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Local Government IntelligenceCan't Speak, Can't Learn: What's the Impact of Non-Native Speakers in Schools?
22 May 2012
76 Portland Place (the Institute of Physics), London, W1B 1NT
Headline Speakers
Dr Philida Schellekens
Independent Consultant; Author; Research...
Independent Consultant; Author; Research...
Prof Piet Van Avermaet
Director, Centre for Diversity & Learnin...
Director, Centre for Diversity & Learnin...
#cacscl
As experts in assessment, we believe it is our duty to provide a forum to debate key educational issues. This event focused on English as an Additional Language (EAL).
The proportion of primary school children speaking other languages at home has doubled in the past decade. The DfE estimates that nearly one million pupils do not speak English as a first language (schools census January 2011).
It is hard to spot a 'gifted and talented' pupil if they are held back by language challenges. It is also hard to spot those with genuine educational needs. What impact does this have on teachers and the education of mainstream students? How can we ensure every child can access the whole curriculum?
Cambridge Assessment addressed the following questions during the conference:
1. How might all subject teachers have a grounding in language teaching nowadays?
2. To what extent can we say that 'every teacher is a language teacher'?
3. How can we be sure that potential 'gifted and talented' non-native speakers are being identified as such?
4. How can teachers ensure that silent or challenged non-native speakers are not misdiagnosed as having special educational needs?
5. In what ways do schools encourage the learning and maintenance of students' mother tongues?
Programme
12:45
Bene't Steinberg, Group Director of Public Affairs, Cambridge Assessment
Introduction from Chair
Biography: Bene’t Steinberg
13:10
Case study film
What’s the impact of non-native speakers in schools?
What's on now:
13:20
Lee Donaghy, Assistant Headteacher at Park View Business & Enterprise School, Birmingham
Teaching EAL students
Biography: Lee Donaghy
13:30
Dr Sandra McNally, Director of Education and Skills, Centre for Economic Performance, The London School of Economics and Political Science
Pupil performance on the changing geography of ethnic minority pupils in secondary schools
Biography: Dr Sandra McNally
13:40
Phil Woolas, former Immigration Minister and Labour MP
The impact upon the community
Biography: Phil Woolas
13:50
Dr Philida Schellekens, Consultant, Author, Teacher and Teacher-Trainer
The impact of language skills on future life and career chances, and what schools can do to develop pupils’ language skills further
Biography: Dr Philida Schellekens
14:05
Questions and discussion: Session 1
14:25
Coffee break and social media wall Comments from Twitter, LinkedIn, etc
14:45
Interactive vote A
14:55
Panel discussion: How can the curriculum respond?
Chaired by Dr Nick Saville, Director, Research and Validation, University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations |
Panellists will include:
Dr Frank Monaghan, Vice-Chair of the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC); Prof. Dr. Piet Van Avermaet, Director of the Centre for Diversity and Learning, Ghent University, Belgium; Tim Chadwick, consultant and teacher trainer – language and testing.
Biography: Tim Chadwick
Biography: Dr Frank Monaghan
Biography: Dr Nick Saville
Biography: Prof Piet Van Avermaet
15:25
Interactive vote B
15:30
Further questions and audience debate: including Closing remarks
16:00
Finish
16:30
Audience Reaction
Video
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Slides
Comments
@Bob: Why has the comment from ahmad been allowed to stand. It is nonsense, devisive and inflammatory
@Bill Dewberry: Put it on the curriculum. staff it, finance BUT don't leave it to schools. Would you runa History department like this?
@Lindsey: I think there is a lot for subject teachers in schools to learn from the world of EFL and especially teacher training such as CELTA and TRinity TESOL.
@Mike: It doesn't really matter who takes the 'lead' as long as it's taken! Schools may wish to take the lead since they are at the 'sharp end' of the problem.
What actually matters is who takes responsibility for the solution: to do the job properly requires resources and obligations (and possibly help for the parents). The government of the day has ultimate responsibility for both of these but needs to be informed of the requirements.
@Embarek: schools with the support from the goverment
@Iftikhar Ahmad: Bilingual Muslims children have a right, as much as any other faith group, to be taught their culture, languages and faith alongside a mainstream curriculum. More faith schools will be opened under sweeping reforms of the education system in England. There is a dire need for the growth of state funded Muslim schools to meet the growing needs and demands of the Muslim parents and children. Now the time has come that parents and community should take over the running of their local schools. Parent-run schools will give the diversity, the choice and the competition that the wealthy have in the private sector. Parents can perform a better job than the Local Authority because parents have a genuine vested interest. The Local Authority simply cannot be trusted.
The British Government is planning to make it easier to schools to “opt out†from the Local Authorities. Muslim children in state schools feel isolated and confused about who they are. This can cause dissatisfaction and lead them into criminality, and the lack of a true understanding of Islam can ultimately make them more susceptible to the teachings of fundamentalists like Christians during the middle ages and Jews in recent times in Palestine. Fundamentalism is nothing to do with Islam and Muslim; you are either a Muslim or a non-Muslim.
There are hundreds of state primary and secondary schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be opted out to become Muslim Academies. This mean the Muslim children will get a decent education. Muslim schools turned out balanced citizens, more tolerant of others and less likely to succumb to criminality or extremism. Muslim schools give young people confidence in who they are and an understanding of Islam’s teaching of tolerance and respect which prepares them for a positive and fulfilling role in society. Muslim schools are attractive to Muslim parents because they have better discipline and teaching Islamic values. Children like discipline, structure and boundaries. Bilingual Muslim children need Bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods, who understand their needs and demands.
None of the British Muslims convicted following the riots in Bradford and Oldham in 2001 or any of those linked to the London bombings had been to Islamic schools. An American Think Tank studied the educational back ground of 300 Jihadists; none of them were educated in Pakistani Madrasas. They were all Western educated by non-Muslim teachers. Bilingual Muslim children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. A Cambridge University study found that single-sex classes could make a big difference for boys. They perform better in single-sex classes. The research is promising because male students in the study saw noticeable gains in the grades. The study confirms the Islamic notion that academic achievement is better in single-sex classes.
Iftikhar Ahmad
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk