Best Practice

Succeeding as an EAL coordinator: Eight secrets to success

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The role of EAL coordinators is crucial to the successful integration and education of students using English as an additional language. Emily Maybanks offers eight tenets of good practice that can bolster the achievement of this diverse cohort of young people


According to official statistics (DfE, 2021), 1.6 million pupils (19.2 per cent) are recorded as having a first language other than English. In secondary schools, 17.2 per cent of pupils have a first language which is not English.

There is no specific EAL curriculum, instead the Department for Education expects that effective teaching and learning for learners using EAL happens through the national curriculum.

Put simply, an EAL coordinator is responsible for coordinating the provision for EAL students. This involves assessing new arrivals, ensuring they are appropriately welcomed to the school and placed in any EAL intervention classes where necessary.

Having been an EAL teacher and coordinator in a large secondary school since September 2020, and now an EAL teacher in an independent and boarding school with a large international intake, there are many things which have helped me to succeed in my roles. I would like to share eight such elements in this article.


1, Have a ready-made assessment

There are so many exams and past papers out there which can be used to assess new EAL learners. Examples include AQA Step Up to English, or Cambridge iGCSE ESL or EAL examinations (see further information for all links). There is also the EAL Assessment Framework freely available from charity The Bell Foundation, offering a curriculum-based framework for assessing English language proficiency.

These can also be used to assess learners’ progress over time in all four of the key language skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking. Another option is to sign-up to an assessment tool; however, this may cost money.

It is key to maintain consistency, but it is always a good idea to explore a variety of options. Using what’s already out there will save you a lot of time. Resources can also be used to teach EAL intervention classes.


2, Help students feel welcome from the very beginning

Ensure new EAL pupils feel welcomed to the school community from the moment they step through the gates. A good way to aid this is by setting up a buddy scheme whereby a new EAL student is paired up where possible with two students – one who speaks the same first language and one who is an excellent role model of the English language. It might be possible to offer interpreters in any meetings with parents/carers to ensure that they feel supported too.

Allow new starters a few days’ adjustment period before springing any assessment on them. In the classroom, it is a good idea to have displays which are multilingual. Perhaps encourage EAL students to create a wall display about their home countries or their first language.

Personally, on my classroom wall, I had a scratch map, and when a student came from a particular country, I scratched off that country – this was also a great way to really appreciate where my students come from.


3, Communicate with other EAL teachers and coordinators

Sharing ideas and best practice with others in similar roles is a fantastic way to network as well as gain inspiration for your own setting. NALDIC – a national subject association for English as an additional language – is a brilliant starting point for this, however you could consider creating your own local network group for EAL coordinators. Collaborating with others working in a similar position to yourself is useful not only for sharing ideas and best practice, but also networking within the profession. We can learn from one another.


4, Maintain communication with curriculum areas

This is vital for ensuring the needs of EAL learners are met in lessons, especially in language-heavy subjects such as English, geography and religious studies.

Suggesting strategies which teachers can use in their lessons to support EAL learners is also important. There are so many different strategies that teachers can use in their classrooms to help EAL learners, such as the use of visuals and placing new EAL students alongside good role models of the English language.

Often, teachers will come to you seeking advice about EAL learners in their lessons, therefore it would be worthwhile to organise training about supporting EAL students in mainstream classes for the teaching body if you are able to do so.

Lots of teachers are unaware of BICS and CALP. BICS stands for basic interpersonal communicative skills – or conversational proficiency – and CALP is cognitive academic language proficiency – or academic proficiency. These are certainly something worth explaining in more detail as it can give teachers and other members of staff an idea of just how long it takes for EAL students to acquire an academic level in the English language.


5, Educate other students about EAL

Students understanding their peers is key to the emotional and social development of a child and young person. Educating other students about new EAL learners, especially those new to English, will help them empathise better with their new peers. Encourage students to greet the newcomer. It is also a fantastic idea to encourage EAL students to teach some vocabulary from their first language to their new peers.


6, Understand the context for EAL pedagogy

According to The Bell Foundation (2022): “Learners with EAL have a dual task at school: to learn English (language) and to learn through English. For this reason, EAL teaching aims to teach English using the mainstream curriculum as the context.”

Furthermore, EAL pedagogy is underpinned by principles including the fact that “bilingualism and multilingualism are an asset – the ability to use more than one language is a valuable skill that learners who use EAL bring with them, regardless of whether they are new to English or not. Learners actively use the languages they already know to learn English”.

The Bell Foundation is also a fantastic source of information and inspiration. Its experts write regularly for SecEd and also featured in a recent episode of the SecEd Podcast (2021) focused on EAL practice and support.


7, Get to know your learners

Teaching EAL intervention is without a doubt rewarding and insightful for the students as well as yourself – their teacher. Teaching small groups of EAL students enables you to get to know them all and develop a trusting rapport with them so that they have the confidence to develop their English language proficiency.

It is also a great idea to maintain regular communication with their parents/carers. Gathering information ahead of a new arrival’s start date helps with organisation and getting an initial assessment set up.

Get to know their ambitions and goals as well as what they already know. Use resources and, if possible, follow a curriculum and offer them an alternative ESL/EAL qualification because a conventional GCSE English exam can be daunting for an EAL student, particularly if they are early on in their English language learning journey.


8, English lessons for parents

Although some parents/carers of EAL learners may not speak English, a good idea to get your setting more involved with the wider community is to think about offering English lessons to parents.

Understandably, this may not always be an option, but it is certainly a positive idea to consider. Ensuring that their families also feel welcomed, especially those who are new to the country, is great for the self-esteem of students and their families alike.

Establishing and maintaining links with the community will look good for any school and families from other countries offer a rich, cultural source of information. Once parents feel warmly welcomed to the school community, they could give a valuable insight into their culture.


Conclusion

There is so much advice and support out there about teaching and leading EAL which has proven invaluable to me in my role as an EAL teacher and coordinator.

However, I have learned that the most important aspect of working with EAL learners is empathy. Understanding that EAL learners are not a homogenous group is vital, and that each student not only comes with a unique language, cultural and educational background, but their individual personality and ambitions.

Empathising with EAL students and their families is the key. If students are happy and feel welcomed, they will adapt well to their new surroundings and make friends – and their English will improve.

  • Emily Maybanks is an EAL teacher at Rochester Independent College, an independent and boarding school with a large international intake.


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