EAL (English as an Additional Language) provision at ISH

The EAL department is an important part of the Primary School as over 75% of our current student roll have English as a second, third or even fourth language. These children are well supported by the EAL team, made up of four experienced teachers and an EAL coordinator. In addition to this team, the Class Teachers have taken a 30 hour course, English as a Second Language in the Mainstream in 2005/06, which has made them aware of the special challenges our multilingual children have when they arrive in an English speaking school and how best the teachers can adapt school resources to help them.

When children arrive in August with no English they immediately join the English Fun Club, which runs from the first day of term. The children are withdrawn in small groups for one and a half hours a day for three weeks, and learn survival English through singing, chanting, arts and crafts and drama. After this initial intensive English course they will then be withdrawn several times a week so that the EAL teacher can support them in acquiring English so that they can access the curriculum as soon as possible.

If children arrive with some knowledge of English they will quickly be assessed and put into appropriate groups depending on their level of English. They will receive support in and out of class depending on their needs. The groups are regularly assessed and they can change during the year.

EAL staff are always available for consultations at the beginning and end of the school day and also at parent consultations. Our EAL team believes that a close working relationship with the parents can help the children learn English quickly and effectively.

Mother Tongue Programme in ISH Primary

It is crucial for children to develop their own mother tongue. It is the language they use to communicate with their family and friends, it facilitates a possible rehabilitation to their home country, national school or university and it gives them access to their own culture and family background. Research shows that a strong mother tongue helps in the development of a strong second language. At the International School of The Hague we recognise the importance of children maintaining their own mother tongue (MT) and our vision is that every child is empowered to develop his/her mother tongue within the curriculum.

We have two different programmes running at ISH Primary: for the entire primary school, a Mother Tongue within the Curriculum Programme which takes place during school time, and for some languages we have an additional After School Mother Tongue Class.

During the MT within the Curriculum Programme, children from Year 2-3, and Year 4-6 are mixed and redistributed in their first language groups so that all children are speaking their own language. Reception -Year 1, as they are younger and still need to settle down in their year group, will start working in their year groups and will be mixed after the December holiday.

During the MT within the Curriculum Programme children will have a chance to work on specific projects linked to special events or on IPC units using their mother tongue. They undertake research in their MT, share their thoughts by speaking and listening and will produce some presentations. They also have some allocated time to read in their mother tongue. Parents are welcome to join during these sessions to read stories or support the writing in their own mother language.

In addition this year MT extension will be planned within Language Arts and IPC in order to facilitate the transfer of knowledge between English and their mother tongue.

During the After School Mother Tongue programme, children focus on the expansion of academic vocabulary and the development of reading and writing skills. When they are ready, they develop verbs and spelling and follow a reading programme. A formal report is joined to the school report. This year we have Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Arabic. We are looking at possibilities to open other language groups.