It is a teacher’s duty to ensure equality of opportunity for all learners. The Department for Education’s Teachers’ Standards state that teachers must adapt their teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils and ‘be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them’ (2013, p.6). In January 2013, 18.1% of children in primary schools had a first language that is other than English and the number of primary pupils with English as an additional language (EAL) has doubled in the last fifteen years (Naldic, 2013). ICT (Information and communications technology) is a diverse tool which, when used thoughtfully, can support and enhance learning in many areas. This blog post aims to provide advice, information and useful resource links, to assist teachers in KS1 and KS2 and primary PGCE students in teaching pupils with EAL using ICT.
The new national curriculum, which comes into effect in September 2014, replaces the term ICT with computing. This is mainly due to the term being seen as outdated. The consultation report explaining exactly why can be found here. For clarity, I will use the term ICT, as this is the term currently being used in schools and in most of the resources I have links to in this article.
Pupils for whom English is an additional language should not be seen as one homogenous group of people. They come from all over the world and each has their own story. Every child has had different cultural, educational and emotional experiences and these build individuality. Some children speak many languages, indeed some might speak in one language, write in another and think in a third. Teachers need to make themselves aware of their pupil’s linguistic complexities, taking account of what the child speaks, when and to whom. New arrivals to the country may speak very little English or none at all. This is an area where ICT can be helpful.
Wokingham Borough Council has produced some useful booklets, which provide information in a question and answer format, for families who may be unfamiliar with schools in England. These can be downloaded from the South-East Grid for Learning website and customised to suit the relevant school. There are twelve languages currently available and can be found here.
There is another provision available to new arrivals, which is designed to help with the school admissions system. It is a power-point document that has been designed to provide a step-by-step guide to how to enrol your child at a school. Each step is written in English and when selected will read aloud in the language that is has been programmed with. Access to the document can be found from the ‘admissions’ category on the home page here.
Here is a video explaining the tool:
Bilingual children who are learning English as an additional language typically have greater cognitive flexibility and will find it easier to understand other additional languages. These children still need to be given challenging activities and language can be a barrier to this, so it is important that teachers can communicate effectively with them in their first language. Google translate is a good tool for translating words and simple sentences. It can struggle with more detailed translation and should not be relied upon all of the time. App versions are available for the ipad.
A child’s first language plays a significant and continuing role in their identity and their learning. Use of their first language should be encouraged, as it will make the child feel more comfortable, accepted and empowered. Hearing different languages will enrich the classroom for the other children. Diversity should be celebrated.
ICT can be used as a source of information and materials relating to the child’s culture. Including their previous countries history in lessons will build their self-esteem and sense of social inclusion. Teachers should be careful to check that it is okay with the child first because they might have experiences they do not wish to be reminded of or share with others. There are also opportunities for participation from the child’s family and community. Video communication can also be used to talk to someone in another country and this could be integrated into different projects across the curriculum.
The South-East Grid for Learning website has a microsite facility where schools and community projects can set up their own micro websites. One of these is called ‘2 co-co’, which focuses on ‘flashmeeting for community cohesion’. There is information about a series of video conferencing events conducted by different divisions of EMTAS to raise awareness of other languages and cultures. The South-East Grid for Learning website has lots of interesting ICT ideas, such as the microsites. These are a great way for children to display and communicate their learning to others and they enable the children to access their learning from home. There are a variety of sites based on a number of themes, such as reports on school trips and charity events, as well as live bird watching cameras.
I will briefly mention one of the microsites, which shows a project for teaching languages to schoolchildren using Second Life, the online immersive game. This is a pilot project called ‘Lingualand’. I will not go into this in any more detail because I do not think it is suitable for the current primary environment but I do think it is an interesting idea and worth a look.
One way of boosting confidence using ICT is through audio recording. There are many activities and projects that can include or be based around audio recording, such as, adding audio captions to power point presentations, photo storyboards or talking books. This can be a challenging task for pupils with EAL, especially if their knowledge of English is limited. Audacity is a free and relatively easy to use audio software programme, which is used in many schools. Microsoft Power Point allows users to embed audio into the presentations. Comiclife3 and Kar2ouche are programmes for making stories and users can provide a commentary to accompany the pictures or animation.
During the initial stages of learning a new language it is common for children to go through a silent phase, where they may be able to understand quite a lot but not have the confidence to use it and be worried about making mistakes. There are many strategies that can be used with audio recording projects that can boost self-esteem and encourage the child to talk. A teacher can pick and choose which strategies work best depending on what stage the child with EAL might be at.
Oracy is a key skill and it is featured in the new national curriculum for English. It is important for all children to practice reading and speaking aloud. Recording their voices enables children to hear themselves and understand how they sound. Children with EAL should be given the space to practice and repeat in private. The software enables recording and re-recording until the child is happy. Repetitive or rhyming phrases are easier for children with EAL to learn and become confident with. Their recording does not have to be in English, it could be in their first language. This would empower the child and possibly raise their status within the class. They could read a story from their culture or talk about their traditions or religion. The website of the International Children’s Digital Library is a great resource with a huge selection of books from all over the world in their original language.
The child may think in their first language so having assistance during the first stages of a task can help to ensure understanding and make the child feel secure. Pairing the child with another who speaks the same language or having an interpreter to help them during the initial planning part of the task is a good idea. These options are not always possible so teachers should be wary of who the child is paired with and think about placing them with someone who models good and clear use of English, or put them in a group of three so they can listen to the others talking.
The process of creating with ICT requires the user to understand a specific language. Instructional and directional terms are often necessary. The skills needed to use the equipment proved the child with an alternative language through which they are able to express themselves, communicating through technology. If the child is computer literate then this can be very empowering for them as digital literacy is global.
The kinaesthetic and visual nature of ICT aids accessibility, eases understanding and encourages participation. As technology improves it will become more accessible. There will be a greater range of function specific software enabling children to integrate, interact and participate with greater ease. Ipads are proof of this and are used already in many schools. Here is a link to an article that outlines the ways in which Ipads can be used to aid EAL learners.
Language can be a barrier to communication between the teacher and the child’s family. Letting them know what the child has been doing and how they are progressing can be difficult. An ICT project can provide something tangible for them to see such as photos, audio or video. There is the ability to publish the project on the Internet or show it to the school or community. It also provides evidence for assessment for learning, so the teacher can monitor progress. ICT can be used as a tool to support subjects across the entire curriculum. It is ideal for displaying results and recording evidence.
Animation is a creative and engaging activity that can help pupils with EAL. I have written a blog post about an experience I have had using animation programmes in a primary school and included links to useful animation freeware. It is available here. I have added a link to a helpful article about green-screening and making films with children, which outlines the equipment needed and how to use it. It can be found on the expansive South-East Grid for Learning website here.
Teachers can support EAL pupils in whole-class lessons by providing a visual guide to scaffold the learning that is taking place. This could be on the board, as a hand-out or a video. Using a visualiser to show examples of how their work should look will also boost understanding. If a teacher is going to show a video in class, then it would be helpful to a child with EAL to be able to watch it in advance of the lesson. This would give them the time to pause and go back over sections they are struggling with.
Teachers need to be aware of the technology they are using and its limitations. They should always start by looking at what they want the children to learn before looking at how can ICT help them to achieve this outcome. They should always be conscious of e-safety and plan accordingly. It is important for all children to be well informed in order to be conscious of their own safety and learners with EAL may need extra help with this.
I see ICT as a fantastic tool for supporting children with EAL but when used in the wrong place or just for the sake of it, then the children’s education suffers. Schools should be wary when spending their small budgets on buying equipment because technology moves on fast and is constantly evolving. Teachers are no longer restricted by the constrictions of a small classroom when they have ICT and the Internet to use as a resource. They can demonstrate, explain, introduce ideas and model language through using ICT.
Finally, the greatest web-site for teaching EAL learners that I have discovered is the site of the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (Naldic). It is full of resources and helpful advice. Bookmark it now!
Peter Evans
Group 2: Amy/Corrie/Peter 