Introduction

In Voice 21 Oracy Schools, we know that learning English as an additional language — being or becoming multilingual — is an asset to learners, not a deficit. We know that many of our schools are pioneering approaches to supporting EAL learners to develop their speaking, listening and communication skills through oracy education.

This blog will highlight the practice of Voice 21 Oracy Schools, showing how schools have taken a
whole-school approach to oracy and EAL, and some of the specific strategies that schools have used to create inclusive environments for these learners.

A whole-school approach to oracy supports EAL learners

A key means of supporting EAL learners through oracy is to have an inclusive approach across the whole school. Voice 21 Oracy Schools have done this by celebrating all languages and cultural identities and creating an environment where learners understand that all voices are valued. This promotes a culture of social acceptance and social inclusion, and ensures that EAL learners are included in both their classrooms and in the wider school.

1. Creating a positive and inclusive school culture

Grove Street Primary School’s sustained focus on maintaining an inclusive school culture has supported their growing numbers of EAL learners. This culture of inclusion enables Grove Street to support students to learn at their own pace in an environment where they feel listened to, and where listening and non-verbal interactions are valued.

Mount Pleasant Junior School uses Welcoming Committees to support students who are new to the
school, and show that multilingualism is recognised as an asset that plays an essential role in school life. The Welcoming Committees support other students who are learning English, both during lessons and in break times. The members of the Welcoming Committees wear badges that show which languages they speak, and engage with other EAL learners in both their home languages and in English.

2. Creating an oracy-rich curriculum to support EAL learners

At Hazelbury Primary School, explicit teaching of oracy skills needed for different contexts and varied audiences are built in throughout the curriculum. This helps the school ensure that students have the talk strategies to ensure future success in school and beyond. Children work towards building solid foundations in both their preferred languages and in English by using talk to explore and develop their ideas; students are given the opportunities to engage in exploratory talk in every lesson.

Grove Street uses oracy assemblies to expose students to different languages, accents and dialects by sharing different texts and welcoming guest speakers. “We applied the ‘Windows, Mirrors and Sliding Glass Doors’ philosophy in resources and texts – children should see themselves represented and experience the lives of others, whilst also having new worlds opened to them.”

3. Using classroom practice to support EAL learners

Creating an inclusive classroom where English as an Additional Language (EAL) learners feel welcomed and able to participate fully requires thoughtful planning and deliberate support. Teachers support their EAL learners to participate in class by creating environments where everyone works together to co-construct knowledge and where the emphasis is on speaking and engaging in lessons, not simply getting the ‘right’ answer. Key to this is ensuring that students understand expectations for talk in this context and that effective scaffolding is in place to help them access learning and engage in classroom dialogue.

Set high expectations for talk…

At Mount Pleasant Junior School, the school uses an Oracy Charter, which maps out the progression of each strand of the Oracy Framework, and what the expectations are when students are “getting started,” “making headway,” and “aiming high.” Teachers use these to identify and teach the oracy skils students need to engage in talk for learning and develop a shared language for oracy in their classrooms.

At Saltley Academy, the expectation is that all students have valuable contributions to make to
classrooom discussion. Texts are used as engaging stimuli for talk, enabling students to draw on the wide knowledge base that exists in a diverse classroom. As a result, all students, including EAL learners, have the opportunity to participate in authentic discussion of salient issues that are relevant to their lives.

…whilst providing appropriate scaffolds

In a primary context, Mount Pleasant Junior School ensures that EAL learners are supported to use key vocabulary.

…and creating opportunities for translanguaging

Translanguaging practice allows students to use their full linguistic repertoires by encouraging multilingual communication. Translanguaging in oracy activities ensures that students are empowered to harness their prior knowledge and experiences when developing their proficiency in English.

Westgate Hill Primary School has focused specifically on using trio groupings to support EAL
learners. Students are grouped strategically, ensuring that there are students who speak the same home language and students with different English levels in each group so that they can offer support to newer English learners.