eduBuzz.org Learning Network

The End of an Era

Most of the EAL resources have now been reallocated. Generic resources have been donated to schools. ESOL materials will be kept in Musselburgh Grammar School.

Boxes of resources specific to EAL pedagogy, policy and support have been prepared and will be kept at Library headquarters in Haddington.

These are:
-…[Read more]

EAL and Curriculum for Excellence – Olympic Games
The Olympic games are an exciting topic for EAL students. Teaching English as an Additional Language is more than just grammar and vocabulary. It’s about educating children about the world they live in and how language does not have to be a barrier. The Olympic games are classroom topic that…[Read more]

The UEFA 2012 Tournament – Online Activities, Games and Quizzes

http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/european-football-championship.html

Through this link you have access to a number of games and quizzes linked to Euro 2012 . This website is intended for students learning English but would be useful for whole class work.

There is also a listening…[Read more]

Importance of EAL in a recent Scottish Government report ‘ Language Learning in Scotland : A 1+2 Approach’ available at

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2012/05/3670/9

A Language Working Group was set up by the SNP Government to take forward their manifesto pledge to implement in schools the EU 1+2 model of plurilingual citizens. It…[Read more]

Pupils produce their own recordings for homework

I have just attended a SATEFL meeting where the guest speaker was Russell Stannard. He runs the award winningwebsite http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com.
In his presentation “The Connected Classroom” he explained how his students use websites such as Vocaroo to produce recordings for homework which…[Read more]

Polish students boosting standards in UK schools

The Telegraph today carries a report on a study carried out by Dr Sandra McNally of LSE that suggests standards are being raised by the presence of polish students in our schools.

http://tinyurl.com/7rqoz6a

Sandra will be taking part in a ‘debate’ hosted by…[Read more]

Global Citizenship

Here are links to online resources which may be of interest to schools.

http://www.globaldimension.org.uk/resources/browse/

http://www.globalwords.edu.au/

The latter is very closely tied in to the Australian curriculum and context, but there do seem to be some interesting links to materials that could be of interest – an…[Read more]

21 May 2012: World Day for Cultural Diversity, for Dialogue and Development

Provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to “live together” better.
Further information is available on the UNESCO Culture Web Portal …[Read more]

Using the interactive whiteboard for EAL

Shirley Lawson provided excellent training for the Outreach Team in the use of the Interactive Whiteboard. This is to prepare us for our return to classroom teaching after restructuring.

It has been difficult for me to get access to a full board but I have produced some simple activities which work well…[Read more]

20 April 2012 – London 2012

To celebrate 100 days until the Olympics begin a video clip has been released which has people from diverse communities giving their own welcome in a variety of languages

Follow this link to view the video and see how many languages you can recognise

http://www.london2012.com/videos/video=welcoming-the-world.html

EAL Listening!

BBC Radio 4

Michael Rosen, ‘Word of Mouth’

(Tuesdays, 4 – 5 pm or check BBC i-player)

Tue 23.4., Word of Mouth – Bilingual Families. Interviews with families where English is not the only language present in the household, featuring live interviews with

- a Greek Cypriot mother with her son and daughter (who were…[Read more]

International Mother Language Day

21 February every year: Promoting linguistic and cultural diversity.

This Day is observed every year to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. It was created by UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organisation) in order to promote the dissemination of mother tongues…[Read more]

THIS MADE MY DAY

As an Outreach teacher it is often difficult to measure impact. I was heartened today when a newly arrived pupil in secondary showed me a Polish/ English Maths glossary which she had been given by another pupil. I had in fact provided the said resource but I have not worked with the pupil in question for several years. It was…[Read more]

More on line resources

The website http://www.littlelearner.eu should be included in recommended resources for EAL pupils, particularly new arrivals. It has short presentations of key advice as well as collections of interactive basic vocabulary in Polish and Romanian. There is also a section with key phrases in English which can be heard in the…[Read more]