Teacher advice: supporting EAL learners in primary schools

August 28th 2024

With the start of the new school year, you may be evaluating how you engage your pupils, new and settled, who speak English as an additional language (EAL). In the academic year 2023/24, the number of children in primary who spoke English as an additional language increased from 22% to 22.8%. It is is crucial that, as teachers and teaching staff, we support EAL pupils in the classroom to allow for their successful integration, skill development, and academic progress.

Certain strategies can help teachers reshape their lessons to the needs of EAL learners. By following these, teachers can help these children reach their educational potential and play a positive part in school life, the community and society as a whole. Children's Book Specialist Zeena shares her practical advice to inspire your classroom strategy.

Zeena | Children's Book Specialist Zeena was a junior school teacher for 34 years before joining Peters. She has also tried a variety of other jobs including nannying, ICT, financial consultancy, and even managing a diet clinic on Harley Street, but teaching was the only thing to give her real job satisfaction. She joined the Peters team in early 2019 and is having lots of fun reading picture books! meeT OUR team

Adapt your teaching

• Use more visuals in the form of pictures, photographs, and so on, to help learners make sense of new information.
• Other than visual aid, use real life objects and gestures to enhance understanding.
• Use simpler instructions and hands-on activities in your lessons.
• However, it is still important to focus on the language whilst teaching subject content, to help expand vocabulary and build confidence in speaking English.
• Allow the learner to have thinking time before expecting them to answer questions.

Provide 1 to 1 support, if possible

• Sit the EAL learner close to yourself or the teaching assistant, so they can see and hear clearly and pick up visual clues from facial expressions.
• Use teaching assistants to support EAL learners. For example, they could teach the key vocabulary to the pupil before a topic is taught in class.
• Select someone who speaks the EAL learners first language to support and mentor them. This could be a teaching assistant, a teacher, an older sibling or another pupil in the class.
• Pair EAL learners with fluent English speakers to encourage language practice.

Equip them for independence

• Allow the learner to be involved in the daily classroom organisation. For example, handing out pencils or other equipment.
• Maintain high expectations of EAL learners whilst offering the right level of language support, this will inspire, motivate challenge them.
• Give regular feedback to EAL learners, so that they recognise their strengths and weaknesses and can focus on areas that need more work.
• Allow the learner to have a scrap book where they can write down new vocabulary, ideas in their own language or any ideas about the topic in their first language.

Take a multilingual approach

• Encourage and embrace multilingualism and allow pupils to watch a video or read an article in their own language before learning it in English.
• Maintain and develop pupils first language alongside improving their English.
• For supporting dual language learners at home, have effective communication with parents and guardians. Keep parents and guardians informed of the topics being studied so they can teach the children in their home language first. 

Provide picture dictionaries and dual language books

Research by the Centre of Literacy and Multilingualism at the University of Reading suggests that “talk-rich” environments, where heritage languages are used alongside English, help to promote multilingual children’s understanding of language and literacy more generally. Dual language titles are an important way of bringing this practice into the classroom. They can be less daunting to language learners compared to reading solely in their additional or "target" language.

Picture dictionaries

As with any child learning a new language, imagery alongside the target language allows younger pupils to learn vocabulary in their own time, as well as with support for EAL reading. Picture handbooks like Hello Handbook! are designed to slip into bags and pockets, so EAL speakers can easily access the language and associate English words with the world around them.

Themed vocabulary

Pupils learning English tend to progress their language skills more in social situations compared to formal settings, like the classroom. Bilingual reading books which look at a specific topic, such as cuisine in Food Food Fabulous Food or feelings in Emotions, can be incorporated into school topics such as PSHE and Geography, and teach EAL speakers more specific vocabulary relating to curriculum topics.

Beyond words: engaging EAL speakers through wordless picture books Make engagement with reading as accessible as possible by offering a wide range of formats to your pupils, from dual language texts to wordless picture books. Wordless picture books are a great tool for younger years, removing the language barrier and allowing children with little English-speaking ability to join in with group discussion and activity. Pupils can focus on an emotional response to the story, building emotional literacy as well as encouraging empathy amongst classmates. We discuss the benefits of wordless picture books in our interview with Ukrainian artist, Oleksandr Shatokhin.

Folk tales and classic texts

One study revealed that pupils use cultural knowledge of traditional tales to support their general literacy development. Introducing familiar fairy tales or fables in a dual language format not only promotes literacy in both languages, but also allows for profound discussion about how the two languages may represent the same concepts differently through vocabulary and phrasing.

Stories EAL pupils relate to

There are plenty of dual language titles that look at everyday life, as well as the unique situations children experience as EAL speakers, migrants, and refugees. Representing their experiences will validate your pupils, as well as build empathy and understanding in their English-speaking peers. Not only that, but dual language stories create a "valuable bridge between school and home", making it possible for parents to read with their children. Willingness from parents as well as teachers is key in encouraging biliteracy.

Need further advice? Head to our dedicated EAL support for primary and dual language page. Alternatively, get in touch with us at hello@peters.co.uk and get bespoke support from our team.

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