Yvonne Foley

Examining EAL policy and practice in mainstream schools

While internationally there is a growing body of work investigating mainstreaming of English as an additional language (EAL), this topic has not featured strongly in research in the United Kingdom, and there are only a few studies that focus on the extent to which government policies and prescriptions concerning EAL students are actually being implemented in everyday practice. Addressing this gap, the current paper gives an account of the findings of a study which involved 22 student-teachers reporting on their observations concerning EAL policies and practices, across 66 placements in 47 schools in eight local authorities and in five independent schools. These student-teachers had taken part in an EAL course which sensitised them to issues surrounding EAL learners in mainstream classrooms and positioned them as informed observers. Their reports appear to reveal that the needs of EAL learners across Scotland are not being met to a sufficient degree, despite the fact that legislation is in place which requires local authorities and schools to ensure that all learners have appropriate access to the curriculum. Possible reasons for this state of affairs and ways in which progress could be achieved are considered in the concluding discussion.

How effectively are mainstream teachers prepared to meet the needs of learners for whom English is an additional language

There is a consensus in the international literature that insufficient attention has been given in Initial Teacher Education programmes to preparing novice teachers to support learners for whom English is an Additional Language (EAL). This chapter reports on a research and development study which has sought to make a contribution to addressing this gap. The study examined the current preparation of teacher education students to meet the needs of EAL learners in two Scottish university schools of Education; and explored how provision could best be developed in these two sites and more widely within the UK. The chapter frames this project within relevant international literature that has delineated the challenges faced by EAL learners, and identified issues related to second language acquisition, language diversity and literacies. A synoptic description is given of the design of the study and of the developmental intervention at its centre which aimed to provide student teachers with an initial orientation to the needs of EAL learners. Findings related to a survey of teacher educators in these two sites are then reported, followed by findings concerning the student teachers. The chapter concludes by considering the lessons for policy and practice in Initial Teacher Education that appear to flow from this project; and it is argued that a truly inclusive approach to EAL learners needs to be framed as part of a wider agenda of social justice and informed by theoretical perspectives that bring out the connections between language, literacies, culture, identity and power.