This course is separated into six modules of learning:
Module One: Understanding the Challenges
Module one looks at the types of language used in school and at how long it might take an EAL learner to develop the language they need for school fully. It will also cover the concept of cognitive load and explore how this might help us to understand the challenges faced by EAL learners. Learners will be given an opportunity to reflect on their own students and think about where they are on their EAL journey. At the end of this module, there is a short knowledge test to help with the retention of the information.
Module Two: General Principles of EAL Pedagogy
Module two explores some general principles for teaching in an EAL context which is linked to the challenges that were explored in the previous module. These principles will be beneficial when planning lessons that include EAL learners.
Module Three: Developing Vocabulary
Module three looks at ways of helping learners develop their technical vocabulary and will cover some general principles for supporting EAL learners with vocabulary and focus on words that EAL learners find particularly difficult.
Module Four: Supporting Reading
The aim of this module is to highlight activities and techniques that help EAL learners to become more successful at reading so that they are motivated to read more.
Module Five: Supporting Writing
In this module, we will look at activities to support EAL learners with writing. It will demonstrate how the basic principles of concepts before writing, collaboration and language features for writing and reading can form the basis for the writing sequence.
Module Six: Review for Supporting and Planning
In this module, we will review the main ideas from the course to create a list of principles and approaches for supporting EAL learners in mainstream classrooms. You will then use the list to reflect and make an action plan for using some of these approaches in your own classroom.
Study time: 120 mins
