Educating Multilingual Learners In The 21st Century:

The Next 25 Years

Our 25th Annual Conference

November 18th 2017, King’s College London

Franklin-Wilkins Building Stamford Street, London, SE1 9NH

NALDIC’s 25th annual conference considered the present state of play in the education of multilingual learners in the UK and implications for our work and teacher development in the future.

Keynote Speakers

Li Wei  |  UCL Institute of Education

Translanguaging and multicompetence

Abstract
In this talk, Li Wei will outline two theoretical concepts in the study of multilingualism and language learning – Translanguaging and Multicompetence – and explore how they can be usefully applied in the practical work supporting English as an additional language learners and other emerging multilinguals. In particular, he will stress the importance of the role of the learners’ first languages and their capacity to use multimodal and multisensory resources in learning.

Biographical notes
Li Wei is Chair of Applied Linguistics and Director of the Centre of Applied Linguistics at the University College London, Institute of Education. He previously worked at Birkbeck College, London and Newcastle University. He is Editor of the International Journal of Bilingualism, and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, UK.

Reading references:
Ofelia Garcia and Li Wei (2015) Translanguaging: Bilingualism, language and education. Palgrave Macmillan
Vivian Cook and Li Wei (eds) (2016) Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Multi-Competence. Cambridge University Press

Fred Genesee  |  McGill University

Looking Back over 25 Years of Research and Moving Forward

Abstract
There is a large and growing number of EAL students in our public schools. These students face numerous challenges on the way to academic success. Research and professional practice during the past 25 years have expanded our understanding of how to enhance the educational success of EALs. This work has been multi-disciplinary in nature and has examined diverse aspects of the development of school-age EALs, including their language development, academic achievement, cognitive abilities, and social well-being. The National Institutes of Science, Engineering and Medicine in the U.S. recently published a synthesis of findings of that research — Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures; I was a member of the panel that prepared that report.  In this plenary, I will discuss key findings from that report highlighting implications for school-wide and classroom practice.

Biographical notes
Fred Genesee is Professor Emeritus in the Psychology Department at McGill University, Montreal. He has conducted extensive research on alternative forms of bilingual/ immersion education for language minority and language majority students, language acquisition in pre-school bilingual children, internationally-adopted children, and the language and academic development of at-risk students in bilingual programs. He has published numerous articles in scientific journals, professional books and magazines and is the author of more than 12 books on bilingualism. He is the recipient of the Canadian Psychology Association Gold Medal Award, Paul Pimsler Award for Research in Foreign Language Education, Canadian Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Contributions to Community or Public Service, California Association for Bilingual Education Award for Promoting Bilingualism and the le prix Adrien-Pinard.

Workshops

Learning 100 Words in 10 minutes

Anna Czebiolko

Abstract
Key words: Primary and secondary, easily adapted to other phases, speedy vocabulary acquisition
The workshop will draw on knowledge about language families. Similarities between English and some of the Latin languages will be analysed, thus demonstrating that, by finding connections between languages and exploring suffixes, hundreds of foreign words can be remembered and understood in a very short time. Lists of words used in English of non-native origin will be created so that understanding of how to promote the development of English and students’ mother tongues simultaneously will be achieved. By gaining knowledge about other languages, the belief that English is a ‘foreign’ language will be changed

Biographical notes
Anna Czebiolko began her EAL career as a Language Support Assistant but decided to develop her knowledge by training to teach. Since starting to work with EAL learners in 2009, she has worked with children in every year group from nursery to Year 11. She also worked with adult learners whilst gaining her CELTA qualification. Since 2015, she has worked as an EAL teacher in a south Leeds secondary school. She is passionate about EAL and creative in her teaching style. She is always willing to try innovative methods with her students and to share her knowledge with teachers and other practitioners.

‘Who do you think you are? A Role for EAL Specialists in the Mainstream Multilingual Classroom of the 21st Century

Hala Edwards

Abstract
Key words: Cross phase, EAL specialists in mainstream classrooms, partnerships with parents
What is the role of the EAL specialist in the mainstream classroom of the 21st Century? Given the recent ‘mainstreaming’ of EAL and a Government policy shift towards tackling pupil poverty, how does an EAL specialist forge a distinctive role in the next 25 years? This workshop will look at success stories that include new ways of working with EAL parents by creating ‘democratic’’ spaces for a ‘parent voice’ and collaborating with theatre groups and the local community.

Biographical notes
Hala Edwards is Palestinian-British. Before retraining as an EAL specialist, she lectured in English Literature at Birzeit University in Palestine and taught on the MA in Literature at the Open University in Wales. She has been working in the EAL field as an Achievement Teacher in Cardiff and Gwent since 2004.

Assessing the language proficiency of EAL learners

Katharine Solomon and Constant Leung

Abstract
Key words: Cross phase, assessing EAL proficiency linked to DfE criteria for screening and reporting
Assessing proficiency in English is a vital part of the assessment process for EAL pupils. Research suggests that Proficiency in the English language is the major factor influencing the degree of support an individual student requires, and schools need to be able to assess this need accurately. This workshop introduces The Bell Foundation EAL Assessment Framework for Schools and provides guidance on how it can be used to complement the DfE Proficiency in English Screener to report census data, monitor progress, and set English language learning targets

Biographical notes
Katherine Solomon has worked as Associate and Training Manager at The Bell Foundation since 2014. She has experience working in multilingual schools both in the UK and overseas and has worked across primary education and academic management. Katherine’s professional interests include EAL assessment and working in partnership with schools to improve provision for EAL learners. She holds a PGCE Primary, CELTA and DELTA qualifications, along with an MA in Applied Linguistics.
Constant Leung is Professor of Educational Linguistics at King’s College, London. He is Editor of Research Issues, TESOL Quarterly and Senior Associate Editor, Language Assessment Quarterly.  His specialist interests include: additional language curriculum and pedagogy, language assessment and language policy.

GCSE English language & literature: New challenges and ways forward

Manny Vazquez

Abstract
Key words: Secondary but cross phase relevance, new GCSE English expectations
The revised GCSEs in English have raised the bar in terms of expectations. The original exemplar materials sent out prior to this summer’s exams suggested that EAL learners might find the exams to be particularly demanding. There is now an even greater need to ensure that in English lessons we are drilling down to the actual language the students need in order to prepare them for the tasks they will face under exam conditions. This session will explore some of the approaches which can be helpful to multilingual learners in mainstream English classrooms.

Biographical notes
Manny Vazquez has worked in the field of EAL since 1979 and, following his work as Head of Service in Hounslow, he joined HLS Ltd. He is a visiting lecturer for MA, PGCE and B Ed courses, and has been an external examiner for two MA s in English language teaching. Manny has been a speaker at international TESOL conferences and he has contributed to a range of professional journals, books and publications on the themes of language/content integration and EAL assessment.  He currently teaches GCSE English part time in an inner London school and has developed materials for the DfE on EAL, and on EAL assessment for the QCA. Manny was part of the Pan London EAL strategy for the National Strategy, working with a diverse range of schools across London and was involved in a study for the London Challenge, looking at the issue of schools where pupil mobility is high. He is an accredited trainer for both literacy programmes ‘LILAC’ and ‘How language works’.  He also works as a consultant for Cambridge Assessment as an item writer for the TKT CLIL test. Manny is a founder member of NALDIC.

Using L1 in the Primary Classroom – what the research does and does not tell us

Hamish Chalmers

Abstract
Key words: Primary, theoretically principled development of L1 in mainstream classrooms
It is widely considered to be good practice for teachers to find opportunities for EAL learners to use their L1s in ‘theoretically principled’ ways. Principles of practice based on theory are fine, but these must be tested empirically, and in appropriate contexts, to determine if they have the effects on students learning that are claimed for them. In this presentation, I summarise the findings of experimental and quasi-experimental studies (located for a systematic review of the literature) that might reliably inform teachers about the effects of using pupils L1s in mainstream primary classrooms.

Biographical notes
Hamish Chalmers is currently a doctoral researcher at Oxford Brookes University and member of NALDIC’s executive committee. He was primary teacher and Director of EAL at a large international school in Bangkok, Thailand between 2003 and 2013. Before that he taught in the state sector in the UK. His research interests are in the use of L1 in mainstream, polylingual classrooms, and research methodology that helps teachers to make confident, informed decisions about their practice.

“In school I am English and at home I am Polish”: listening to children’s voices

Naomi Flynn

Abstract
Key words: Primary, language learning experiences of Polish children
This presentation explores the language learning experiences of Polish children and their primary school teachers. It compares the responses of teachers and their pupils in 2009, when the arrival of Eastern European children was relatively new, with follow-up data from 2016 which sought to question whether earlier impressions had persisted or changed. Specifically it highlights how the experiences of children learning English are not necessarily in line with the thinking of their teachers and their parents. Discussion in this workshop will enhance teachers’ understanding of children’s fluid linguistic identities, and the implications of this for EAL classroom pedagogy.

Biographical notes
Dr Naomi Flynn is an Associate Professor of Primary English Education at the University of Reading. She is a teacher educator on pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes and her main research interest is in teachers’ classroom practice for children with EAL. Before her move to higher education Naomi was a primary school teacher in inner-city, multilingual schools for 17 years. Her research and publications have focused on the experiences of Polish children and their teachers in schools in Hampshire, and on how teachers and re-searchers can work together to produce practical, online EAL guidance for busy professionals. At Reading Naomi co-convenes the Language and Literacy in Education research group. Naomi is also the convenor for the Berkshire-Hampshire NALDIC RIG and a member of NALDIC executive committee.

What is the ‘E’ in EAL?

Tracey Costley

Abstract
Key words: Teacher development, links conceptualisations of English and EAL pedagogy and practice
Over the last 25 years English has been conceptualised in a variety of different ways within national curriculum policy documents in England. In this workshop we will discuss some of these different conceptualisations focusing specifically on the implications of these with regard to EAL learners. We will explore what English is and has been in relation to EAL, and how these different conceptualisations have shaped and determined pedagogy and practice. Through these reflections, we will identify what we think the ‘E’ in EAL should be as we move into the next 25 years.

Biographical notes
Tracey Costley is a Lecturer is TEFL/TESOL in the Department of Language and Linguistics at the University of Essex. Her main research interests are in the areas of English as Additional Language Learners, Academic Language and Literacy Development and Student Writing in Higher Education.

Teaching diverse EAL learners in the primary mainstream classroom

Alice Kennedy

Abstract
Key words: Primary, language conscious teaching in the mainstream
This workshop will consider ways in which primary class teachers and EAL specialist teachers can work together to improve mainstream teaching practice for EAL children, paying particular attention to their language development needs. Using video material of her own teaching in a diverse Year 2 class, Alice will invite participants to consider what inclusive teaching for language development looks like. The class includes higher attaining EAL learners, British born under-achieving EAL groups, and new arrivals.  The subsequent discussion will focus on how primary teachers can plan for inclusive language development for EAL pupils from diverse backgrounds, and how EAL specialists can work with mainstream teachers to encourage them to focus on language development.

Biographical notes
Alice Kennedy is a class teacher and Oracy lead at Torriano Primary School in Camden. Previously she was EAL specialist teacher at a school in North London where over 65% of the pupils were learners of EAL. In her EAL role, Alice worked alongside class teachers to develop good teaching for language development, coordinated the work of Learning Support Assistants, ran group interventions and organised initial assessment and induction for new arrivals. Alice has previously worked as a Teacher of English as a Foreign Language, and for organisations that aim to protect refugees and migrants overseas and in the UK.

Pupil Voice Presentations

1.    Young Interpreters  |  Astrid Dinneen

The Young Interpreter Scheme® is an award-winning initiative now running in 800 schools across the UK. As part of this scheme developed by Hampshire EMTAS, children and young people are specially trained to become buddies for new to English arrivals. The scheme supports new entrants who feel welcomed and settled right from the start and it benefits the Young Interpreters themselves who are recognised and valued for their skills and qualities. It also acknowledges the work that many pupils do on an ad hoc basis as child interpreters or peer buddies.

2.    Year 11 students reflecting on their experience at school  |  Pete Ruse and Linda Sandler

Every year at Falinge Park High School in Rochdale the EAL Faculty conducts exit interviews with a selection of pupils who arrived at school as International New Arrivals.  The purpose is to gain insights into their needs and experiences and how the school can develop its practice.  The interviews are semi-qualitative and also serve to support pupils’ transition into the next phase of their lives.

3.    Behind the language. How to translate the culture?  |  Anna Czebiolko

Behind languages, there are cultures that cannot be translated into any language. Integration is the key point if we want the EAL learners to reach their linguistic potential. This enrichment project called ‘Special Thursdays’ is an innovative idea that promotes integration and creates a sense of community. Staff members become guest speakers. Students interview the staff members by asking them various questions. By adding writing tasks and testing children’s speaking and listening skills, we can develop their language skills.

NALDIC Training Video Launch

Constant Leung and Nandhaka Pieris

English as an Additional Language: A Guide (Training Video and Workbook)

Produced by Constant Leung, Frank Monaghan & Nandhaka Pieris

Contributors: Maureen Allan, Cathy Almond, Jonathan Brentnall, Nick Butler, Yvonne Foley & Mark Sims

See below for resources from the conference (members only)

Please note that presenters retain all rights to their materials.

Any quoted materials should cite the presenter, year (2017), title, conference (NALDIC Annual Conference, London, UK), as well as the url (website address).