What is EAL?
There are more than one million learners in UK schools, who speak English as an additional language (EAL). At Longfield, we have pupils in every year group who are in this EAL group.
Our EAL page is designed to provide additional support to our EAL pupils and their families, not only in terms of education but to also provide parents with information and links that will help with day-to-day life. Our support links can help families find out how to access financial help and advice; how to register with a doctor and dentist; provide details for various charities and also how parents can access everyday technology such as Google Translate and Immersive Reader to help pupils and parents translate a range of vital information.
Our EAL learners come from many different backgrounds. Some arrive seeking asylum, while others come to the UK as economic migrants or for other reasons.
At Longfield we have EAL learners whose first language includes Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, Hungarian, Italian, Romanian, Bengali and Punjabi, these are just a few of the many languages spoken at home by our pupils.
Longfield pupils whose first language is not English, are provided with a dictionary for them to use in class. Teachers are made aware of individual pupil needs and given support and guidance so they can support pupils in lesson. To help EAL pupils settle into school, they are ‘buddied up’ with another pupil with similar interests. Pupils will also be assessed to work out their level and competency in English, before being allocated to a set and going into lessons.
Below are some of the areas we are developing to support EAL pupils and their families:
- The facility to change the main website content into their home language, this facility is available on any page using the translation drop down menu in the top right corner of the website
- The creation of this EAL page to signpost parents / carers to different services that may help and support them
- Important booklets produced by the school will be made available in different languages
- Supporting parents / carers of EAL learners through helping them understand how our school education system works and how to support their child’s education at home
We consider our EAL learners to be an asset to our school and the local community. They bring a new dimension to our school community, by sharing their experiences it helps their peers understand more about diverse cultures and other people’s points of view. EAL learners will have extra language skills, often being able to speak several languages, which will be beneficial to them when they leave Longfield and move onto college and beyond.
Immersive Reader
What is Immersive Reader?
Immersive Reader re-formats text so that it is accessible to all. It also reads out text at a pace that suits the user and it can be changed into your home language.
How do I turn it on?
In Teams and Outlook, look for the Immersive Reader icon (As pictured above. Open book with speaker)
In Word Online & Word 365 click view > Immersive Reader.
You can also search for Immersive Reader when you see the magnifying glass icon.
What are the features?
The immersive reader can:
- Translate the text to your home language
- Read text aloud, in your home language
Plus, it can also
- Use focus mode to hide all but the sentence you need
- Highlight syllables
- Allow you to change the background colour and text colour
- Allow you to change the text spacing and layout
How to use Immersive Reader to translate
Search for Immersive Reader in the search box or look for the icon
Useful Links
General help
DAR volunteers work alongside refugees and asylum seekers as they rebuild their lives in Darlington and the North East of England. They help with learning the language, completing forms, applying for schools, and help to find doctors and dentists.
Citizens Advice aim to provide people with advice for the problems they face and to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives. They provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.
Darlington Borough Council is the local authority for the town of Darlington and the surrounding villages in North East England.
Financial help
Darlington Credit Union is a community financial co-operative formed in 2009 following the merger of 4 smaller credit unions. It is a way of saving if you don’t have a bank account.
Foodbanks
The Foodbank is a place where anyone who finds themselves in times of hardship can visit and receive an emergency bag of food. You will always be made to feel welcome and on your first visit, you can enjoy a nice hot drink with some biscuits while we take a few details from you.
Citizens Advice can assist with Food Banks in Darlington.
Olio – Download the Olio app to view food and household items that people are giving away.
https://olioapp.com/en/getting-started-on-olio/what-is-olio/
The Bread and Butter Thing – is a charity that makes life more affordable for people on a low income. Their mission is to create a fair solution for people in poverty and their long-term aim is to address the premiums that people in poverty pay for food, loans, energy and other everyday essentials, simply because of their personal circumstances.
Language games for children
Additional support with your child’s education
The EAL Hub aims to enable EAL and SEN learners to learn in the mainstream classroom as much as possible via structured support and differentiation.
The Bell Foundation works with parents to support the learning of pupils who use EAL: Guidance for schools
https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/eal-programme/guidance/parental-involvement/
Excellent websites for learning English – suitable for all ages.
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org
Discover expert advice, educational resources and free eBooks to support children’s learning at primary school and at home, from Oxford University Press.
