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See also:
Refugee and asylum seeker news
update
Skills for Life qualifications for ESOL learners
The National ESOL Training and Development Project
Breaking the Language Barrier: report of the working group on ESOL
The National ESOL Training and Development Project was set
up to support ESOL practitioners in implementing the national
ESOL curriculum, and was carried out by a consortium of organisations,
funded by the Department for Education and Skills:
- The London Language and Literacy Unit based at South
Bank University - now LLU+
- National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (NIACE)
- Basic Skills Agency
- Learning and Skills Development Agency
- National Association for Teaching English and Other Community
Languages to Adults (NATECLA).
There were four main parts to the project:
1. A national programme of training and support materials
to help tutors implement the new national ESOL curriculum.
Those who teach for more than six hours a week will be eligible
for training. The aim is for teacher trainers to cascade the
training to others in much the same way as has happened for
the national literacy and numeracy strategies.
2. The development and distribution of information and materials
for the tutors and support workers of organisations providing
ESOL to refugees and asylum seekers.
3. Investigating and evaluating current ESOL screening and
assessment tools and mapping them against the new basic skills
standards and ESOL curriculum.
4. Mapping ESOL qualifications against the new basic skills
standard and ESOL curriculum.
The findings of the project have been used to provide:
- An information and materials pack for the tutors and support
workers of organisations providing ESOL to refugees and
asylum seekers
- A report on practice in ESOL screening and assessment
in 2001
- Guidance on ESOL qualifications approved by QCA.
For more information see www.basic-skills.co.uk/site/page.php?cms=3&p=299
The working group on ESOL was set up as a result of recommendations
from the Moser
Report: A Fresh Start: improving literacy and numeracy
(DfEE, 1999). The report addresses the need of adults who,
because it is not their first langauge, need to develop skills
in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. These
learners are currently included within the seven million people
in this country who have difficulties with basic skills.
Some of the 10 recommendations
1. All developments in the national adult basic skills strategy
must address ESOL needs alongside but distinct from basic
literacy and numeracy and this should be a specific responsibility
of the Adult Basic Skills Strategy Unit.
3. The Learning and Skills Council should:
a) set clear participation and achievement targets for ESOL
nationally and locally in order to drive up the quality and
effectiveness of provision; and
b) provide an adequate, coherent and flexible funding regime
for ESOL provision which will permit it to meet those targets
working with employers and education and training providers.
4. The DfEE/LSC should look to an expansion of ESOL provision
through colleges, Local Education Authorities and the voluntary
and community sector - focusing on those areas with especially
high demand or with specific refugee issues.
8. ESOL (and EFL) qualifications should be mapped against
the national standards. These qualifications should allow
flexibility in delivery, assessment and outcomes and should
assess each of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading
and writing) separately.
The DfEE should commission the production and distribution
of an information and support materials pack for the tutors
and support workers of organisations providing ESOL to refugees.
9. Teacher Training - DfEE should commission FENTO (the Further
Education National Training Organisation), together with ESOL
specialists and other relevant organisations, to develop teaching
standards and an initial training and qualifications framework
for new entrants to ESOL teaching.
To read a summary and the Moser report in full visit www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/mosergroup/
The National ESOL Training and Development
Project has since been set up to support the ESOL practitioners
in implementing the national ESOL curriculum, and was being
carried out by a consortium of organisations.
The TES reports how children in Northern Ireland (NI)
whose first language is not English are to be supported by
the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service which launched on
April 1 2007 and will operate throughout NI's six counties.
Features of the service include an initial assessment of each
EAL pupil, then targets for, and regular monitoring of, all
EAL pupils. Every school is to have an EAL coordinator to
ensure a consistency of approach and NI's education department
has emphasised the importance of interpreters and translation
services.
Other features outlined by the TES for the service
include a team of fully-qualified EAl teachers/advisers, a
website for pupils and their parents, and an increased profile
for English as an additional language in initial teacher education.
(TES, 23 February 2007)
Bilingual children are far more likely to get top-grade passes
in exams in all subjects, a report has found. A study of Portuguese
children at secondary schools in London showed that those
who were encouraged to continue to studying their native language
were five times as likely to achieve five top grade A8 to
C grade passes at GCSE.
The study also found that 11-year-olds in Hackney who speak
more than one language at home were out-performing pupils
who only speak English, even in reading, in their national
curriculum tests. The report Positively Pluriligual is published
by CILT, the national centre for languages, to co-incide with
a drive to encourage the take-up of community languages.
In an introduction to the report, Sir Trevor McDonald, who
led a major inquiry into the teaching of languages in schools
and is now CILT's patron, says too many schools miss out on
the opportunity to ensure bilingual pupils develop their skills
in languages other than English. Sir Trevor said: "Rather
than thinking in terms of an 'English-only' culture, we should
be promoting 'English-plus'. We know that children are capable
of acquiring more than one language and that doing so brings
a range of educational benefits, including cognitive advantages,
enhanced communication skills and an openness to different
cultural perspectives."
The report also cites research by Ellen Bailystock of York
University in Canada, which showed that bilingual people were
better at multi-tasking than those who only speak one language.
This is because they regularly exercise the part of the brain
known as the pre-frontal cortex which reinforces attention
span. The report says that more than one in eight primary
school pupils in the UK, about 850,000 children, speak a language
other than English at home. " People who already speak more
than one language find it easier to learn new languages than
monolinguals," it adds.
The report concludes: "The linguistic map of the UK is changing.
The number of languages in useis growing and diversity is
spreading to parts of the country where previously few languages
other than English were spoken." Dorset County Council, for
instance, has teamed up with Tower Hamlets in east London,
where 60% of pupils are of Bangladeshi origin- to provide
distance learning for Bengali speakers. Cumbria offers Saturday
classes in Chinese and Bengali.
(Independent, 31 October 2006)
Pupils who speak English as their first language are in the
minority at most inner London primary schools. Nationally,
one in five primary pupils is from an ethnic minority, making
non-English speakers a majority in many schools. Government
figures obtained by the Conservatives show that London has
the highest proportion of primary and secondary school pupils
speaking English as a second language. In 348 of inner London's
695 primaries, at least half have a different mother tongue.
At 53 of inner London's 132 secondary schools more than half
of pupils have English as their second language. And in more
than a quarter of outer London's primary schools, English
is not the first language for at least half of pupils. This
is the case in one in five of the area's secondary schools.
However, in the north-west, only 119 out of 2,581 have a majority
of pupils speaking a different language at home.
The figures are similar in the East Midlands, where it is
the case for 52 out of 1,708 primaries, and the East of England,
where it applies to 27 out of 2,065. Overall, one in 16 primary
schools has more than 50% of pupils speaking English as a
second language.
(Daily Mail, 10 October 2006)
Migrants to Britain will have to pay for all but the most
basic English language courses if the system is to cope with
soaring demand, a report recommends. The National Institute
of Adult Continuing Education said language courses were "worryingly
patchy" in the face of demand from new European Union countries.
Its final report following an inquiry into teaching of English
for speakers of other languages (ESOL) said free courses up
to level 2 (GCSE equivalent) would have to end. But that it
would be "unfair and discriminatory" to remove the entitlement
to free English-language teaching while free literacy and
numeracy courses were still available to native speakers.
The Learning and Skills Council already spends £280 million
a year on 540,000 ESOL students. In the long term, the report
recommends that anyone in need of English language teaching
should have a free assessment of up to three hours, and free
teaching to achieve level 1 (GSCE grade D to G equivalent).
After that, they should be charged at vocational rates, which
could be paid for through a loan scheme. Subsidies should
be available for those in financial need but where employers
are recruiting abroad, they should be obliged to fund even
the most basic ESOL courses.
(TES, 29 September 2006)
At least half the children in more than 1,000 primary schools
do not have English as their first language. Statistics show
that 6% of primaries and 5% of secondaries now have intakes
where 50% or more pupils do not have English as their mother
tongue.
In inner London, 50% of primaries and more than a third of
secondary schools are heading for, or already have, a majority
of children with English as a second language. The figures,
published in response to a parliamentary question, show that
some local authorities face a huge challenge in meeting language
needs. Headteachers argue that more funding is required if
the needs of both British-born children with ethnic-minority
backgrounds and new immigrant children are to be met.
The £169 million-a-year Ethnic Minority Achievement
Grant for extra second-language teaching has been described
as woefully inadequate and failing to address the demand from
eastern European arrivals. An Ofsted report found that almost
all the schools it analysed were forced to top-up the grant
from general school funds. Ofsted has consistently praised
headteachers for the way they cope with refugee and immigrant
children. Inspections have found that schools are proficient
at managing the admission of such children, particularly those
in the inner cities.
However, David Bell, the former chief inspector of schools
and now the permanent secretary at the DfES, has warned that
chidlren placed in schools at short notice who have a poor
grasp of English could put pressure on specialist resources
and disrupt the continuity of teaching.
Nearly 20% of children in state schools are classified as
being in a minortiy ethnic group, according to a departmental
report published in 2006. The minority ethnic school population
has grown in number by an estimated fifth to a third since
1997, compared with a 2.3% increase in the total number of
pupils.
(Telegraph, 7 August 2006)
Foreigners must pass a language test to be British, so why
isn't Britain providing enough courses for them? A report
by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education says
that immigrants cannot find enough English language teachers
to help them pass the British citizenship test.
Previously only London was short of teachers, but now there
are waiting lists for courses in English for Speakers of Other
Languages (ESOL) across the country. Demand for courses has
increased as a result of the language tests for would-be citizens
and the influx of immigrants from the new member countries
of the European Union.
(TES, 19 May 2006)
Skills for Life is the government's strategy for improving
adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL skills in England, Wales
and Northern Ireland. From September 2004, all qualifications
for adult learners of English in the state sector which relate
to the strategy have been based on the Adult ESOL Core Curriculum
(visit www.dfes.gov.uk/curriculum_esol/)
The qualifications are available at five levels - Entry 1,
Entry 2, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2 and are accredited by
the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority and funded by
the Learning and Skills Council.
The Skills for Life tests are designed for adult (16+) speakers
whose home language is not English, who are living or trying
to settle in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These ESOL
learners may include refugees or asylum seekers, migrant workers,
people from settled communities, and partners or spouses of
people who are settled in this country for a number of years.
To download the 2005 update on the Skills for Life qualifications
visit : http://www.qca.org.uk/
(University of Cambridge)
An investigation has been launched into the problems besetting
the teaching of English to immigrants in colleges and other
institutions. The inquiry will examine the growing waiting
lists for courses, not only in inner-city colleges, but also
in some rural areas where demand has outstripped supply for
the first time.
It follows a report by Ofsted, which rated the quality of
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teaching in
colleges as poor, with no sign of improvement. The inquiry
was announced by the National Institute of Adult Continuing
Education (NIACE). It will be chaired by Derek Grover, a former
director of adult learning at the Department for Education
and Skills.
NIACE is concerned that there is a shortage of ESOL teachers
and that those in post are sometimes unqualified and work
part-time with limited career opportunities. Mr Grover said
the inquiry will focus on the quality and quantity of courses
and staffing, he said: "ESOL is one of the biggest challenges
we face. The demographic shift means that there is greater
demand in the labour market for migrant workers."
(TES, 2 December 2005)
This paper, produced by SEED, proposes ways in which the Executive
and its agencies, councils, employers, the wider education
community and service providers can all work better in meeting
the needs of English as a Second or Other Language learners.
It aims to ensure access to high quality English teaching
to equip migrant workers and asylum seekers with the language
skills needed to integrate into Scottish society. The consultation
period on this draft strategy lasts until 31st October 2005.
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/2593049/30507
(NGfL, July 2005)
Since 2002, Learning and Skills Council (LSC) expenditure
on English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) provision
has increased significantly. Most of the provision does not
lead directly to approved qualifications that contribute to
the Government's Skills for Life target, and it is expected
that demand for ESOL provision is likely to increase further
in the near future. This is particularly as a result of the
language component of the citizenship test that new UK residents
are required to complete.
To guide future planning, the national LSC commissioned a
review of the current provision. The review was undertaken
by KPMG on behalf of the Skills for Life Strategy Unit and
the LSC. A summary of findings was published in June 2005;
it considers both previous and current provision and makes
recommendations for consideration for future delivery.
The review found that ESOL provision is meeting the needs
of an extremely diverse range of learners, including those
who have Master's degrees in their own language through to
those who are illiterate in their own language. There were
also a wide range of reasons why learners had joined a course,
including gaining employment, accessing higher education or
settling into a new community. The need for specific vocational
provision to meet the demands of those who wish to gain employment
was frequently raised as an issue.
It also found some confusion exists between the appropriateness
of ESOL provision and English as a foreign language (EFL)
provision, and it was suggested that the new qualifications
(and Government funding to make them free to the learner)
could lead to some people who would previously have studied
EFL (particularly EU learners) being switched to ESOL.
There is now a wide range of possible levels of qualifications,
with the most common provision being short courses and those
at entry level 1 and 2. There has also been significant growth
in provision across all three entry levels. The authors raised
concerns that 60% of provision was not externally validated,
and did not contribute to the Skills for Life performance
target. Furthermore, the greatest level of provision is below
entry level 3, the level required to pass the citizenship
test, and any learners wishing to gain citizenship are likely
to have to undertake a number of programmes in order to reach
this level. An increase in the numbers taking the test is
likely to lead to a significant increase in the number of
enrolments, and increased pressure on LSC funding, since entry
level learning aims require more funding than those at higher
levels.
One of the report's recommendations is that further research
be undertaken to determine the likely demand of entry level
provision as a result of citizenship requirements. This should
include, it says, "some quantitative research into the
starting points of learners so that modelling could take place
on the amount of learning that would be required".
To download a summary of findings and recommendations, visit
www.lsc.gov.uk.
(Learning and Skills Council website, www.lsc.gov.uk,
June 2005)
An Ofsted report has been critical of the high level of unsatisfactory
ESOL lessons during 2003/4, which was higher than in 2002
or 2003. Students' attainment was good or very good in 48.3%
of the lessons observed, a drop from the previous years' figure
of 50.1%. The proportion of unsatisfactory attainment is higher
than in the previous year.
Reasons which the report suggests for poor performance include
the life expectancy of proxy awards, as the approved national
ESOL qualifications were changed during 2002/3 and changed
again from 31 August 2004. Many providers did not enter candidates
for recognised ESOL proxy Skills for Life qualifications,
but only "other" and internal college certificates.
As a result, departments have often not been required to meet
real achievement and progression targets in line with other
college departments and, consequently, teaching may not be
focused on the long-term needs of learners.
Another reason for the difficulties might be that screening
and initial assessment were underdeveloped. Literacy and numeracy
had well-established initial screening materials and national
tests for these areas have been in place over a longer period
of time. In many institutions, ESOL staff are still undergoing
training to gain familiarity with screening, initial and diagnostic
assessments, and with the National Tests (used for Reading
in ESOL) at Levels 1 and 2.
The high level of unsatisfactory ESOL provision reflects
the general changes and state of uncertainty in the sector.
Most importantly, adult students of ESOL are not achieving
and progressing to the same level as students within most
other curriculum areas of learning and are unable to progress
to higher levels of skills and qualifications necessary for
further education, higher education and employment.
(Basic Skills Bulletin, 6 May 2005)
The Scottish Executive has published the National
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Strategy: mapping
exercise and scoping study. This forms the report of
a national study commissioned by the Executive with the aim
of providing quantitative data on ESOL student and teaching
populations and exploring issues facing providers and learners.
A summary version of the research findings is available online:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/01/20538/50194
(NGfL, January 05)
Research shows that children who speak at least two languages
do better at school than those who speak only one. Why is
it then that so many teachers see multilingualism as a problem
rather than an asset? According to a study from the Institute
of Education at the University of London, until recently most
teachers have had low expectations of the capabilities of
children from non-English speaking backgrounds. The report,
which brings together a number of studies on bilingual and
trilingual children, says that the boosting of 'community'
languages is beneficial. It is good for the people speaking
them and also (not least for economic reasons) for everyone
else too; schools should be doing more to foster them.
Dr Raymonde Sneddon, from the School of Education and Community
Studies at the University of East London, has studied local
children. Success, she says, takes time. Children can learn
to communicate in two years but it takes seven years to have
full command. But by 11, she has shown, trilingual children
are doing better at school than their monolingual peers. Far
from being confused by the different languages surrounding
them, the children were accomplished speakers of English and
performed on a test of reading comprehension at a level higher
than children who spoke only English. Interestingly, though
boys normally lag behind at this age, they were keeping up
with the girls.
Sneddon's report concluded that if the children's multilingual
experiences (which are, after all, the norm in many countries)
were acknowledged, they could be put to greater use.
At the Institute of Education, Dr Charmian Kenner, who did
research on six-year-olds growing up in London and learning
to write Chinese, Arabic and Spanish as well as English, recognised
the various studies were all basically making the same point.
She says that in the first instance the Government and local
authorities should make sure that community-language classes
are given resources and support. She said: "The price
of ignoring children's bilingualism is educational failure
and social exclusion."
(Independent, 9 October 2003)
Ofsted inspectors have said that pupils who have English
as an additional language (EAL) need extra support long after
they become fluent speakers. They reported that some schools
had stopped providing special support for advanced bilingual
learners to give priority to the growing number of new arrivals
who could not speak the language. However, inspectors found
that bilingual pupils who spoke English fluently could still
struggle with their studies, even if they passed GCSE English.
One key stage 4 teacher told inspectors: "The mismatch
between oral communication and writing ability is quite stark
in some pupils."
Ofsted analysed test scores of pupils who spoke English as
an additional language, a group who make up a tenth of students
in English schools, and found that Somali, Kurdish and Turkish
speakers performed considerably worse than others. Ofsted
also published separate research exploring the writing difficulties
of EAL pupils. It found that bilingual pupils tended to make
the same kinds of grammar and spelling mistakes as native
English speakers with below average GCSE English results.
Writing in EAL at key stage 4 and post-16 is available
to download at www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=3228
More advanced learners of EAL in secondary schools and
colleges is available at www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=pubs.summary&id=3229
(TES, 21 March 2003)
In August 2002, National Association for Language Development
in the Curriculum (NALDIC), with funding from the Department
for Education and Skills, published The EAL Teacher: Descriptors
of Good Practice. This publication presented the findings
of a consultative exercise and research project carried out
in 1999-2000, with the support of the School of Education
at the University of Birmingham.
Key findings of the consultation included:
- there is a great deal of knowledge and expertise in teaching
English as an additional language in LEAs and schools in
England. One of the strengths is that provision is embedded
in classroom practice and reflects and responds to the diversity
of contexts, cultures and languages in the pupil population.
However, this knowledge and expertise needs to be evaluated
and coordinated in a systematic way so that it can inform
policy, research, training and educational initiatives.
- EAL teachers work in a range of contexts supporting a
diverse pupil population. The use of a single model of EAL
teaching competency descriptors will have to accommodate
EAL teachers who work in differing situations.
- there is consensus on the establishment of descriptors.
Teachers were very positive about a nationally agreed definition
and recognition of their role.
The descriptors outlined as a result of the research project
cover teaching and learning; assessment, monitoring and recording
of pupils' progression; and the professional role of the EAL
specialist teacher.
The EAL Teacher: Descriptors of Good Practice is available
from NALDIC on 01923 231855, email publications@naldic.org.uk.
Professor Colin Baker of the University of Wales, one of
the world's leading experts on bilingualism, has highlighted
the following advantages of bilingualism that have been identified
by research projects around the world:
- Bilingual children have two or more words for objects
and ideas, so the links between words and concepts are looser,
allowing more fluent, flexible and creative thinking.
- They can communicate more naturally and expressively,
maintaining a finer texture of relationships with parents
and grandparents, as well as with the local and wider communities
in which they live.
- They gain the benefits of two sets of literatures, traditions,
ideas, ways of thinking and behaving.
- They can act as a bridge between people of different
colours, creeds and cultures.
- With two languages comes a wider cultural experience,
greater tolerance of differences and, perhaps, less racism.
- As barriers to movement between countries are taken down,
the earning power of bilinguals rises.
- Further advantages include raised self-esteem, increased
achievement, and greater proficiency with other languages.
(TES Scotland, 22 March 2002)
Training materials are being devised by the Qualifications
and Curriculum authority to support a Language in Common,
the booklet is split into four parts: key issues relating
to assessment in general and EAL in particular; the scale
for assessing early progress in EAL - listening, speaking,
reading and writing; more extended exemplification of pupils'
progress and attainment; general guidance on using a system
of profiling.
To download A language in common: assessing English as
an additional language visit
http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_5739.aspx
(The Primary English Magazine, NATE, June 2001)
The Dundee
Communities Languages Advisory Group, which runs weekend
classes in seven languages held their first awards ceremony
in November, 1999. The awards were for six young people who
had passed Standard grade Urdu in June. Each came from a bilingual
family where Urdu is used at home and English at school.
The critical question is when will Scottish education acknowledge
the abilities of bilingual pupils and seek to nurture linguistic
diversity? Languages like French and German are regarded as
essential, but what of Urdu, Arabic and Chinese, to name but
a few? What about support and development of first home languages?
Where is the investment and recognition to develop the bilingualism
that already exists in many homes in Scotland?
Scotland is a linguistically complex country. Some people
think that this diversity is a threat to national identity
and cohesion, and there continue to be misconceptions and
prejudices that the learning of two languages at an early
age creates confusion and limits progress. Initial and in-service
teacher education fails to give sufficient weight to bilingual
skills and issues. There are few training opportunities for
community language teachers.
These are some of the concerns identified in Bilingualism,
Community Languages and Scottish Education, produced by
the Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland.
At the document's heart is the belief that the new Scotland
should be culturally inclusive and open enough to consider
a distinctive language policy providing national and other
bodies with a clear framework for supporting the development
and use of the country's languages. The document starts
with a definition which is central to the debate. Bilingualism
is an appreciation by society of the importance of languages
(both majority and minority) in the shaping of individual,
social, cultural, political and economic identity. This includes
a valuing of community and heritage languages and the promotion
of language diversity, maintenance and restoration within
all aspects of education.
Bilingualism, Community Languages and Scottish Education
is available at £5 (plus p & p) from CERES, Room
2:5, Charteris Building, Moray House, Edinburgh University,
Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ (O131 651 6371).
(TES, 19 November 1999)
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