Language Development in Curriculum Workshop
This summer term’s EMTAS EAL Network meeting for Secondary schools was held at North Leamington School on Tuesday 6th July.
Colleagues from five secondary schools participated in a workshop delivered by EAL specialist teacher Nikki Ajibade on using a curriculum planning grid developed by the Bell Foundation: Identifying Language Demands and Instructional Supports.
The Bell Foundation is a national charity which aims to overcome exclusion through language education by working with partners on innovation, research and training. EMTAS specialist teachers are licensed Bell Foundation trainers delivering a range of Bell Foundation CPDs to Warwickshire schools.
Secondary school colleagues Laura Caldas & Gaby Maxim [Rugby Free], Cheryl Bretherton [Southam College], Helen Shilton [North Leamington School], Tracey Beech [Nicholas Chamberlaine] and Rula Ghannam [Stratford High] worked through a framework for integrating curriculum content and language development. The Bell Foundation designed these tools to support the language development for EAL learners at all stages of English language proficiency. However, all those attending agreed that these approaches and tools would benefit all learners in schools. Equipping teachers with the skills to plan their lessons through the lens of language development is essential to ensure all learners can effectively access curriculum content. Once the teacher has identified the demands of the curriculum content, the next step is to identify the most appropriate instructional supports and approaches. A focus on oracy is key to the Bell Foundation frameworks. The most effective type of instructional support and strategy e.g. talk/writing frames, use of graphic organisers, dictogloss etc. directly links to the identified discourse, syntax and vocabulary of the lesson content.
The day after our workshop, news media reported Labour’s plan to introduce a school oracy policy as central to their education strategy: Keir Starmer’s oracy policy for England’s schools welcomed – but some teachers wary of what it would mean in practice” [The Guardian 7/7/2023]
For more information about the EMTAS Local Offer of funded staff CPDs for primary and secondary schools, please contact: melindatwells@warwickshire.gov.uk
Submitted by: Nikki Ajibade – Joint Senior Lead for EMTAS/EAL