Week 2 in Review - Introducing, Practicing, and Extending Basic School Language and Interactions in EAL Grade 2 (During Foreign Language Times)

It has been another exciting week in EAL during Foreign Language times slots this week as we have wrapped up our introduction lessons intended to help build our community of learners, make newcomers feel welcome, and make sure that all students have some utility with discussing classroom and school items, school places, and behaviours we need to exhibit in class to learn well together.

After a quick teacher scribed and led discussion about what it means to respect each other on Monday, students began to try to answer these questions:

What things do we need in the classroom and school to help us learn? Where can we find them? 
What places are in our school? What things do we do at these places to help us learn? 

Students first wrote down the names of different classroom items on scrap paper, engaging in a learning strategy known as "Mix and Match". As teachers, we noticed that students seemed to only write down, discuss, and be familiar with a limited amount of classroom items. We therefore devised a second activity where in three groups, students played "Headbands" in which they helped describe a school item to a student wearing a photograph of the item on his or her head.

"Family playing the headbands game" Photo by Lars Plougmann https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Next this week, students pooled their knowledge while working with their "12 o'clock buddies" in order to describe places around our school during a learning activity entitled "Roving Charts". With their buddies, students rotated around pictures of various places at our school. At each picture, they had to try to answer the following questions with words, phrases, or sentences:

Where is this place?
What do you see in this place?
What words describe this place?
What can we learn to do at this place?

Here is the information they came up with:

Students then practiced listening to the names of various places by playing a game called "Go to the..." in which individual and groups of students were "sent" to various "places around the school" in the form of signs hung up at different places in the classroom. Then in three groups, students practiced "sending" each other to these different places, sometimes by naming the place, other times by describing the place.

As part of a future game when we have ten minutes, we may reinforce basic descriptions and names of places around the school by playing "I have...who has...?" involving these places.

All of these early language activities involving discussing and describing various people, items, and places in the children's learning environment allowed them to practice using English for the purpose of informing.

Next week, we begin to dive into language related to the students' current unit of inquiry.

Welcome to 2016 - 17 with Mr. Jon Banules, Grade 1-2 IB PYP EAL Teacher!

Welcome to parents of Grade 1 and 2 students who are learning English!

If you are reading this, it is likely that your child is getting some extra help for his or her learning of English with an EAL (English as an Additional Language) specialist teacher. At ISPP, we support English language learning inside and outside of the homeroom class in many ways.

What does this English language support look like for a grade 1 EAL student?

In grade 1, your child will be supported by an EAL team consisting of me, Mr. Jon Banules, my teaching assistant, Ms. Mom Meach, another EAL teacher from our team, Ms. Tatiana Stadnitski, and her teaching assistant, Ms. Boramey Bun. At this level, we primarily work with the grade 1 homeroom team to develop lessons that promote students' use of English in more professional ways necessary for an academic environment. For example, your child will learn how to use language for many different functions in spoken and written form. We will also be helping students grow and develop in reading and writing through activities that connect to the homeroom's unit of inquiries and even math units.

What does this English language support look like for a grade 2 EAL student?

If your child is a grade 2 EAL student, he or she may receive EAL support during Foreign Language time to build understanding of concepts and vocabulary related to units of inquiry and literacy. In these lessons during the week, we can really focus on getting more practice with parts of language that students need to discuss deeper ideas and thinking.

He or she will also be supported by me and Ms. Mom during many lessons in the homeroom. Sometimes this support will look like your child working in a group that is facilitated by either or both of us. At other times, you might see me leading or team teaching with your child's homeroom teacher, using materials specifically designed to get students using and understanding the kind of English needed to discuss, read, present, or write about academic topics.

How long will it take for students to learn English?

"There is no definite answer to this question, as all children are different. It is helpful to think of the second language like a mirror of the first language. Generally, it takes about 2 years for your child to acquire social English (used for conversation on the playground) and 5-7 years to acquire ‘school’ or ‘academic’ language, which is much harder to master."

-Marcelle Houterman, Founder of SPELTAC (Social Platform for English Language Teaching Across the Curriculum)

How can I support my child in learning English?

If English is NOT your mother tongue, leave the English language teaching to us! Here at ISPP you can be assured that your child's EAL teacher and her homeroom teacher are working all the time to plan and lead activities that will foster deep language learning for all students. We do this mainly by making sure we combine what parts of the English language we are teaching and what the children need to discuss or create in class.

The best thing you can do at home is...USE YOUR MOTHER TONGUE! Talk to your children about school, ask them to explain themselves and their learning, and read together in your home language. Studies show that when a child's use of his mother tongue is stretched, he will more effectively develop in his understanding of other languages and deeper concepts.

Who is Mr. Jon?

I am Mr. Jon Banules, the Grade 1 and 2 EAL teacher here at ISPP. I taught English as an Additional Language for 9 years in Thailand before becoming a full homeroom teacher in 2009. I facilitated learning in grade 4 and 5 homeroom classes in Chiang Mai and here at ISPP until 2015. I have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of ISPP's transition towards a push-in model of EAL support and look forward to working with all students in grade 1 and 2, their homeroom teachers, and parents this year.

I am always available at jonbanules@ispp.edu.kh.

Let's have a great year of language learning!