Saint John's

Saint John's International School Bangkok, Thailand

EAL

English as an Additional Language

St.John's International School has an EAL programme in place to support children in the Primary school who are still acquiring English. Each year group has an EAL teacher who works with the EAL children, either in the mainstream class or out of class in small groups.

Support is given in Literacy hour, Numeracy hour, Science and topic lessons. The programme allows for flexibility so extra sessions can be timetabled for individual children or small groups with specific needs, such as children who are new to English or Beginners.

In-class support is planned on a weekly basis with the class teacher. The EAL teacher works with his or her children using supplementary materials or activities to help the EAL children access the lesson and focus on language. For example, EAL children listening to a story in Literacy hour may have to order picture scenes from the story while listening and relate the story back to the EAL teacher.

	The EAL teacher helps students find ways of learning such as keeping a vocabulary notebook of important words. The benefits of this programme are: children are included in the mainstream class as much as possible; the EAL support they receive helps them to access the curriculum; and children build the confidence to help them participate in class.

Children are assessed every term to measure their progress. There are three EAL levels: New to English , Beginner or Elementary level. Parents receive a letter at the end of each term to say whether their child still requires EAL support the following term. Once students are at Pre-Intermediate level they do not require EAL support anymore.

click here if you would like to know how you can help your child learn English?