Supporting pupils with EAL
The Key for School Leaders
Techniques Pre-tutoring and post-tutoring
We asked Anita and Diane to suggest some
techniques for supporting pupils’ vocabulary
development, which should be tailored to the
needs of individual pupils. Anita said that one way of developing vocabulary
and increasing pupils’ independence in lessons is
to use pre-tutoring and post-tutoring.
They both said that schools should continue to
track progress and development to see what is
and is not working for a particular pupil. Pre-tutoring involves exposing pupils to relevant
vocabulary in advance of a particular session or
topic so they have the tools to access it with the
rest of the class.
Anita added that the goal should be to develop the
pupil’s independence, as well as increasing his
or her vocabulary. She said that creating a strong
foundation in a few key areas of language will help
with future learning. After the session, a teacher or teaching assistant
works with the pupils to create a mind map or
other representation of the vocabulary. This
is known as post-tutoring and is designed to
consolidate learning and help to trigger memory.
The following approaches could be used for pupils
who have EAL, SEN, or both EAL and SEN,
except where otherwise indicated. Anita added that older pupils could have a fold-out
section at the back of their exercise book or folder
with vocabulary that they can use to support them
in lessons. This might incorporate visual prompts,
first-language translations or descriptions of the
words, depending on the pupil’s needs.
Quality first teaching and modelling language
Diane told us that quality first teaching should
support vocabulary development in all pupils,
including those with EAL and SEN. Teachers
should think about how they use language and
provide a spoken or written ‘model’ of the type of
language they want pupils to produce.
For example, this might involve introducing
vocabulary in context, using key words repeatedly,
or providing pupils with written model sentences.
For pupils with EAL, it is particularly important to
be aware of idiomatic or colloquial language that
may cause confusion.
There is more information and guidance on using
language modelling on the following page of the
British Council’s EAL Nexus site:
Great idea: modelling, EAL Nexus
https://eal.britishcouncil.org/teachers/great-ideas-modelling
Another article from The Key summarises
guidance on quality first teaching.
If you found this
article useful, you
might also like:
EAL policies
Differentiating
between SEN and
underachievement
Precision teaching
Anita also suggested using ‘precision teaching’ to
support pupils’ vocabulary development. Precision
teaching involves short, repetitive sessions of
teaching, focusing on a few words or concepts.
This aim is to help secure recognition and recall of
key vocabulary.
Link on our website
Precision teaching, Kent County Council
Find more on our website
This resource with further guidance, is available on www.thekeysupport.com/sl.
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