ambrit eal

Norwegian Language Showcase

2012-01-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

A special thank you to all of our Norwegian students who helped make the first language showcase of this school year such a success.

Students in 1P enjoyed learning Norwegian from their classmate Sarah who did a fine job in preparing all of her own materials!

Down in the atrium, we learned all about winter in Norway, Constitution Day, Famous Norwegians and all sorts of facts and figures!

What a great job Sarah did in helping to set up the display board!

European Day of Languages #2

2011-11-28T13:49:00.000-08:00

Un’Europa. Molte Lingue. Nuove Opportunità

One Europe, Many Languages, New Opportunities

This was the title of the round table hosted at the Goethe Institute in Rome on Wednesday October 19^th 2011 and presented by EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) in celebration of the European Day of Languages, September 26^th

As I looked through the programme and settled in to follow the presentations I had the feeling that there wouldn't be much to share with you that might be of interest to an international school community.

Nonetheless I made notes and connections emerged.

My last assignment at Ambrit had been to revise the school language policy to bring it in line with IBO PYP requirements whilst at the same time retaining an accurate representation of the school: a task which Maria Casson and I worked on closely together.

The speakers raised many points which are key to Ambrit's Language Policy.

Here are some examples.

Marcello Limina, Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, expressed the official ministry view that to be professionally active requires the knowledge of more than one language. Subjects should be taught in the new language, the objective being to bring students to the knowledge and use of foreign languages.

Francesca Padula, Il Sole 24 Ore, and moderator of the round table, remarked that the press in general, not just her own paper, was dedicating less time and space to language and integration issues in view of the more urgent economic and political crises.

Cornel Baicu, Director of the Accademia di Romania in Rome, amazed and amused us all by introducing his presentation, fluently, in 7 languages. He went on to give a linguistic overview of Europe in time and space. What struck me were his closing remarks where he told us something of his trilingual origins in Transylvania. He and his friends came from three different language, cultural and religious groups, but because they all spoke each others’ languages they learned to be tolerant of each others’ diversity and overcome prejudice.

Raphael Gallus, Directorate-General for Translation, European Commission,

first gave an overview of the work of his department.

He then moved on discuss the "Commission Communication on Multilingualism: tapping the full potential of languages in Europe".

In its new Communication, entitled "Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment", the Commission gives an overview of what needs to be done to turn linguistic diversity into an asset for solidarity and prosperity.

The goal is a Europe where everyone can speak at least two other languages in addition to their own mother tongue.

He stressed the importance of learning the language of the interlocutor and that businesses should not allow linguistic and cultural barriers to get in the way of their commercial success.

Apart from anything else clients are really impressed when you have taken the trouble to learn their language.

He mentioned that a study from Cardiff Business School has found that:

“English is necessary but not enough”.

“Che affare le lingue” is the Italian version of the EU initiative promoted by the Directorate General for Translation to promote the use of foreign languages by medium-sized and small businesses. It gives specific strategies on how to do this.

Caterina Carmela Tascione was mayor of Carfizzi (Crotone, Calabria) until a few years ago. She told a wonderful story of inclusion, diversity and mobility.

During her term of office a programme had been set up in this Abereshe community, to support its linguistic and cultural identity. The Abereshe have their origins in Albania and came to southern Italy between the 15^th and 18^th centuries but have clung to their cultural roots. Ms. Tascione opened her presentation with a recording of local children singing haunting melodies in the archaic form of Albanian which is still current in these parts. She made two points which I would like to share with you.

This migrant community has been on the move again. The Abereshe joined the waves of Italian emigrants who set out to find work in Germany in the 20^th century. The Carfizzi programme established strong ties with the Abereshe who had settled there. Now young people take part in exchange visits and German is taught in the local Italian schools.

Finally Ms. Tascione made this observation:

“In Carfizzi we don’t seem to have had problems integrating immigrants coming from across the Mediterranean.”

I leave you to check out the Ambrit Language Policy to see if you think, as well as being ok'd by the PYP, we might also be in line with Europe: no mean feat these days!

Jennifer Kightley

European Day of Languages#1

2011-09-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Just a word before I get to the point of this post. In June I signed off as EAL Blogger. I was retiring from teaching and from Ambrit. It seems, however, that there is still work to be done. My one-time EAL colleagues have invited me back as a contributor and I'm delighted to oblige.

Last school year, for the first time, Ambrit celebrated UNESCO's International Mother Language Day in February.

September 26th, a week on Monday, is another "Language Day".

SEPTEMBER 26TH 2011

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES
10th Anniversary of the first European Day of Languages

For Ambrit School community it is a bit too near the beginning of the school year to be taken into account. There are other more pressing priorities. I, myself, may have joined the chorus saying, "not another Day of whatever...!"

But as an EAL blogger I am bound to draw attention to events, resources, websites, other blogs and so on, which celebrate, explore and encourage the diversity we find in multilingual communities. When you are a proficient speaker of the primary languages used in a community it is easy to lose sight of the difficulties that non-speakers or the less proficient may face in their daily lives.

Marking Language Days is a way of reminding ourselves about this and maybe learning something new. You could even make somebody's day through your learning just like an acquaitance of mine who comes into contact with hundreds of people every day, not all of whom speak English. Even though she has been studying Mandarin for several years she can still only
say a few words and understands less. Greeting a Chinese couple one day, she was able to say "hello" in their own language. She told me their smiles repaid all her language learning efforts.

SEPTEMBER 26TH 2011

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES (EDL)
What is it?
What are its origins?
What's happening in Rome? This is what I've found so far; a round table and concert at the Goethe Institute in Rome organised by the European Union National Institutes for Culture on October 19th.

Researching for EDL I have also come across more widely useful multilingual resources at the Times Educational Supplement (TES) and at the National Centre for Languages (CILT)

Have fun with your languages whatever day it happens to be!

2011-09-13T23:38:00.000-07:00

WELCOME BACK!

Dear Ambrit students and parents,

the EAL and Mother Tongue Department would like to wish you all a happy, serene and successful start to the school year. We are looking forward to working with all the members of our community: teachers, students and parents, to develop and improve students' English language skills.

NEW STUDENT'S DAY

Thank you to all of the new families who completed the Ambrit language survey on new student's day. The survey provides valuable information which will allow us to update our database.

MOTHER TONGUE PROGRAMME

When answering the survey, several families expressed an interest in setting up after school MT language classes in order to maintain and develop their child's mother tongue.

The procedure for doing so is the following:

1. Contact the EAL team at eal@ambrit-rome.com

2. Parents are responsible for finding their own teacher and funding the course.

3. Ambrit will provide the space for one after school session per week.

Further information about the EAL and Mother Tongue Department can be found on the Ambrit website. Go to the curriculum page and select student services . Under EAL Support there are several links which cover the scope of our work.

Happy Holidays

2011-06-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

I would like to wish you all very happy holidays and thank you for your interest in this blog and the work of Ambrit EAL & MT department.
As I am retiring from Ambrit this year, this is the last posting that I will write. We've had a busy time in EAL recently, planning for the restructuring that will take place next year, so you've not heard from me lately.
My very best wishes for the future to all members of the Ambrit community, especially to those who have been my close colleagues in the EAL department over the years. There are too many people to thank individually as I have worked in all three departments at the school and on various planning committees, policy groups, workshops and presentations schoolwide. I can only say that I feel privileged to have had you all as colleagues and I appreciate the support and collaboration you have given me.
A special thank you to Mr.Mullane who entrusted this work to me. It has given me the opportunity to enrich my knowledge and experience of the fascinating world of language acquisition.

Thank You
Jennifer Kightley
Ambrit EAL & MT Co-ordinator

Welcome Vanessa!

2011-04-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

We welcome Vanessa Vogler who is joining us for her internship at Ambrit.

Hi! My name is Vanessa Vogler, and I am a third-year student at the University of Florida. I am studying French and Criminology but love working with children. I will be interning with the wonderful teachers in the EAL department from April 26 until May 12. I am very excited to meet all of the children, and I look forward to visiting Italy. I have traveled to many countries including France, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, and England, but I have never been to Italy. My goal after graduation is to teach English in France. Therefore, I know this upcoming experience at the Ambrit School will teach me a lot. I look forward to meeting everyone soon!

Thank you Vanessa. It has been a pleasure to have you with us and you carried out a valuable role in our work.

Jennifer Kightley

ECIS ESL & MT Conference, Dusseldorf, March 3-5 2011

2011-03-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Reflecting...

...by the Rhine

Looking back on my conference notes I found the quotes listed below which seemed to me to have particular significance for our school. Where appropriate I have given the slide number so that the reader can follow up on the big ideas .

The names refer to speaker handouts listed on the ECIS conference website

Jim Cummins I

Stories are the most important things in the world. Without stories we wouldn’t be human beings at all. Philip Pullman (quoted by Jim Cummins, slide 8)

Literacy engagement is the strongest predictor of literacy achievement.

Reading attainment is linked to reading engagement. (slides30-33, 45-47)

Engagement and skills are mutually reinforcing.

These points interested me because they reminded of another prediction which is central to our work with ELLs. In their 1997 study Thomas and Collier made the following finding:

"Of all the student background variables, the most powerful predictor of academic success in L2 is formal schooling in L1."

This leads to my second group of quotes on the importance of the L1.

Jim Cummins II

We need to recognise the L1 as a cognitive tool and bilingualism as a positive force in children’s development. (slide 24)

The first language is not an enemy but a tool.

Eithne Gallagher II (slide 8) quotes Anna Uhl Chamot

"Nowhere is the role of prior knowledge more important than in second language educational contexts. Students who can access their prior knowledge through the language and culture most familiar to them can call on a rich array of schemata, whereas students who can only use that knowledge they explicitly learnt in the second language are limited in their access."

Anna Uhl Chamot

Finally Elizabeth Coelho's presentation on Jim Cummin's Differentiation Quadrants for ELLs included the following recommendations which we need to take to heart especially when EAL is restructured next year to provide push-in from Prep to Grade 3 only.

Elizabeth Coelho

ELLs need continued support over the period of acquisition (5-7 years).

Don’t ever take away scaffolding because learning never stops.

Take a look at the handouts. The presentations I attended (Cummins, Coelho, Gallagher, Hamayan) were excellent, giving theoretical background as well as practical advice and strategies.

...also on the Rhine

"Never-ending story"

2011-02-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

I hope the Ambrit community is enjoying a well-earned break. In the meantime, I came across this article which I wanted to share.

"Never-ending story: how repetition helps a child's vocabulary" The Independent, Education, Monday, 21 February, 2011

As I read it I was reminded of a workshop I attended and commented on in this blog, in Nov/Dec, 2009, where Susan Gross stressed the importance of repetition in the process of acquiring an additional language.

As parents and teachers it's useful for us to be reminded of the principle of repetition and encouraging that research continues to confirm it's value.
Let's also not forget that teachers with English language learners in the class are advised to repeat and paraphrase as they interact with their students. In this way we not only give our students a better chance of understanding, we are also adding to to the comprehensible input they are exposed to.

Parents especially, click onto the "Never-ending story". Of course, the bonus is that this works brilliantly for maintaining the mother tongue as well as for acquiring a new language!

Enjoy the rest of the break!

International Mother Language Day

2011-02-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

Our big project at the moment in the English as an Additional Language and Mother Tongue (EAL & MT) Department is UNESCO's International Mother Language Day. You will find a display board in the atrium at school with information about the day and how Ambrit is celebrating it together with examples of work the children have done. This is a work in progress and we will complete it after the winter break.

The first event was a Chinese New Year Workshop run by Lin Lin Mao, Ambrit's Mandarin teacher. On February 2nd and 9th Primary and Middle School classes were able to take part in Chinese calligraphy and paper cutting activities. They made traditional decorations put up in Chinese homes to celebrate the new year, heralding the coming of good fortune and making the place look very colourful.

International Mother Language Day IN ROME gives you a link to information about how the day will be marked here on our home ground.

International Mother Language Day at Ambrit.
Here's what we plan to do.

Class Activities

Grade 5 - Counting to 10 in 10 languages on the

100^th day of school

Grade 4 - 100 square 10x10

Grade 3 - to be announced

Grade 2 - www.worldweatherwords.com

Grade 1 - 10x10 square

Prep - Stories in Different Languages

Kinder - to be announced

Nursery - Ciao, Hola, Hello, Guten Tag, Bonjour and many more

You will be able to view and hear our multilingual efforts on this blog and on the class blogs.

We hope you enjoy our International Mother Language Day celebrations.

EAL & MT Department

5L is celebrating 100 days of school in their mother languages.

For Teachers

2010-10-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a new blog - Home Language and EAL Support -
I recommend it.

For Parents

2010-09-27T09:16:00.000-07:00

As promised to Prep and Grade 2 parents at their meetings but addressed to all, here is more information about the EAL Department together with suggestions for further reading.

First, a link which will give background to the work of the department. This link takes you to the EAL homepage on the Ambrit website.

A "MUST" read for bilingual families is Colin Baker's "A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to Bilingualism" now in its third edition.

The publishers Multilingual Matters have valuable resources for families. Check out their Notes for Parents. Missing from this section is "Equal rights to the curriculum: many languages, one message" by Eithne Gallagher.

Happy reading!

Prep Parent Meetings

2010-09-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

I was pleased to have the chance to meet Prep parents today and share with them how EAL will be working in their children's classrooms. As promised, I am writing for them tonight. In the coming days I will make some recommendations on this blog about useful reference books for multilingual families. In the meantime please take a look at the links already in place for parents on this blog(scroll down to the bottom of the sidebar) and also the posts labelled Mother Tongue.
Further information about the EAL Department can be found on the Ambrit website. Go to the Curriculum page and select Student Services. Under EAL Support there are several links which cover the scope of our work(EAL Web Page, EAL Policy, Ambrit Language Policy).
As I mentioned in your meetings please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like further information.

Welcome to a New School Year

2010-08-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

During the last few days at Ambrit, we have been planning our work for the year. In the EAL Department there have been many staffing changes. You can see the new setup in the sidebar. This year for the first time there will be an EAL teacher in the Prep classrooms. I'm looking forward very much to being that teacher and hope this initiative will benefit the children in their acquisition of English.

NEW STUDENTS' DAY
We enjoyed meeting new families today and were able to make useful contacts and connections.
We value the opportunity to meet new families as soon as possible as strong home/school links are vital for the language learner's progress and well-being. Will you be at the New Parent's Cocktail Party on Saturday? I look forward to meeting you there.

AMBRIT LANGUAGE SURVEY
New families will receive the survey by email and can complete and return it online. This survey is quick and easy to fill in and provides valuable information for the school. Thank you for your time.

MOTHER TONGUE PROGRAMME
I have received a number of enquiries about this programme. If you are interested and would like to set up a group please let me know as soon as possible.
You can go to October 13th 2009 in this blog's archive to find out more about this programme and the philosophy behind it.

MULTILINGUAL WELCOME BOARD
If you are in school check out the welcome board. If you would like to add a bilingual welcome in your home languages pick up a form and fill it in. I know there are many more languages spoken by Ambrit families than we have on the board. Many people stop to read the messages and find out something new about their friends.

HAVE A GREAT YEAR!

A New Language For The Showcase

2010-06-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

With so much going on we've had a hard time getting ready to showcase a new language, but we've made it just in time to share with you before school closes. In the past Miss Eileen, Miss Eleni and Miss Jackie have collaborated with the students on this project. This time we have to thank Miss Eleni for the great showboard she has worked on for Turkish with Dilara and the rest of the Grade 3 EAL group.
Taking a closer look we can see an

interactive

informative, entertaining, attractive showboard.

Chinese Writing Workshop

2010-04-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today the EAL & MT department were very pleased to offer to some Ambrit students the chance to take part in a Chinese Writing Workshop. The workshop was led by Linlin Mao, our Mandarin teacher and her middle Shool students.

Many of the students were taking their first steps in learning Chinese characters.
Others were a little more expert and were able to write the most complex Chinese character which represents "noodles". At least they won't go hungry! They all had fun, were very engaged and produced beautiful writing which was displayed on what has been nicknamed...

..."The Great Wall of China".

Thank you Miss Mao and to all who participated for a great co-operative effort.

Primary EAL Workshop 19.03.10

2010-03-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

At our first workshop in the autumn we explored the seven basic collaborative teaching models. Today we are considering ways in which EAL and classroom teachers can collaborate in a more flexible ongoing way.

The Primary department has an EAL teacher for each grade level in support of our commitment, as a school, to mainstreaming ELLs rather than following a pullout programme. Collaboration is a great resource for ELLs in our classes despite the difficulties we face.

The purpose of this workshop is

· to share successful strategies/activities

· to extend our repertoire

· to discuss ways in which we could increase/improve our collaboration.

The links below are of general EAL interest, although "Assessing Speaking" and the articles deal specifically with co-teaching .

VIDEOS

The Multilingual Classroom

Managing EAL - Primary - Assessing Speaking

Managing EAL - Primary - Assessing Writing

teachers.tv

ARTICLES

Together We Are Better by Patricia Hoffman and Anne Dahlman

Co-teaching in the ESL Classroom by Andrea Honigsfeld and Maria Dove

Collaborative teaching: Are Two Teachers Better Than One?

by Judie Haynes

Early Childhood EAL Workshop 12.03.10

2010-03-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

The main focus for our workshop this afternoon was "creating quality listening and speaking play-based opportunities at the foundation stage". As an introduction to our discussion we watched the video Early Years Foundation Stage - Support Staff . Our purpose was to identify strategies used by the teaching team to provide listening and speaking opportunites. We concluded by watching a second video in the same series, Early Years Foundation Stage - Teaching and Learning. Both videos and many, many others covering a whole range of educational situations can be viewed on www.teachers tv.

Other videos and links connected to this workshop include:
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) - Leaders
EYFS Parents

KS1 Literacy Laying the Foundations 1

KS1 Literacy Laying the Foundations 2

I'll add more as I check them out.
Have a good weekend.

Ambrit Language Showcase

2010-02-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

The EAL Department has brought to you, for the first time in the atrium,
The Ambrit Language Showcase. We had a pilot version in the department (which you go through on the way to the Art Room). There it featured Dutch and was such a success that we were invited to display the current showcase in the atrium.
As you can see it is much more than a language showcase and includes information, posters, writing samples and viewer participation covering a range of topics about Chinese life and culture.

Some of the students who are informing us are mother tongue speakers of Mandarin, whilst others are learning the language as part of their studies at Ambrit.

The idea came from Newbury Park Primary School, Redbridge, London where they have a programme called Language of the Month. We have taken their idea and adapted it for Ambrit. Thank you Newbury Park, and thank you EAL Teachers for bringing it all together.

Middle School EAL Workshop 29.01.10

2010-01-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

Today- 29.01.10 - at the EAL Workshop in Middle School we discussed the Dimensions of Language Proficiency (Jim Cummins Handout 1) and the importance of Academic Language Proficiency to the success of English Language Learners in School. We went on to examine Don Bouchard's reminders to teachers of ways of "Strengthening ELLs Academic Language Proficiency".

Next time we will go on to examine Challenges for English Language Learners in the content areas.

Early Childhood EAL Workshop 22.01.10

2010-01-28T09:18:00.000-08:00

Last Friday afternoon the Early Childhood Department met to discuss EAL issues. At first we focused on the difference between Language Learning and Language Acquisition. We went on to examine recommended classroom practice which favours Language Acquisition. The work of Stephen Krashen clearly defines both concepts and outlines appropriate strategies. At the workshop we made close reference to Susan Gross's website where she also outlines the two concepts and goes on to give extensive practical suggestions and precise strategies. We looked most closely at her 2009 TPR Storytelling handout. This strategy, together with others described in the handout, is based on the principle that language is acquired through comprehensible input. It is also comprehensible input rather than learning rules and practising structures which leads to greater language proficiency.

I first encountered Susan Gross at her presentation at the ECIS Conference last November. Since then I have had the chance to use some of her strategies with a range of age groups. I have been pleased with the results. As well as the claims that are made for them they are flexible, easy to differentiate, engaging and fun for everyone.

A New Bilingual Resource from the University of Edinburgh

2010-01-11T12:52:00.000-08:00

First of all Very Best Wishes to all for 2010.

The message in this first post is to strongly recommend that you visit this site Bilingualism Matters It was featured in the Bilingual Family Newsletter early last year and is an excellent resource.
That's all I have to say just now. There's certainly enough there to keep me busy for a while.

ECIS Conference Hamburg 2009 #5 The Last Post

2009-12-10T09:55:00.000-08:00

Although I will not write again explicitly and at length about the ECIS conference, I cannot say that I am putting closure on it, as my lasting reflection is that all nine of the sessions I attended were interrelated and each had direct bearing on some aspect of the language and learning issues that we address daily at Ambrit. I find that every day I bring into practice something that I learned there.

Two workshops Teaching is Teamwork and Collaboration between ESL and secondary mainstream teachers gave interactive presentations and numerous examples of how teachers can work together. For EAL teachers in a school where English Language Learners are mainstreamed, teamwork and collaboration are key concepts as it through these practices that they can make full use of their expertise and give proper support to their charges, that is those students with English as an additional language. Neither workshop gave online references although unlocking the world gives information about an organisation which offers professional development in teacher training and specifically in this area.

The last two workshops I will refer to were given by the same person - Salman Amjad. They were on Differentiation and The Role of the Mother Tongue. These two topics are being addressed in workshops in all three departments at Ambrit over the course of this year as well as in a previous blog post (The Mother Tongue). It is part of the EAL teacher's job to support mainstream teachers in differentiating for English Language Learners, so please seek our help. We have useful resources.
Come and visit us in the Language Room.

Wherever you are

whatever language you speak

have a wonderful winter holiday!

ECIS Conference Hamburg 2009 #4 Comprehensible Input

2009-12-03T09:46:00.000-08:00

In her presentation entitled Second Language Acquisition Via Comprehensible Input Susan Gross challenged the usefulness of time -honoured practices favoured by language teachers and those working with language learners in mainstream classrooms; for example sequenced grammar and exercises and error correction.

Her claims rest on Stephen Krashen's comprehensible input hypothesis and make the distinction between language learning and language acquisition. Through comprehensible input we acquire language. Acquisition is effortless, subconscious and leads to us understanding the message. Language learning comes after acquisition and requires study, understanding the mechanics, practising structures and knowing the rules. Both processes lead to getting better at the language.

According to this theory language learners develop fluency and proficiency through comprehensible input not through output (i.e. oral repetition or practice).

When learners are required to produce learned language they have 3 conditions to fulfill. They have to

know the rule
be focused on the rule
take time to edit.

This doesn't take much account of conveying meaning which is surely what we need language for and creates a huge barrier to output.

On the other hand, acquiring language through input, listening or reading, with limited pressure for output, allows the brain to process the language, looking for patterns and making sense out of it.

Output comes into play later being the assessment after acquisition.

In the handout which you can find at the first link in this post, Susan Gross outlines five effective practices. Much more is available at the link just provided.
In general she stressed the importance of:

recycling material in as many ways as possible
the need for learners to hear the whole language from the beginning
sheltering the vocabulary but not the grammar
personalising the input so that students are more concerned with the meaning than with the language.

Although this is approach is controversial and not universally accepted (see Stephen Krashen link for discussion) I draw on it widely in my work with learners and would be happy to share more of this presentaion as I have only given an outline here.

This holds true for all the ECIS posts.

The remaining sessions I plan to share with you, though more briefly, are on collaboration, differentiation and the mother tongue.

ECIS Conference Hamburg 2009 #3 Academic Language Proficiency

2009-11-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) was described by Jim Cummins in 1979 as the language proficiency required for academic learning. It includes the four language domains as they are required to cover subject area content materials as well as subject area vocabulary and higher level thinking skills, such as comparing and classifying. Judie Haynes gives us a clear explanation.

At the conference in Hamburg Margaret Early gave an overview of the research into CALP since its beginnings in 1979 and stressed that it needs to be taught. It is not a proficiency that just happens because a student is participating in classroom activities. It needs to be supported through targeted scaffolding.

Margaret Early's presentation had enormous implications for mainstream teachers who have English Language Learners (ELLs) in their classrooms, which is, of course, all of us. She went on to describe how we can support our ELLs.

We need to "focus on the intersection between language and content". The teaching model she proposes draws on Michael Halliday's Systemic Functional Grammar and Genre Theory. The key, she says, lies in identifying meaning structures and the knowledge framework which both span the curriculum. Then we must identify the language that matches up with these structures and we need to be able to deal with the ways knowledge is organised.

For example:-
Sequence is one of six elements in the knowledge framework. The language we need to teach explicitly to deal with sequence includes the active voice, the imperative, logical and chronological connectors and prepositions of space and time.

This is a fascinating and complex area of study which has proved, when applied in the classroom, to have positive results in strengthening ELLs Academic Language Proficiency.

ECIS Conference Hamburg 2009 #2 Developmental Continuums

2009-11-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

For many years the EAL Department has promoted the work of Bonnie Campbell Hill at Ambrit. Her materials for incorporating continuums into daily life in the classroom are unequalled. So I was thrilled to find out that she would be presenting in Hamburg. Unfortunately I was only able to attend part of her session on continuums.

From the conference website you can download copies of her handouts on Literature Circles, Continuums and Student Portfolios K-8. The resources she is offering here are large chunks of her published materials with some additions.

Below are some points I noted as Bonnie was reflecting on the value of continuums.

They show-

what kids CAN do
what they have LEARNT not what they have been TAUGHT
that children don't fit into one level but progress faster in some areas than others

A continuum is like a map. It shows where children have gone, and where they are going with continuum stages as signposts on the way.

The EAL teachers believe strongly in the value of Developmental Continuums and Literature Circles to support literacy. We are familiar with Bonnie Campbell Hill's work and are keen to work with mainstream teachers in putting it into practice.

Next on the agenda over the long weekend is Academic Language Proficiency.

ECIS Conference Hamburg 2009 #1 The Teenage Brain

2009-11-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

ECIS stands for European Council of International Schools. They hold a conference in mid-November every year in venues across Europe.

I got back last night from Hamburg with my colleague, Eileen O'Rourke. It was a wonderful trip even though Eileen was not feeling great for most of the time. I attended presentations and workshops covering many aspects of my field and have come back with stars in my eyes partly from the efficiency, courtesy and friendliness of our German partners but also from the wealth of information and expertise shared by the presenters. Every session that I went to made me think "Ah, this is just right for Ambrit."

Over the next few days, as my vision clears and things get back to normal, I would like to share some of these thoughts with you. You can, of course, go the conference site and see for yourselves, but if you prefer a guided tour visit the EAL blog in the coming days.

First of all there's something for a wider audience, not just EAL teachers.

As I work in 5th grade and Middle School I was attracted to a session called Adolescent Brain Development and Teacher Discipline Styles given by Melissa Sheaffer, from the International School of Johannesburg. You will find the powerpoint at the link given earlier. It actually addressed much wider issues than the title suggests. The presenter strongly recommended two DVD's for parents, as well as teachers. They are produced by PBS Home Video, from the series - The Secret Life of the Brain.
They are The Teenage Brain and A World of Their Own.

In my next post I'll highlight some of Bonnie Campbell Hill's ideas or rather pearls of wisdom on Developmental Continuums.

The Bilingual Family Newsletter (BFN) and other resources for parents

2009-10-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Bilingual Family Newsletter is a mine of useful, fascinating, encouraging information: a must for young families setting out on the exciting and challenging journey of growing up with more than one language in the home. It keeps people informed, and in touch. It brings expert knowledge in terms we can all understand and tells stories which may remind you of your own. They would probably like to hear yours.
Go to the bilingualfamilynewsletter for further information and subscription details.
The EAL Department has subscribed for some years and you are welcome to make an appointment with me (jennifer.kightley@ambrit-rome.com) on Friday afternoon - 14:15-15:15 - to look through our archive and sign out issues that interest you.
The BFN is published by Multilingual Matters They have a wealth of material for parents and teachers alike and their site is well worth a visit.
If you would like more references on these topics please contact me at my email address.

The Mother Tongue

2009-10-13T08:41:00.000-07:00

This year "mother tongue" was added to the name of the department. Here are some reasons why.
As they acquire a new language students can be supported in their curriculum work by accessing information in their first language for example on the internet: information that would otherwise be difficult and laborious for them to access in their new language.
Here two English Language Learners (ELLs) are reading up,in their first language, on the background to "The Giver", a book they are studying in class.

When ELL's find that their peers and teachers take an interest in their mother tongue and they are given the chance to share it with their classmates they can begin to feel more accepted and appreciated. They understand that they don't leave their language and culture at home but that it is valued and serves them in their new school context.

It is a moving moment for a child with English as an Additional Language when she can share a heartfelt occasion from her home country - the Cherry Blossom Festival in Korea.

We are committed to supporting mother tongue study groups as part of the After School Programme. As soon as we receive all the Language Survey replies we can let you have further information.

Any comments?
Any stories to share?
I'd love to hear from somebody!!

What's in a name?

2009-10-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Quite a lot - if you take the full name of this department:
The English as an Additional Language and Mother Tongue Department (EAL & MT Dept).
Until last year it was known as English as a Second Language, but in line with current thinking and the realitiy of the Ambrit community 'Second' became 'Additional'.
Additional emphasises that we are adding a new language not replacing one already acquired.
Additional also recognises that the new language might not be a second language but a third or fourth.

Now, what about the Mother Tongue part? Nowadays, research tells us that, for learners of a new language, the mother tongue is a great resource to be drawn upon, as learners transfer what they know and can do in one language to learning in the other.
With this in mind we can understand how vital it is to nurture the mother tongue, especially if it is not one of the two languages in Ambrit's Dual Language Programme: English or Italian.

As a school community we have always sought to do this in a variety of ways. Now, however, I feel we are getting a real boost from our PYP and Curriculum Co-ordinators, Nicky Shamash and Maria Casson, respectively, with such initiatives as the Ambrit Rome Language Survey (have you replied yet?). We must also remember that addressing the mother tongue is an essential element of the PYP.

This is a vast topic, but I am closing here.
In future blog postings I plan to draw attention to some resources which might be of interest to bi- and multilingual families.
Thank you for your attention.

Ambrit Rome Language Survey

2009-09-30T01:28:00.000-07:00

Today is officially the deadline for Ambrit families to return their replies to the Language Survey. We are very pleased with the response so far but there are still about 200 students who still have to reply. The information you have given is extremely useful, giving us a better understanding of our school community, helping us to provide support and follow up on requests.

Reply before the end of the week and help us to complete the picture.