words

Minimal/no literacy in English.

May be able to write in first language.

Holds pen correctly - begins to form letters, then words.

Writes some HFW words.

Can draw and label diagrams.

Begin to write simple sentences.

Step 2

Within 2 years

Within 5-7 years

Within 2 years and Within 5-7 years
Early Acquisition - Code B (EAL Assessment Framework for Schools)

EAL 

Stage 

Listening & Understanding Speaking Reading Writing
Step 3

Can indicate when they need to hear something again.

Listens attentively during lessons.

Understands function of time connnectives.

Understands some teacher questions with visual support.

Sime questions eg where?

Over-generalisation of grammatical rules.

Simple positional language.

Re-tell a simple story.

Can give a sequence of instructions.

Past simple tense emerging.

Able to demonstrate and understand simple pronunciation.

Can read simple sentences.

Refers to visual clues in texts.

Re-tell main points from a text.

Identifies diaglogue in texts.

Follows pronoun references in texts.

Handwriting legible and correctly orientated.

Writes familiar words with phonic knowledge.

Uses some basic punctuation.

Uses simple present tense and some simple past tense.

Range of vocabulary including some conjunctions.

Step 4

Within 2 years

Within 5-7 years

Within 2 years.  Within 5-7 years.
Developing Competence - Code C (EAL Assessment Framework for Schools)

EAL 

Stage 

Listening & Understanding Speaking Reading Writing
Step 5

Follows set of oral instructions.

Differentiates past/future/present.

Begins to engage with how? and why? questions.

Active listener, asking for clarification.

Follows gist of teacher talk with limited visual support.

Speaks in simple everyday exchanges.

Uses common colloqualisms.

Uses extended sentences.

Uses relative clauses.

Can contribute to whole class discussion.

Plurals, articles, pronouns and prepositions.

Describes setting of a story.

Can select relevant tex to answer questions.

Responds to how/why questions related to a text.

Makes inferences/draws conclusions.

Identifies key features of different text types.

Plurals, prepositions, pronouns and articles used with increased accuracy.

Varied verb formations used.

Developing wider vocabularly.

Writes competently and at length.

Uses structures to express higher order thinking.

Step 6

Within 5-7 years

Within 5-7 years.
Competent - Code D (EAL Assessment Framework for Schools)

EAL 

Stage 

Listening & Understanding Speaking Reading Writing
Step 7

Shows understanding of the detail of curriculum topics with limited visuals.

Understands some idioms and phrasal verbs.

Beginning to understand inference.

Follows reasoning/discussion/argument.

Uses the passive tense.

Communicates meaning - complex ideas/concepts.

Can express higher order thinking.

Moderates response according to listener.

Can give/compare own opinion about a text.

Distinguishes between fact/opinion.

Demonstrates understanding of idioms.

Demonstrates understanding of literary devices.

Appropriate tone when reading aloud.

Writes competently and at length for varied purposes.

Uses expressions to signal opinion.

Advanced use of connectives.

Range of tenses and use of active/passive voice.

Logical sequence.

Appropriate for purpose/audience.

Within 5-7 years.

Within 5-7 years
Fluent -Code E (EAL Assessment Framework for Schools)

EAL 

Stage 

Listening & Understanding Speaking Reading Writing
Step 8

Understanding is commensurate with that of a native English speaker.

Pupils have the range of listening skills required to participate fully in the National Curriculum for English.

Variety of articles and prepositions used accurately.

Confident, fluent speech for multiple purposes/audiences.

Complex sentences used.

Accent does not interfere with understanding.

Reads, understands, selects, interprets and responds appropriately to a range of fiction and non-fiction, age-appropropriate texts with no more errors or difficulties than a monolingual speaker of English of the same age.

Copes with writing demands for all areas of curriculum.  

Uses complex conditionals.

Able to mimic and parady and to use irony/humour.

Can make a comparison and write an argument.

Within 5-7 years.

Within 5-7 years
Initial assesment and teaching strategies

This initial assessment will provide a starting point for teachers and support staff who can then put together resources and a teaching plan to enable the EAL pupil to progress. At the end of each academic year the child can be assessed to monitor progress and to adapt resources and teaching to maximise learning.

EAL Teaching Stategies - Resources and guidance for teachers of pupils for whom English is an additional language (EAL) 

Promote 6 ‘i’s’

Involve all practioners

All staff who work with the child to collate and share which allows a holistic view of the child’s academic, social and emotional development.

Initial assessment

Assessing English will demonstrate their alphabet skills, vocabulary, phonemic awareness and skills such as writing, sequencing etc. This will then allow for planning and teaching according to the child’s needs.

Integrate ongoing EAL assessment

Opinion varies from setting to setting on assessment of content of curriculm, how language is deveolping or both.

Invest in interpreters

As mentioned earlier where possible assessment using the child’s first language would indicate profiiency of spoken, written, reading and mathematical levels of attainment or understanding. Some schools engage the services of an interpreter – care must be taken that the Interpreter has experience of working with children and in education settings.

Indicate the positives


Ensure that the child’s strengths are highlighted and used as part of the teaching plan. Children make faster progress if their strengths are used rather than focussing only on what they are unable to do.

Interconnecting pieces of information

All the information gathered on the child should be linked to ensure as fuller picture of the child is built as possible. This offers an over view of the child’s knowledge, learning and progress.

Contact Details

Entrust, The Riverway Centre, Riverway, Stafford, ST16 3TH

Telephone: 0333 300 1900

Email: enquiries@entrust-ed.co.uk

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