ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE (EAL) The International Study Centre provides language support for international students who are in the mainstream. The lessons take place at the same time as Modern Foreign Languages or/and English. . Our aim is to identify individual needs and provide the means for students to improve their accuracy and fluency as well as develop their general reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Teaching takes place in small groups and individualised programmes are designed depending on the level and rate of progress made. Our objectives are: ! To develop the English required for participation in all subjects across the curriculum. The appropriate language and vocabulary needed for different subjects is taught alongside general English. ! To develop the skills needed for academic and general English in reading, writing, speaking and listening. ! To raise awareness of aspects of culture in language and literature as well as everyday life in England. ! To develop strategies for self-correction and proof reading of written work. ! To gain confidence in speaking to native speakers in different situations. ! To have fun with language. . Year 7 and 8: It is assumed that students who come to the ISC for language support in Year 7 will follow an elementary or pre-intermediate language level syllabus until they are able to join all lessons in the mainstream. The period of integration depends on the initial level and rate of progress during a term. Support is also given with the language they need to succeed in other subjects. When students join Year 7 they all attend Modern Foreign Languages lessons unless when they are assessed on arrival, the results indicate that they may need EAL support. Year 9: EAL students in Year 9 who come to the ISC for language support tend not to be integrated into mainstream Modern Foreign Languages lessons if they have no previous knowledge of the relevant language, or mainstream English. They therefore remain in the ISC for EAL lessons throughout the year. The EAL lessons support students who have a pre-intermediate level of English. They follow a syllabus to develop reading, writing, speaking and listening skills as well as grammar/syntax and vocabulary for general and academic purposes. The programme of study includes a lesson in which they read a set reader and another which focuses on study skills and cross-curricular language support. At the end of the year the students are assessed to establish whether they can follow a GCSE English course in Year 10 or whether they should do the IGCSE ESL course in the ISC.
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