EAL student

In this practical Q+A blog, we provide advice for making Little Wandle Code work for EAL students, with a case study a student from one of our pilot schools.

Can you explain the student’s barriers to accessing Little Wandle Code? :

• Not fully literate in first language
• Limited vocabulary
• Pronunciation of sounds
• Difficulties with retention
• Little Wandle Code Programme Developer, Sarah Paxton adds:

‘The main barrier for EAL is often around language comprehension rather than word decoding (EAL students outperform non-EAL students in the Phonics Screening Check) so spend more time on the Comprehension focus of each reading session, allowing for plenty of time for discussion about the texts.

What adaptations have you made to the programme so they can access the learning successfully?

• Slower pace, reduced content delivered over more sessions
• Increased time on revisit and review sections
• Limit number of new curriculum words introduced
• Dual coding used to support vocabulary understanding
• Consistent revisiting of curriculum words
• Multiple reads of core texts

For further support with students who are very new to English and have limited literacy in their home language, look at the fantastic resources on the Bell Foundation’s website: https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/resources/guidance/classroom-guidance/learners-with-limited-first-language-literacy/

Return