All about the role of ... Language/bilingual support teacher

These include languages from established communities such as Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Cantonese, and more recently arrived languages such as Arabic, Mandarin and Polish. Increasing numbers of children are entering EYFS settings for whom English is not the dominant language in the home. In some settings, one or two languages groups are represented while in others the population is linguistically and culturally very diverse.

In the past, English as an additional language was regarded as a defined subject in education in the UK. Since the mid-1980s however, there has been no specific EAL curriculum in England and the policy is that National Curriculum English is considered to be a good model for both first and additional language learning. This policy contrasts with many other English-speaking countries where there are detailed language curricula for EAL pupils.

In the EYFS framework, the role of the language/bilingual support teacher (LBST) is to ensure that there is equitable and inclusive language learning provision for all children and to support colleagues in promoting the children's language development. Many early years practitioners feel daunted by the number of different languages they meet in their settings and the LBST acts as a role model, advising and guiding them.

LBSTs hold staff meetings and workshops to help colleagues to understand the stages of English language development of bilingual learners. They help them to be sensitive to contexts which enable children to respond or to participate and to contexts in which children can listen without having to respond. They draw on children's home experiences and interests through home visits, involving bilingual parents in the early years setting and planning for interactions which are culturally and linguistically familiar.

QUALIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

Currently you cannot qualify as an EAL specialist teacher directly because EAL is not a subject specialism in teacher training but takes place within mainstream education. Teachers' Standards outline what teachers should know about pupils learning EAL in the context of teaching all pupils. To become an EAL teacher, therefore, you must first gain qualified teacher status and then pursue courses aimed at teaching EAL in the EYFS and gain experience in the workplace.

Routes and courses which lead to qualified teacher status, as outlined by the Teaching Agency, include postor professional graduate courses such as the PGCE (one year fullor part-time) and the BEd/BA with QTS (three years). There are also work-based routes such as the School Direct Training Programme which has now replaced the Graduate Teacher Programme.

The National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC) is the national professional association for EAL teachers. Its mission is to promote the effective teaching and learning of EAL and bilingual pupils in UK schools.

NALDIC organises CPD events, training and conferences to introduce teachers and teacher educators to the needs of young bilingual children in the early years. The materials present an overview of the complexities involved, examine play as a vehicle for learning in general and especially for learning a new language, and highlight the crucial role of monolingual and bilingual practitioners.

NALDIC also holds summer schools to give members the opportunity to explore issues in depth in EAL policy, research and practice, and it holds a directory of consultants who may be approached to provide advice.

FURTHER INFORMATION

• The Teaching Agency, www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching

• NALDIC, www.naldic.org.uk/eal-teaching

CASE STUDY - EILEEN AVERY

Eileen Avery began working with EAL children when she was employed to teach across the primary age range in the London Boroughs of Southwark and Tower Hamlets. Ten years ago, Ms Avery moved to Kintore Way Children's Centre, Bermondsey where she was employed first as a class teacher and subsequently as a teacher supporting children with EAL.

Ms Avery says, 'Currently I prioritise the children who are new to English on enrolment. I meet with the family and key worker to discuss the best way to support them. We have children who speak English plus another language; some being biand trilingual. We have found that if a child who is new to English has a few other children speaking his or her language, this helps that child to settle at the centre more easily - playing alongside and communicating with peers as they learn English. It is the single speaker of a language such as Tagalog or Kurdish who needs more support.

'We see it as positive that a child speaks more than one language. One of my tasks is to collate information on the languages spoken and understood, and on families' religions. This is done in conjunction with the child's key worker and parent. We use this information for planning meaningful community celebrations throughout the year, rather than one size fits all. For example, with the Muslim holiday Eid, we asked Muslim families from Turkey, Poland and Bermondsey to come and tell the children how they would be celebrating Eid this year.

'Some of our parents also need support in learning English and we signpost them to EAL classes in the centre. We recently organised an interpreter from the community to support two Mandarinspeaking families, helping their children to get the most out of the curriculum.'