The Key for School Leaders
This booklet features
a selection of articles
we’ve written in
response to school
leaders’ questions.
Supporting pupils with EAL
Supporting vocabulary development
for pupils with EAL and/or SEN
Thousands of up-
to-date articles are
currently available
online on www.
thekeysupport.com/sl
We relay guidance from two of our
associate experts on techniques and tools
that can be used to support vocabulary
development for pupils with EAL, special
educational needs (SEN), or both.
We spoke to Anita Devi and Diane Leedham,
who have expertise in SEN and EAL respectively,
about how best to help pupils with EAL and/or
special educational needs (SEN) to develop
their vocabulary.
Identify the needs of individual
pupils
Anita and Diane both emphasised the importance
of identifying the reasons why a pupil needs
additional help with acquiring vocabulary. For
example, he or she may speak English as an
additional language or have SEN, or both.
They explained that identifying the pupil’s needs,
and his or her starting point, will help to determine
the best way of supporting the pupil’s vocabulary
development.
Vocabulary development for pupils
with EAL and SpLD
ELT Well is a company that provides training and resources
for teaching pupils with EAL who also have specific learning
difficulties (SpLD) such as dyslexia.
It says that inclusive language teaching for pupils with SpLD should:
• Be multi-sensory
• Have many opportunities for recapping and reviewing
• Be presented in small, manageable chunks
• Include explicit instruction in grammar, study skills and
phonological systems
Pupils with EAL
Where a pupil has EAL, Diane recommended
talking to the parents about the pupil’s prior
experience with language and education to build
up a profile of his or her starting point.
This will allow for more targeted vocabulary
development. For example, a pupil with little or
no previous knowledge of English will not have
the same needs as a pupil who is proficient in
social communication but requires help with more
specialist vocabulary.
Pupils with SEN
Anita told us that different types of SEN can affect
vocabulary acquisition in different ways, and that
this should be explored as part of a pupil’s SEN
assessment.
Pupils who have SEN often have difficulties with
working memory (both visual and auditory), which
can affect their ability to learn vocabulary at the
same rate as their peers.
Pupils with EAL who may also have SEN
Some pupils with EAL may also have SEN.
The intersection may affect how easily the pupil is
able to acquire new vocabulary.
Where it is suspected that a pupil with EAL also
has additional learning needs, Anita advised
carrying out a cognition and learning assessment
in the pupil’s first language, as well as tracking him
or her against key development milestones.
She said that the assessment should also help to
identify any overlap between the pupil’s EAL and
his or her SEN. This could help you to decide how
best to support the pupil’s vocabulary development.
Anita and Diane both cautioned against equating
EAL with SEN. They explained that where a
pupil has EAL, his or her rate of progress may be
related to language level rather than any SEN.
Link on our website
Inclusive language teaching, ELT Well
The following article from T