Developing vocabulary for EAL pupils

We have been working hard in improving outcomes for EAL pupils. Research shows...

• It takes 5-7 years to master the language skills needed for the curriculum. Therefore, removing bi-lingual support too early may be harmful to the child’s academic success.
• Receptive vocabulary of EAL students who have been educated through English for 10 years had gaps in the most frequent words.
• In the EAL situation, vocabulary coverage is not planned but arises from teaching in the curriculum areas
• Intervention by mainstream subject teachers in vocabulary development may often be limited to simplification or unfamiliar words, rather than attending to the need to increase vocabulary size or develop deep word knowledge.

A good example of this in practise is how certain words go with other words. Native children understand this but EAL pupils don’t. E.g. You catch a bus but not a car. You miss the bus but not a car. You can have a cup of strong coffee, but not a strong coke!

For EAL pupils, learning in a language has massive challenges - here's a few things we can do to help: 

• Repetition 
• Use in writing sentences (retrieval) 
• Regular practice of words (space out practice) 
• Model different uses of the word (go beyond that lesson). 
• Imaging (provide a mental image of the word). 
• Saying and other tricks to remember words (I have a friend to the end). 
• Reusing vocabulary in practical ways, e.g. in science. 
• Word associations.