1

Around one in four students in Australian schools are EAL/D learners. (de Courcey,
Dooley, Jackson, Miller, & Rushton, 2012, p.2)
EAL/D learners can be infants, children and adults, as the acquisiFon of an
addiFonal language or dialect can begin at any stage of an individual's life.
EmmiK, Zbaracki, & Komesaro (2012) states that There will be very young
children simultaneously learning two languagesThere will be children from nonEnglish speaking backgroundsThere will be children from monolingual Englishspeaking families and there will be adults learning English in government-funded
programs for new arrivals. (p. 209-210)
EAL/D learners come from diverse and mulFlingual backgrounds.
Migrated from another country, born in Australia but from an ESL family, born in
Australia or of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) decent.

Focus area 1.2

Focus area: 1.2

Focus area: 1.4

Teachers require an understanding about the number of languages each students

speak, and how linguisFcally advanced these languages are. Miller and Windle
(2010) state that Students with no or liKle rst language literacy cannot rely on
the transfer of linguisFc and conceptual knowledge that is assumed in bilingual
literature. (p. 32)
The predominate language used within the home.

EAL/D cultural background.
In order for EAL/D students to succeed they need teachers who are interested in
learning about their background and history. Research by Lin and Bates (2014)
state that Culturally responsive pracFces are grounded in the beliefs that
teachers must have a thorough knowledge of the heritage, language, and culture
indigenous to their parFcular locaFon. This knowledge is crucial for the
development of culturally-healthy students... (p.28)

A range of Gestures and nonverbal cues can o_en be interpreted dierently
amongst dierent cultural groups.
Chinese reluctance to parFcipate in class discussions and ATSI students avoid eye
contact with adults/ teachers as it is not apart of their cultural norms. Teachers
need to become aware of these norms so they dont misinterpret these
behaviours as students being rude, or uninterested in the classroom.

Focus area:
1.3

Teachers need to be aware of the potenFal emoFonal, psychological or physical

trauma students may have experienced prior to entering their classroom. Students
may be:
Seeking asylum in Australia,
Of Refugee background,
Fleeing war torn countries or,
From rural or remote areas in Australia.

The journey students have had prior to entering the classroom is important to
understand.
These experiences o_en aect the development of rst language acquisiFon, their
health/wellbeing and lack of moFvaFon to learn an addiFonal language in the
classroom.
Santoro (1997) highlights the impact of migraFon on L1 and L2 language
acquisiFon staFng that migraFon itself has taken many months or years and has
been fraught with physical danger and periods of uncertainty. These traumaFc
experiences are likely to compound the normally accepted diculFes and stresses
of migraFon such as acquiring language (p. 14)

The amount of formal/ non-formal schooling each student has.
EAL/D learners o_en have had fragmented schooling experiences, and small

Focus area: 1.3

B.F Skinner developed the Behaviourism Theory of rst language acquisiFon. It

encompasses the SFmulus Response Theory, and highlights that children learn
English language through condiFoning, meaning the associaFons students make
between sFmuli and responses. Adults act, as models for children, reinforcing desired
responses, and giving them Fme to repeat the language form unFl they have
mastered the parFcular language. (EmmiK, et al, 2012, p.179-180)

Focus area: 1.2

Noam Chomsky developed the CogniFvist Theory of rst language acquisiFon,

EmmiK et al (2012) highlights that how Chomsky suggested that the learner of any
language has an inbuilt learning capacity for language that enables each learner to
construct a kind of personal theory, or set of rules about that language based on very
limited exposure (p. 181) Chomsky believed that immersion in language early on,
does not provide students with enough examples of language to produce it for
themselves. Rather he believed that children have a predisposiFon and inbuilt device,
that assists them in learning their rst language.

Birth Crying
Babies cry as soon as they are born (starFng point of language)
First arFculaFon made in speech development
Crying indicates the uctuaFon in voice projecFon

Three months Produce vowel sounds
Cooing vowel sounds called back vowels.

Five months Babbling
Produce sounds that alternate between vowels and consonants
Reached the babbling stage

One year old First words
Single word uKerances called holophrasis
Can understand what others around them are saying.
Adults expand on what children say, acFng as a model for future language.

Two years old - First sentences
E.g. Byebye car

2+ years Meaning and funcFon

Brian Cambornes eight CondiFons for oral language development highlight what is in
place as students acquire oral language development.

From the moment children are born they are immersed in people speaking and
using language authenFcally.
The child cannot produce these forms of oral language themselves although see
demonstra,ons of people using language in authenFc and meaningful ways
Children then go through a process of using the language authenFcally
themselves.
Text
Children then receive feedback from procient L1 users who make suggesFons to
help improve their oral language for future use.
students take responsibility for the control of their oral language use and what to
say.ef
The approxima,on condiFon is where the child looks at sounds and makes an
aKempt at the word, aKempts are very close to the original word.
expecta,on, students are expected to succeed in that language.
Finally engagement where oral language development occurs as students
parFcipate in the world around them.
161
(Seely Flint, Kitson, Lowe & Shaw, 2013, p. 44)

Focus area:1.3
Focus area: 1.4

Focus area: 1.3

and 1.4

Focus area 1.3

and 1.4

EAL/D learners are o_en bilingual which means they speak two or more languages.
They understand that language is purposeful. Davidson (1990) further states that
they know that spoken language is purposeful they know how to combine units in
order to communicate. With encouragement they will bring what they already
know about language learning and language use to the second language task. (p.
16)

EAL/D students sFll require extensive support by teachers whilst acquiring an
addiFonal language. Davidson (1990) highlights that ESL students have to acquire a
whole new sound system, a new set of words and meaning, a new way of
construcFng sentences and a new set of discourse paKerns. (p. 16)

EAL/D students must have some form of moFvaFon to learn English, it takes Fme,
persistence, and energy to master and students need to be commiKed to the
process. Research by Santoro (1997) highlights that moFvaFon is widely believed
to be a factor which partly explains the dierent success rates among second
language learners. (p. 15)

EAL/D learners need opportuniFes to see, and hear language used in context, in
order to make connecFons. (Gibbons, 1991, p. 12)

The Behaviourism theory, which is also featured in rst language acquisiFon,

describes how people learn addiFonal languages. Johnson (2004) indicates that
Behaviorism undermined the role of mental processes and viewed learning as the
ability to inducFvely discover paKerns of rule-governed behavior from examples
provided to the learner by his or her environment (p.18) The environment is seen as
a sFmuli for language acquisiFon, as students make connecFons between what they
say, and how others respond. Students second language is therefore manipulated by
sFmuli to become procient language users.

10

Focus area 1.3

and 1.4

This model is found within EmmiK et al, (2012) and indicates a range of factors that
inuence second-language learning on EAL/D students.

The model starts with the childs social context and where they are living or have
migrated from.
The students social context inuences the childs aptude to learn an addiFonal
learning and therefore impacts on their moFvaFon.
Each students moFvaFon is further inuenced by the age they start learning the
addiFonal language, their personality and personal characterisFcs such as their
previous knowledge, and learning capabiliFes.
All of these factors inuence the learning opportuniFes each student has had and
their experience with formal and non-formal schooling.
Each students learning opportuniFes then aect the students ability to learn and
acquire the linguisFc and non-linguisFc features of second language acquisiFon.

(EmmiK et al, 2012, p.211)

11

 EAL/D learners o_en experience frustraFon and low self-esteem whilst learning an
addiFonal language.
It is important to ensure the classroom environment is supporFve for EAL/D
students, so they feel condent to explore and experiment with the language,
without fear of failure.
EAL/D students learn a second language when language is used to learn about
something else, for example using comparaFve language to describe the
dierences between pictures.
Student-student collaboraFon is important for second language learning as EFL
students can model English language and encourage EAL/D to pracFce language.
EAL/D learners also develop second language. acquisiFon through inFmate
interacFons with their teacher; the teacher is an important recourse for EAL/D
students to consolidate their English learning.

Research by Gibbons (1991) indicates that the following features support all language
learners, although specically support bilingual and second language learners to
acquire an addiFonal language.

(Gibbons, 1991, p.10)

12

Focus area 1.3

and1.4

The learning needs of L1 and L2 learners are o_en similar, all students benet
from learning environments that enable them to feel safe, supported and valued
within the classroom.

EAL/D students o_en begin learning English language at a much later stage than
EFL students, they require specic teaching techniques to help close the gap
between their English language development, and their peers English language
development. Davidson (1990) highlights students need much more repeFFon
and pracFce, more explicit instrucFon and concept-checking, more careful
paraphrasing of demonstraFon and modeling, more opportuniFes for controlled
teacher-student and student-student interacFon and more Fme to absorb the
rhythms and paKerns of the target language. (p. 16) These classroom procedures
support EAL/D students giving them more opportuniFes to experience authenFc
language in use.

13

Text

EAL/D learners benet from culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) it is about meeFng
the academic and social needs of all students within their classrooms. Seely Flint et
al, (2013) expresses that meeFng these needs is determined by the teachers
willingness to not only learn who their students are, but also who they themselves
are as cultural beings. (p. 73)
Cultural backgrounds should be celebrated and used advantageously for future
learning. Seely Flint et al (2013) express that teachers need to ensure their
classrooms respect the diverse range of cultures, customs, and tradiFons that each
of their students hold, and teachers who are aware of each childs cultural
experiences. (Seely Flint et al, 2013, p. 74)
Language transfer should be encouraged to maintain the cultural idenFFes and
develop an addiFonal language.
Focus area 1.3
and 1.4

It is important for students to conFnue using their naFve language to support the
acquisiFon of a second language, although L1 should not always be encouraged as
it has the potenFal to override their second language learning. (Madrian, 2014, p.
53)

14

AcFvity on next page.

Text

15

EAL/D students benet from communicaFve acFviFes, as they are constant

conversaFon interacFng with the task. This acFvity was based on a collaboraFve task
called Spot the dierence which was featured in Hertzberg (2012) who states that
CommunicaFve acFviFes are based on the premises that language is learned
through use. (p. 53) Through this task students are then able to see the purpose of
comparaFve language and the dierent ways to express the dierences.

EAL/D acFvity as students are learning about language through language

16

Func%on: Pairs ask each other quesFon to complete the missing informaFon from
their plane desFnaFon sheets using present conFnuous verbs.

Structure:
Student B to Student A: I wonder if you could tell me what seat number Nathan is
sipng on?
Student A to Student B: Could you tell me what desFnaFon Dean is ying to?

Possible responses: Present conFnuous tenses students can use
Dean is si8ng in seat K6.
Jaimi is ying to London
Sarah is arriving in Thailand at 11:50am
Nathan is depar,ng Australia at 2:39am

17

This acFvity is a barrier game that requires students to ll in the gaps on their sheet
with the help of their partner. This is a communicaFve game as students are
encouraged in small groups to pracFce their oral language and understanding of
present conFnuous verbs to ll in their sheet. As one student asks a quesFon the
other student then needs to verbally respond using present conFnuous verbs to their
pair, students are constantly engaging with each other.

(Reason why it is an EAL/D focused ac%vity is discussed on slide 16)

EAL/D acFvity as students are learning about language through language.

18

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and ReporFng Authority, (2012). English as an
Addi%onal Language or Dialect Teacher Resource. NSW: ACARA.

Davison, C. (1990). When nature needs some help. In TESOL in Context. 1 (1), 15-18.
Retrieved from
hKp://search.informit.com.au/fullText;dn=759100969616438;res=IELAPA

De Courcey, M., Dooley, K., Jackson, R., Miller, J., & Rushton, K. (2012). Teaching EAL/
D learners in Australian Classrooms. PETAA paper 183. Sydney, NSW: PETAA

EmmiK, M., Zbaracki, M., Komesaro, L., & Pollock, J. (2012). Language & Learning:
an introducFon for teaching. (5th Ed). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press

Gibbons, P. (1991). Planning for a language for learning. In learning to learn in a
second language. Newtown: PETAA

Hertzberg, M. (2012). Teaching English language learners in mainstream classes.
Newtown, NSW: Primary English Teachers AssociaFon Australia

19