Having children in the classroom for whom English is not their L1 offers opportunities and challenges. This study highlights into the links between language development, academic achievement and social integration and provides practical suggestions on how these can be applied in a classroom context
This research is published at a time of significant change in England and globally. At an international level, population movements mean that a greater number
of children and families are relocating and being educated in another education system and language, including in the UK.
Secondly, the number of children with English as an additional language in the UK continues to rise and over the last ten years has doubled.
At a national level, reforms to the education system in England will mean changes to initial teacher training, to school governance and leadership, and a continuation of the self-improving autonomous school-led system.
This research, commissioned by The Bell Foundation, aims to explore the link between language development, academic achievement and social integration in the context of EAL; in particular, EAL students and parents/carers who have arrived recently in the East of England.
Crude headlines, which assert either that children with English as an additional language outperform leaving other children behind, or conversely that they are a drain on scarce school resources miss the point. The picture is mixed, complex and nuanced, as research commissioned by The Bell Foundation and others has shown. Firstly, the EAL flag alone is a poor indicator, as it gives no indication of a child’s proficiency in English. It is welcome that this will be addressed in the future by the Department for Education and that schools in England will be required to test and collect information about proficiency levels in English. Secondly, many factors affect how well a child will achieve. These include where they live, levels
of economic disadvantage, prior education, home environment, home language, proficiency in English, special educational need, and length of time in the UK. Research identifies that at the end of reception (age 5) only 44% of EAL pupils are recorded as having achieved a good level of development compared to 54% of non- EAL pupils. However, by age 16, this gap has narrowed significantly with 58.3% of EAL pupils achieving five A*-C GCSEs compared to 60.9% of non-EAL pupils. Yet these average attainment figures mask a huge range of outcomes for different EAL pupils. Many of the factors associated with risk of low achievement are the same for EAL pupils as their non-EAL peers. These include (roughly in order of impact): having an identified Special Educational Need (SEN); being entitled to a Free School Meal (FSM); living in an economically deprived neighbourhood; attending school outside London; and being summer born (and therefore young for their year-group).
In addition, EAL pupils are significantly more likely to underachieve compared to their non-EAL peers if the following factors apply to them:
i. Entry to England from abroad during a Key Stage at school: On average, such EAL pupils were 12 months behind their non-EAL peers.
ii. Changing school during a Key Stage at school: On average, EAL pupils who joined their primary school in Years 5/6 had significantly lower achievement than those who joined in Years 3/4.
iii. Being from particular ethnic groups: EAL pupils in the ethnic groups of White Other, Black African and Pakistani have markedly lower outcomes than their non-EAL peers. Speakers of Somali, Lingala and Lithuanian have especially low outcomes at aged 16 (See Strand et al., 2015).
of children and families are relocating and being educated in another education system and language, including in the UK.
Secondly, the number of children with English as an additional language in the UK continues to rise and over the last ten years has doubled.
At a national level, reforms to the education system in England will mean changes to initial teacher training, to school governance and leadership, and a continuation of the self-improving autonomous school-led system.
This research, commissioned by The Bell Foundation, aims to explore the link between language development, academic achievement and social integration in the context of EAL; in particular, EAL students and parents/carers who have arrived recently in the East of England.
Crude headlines, which assert either that children with English as an additional language outperform leaving other children behind, or conversely that they are a drain on scarce school resources miss the point. The picture is mixed, complex and nuanced, as research commissioned by The Bell Foundation and others has shown. Firstly, the EAL flag alone is a poor indicator, as it gives no indication of a child’s proficiency in English. It is welcome that this will be addressed in the future by the Department for Education and that schools in England will be required to test and collect information about proficiency levels in English. Secondly, many factors affect how well a child will achieve. These include where they live, levels
of economic disadvantage, prior education, home environment, home language, proficiency in English, special educational need, and length of time in the UK. Research identifies that at the end of reception (age 5) only 44% of EAL pupils are recorded as having achieved a good level of development compared to 54% of non- EAL pupils. However, by age 16, this gap has narrowed significantly with 58.3% of EAL pupils achieving five A*-C GCSEs compared to 60.9% of non-EAL pupils. Yet these average attainment figures mask a huge range of outcomes for different EAL pupils. Many of the factors associated with risk of low achievement are the same for EAL pupils as their non-EAL peers. These include (roughly in order of impact): having an identified Special Educational Need (SEN); being entitled to a Free School Meal (FSM); living in an economically deprived neighbourhood; attending school outside London; and being summer born (and therefore young for their year-group).
In addition, EAL pupils are significantly more likely to underachieve compared to their non-EAL peers if the following factors apply to them:
i. Entry to England from abroad during a Key Stage at school: On average, such EAL pupils were 12 months behind their non-EAL peers.
ii. Changing school during a Key Stage at school: On average, EAL pupils who joined their primary school in Years 5/6 had significantly lower achievement than those who joined in Years 3/4.
iii. Being from particular ethnic groups: EAL pupils in the ethnic groups of White Other, Black African and Pakistani have markedly lower outcomes than their non-EAL peers. Speakers of Somali, Lingala and Lithuanian have especially low outcomes at aged 16 (See Strand et al., 2015).
EVANS, M., SCHNEIDER, C., ARNOT, M., FISHER, L., FORBES, K. & LIU, Y. 2016. Language Development and school achievement – Opportunities and challenges in the education of EAL students. The Bell Foundation together with the Angela Ruskin University and the University of Cambridge