CROSS-CURRICULAR IDEAS FOR EAL LANGUAGE SUPPORT
Laura Spargo suggests some practical strategies for teachers to help EAL students thrive in the international classroom.
Helping EAL learners find their voice
Speaking more than one language is not only incredibly useful, it’s a tremendous educational asset.
Research from UCL Institute of Education shows that early multilingual exposure creates significant long-term academic advantages for multilingual children compared to monolingual peers. This is good news for any student learning in an international setting.
If you’re teaching students with English as an additional language (EAL), you’re not dealing with a problem that needs fixing. You’re working with a cognitive advantage.
The challenge for us as educators is knowing how to help students unleash their linguistic superpowers. If you’re teaching students with English as an additional language (EAL), you’re not dealing with a problem that needs fixing. You’re working with a cognitive advantage that, with the right support, can give your students a real edge throughout their education and beyond.
Here are some approaches my colleagues and I are using to support our EAL learners.
1. Start with confidence building
When students feel connected and confident, everything else falls into place more naturally; students are willing to take language risks, participate in discussions, and engage more deeply with their learning.
One strategy I would recommend is to introduce structured activities that get students talking, but without the pressure of formal assessment. Collaborative tasks work particularly well, where children have to describe specific items to a partner, such as how LEGO bricks can complete a building challenge, or jigsaw pieces fit into a puzzle.