English as an Additional Language

A. New to English  

A child may:

• Use first language for learning and other purposes.
• Remain silent in the classroom.
• Copy/repeat some words and phrases.
• Understand some everyday English expressions but have minimal or no English literacy.
• Follow day-to-day social communication in English.
• Begin to use spoken English for social purposes.
• Understand simple instructions and follow narrative/accounts with visual support.
• Develop some skills in reading and writing
• Become familiar with some subject specific vocabulary.

A child at this stage needs significant support.

B. Early Acquisition

A child may;

• Participate in learning activities with increasing independence.
• Express themselves orally in English but structural inaccuracies are still apparent.
• Requires ongoing support in literacy, particularly for understanding text and writing.
• Follow abstract concepts and more complex written English. A child at this stage requires support to access the curriculum fully.

C. Developing Competence

• A child may:
• Developing oral English well, allowing successful engagement in activities across the curriculum.
• Read and understand a wide variety of text.
• Written English may lack complexity.
• Demonstrate evidence of errors in grammatical structure.

A child at this stage needs support to access subtle nuances of meaning, to refine English usage, and to develop abstract vocabulary.

D.  Competent

A child at this stage can operate across the curriculum to a level of competence nearing to that of a pupil who uses English as his/her first language. They may still make grammatical errors and need support to develop their linguistic skills.

E. Fluent

A child at this stage can operate across the curriculum to a level of competence equivalent to that of a pupil who uses English as his/her first language.

EAL Policy