English as an Additional Language (EAL)

How to help your child learn English

• This is usually best done by playing games or reading books.
• Join the library and take out interesting books for reading. Use the library regularly in the holidays. Children can use the internet and also borrow story tapes with books to listen to.
• Read books with your child by talking about them in your home language and, if possible, English too. It is helpful to read to your child in both languages.
• Select good educational television programmes, for example, from CBeebies or CBBC for your child to watch and use Teletext to show sub-titles in English. This will help your child’s listening and reading.

Woking with the school

• Teachers will sometimes send home information about subject/topic areas that are going to be taught in the classroom.
• You could prepare your child by discussing this work in advance and this will improve your child's understanding when the work is completed in the classroom and also help the learning of English.
• If possible invite English children home. Your child's friends in school will play an important role in developing English social language skills.
• Your child's teacher will give homework which is suitable to meet his/her needs. It is important that s/he tries to do the homework set.
• Praise your child's achievements. It is important that your child knows that you understand the difficulties s/he is experiencing. Learning a new language, and at the same time learning all the school subjects in this new language, is hard work. Motivate your child to keep trying and to keep listening. Slowly but surely things will get easier.

EAL Resources

This page has links and resources for various languages which we hope you will find useful. Such resources are owned by their respective copyrights and OLQP does not lay claim to any material externally produced, nor do we have any responsibility for the content of these linked websites.

The British Council provides useful information and resources to help your child learn English. https://eal.britishcouncil.org/parents

Language of the Month is a project run by Newbury Park Primary School. It is a free computer program which contains interactive videos of children teaching their home languages. It has activities and information for parents and schools. www.newburypark.redbridge.sch.uk/langofmonth

World Stories is a growing collection of stories from around the world which are freely available online. The collection includes retold traditional tales and new short stories in the languages most spoken by children in our school. http://worldstories.org.uk/

Translation tool. Immediate translation of words and phrases into many different languages. https://translate.google.com/

BBC Skillswise is designed for adult learners and has great on and off line exercises suitable for children. http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/0/