English as an Additional Language (E.A.L)
And the English Academy at Wellington College 

Related Pages: EAL - Junior School | Senior School | Assessment and Reporting | Parental Support

 
As an international school in China, we expect a proportion of our pupils to arrive with English as an additional language (E.A.L). The English Academy meets the needs of E.A.L learners to support the very highest standards of achievement through fostering a joy for English, as well as provide professional expertise school-wide for teachers and the parent community respectively. At Wellington College, we take to heart this mission to provide the best possible learning and teaching strategies to support individual students’ acquisition of English and standards across the school. 

Research over the past two decades has resulted in the development of a number of theories and principles that underpin the distinctive pedagogy for children who are learning English as an additional language - children for whom the additional language being learned is also the medium of education. 

Children learning E.A.L will be affected by attitudes towards them, their culture, language and ethnicity. A distinction needs to be made between interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive and academic language proficiency. Generally speaking, children learning an additional language can become conversationally fluent in the new language in two to three years, but may take five years or longer to catch up with monolingual peers in the development of cognitive and academic language. 

There is research evidence that bilingualism and multilingualism confers intellectual advantages. It also highlights the important role of the first language in the child’s learning and in their acquisition of additional languages. Once children have developed cognitive and academic language, they can transfer much of this learning to additional languages. Children benefit enormously if they are given opportunities to continue to develop their first language alongside English. Bilingual learners face two main tasks: they need to learn English and they need to learn the content of the curriculum. Learning a language is more than just learning vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation; it involves using all these appropriately for a variety of real purposes or functions. There are language functions (such as questioning, analysing, hypothesising) that children will need for mathematics, science, history and so on. These functions are clearly linked to thinking and learning skills and should be explicitly taught. It is important to recognise that children learning E.A.L are as able as any other children, and the learning experiences planned for them should be no less cognitively challenging. High challenge can be maintained through the provision of contextual and linguistic support. 

Defining terms: The term E.A.L recognises the fact that many children learning English in school already know one or more other languages and are adding English to that repertoire. Therefore, an E.A.L pupil is one whose primary language or Mother Tongue is different from English. Included in this are pupils who come from an English speaking background but who have been educated in languages other than English. Advanced learner of E.A.L is a term used to describe children who have had considerable exposure to English and are no longer in the early stages of English language acquisition. These are children who appear to be fluent in ordinary everyday conversational contexts, but who require continued support in order to develop the cognitive and academic language necessary for educational success. 

E.A.L pupils may require varying degrees of additional support to fully access the English National Curriculum. Some students may speak a variation of English that differs significantly from the types of English used in the school. If this is the case they may need assistance developing skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. (Note: the term English as an Additional Language is preferred over the term English as a Second Language as many of our pupils may be learning English as a second, third or even fourth language). 

At Wellington College all pupils take an English test as part of the entry procedure which is used to determine the level of support required. The support offered will take various forms and be delivered by specialist teachers of English as an Additional Language. Our initial aim will be to foster the acquisition of survival language to enable students to cope with the practical aspects of class and school life and to function confidently both academically and socially. Once basic structure and vocabulary are in place, our next aim will be to assist students in acquiring the necessary spoken and written language to function fully in the mainstream academic programme. Through small classes and individualised support, pupils in both Junior and Secondary schools will develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. 

Working to support new students at Wellington 

Although coming to school with limited English can be a somewhat daunting experience at first for new pupils, they are in the perfect environment to develop their English language skills. The English as an Additional Language team supports children in a number of ways during the school day and there are many way in which parents will be able to do help at home. 

Learners of additional languages generally develop the receptive skills, such as listening, first. By speaking in English at home you will model speech and vocabulary. Even if your child initially cannot answer you in English, they will be absorbing the new language. 

While some newly arrived, beginner E.A.L pupils come from a school or country where little or no English is used; others may speak, read or write some English. Children, born in the United Kingdom, may have had limited exposure to English before starting school. Some pupils may become orally fluent, and can be described as being advanced learners of E.A.L. They will have English skills necessary to operate effectively in spoken English, but may not be proficient in using academic language. E.A.L pupils may have a broad range of language experiences. 

A broader understanding of how E.A.L pupils transfer their linguistic knowledge in their first language to an additional language is imperative if we are to implement effective strategies, which plan for the acquisition of English. The future attainment of E.A.L pupils is critically determined by their success in learning English. 

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