5.A.310 Appropriate Education - English language

Safe Schools

 

             

 

 

Administrative Procedure: Appropriate Education: English as an Additional Language

 

EFFECTIVE DATE:

September 2022

 

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ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE CODE:

5.A.310

AMENDED DATE:

 

Policy Reference

 

 

Legal Reference

 

 

 

 

 

The Division is committed to providing learning opportunities for all students. For the purpose of this procedure English as an Additional Language Learners (EAL) are those who’s primary or home language is other than English and who require specific English language programming and/or additional services to develop English language proficiency and to realize their potential within Manitoba’s school system. 

 

Goals & Principles of EAL Education

 

Support for EAL learners requires attention to language development and proficiency, intellectual, social, and emotional development, and citizenship education. Such support is maximized in a school environment that values diversity, bridges cultures, and works to eliminate racism.

 

The goals of EAL education are: 

  • assist learners in adding English to their linguistic repertoire and becoming proficient in the language
  • provide learning opportunities that will allow learners to continue to develop intellectually and as citizens
  • assist learners in successfully integrating into and contributing to the classroom and school community
  • enable learners to benefit from school programming and to achieve the learning outcomes identified in the provincial curriculum
  • enhance choices and opportunities for learners to access and benefit from adult and postsecondary learning experiences

     

    The following principles reflect Manitoba’s beliefs about the needs of EAL learners: 

  • English language proficiency and knowledge of Canadian culture are fundamental to the success of learners in the school system and in society.
  • There are educational, social, and economic benefits to maintaining a learner’s primary language(s). The educational system, therefore, should respect and value an individual’s home language(s) and culture, and recognize the importance of the continued use of the primary language(s).
  • Learning is enhanced by the judicious use of two or more languages.
  • To facilitate learning, learners should see their history, literature, and cultural experiences in general reflected in the classroom and in the curriculum.
  • Learners require competence in both social and academic communication to participate fully in educational settings. Academic communicative competence is more difficult to acquire and takes more time than acquiring basic interpersonal communication skills.
  • Equity of access to services, facilities, and resources should be provided for EAL learners.
  • EAL learners who also have exceptional learning needs may require additional services.• Parents/guardians play a vital role in the education of their children by working in partnership with educators. Parental support is an important component of an EAL learner’s education. Parents are encouraged to participate actively in the learning process.• Fundamental principles in reporting to parents apply to parents of EAL learners as well. Effective reporting should recognize language and cultural differences, and in some cases will require multilingual documents and services.
  • EAL services should reflect current knowledge regarding educational research and effective practices.

 

Identification of EAL Learners

 

All schools should establish a process to identify and provide an intake process for EAL students and their families when they first come to register. The frontline staff members that receive these families need to be familiar with students and families who are classified as EAL. They need to be trained to identify EAL students and their families and offer a welcome and inclusive reception to them. 

 

EAL students may include the following: 

■ Indigenous students who speak one or more Indigenous languages and have limited English language proficiency 

■ Indigenous students who speak a dialect of English strongly influenced by Indigenous languages 

■ students born in Canada whose home language is other than English and who have limited English proficiency 

■ newcomers to Canada who have age-appropriate schooling and a background language other than English 

■ newcomers to Canada who have experienced periods of interrupted schooling and have a background language other than English 

■ students who are new to or born in Canada who speak a dialect of English that varies considerably from that used in Canadian schools 

■ students who were born or educated in a Tyrolean/German-speaking Hutterite colony

 ■ students who are Deaf or hard of hearing and whose first language is a signed language 

For more details, refer to Manitoba’s EAL Curriculum Frameworks.

 

Once it is determined that the student registering is an EAL learner, staff members will start the EAL Intake Process for the student. 

 

EAL Intake Process

 

Schools in Border Land School Division develop intake teams, including the EAL teacher, Resource teacher, SWIS (Settlement Workers in Schools) and principal to coordinate the intake process, with other schools children in the family are attending. SWIS may support families and school teams to access an interpreter (ADD PROCESS for Payment!). 


Schools will follow the instructions, and guidelines, and use the recording sheets provided in Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning's EAL Intake Process Documents for all parts of the EAL intake process. (https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/eal/resources.html

 

The main goals of the EAL intake process are to establish an initial positive relationship with the student and the family and to get a snapshot of the student’s current strengths and challenges related to English language and mathematics learning. 

 

During the EAL intake process, teachers obtain information about 

■ the student and the student’s family 

■ the student’s educational background and indicators of the student’s strengths and needs  ■ indicators of the student’s English language and mathematics skills to inform appropriate EAL programming 

 

 

The EAL intake process consists of three interrelated parts: 

 

  1. Registration, reception and orientation, and initial meeting:
    • Identify EAL students and their families in a welcoming and inclusive environment
    • Determine whether the family needs assistance (interpretation, SWIS) with the registration process, initial meeting, orientation, or with completing forms
    • Offer an orientation to the school and school processes (use Orientation checklist from the EAL Intake document)
    • Facilitate an initial meeting with the family to gather background information about the student (use Initial Meeting form from EAL intake document)

     

  2. English language and mathematics skills inventories:
    • The English language skills inventories consist of an initial assessment of the student’s vocabulary development, and listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. The mathematics skills inventory consists of gathering information about the student’s current mathematics skills.
    • The inventories are not diagnostic or definitive. They provide a preliminary indication of a student’s strengths and needs. Further assessments are more appropriately carried out in the context of the classroom, where ongoing observations and collections of student work samples, such as portfolios and running records, will provide additional information as the student becomes more comfortable in the new educational setting.

     

  3. Planning for EAL programming: This part includes sharing the information from the EAL intake process with teachers, developing an EAL Student-Specific Plan, and making appropriate programming suggestions.
    • Share recommendations for classroom supports, placement and course registration When choosing appropriate courses for a high school student, consider the student’s prior schooling (including the number of out -of-province credits that will be granted), language level, future career goals, and age.
    • Communicate inventory results, program, and plan with parents and other team members
    • Using the EAL Framework, teachers will provide appropriate programming for English language learning along with subject-area content. Programming for EAL learners is dependent on their stage of English language acquisition. If the student is in Stages 1 or 2 for Early Years or Stages 1, 2, or 3 in Middle and Senior Years, the subject-area curriculum will need to be significantly adjusted to accommodate for English language learning. Teachers will identify the language required to learn the concepts, topics, issues, and processes of their subject-area content and provide appropriate scaffolds. To effectively plan for EAL learners, big ideas, social and academic language, and subjectarea learning need to be integrated.
    • Complete an EAL Student Specific Plan if the student is within Stage 1 or 2, is a LAL student, or needs an E designated course (using the EAL Student Specific Plan template in the EAL intake document)
    • Monitor and adjust EAL Student Specific plan with continuous formative assessment practices, using the EAL framework

 

Placement

 

Early and Middle Years learners are placed in the grade that is appropriate for their age, rather than in a lower grade based on their level of academic functioning. Learners’ academic development and social development are enhanced in an environment where they are able to engage in the learning process with their peers. 

 

In the Senior Years, EAL learners should enroll in courses that reflect their previous academic progress in specific subject areas and English language proficiency. For example, an EAL learner may be in a Grade 10 Pre-Calculus Mathematics course but an E-designated course in science. Additionally, Senior Years students might be enrolled in classes that are a grade or two lower than their same-aged peers if that would lead to enhanced language learning and better graduation outcomes.

 

To determine the course credits that Senior Years students have completed prior to coming to

Manitoba, especially in the case of LAL students with interrupted schooling, refer to the

Manitoba Education guidelines Evaluating Non-Manitoba Course Completions for Senior Years Credits: A Guide for School Administrators at www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/policy/op_credits/. Students who are not studying specific EAL courses may still require careful sequencing of courses, differentiation, and ongoing monitoring.

 

 

 

EAL Programming

 

Appropriate instruction and assessment, as well as adaptations such as increased time and/or specialized educational materials, give EAL learners the greatest opportunity to experience success. Learners who receive appropriate specialized EAL programming and services are more likely to develop the language, literacy, and subject-area knowledge and skills required to achieve the learning outcomes of the provincial curriculum or to continue their studies in the post-secondary or adult learning system. 

 

EAL learners identified as Stage 1 or Stage 2 on the EAL acquisition continuum, high school students registering in an E-designated course, or students in LAL programming should have a student-specific plan to guide teaching and learning (using the planning templates from the EAL Intake documents). As a student’s language acquisition increases, this learning plan needs to be updated.

 

Until EAL learners have reached an age- and grade-appropriate level of English language proficiency and require only basic adaptations and scaffolding to enable them to participate meaningfully and successfully in non-EAL designated classrooms or courses, appropriate specialized EAL programming and services are essential.

 

The ultimate goal of EAL learning is social and academic communicative competence—the ability to use the English language appropriate for the situation. The assessment of such competence is an area of specialized knowledge. Assessment decisions in this area should ideally be made by educational professionals with EAL training, in conjunction with classroom teachers and others, as appropriate.

 

Pupil file management

 

Accurate and up to date information in the pupil file and student information system, PowerSchool, supports information sharing and appropriate educational programming. 

 

All recording sheets from the EAL Intake Process documents are shared with the students’ teachers, used for programming and are stored in the student’s cumulative file. They are scanned and attached in PowerSchool, using the EAL category.

 

EAL students are identified in the student information system, PowerSchool, using the appropriate program code in Program 1 on the State/Province MB page in their first year of fulltime school (grade 1): 170 EAL: English as an Additional Language (English Program) for pupils enrolled in English or Senior Years Technology Education programs, or 171 EAL: English as an Additional Language (French Program) for pupils enrolled in French Immersion or Français programs, and throughout their schooling (regardless of support grant eligibility)

 

The Newcomer field code is used to identify educational backgrounds of newcomer pupils coming to Canada, including pupils 

■ who are registering for the first time in a Manitoba school 

■ whose primary or home language is other than English 

■ who arrived in Canada from another country on or after December 1 of the previous school year and on or before November 30 of the current school year 

 

Students who are newcomers are reported in the Newcomer EAL Assessment Level field (on the State/Province MB Page in PowerSchool) using the following codes: 

■ Code 10—for near or above age-appropriate grade-level equivalent for a Manitoba pupil: For pupils who, on arrival, are assessed as having previous education that is near or above the grade level normally expected of their age peers. 

■ Code 20—for 1 to 2 years below age-appropriate grade-level equivalent for a Manitoba pupil: For pupils who, on arrival, are assessed as having previous education that is 1 to 2 years below the grade level normally expected of their age peers.

 ■ Code 30—for 3 or more years below age-appropriate grade-level equivalent for a Manitoba pupil: For pupils who, on arrival, are assessed as having previous education that is 3 or more years below the grade level normally expected of their age peers.  ■ Code 40—for no formal schooling (pupil is over age 9 as of December 31): For pupils who, on arrival, are assessed as having no formal schooling and are over 9 years of age as of December 31. Pupils less than 9 years of age with no formal schooling should be reported using code 20 or 30 as appropriate. 

■ Code 50—not assessed: It is expected that the educational background and language learning needs of newcomer pupils will be assessed as soon as possible in order to plan appropriate programming. However, where a newcomer pupil has not been assessed at the reporting time, the pupil should be reported with code 50—not assessed.

 

In the Newcomer Year field, the year in which the student first attended school in Manitoba is recorded. In the Entry Comment (Transfer Info page), the residency status is identified, using the following codes:

  • PR – Permanent Resident
  • TRP – Temporary Resident Permit
  • GAR – Government Assisted Refugee
  • PSR – Privately Sponsored Refugee
  • BVOR – Blended Visa Office Refugee
  • RC – Refugee Claimant

 

Enrolment codes and residency status must be updated annually, and citizenship documentation must be updated, upon any change in status. 

 

 

References

Guidelines for the EAL Support Grant, https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/docs/support/eal_sup_grant/guidelines.pdf

 

Support Guide for Teachers of EAL Learners, https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/eal/docs/4737_eal_support_guide.pdf

 

EAL Intake Process Documents, https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/eal/resources.html

 

Promising Pathways: High School and Adult Programming Options for EAL Youth,

https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/eal/promising_pathways/index.html

 

Kindergarten to Grade 12 Curriculum Framework for English as an Additional Language (EAL) and Literacy, Academics, and Language (LAL) Programming (2021)

https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/eal/framework/index.html

 

 

Border Land School Division

Border Land School Division acknowledges that the communities and schools located within Border Land School Division sit on Treaty 1 and Treaty 3 land, the original lands of the Anishinaabe peoples and on the homeland of the Métis Nation.

Border Land School Division respects the treaties that were made on these treaty areas and we dedicate ourselves to moving forward in partnership with our Indigenous communities in a spirit of truth, reconciliation and collaboration.