Subject Literacy in Culturally Diverse Secondary Schools: Supporting Eal Learners

This book supports teachers of all subject specialisms to consolidate their existing knowledge of language and shows them how to develop skills to use language to build subject knowledge at secondary level. Tasks guide the reader to think about the language we use for different purposes, and how we use it to describe, explain and learn about our world. This paves an accessible way for subject-related language to become more visible and enables readers to use accessible terminology to confidently talk about it, as well as modelling it and guiding the development of its use with all learners, including those with English as an Additional Language (EAL).

Starting from basic educational principles, the book asks readers to consider the processes of learning and why every good teacher needs knowledge about language to support this, addressing a range of questions including:
Who are the EAL learners?
What are the processes of language development?
How is language used to present and discuss knowledge in my subject?
Why does every good teacher need knowledge about language to support subject literacy?

The authors provide examples, discovery tasks, reflections and templates for activities, to help the reader identify the tools they need to set up a framework for scaffolding pupils' language development. With a progression plan, directed tasks, and formative feedback, this framework provides a template for classroom practice and further professional development.


About the Author

Esther Daborn is Lecturer in Educational Linguistics and teacher education in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow, UK. She has taught English as a first and as a second language in mainstream classrooms in the UK and East Africa. She has extensive experience of working with international students preparing English for Academic Purposes (EAP) to study at university and has prepared and delivered a number of in-service teacher's courses.

Sally Zacharias is Associate Teaching Fellow in TESOL and teacher education in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow, UK. She has taught English as a second language in the UK, Germany and France and is a trained science teacher (Content and Language Integrated Learning specialism).

Hazel Crichton is Lecturer in Modern Languages Education in the School of Education at the University of Glasgow, UK. She taught French, German and Spanish in UK secondary schools for 30 years.