1. Have consistent routines. Signal a change in activity/subject in the same way. Use the same language to signal the beginning of the routine. If you expect students to use a daytimer, have them take it out at the same time each day/in each lesson. Consistency is good practice for all students, but it is particularly important for those who are EAL learners. Knowing the routine allows the EAL student to focus on language holding new information and reduces the need to focus on language associated with routines.
2. Be aware of the natural contours of your spoken English as you monitor your speech for comprehensibility. Too often when we slow down, we begin to put a similar stress on every word and/or to pause equally between words. Word-by-word listening is comparable to word-by-word reading – it makes comprehension difficult. Help your students by lengthening the natural pauses between phrases, not distorting the rhythm of your speech.
3. Repeat frequently. Rephrase with caution. An EAL student may hear a paraphrase as new information, and not realize that it is a duplication of what was previously said.
4. Provide, when possible, duplicate materials for information that is delivered in real time. Traditionally, this has taken the form of visuals (images or schematics) on classroom walls or in hand-outs. The internet allows you to digitalize the materials you make available to EAL students, and to create oral as well as visual and written supports. If you don’t have a website or blog, have the child bring a flash chip to school every day and save support material onto the flash chip.
5. Teach peers how to provide support. Asking children to help is a beginning; however, you can improve the quality of support peers provide by modeling helpful behaviours and/or by explicitly stating the challenge that the EAL learner is experiencing and the type of support they need. You don’t want help to become “doing for” rather than “doing with.”
6. Ensure the EAL student has opportunities to contribute their skills, talents and knowledge to their group or the class’ efforts. Set them up as the person giving information. In attempting to make themselves comprehensible, the EAL learner has to listen to how they are being understood, and then to adjust their communication to fit their listeners’ needs. Input, output, interaction – the EAL student needs all three in their continuing linguistic development.