Assessment

Decoding EAL: What does English as an Additional Language really mean?

More than 1.5million students are classed as having English as an Additional Language. While they all fall into that one category they are definitely not all one group when it comes to linguistic and academic ability. AQA Lead Researcher Dr Katy Finch shares her insights on how understanding what the label means can allow those students to thrive.

Date06/04/23

AuthorDr Katy Finch

Deciphering the term EAL is vital to making education more accessible

It’s an everyday scene up and down the country, students grab their schoolbags and issue hurried goodbyes to their parents or carers as they set off for another day in the classroom.

Almost one in five of those youngsters, being waved off at the school gate or front door, will not be saying their farewells in English.

Lost in translation

Some 1.64million state school pupils are classed as speaking English as an additional language (EAL) generally meaning they speak another language at home.

Importantly, it does not mean they are all newly-arrived in the UK, lack a good grasp of English, will inevitably be low academic achievers or are unable to comprehend standard exams.

What I have learned working with EAL students and in my post graduate research is that the label covers a huge diversity of linguistic and academic ability.

This needs to be clearly understood if we’re to help every young person achieve their full potential.

What EAL does mean and what it doesn't

One of the biggest myths is that EAL automatically equals low attainment.

EAL status itself is a poor predictor of GCSE outcomes. English language proficiency is much better.

In fact, those with high fluency levels can outperform first-language English counterparts.

The label also covers a vast spectrum of linguistic abilities from those born in the UK and schooled from Reception, to 15-year-old new arrivals with little or no English.

Students with EAL are such a diverse group, understanding what it means is a key consideration for improving outcomes.

Who are students with EAL?

For instance, how strong is the student’s home language? How proficient is their English?

Some are completely bi-lingual using both languages daily with family and friends.

Others only speak English at school meaning their vocabulary may encompass complex academic terms but does not stretch to mundane household words such as plunger or carpet cleaner.

Another question is do their literacy and verbal skills match up? Some speak English far better than they write or read it. That category may fall through the cracks.

Lowering linguistic barriers

This leads us to the use of language in assessments

For those still acquiring language skills, subjects that rely heavily on text and language, such as English or history, may pose more difficulties.

Formula-rich subjects like maths and physics, however, have smaller obstacles.

These bi/multi-lingual students may also well be better placed to excel in other languages thanks to existing linguistic skills.

While EAL learners can, and do, perform well in assessments, exam boards can take steps to ensure papers are as accessible as possible.

For example, the passive voice can be difficult to process and ‘trip-up’ students in the stress of the exam hall. Demanding vocabulary or complex sentences also hinders fair assessment.

Culture and context can be another unnecessary barrier.

The context in which a question is set can make a huge difference to someone from a different culture’s ability to answer it.

Unfamiliar contexts can throw students off course and a relatively obscure cultural reference might stop them understanding the question altogether.

Teaching students with EAL is not straightforward

Finally, there needs to be support for newly arrived learners.

Being new to the UK and English can make the first few years of education stressful.

Those who arrive in KS4 may find this compounded by the fact their peers are preparing for exams they are unable to sit or might struggle with.

Schools can be at a loss as how best to support these young people. Teachers struggle with the lack of certification for the KS4 cohort with English language difficulties as well as the safeguarding issues of putting youngsters in FE colleges to study entry level English Speakers of Other Languages.

What can be done to help EAL students reach their full potential?

There are assessments schools can use to certify EAL students’ English skills. For example, AQA’s unique Unit Award Scheme offers units mapped to GCSEs and other qualifications.

This kind of support can ensure EAL students aren’t ignored or forgotten and by certifying each step they make, it can boost their confidence too.

But we have to be careful with the label EAL.

Sometimes it might be helpful in identifying those needing support, but other times English proficiency is really what we’re talking about.

Assessment

What can this year’s GCSE entries tell us to look for in tomorrow’s results?

With GCSE Results published on 22nd August, Dr Chinwe Njoku looks into the underlying data on what subjects this year's cohort took and how this has changed from previous years.

Assessment

A-level maths students hit six figures – what’s behind its popularity?

On Thursday, more than 100,000 A-level maths students in England will find out their results – 11.4% more than last year. Why the upturn? Dr Chinwe Njoku, AQA Education Insights Lead and former maths teacher, was heartened by the news and keen to look at the story behind the data.

Education Policy

What comes after ‘urgent’ for the new Education Secretary?

After the burning issues are addressed, what should come next for the new Education Secretary?

Education Policy

Labour’s oracy plans: They need clear goals

Sir Keir Starmer has said he wants to boost students’ confidence by raising the importance of speaking skills – oracy. In this previously published blog, Reza Schwitzer, AQA’s director of external affairs, applauds the ambition but warns there needs to be clear goals

Education Policy

Through the looking glass: How polling the public can help policymakers learn about themselves

Public attitude data is key to effective policymaking. Proper polling can reveal what people think about existing policies and what they want for the future. But, if looked at from a different angle, it can also help policymakers question themselves and their assumptions about the public. In this blog, AQA’s Policy and Evidence Manager Adam Steedman-Thake, reveals the lessons he learned about himself while reading a recent public attitude survey.

Assessment

Assessing oracy: Is Comparative Judgement the answer?

Oracy skills are vital to success in school and life. And yet, for many children, opportunities to develop them are missed. Educationalists are engaging in a growing debate about where oracy fits into the school system. Labour has put it at the heart of its plans to improve social mobility and an independent commission is looking at how it is taught in the classroom. This renewed focus on oracy means it is more important than ever that teachers have a way to reliably assess and understand their students’ attainment and progression. Amanda Moorghen of oracy education charity Voice 21 explains how Comparative Judgement can help with that and why it may be a game changer.

Education

TV subtitles as an aid to literacy: What does the research say?

Jack Black is probably best known in educational circles for playing a renegade substitute teacher in School of Rock. But the Hollywood star has made a more conventional foray into education by backing the use of TV subtitles to improve child literacy. Stephen Fry and the World Literacy Foundation also want parents to use their TV remotes to get children reading. So, could this simple click of a button be a solution to boost pupils’ reading skills? AQA’s resident expert on language teaching, Dr Katy Finch, casts her eye over the research to see whether it stacks up.

Data Analysis

What is left behind now education’s Data Wave has receded?

Is data the solution to all education’s issues? About a decade ago the prevailing wisdom said it was. Advocates of this Data Wave argued that harvesting internal statistics would help schools solve issues such as teacher accountability and attainment gaps. As with all waves, after crashing onto the beach they recede, leaving space for another to roll in. In this blog, teacher, author and data analyst Richard Selfridge looks at the legacy of the Data Wave to see what schools can take from it.

International Approaches

Finland & PISA – A fall from grace but still a high performer?

Finland was once recognised as one of the most successful educational systems in the world. At the turn of the millennium, it topped the PISA rankings in reading, maths and science. But by 2012, decline set in. The last set of results showed performances in maths, reading and science were at an all-time low. In this blog Dr Jonathan Doherty of Leeds Trinity University outlines some reasons that may account for the slide.

Briefing

PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS: What actually are they and what do they tell us?

According to the latest PISA results, England’s science scores are still on a downward trajectory that started a decade ago. Yet TIMSS, another respected study, has science performances rising. Which of them is right? Is one more valid than the other? In this blog AQi examines three International Large-Scale Assessments and finds that, although they may look the same from a distance, get up close and you’ll find they are very different beasts.

Download a PDF version.

Download a copy of this content to your device as a PDF file. We generate PDF versions for the convenience of offline reading, but we recommend sharing this link if you'd like to send it to someone else.

Decoding EAL: What does English as an Additional Language really mean?

Lost in translation

What EAL does mean and what it doesn't

Who are students with EAL?

Lowering linguistic barriers

Teaching students with EAL is not straightforward

What can be done to help EAL students reach their full potential?

What can this year’s GCSE entries tell us to look for in tomorrow’s results?

A-level maths students hit six figures – what’s behind its popularity?

What comes after ‘urgent’ for the new Education Secretary?

Labour’s oracy plans: They need clear goals

Through the looking glass: How polling the public can help policymakers learn about themselves

Assessing oracy: Is Comparative Judgement the answer?

TV subtitles as an aid to literacy: What does the research say?

What is left behind now education’s Data Wave has receded?

Finland & PISA – A fall from grace but still a high performer?

PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS: What actually are they and what do they tell us?

Join the conversation on Twitter

Download a PDF version.

Sign up to our newsletter