Appyling for Jobs and EAL

This week I have been writing my personal statement ready to apply to pools in London and the surrounding areas. It has been a reflective exercise in itself as it has made me look at my strengths objectively; a consequence of this is that I have identified gaps in my learning. For example an area that I need to develop my experience in is teaching for EAL. The previous two schools that I have been placed with have had no children that needed additional support. I feel that because I am applying to schools within the London area I need to have a greater experience bank to help me when I get to an area that will have a large proportion of EAL children.
On the subject I have been researching some resources to use within schools from NALDRIC, such as I have read through the Pupil Portraits posted by teachers. In particular I looked at Anna's story, a polish year 2 child who had just come to the UK. What I have learnt is that communication with the child’s family is essential to getting to know the child in your class. In Anna's case there was no documentation sent to her new school about her learning and her ability level or even her confidence level within a class. Communicating with parents in this respect is therefore very important. However in a lot of EAL families, they speak little English at first so communication can be a problem. This was the case for Anna's parents, in the case study the teacher said the parents felt very isolated as they didn’t speak any English. The school combatted this by putting the parents in touch with other polish families in the area, and this then opened up a line of communication to the school about Anna. It seems important to me that all children continue to develop the skills that they learn in school when they get home. I feel it is particularly important that EAL children are supported to practice their English language skills.
Grouping Anna with children within the class, who would set a good model for English language, also seemed very beneficial for her. The case study suggested she had been confident at her polish school but was self-conscious at her new school. The study reported that she learnt well from others and also listened intently to what everyone was saying. So in terms of classroom management, sitting her next to someone who had a good clear speaking voice would help Anna to feel more comfortable and pick things up more quickly.
If I had Anna in my class I would adapt my teaching in a similar way that I have done on BEES1 when I had a hearing impaired child in the class. I would integrate more visual cues and stimulus to make sure that Anna understands what we are doing. I think I would also try to learn a few words in polish to make her feel at ease. I could also get the children to learn some easy words or phrases, such as numbers to ten and saying good morning when I take the register.