At EMTAS we use The Bell Foundation’s award-winning EAL Assessment Framework - Primary and EAL Assessment Framework - Secondary to assess and track pupil progress.
The framework focuses on the four strands of language development:
- Listening
- Speaking
- Reading and viewing
- Writing.
These strands are then broken down into the five EAL Proficiency bands.
Each band has a descriptive label:
- A - New to English / Beginning
- B - Early acquisition / Emerging
- C - Developing competence
- D - Competent / Diversifying
- E - Fluent.
To complement the EAL Assessment Framework The Bell Foundation have also produced a digital EAL Assessment Tracker (external link).
Video guidance on how to use the Trackers can be found on The Bell Foundation Website or via their YouTube Channel under EAL Assessment Playlist.
Classroom Guidance
The Bell foundation have produced detailed, Classroom Guidance and Strategies for EAL (external link) which provides a range of strategies designed to support teachers in planning and embedding appropriate EAL teaching and learning activities.
SEND and EAL
Identifying any potential special educational needs of EAL pupils requires significant care.
New to English pupils, who have limited English vocabulary, should not immediately be viewed as having a learning need.
However, if an EAL pupil is making significantly slower progress, in comparison to other EAL students, we cannot assume that this is solely because of their language needs, and it is worth investigating possible learning difficulties. For example, they may have a speech and language, hearing impairment, sensory or emotional difficulty.
Further information can be found on The Bell Foundation EAL and SEND guidance (external link).