Meeting the Needs of EAL Students in the Classroom

Did you know that, on average, around 20% of pupils in UK classrooms have English as an Additional Language (EAL)? Of course, this is just an average. In some areas, the percentage is much lower whilst in others, much higher. In some areas, for example, London, parts of the West Midlands and the Northwest, more than 50% of pupils speak a language other than English as their first language.  

The 2025 curriculum review and renewed inspection framework made it clear that EAL pupils are expected to participate fully in the curriculum of mainstream classrooms, as opposed to working on a simplified or different curriculum. This means that teachers have the job of managing their EAL pupils’ access to the curriculum as well as evidencing it.  

So, what can you do? Start with your seating plan: make sure that EAL learners are sitting near any others who may be able to offer first language support. Ensure that bilingual dictionaries or electronic devices with a translation tool are available to them. If there are no other speakers of a pupil’s own language, seat them with a group that is welcoming and will promote their inclusion in the daily life of the classroom. Wherever they sit, see your EAL pupils’ multilingualism as a strength – allow them to think, talk and take notes in their own language. 

As soon as you can, find out about your EAL pupils’ English proficiency. You could do this using, for example, the Bell Foundation EAL Assessment Framework - a free, research-based tool for tracking and supporting their progress. Monitoring your EAL pupils’ development in speaking, listening, reading and writing will help you to plan their next steps more effectively and prepare you for any conversations you might have with inspectors who might ask how you are supporting them. 

In lessons, keep expectations high. Provide scaffolds, for example visual prompts, stem sentences and writing frames to make tasks achievable. Classroom Secrets can really help you out here with our range of vocabulary and display packs and stem sentences in maths, science and history. Use these to pre-teach vocabulary where possible, and to provide the support that children with EAL need to participate fully. For example, our concept cartoons showing children giving different opinions about each of our science topics will support them to join in with the discussion straight away. Or how about our discussion card sentence stems for sustainability to help children express their opinions in full sentences? 

All our teaching PowerPoints are rich with information presented in a visual way, through diagrams such as number lines and part-whole models in maths, or photographs illustrating science in everyday life.  

Where children are expected to write, our resources in writing, science, history and geography provide word banks and a model text so that children can see what a good example looks like before attempting their own. In activity and reading packs related to celebrations and events, cloze sentences and writing frames help those who are not yet able to respond independently to work on the same objectives as their peers.  

Finally, adapt your own talk to communicate effectively with your EAL pupils. Speak clearly, give stepped instructions and repeat stock phrases and chunks of language so that children can hear and secure them for their own use. Allow extra thinking time and let children rehearse their ideas with their peers in groupwork before expecting a response from them in a class discussion.  

Helping children with EAL fully participate in the curriculum and the life of the classroom has so many advantages and will make your classroom a richer, more inclusive place. Why not devote some wall space to their home country and help their classmates learn more about the world around them through real conversations too?