Int’l Teachers: EAL in the Mainstream Classroom

ONLINE
8 - 12 July 2024
Facilitator: Virginia Rojas

Every international teacher is an EAL (English as an Additional Language) teacher by virtue of the fact that the majority of international-school students have primary languages other than English. In this course we focus on shifting the historical deficit narrative for multilingual learners in international schools based on a crosswalk of research-based principles and schoolwide implementation of CLIL (content and language integrated learning) which refers to learning environments where content-area subjects are taught with dual-focused aims; namely, the learning of academic content and the simultaneous acquisition of a second (or third) language without requiring extra time in the curriculum. CLIL has been bold enough to encapsulate itself within an acronym, implying that it is an approach, a philosophy - an educational paradigm with frontiers that can be clearly articulated and therefore open to transforming the status quo. Participants access these principles and practices, engage with each other in class and in afternoon groups in order to express who they will be as advocates of multilingual learners in international schools.

This course is suitable for certified teachers working in international schools.

What Will I Learn?

During this learning experience we will explore the following topics:

  • How to provide academic programs, schoolwide attributes and instructional conditions for multilingual learners in mixed-proficiency classrooms

  • How to build a collaborative toolbox of instructional strategies to effectively facilitate academic achievement and language development of multilingual learners

  • How to implement the ten CLIL principles to ensure a responsive learning environment with specific pedagogical benefits for multilingual learners

Learning Goals

  • Define terms related to research-based EAL theories, principles, and practices

  • Compare and contrast an array of EAL-related principles and practices including CLIL, Stanford University’s ELL Guidelines, SIOP. WIDA, and professional teaching standards for EAL teachers from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand

  • Explore essential paradigm shifts reflected in these principles and practices, especially on how they impact multilingual learners in international schools

  • Integrate and operationalize the ten CLIL principles and they can be collaboratively implemented by EAL specialists and content-area teachers in all divisions

  • Review the four components of language learning targets in order to practice alignment of language learning targets to content targets and design appropriate instructional strategies

  • Access and engage with co-teaching models, roles & responsibilities, and competencies from the perspectives of EAL specialists and content-area teachers

  • Design an EAL Instructional Playbook to include language development strategies (i.e. oral, reading, and writing), scaffolding strategies, and differentiation and personalization strategies for accessing, engaging with, and expressing information

  • Ponder and wonder about language and cultural-proficiency issues related to international-school settings