Teaching Additional Language

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This essay will discuss a challenge that teachers face when teaching English as an Additional Language. The challenge that I will be looking into which is presented mainly in classrooms is ‘communication/language barriers’. This challenge is identified as one of the major issues in an EAL class and due to this it can affect the teaching & learning practice between a teacher and pupil. EAL (English as an Additional Language) is referred to pupils who live in two or more languages and who use these languages at home and at school. It does not mean that they have fluency in both languages or are competent and literate in both (Dumfries & Galloway Council, No date). There are more than a million children between the ages of 5-18 in UK schools …show more content…

BTAs use the first language of the pupil to develop and support their learning. They also draw on their personal knowledge of the pupil’s cultural background to activate their prior knowledge in relation to the subject that is being taught. All bilingual teaching assistants and specialist EAL teachers play their part in supporting inclusion by facilitating participation and learning responding to the diverse needs of the pupils, setting suitable learning challenges and overcoming barriers in learning. The BTAs knowledge of the contribution pupil’s first language makes to academic success in EAL learner’s means that they will not only interpret key words and instructions but also use their first language to explore concepts in much depth and develop high order learning skills that pupils can transfer to EAL (NALDIC, …show more content…

Pupils have the opportunity to learn the language in a natural communicative setting through authentic and meaningful language. Providing daily peer interaction in the classroom allows for the academic and language success of the pupils. The interaction gives pupils the chance to develop an understanding of each other’s culture. There are programs that group students in separate classrooms by language dominance such as native speakers being grouped for their daily program and English language learners are assigned to other classrooms. However, native speakers and English learners need the chance to participate together in content learning through teaching situations where student groups are integrated for instruction. According to Cummins (1981), children best learn the English language when they are actively involved in the communication process with another person (Hernandez,

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