b. English as an Additional Language
Over time, we have learned to deal with issues such as Standard English, language diversity and bilingualism in ways that do not threaten our student teachers. On the one year postgraduate course we explore issues of language diversity towards the end of the course, once relationships between student teachers and tutor have been established. This enables student teachers to talk openly about their fears and lack of experience.
Activity i
Student teachers find the NLS Supporting Pupils Learning English as an Additional Language (Revised Edition 2002) a particularly useful introduction to different aspects of working with children with EAL. We begin by watching the extract that shows a literacy lesson being taught in Gujarati. We ask non-Gujarati speakers how they felt when confronted with an unfamiliar language and what strategies they had used to make sense of what the teacher was saying.
Activity ii
In order to encourage student teachers to consider the opportunities arising from working with bilingual children in school, we show them the video of Lem Sissay teaching a class of minority ethnic children how to rap. Student teachers enjoy this and it also provides an example of using children’s experience as a resource.
Activity iii
Elmer, a patchwork elephant (Elmer, David McKee, 1998) provides an opportunity to explore difference and diversity. We collect a number of examples of greetings. For example ‘good morning’; ‘g’day’; ‘wotcha’; ‘hello’. We also use as many different languages as possible ‘ciao’; ‘saat siri akaal’; ‘bonjour’. The same is done for ‘good-bye’. We then ask student teachers to consider the different words for said, e.g called, yelled, replied etc. This work can also be connected to comics and speech bubbles and student teachers can make drawings of Elmer with appropriate speech bubbles which then decorate our primary centre. Finally, we ask student teachers to consider what the children might learn from this activity.
Connections to Standards
Q 4, 5, 6,14, 18, 19, 25.
See also 2d. English as an Additional Language (EAL)
 
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