Learning Enhancement Curriculum Documents

Curriculum



Learning Enhancement and EAL brochure

A guide to Learning Enhancement and English as an Additional Language at DBIS.

PDF



English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Dear Parents,

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the team involved in providing your children with learning opportunities to improve their acquisition of English.  

Ms Minoli Samarakkody
EAL Coordinator and Link EAL Teacher
[email protected]

Ms Whitney Fritsch
EAL Educational Assistant (Early Years)
[email protected]

Ms Melissa Moss
EAL Educational Assistant (Primary)
[email protected]

Ms Monique Filmalter
EAL Educational Assistant (Secondary)
[email protected]

What is EAL?

English as an Additional Language (EAL) refers to learners whose first language is not English or who have had limited exposure to English before joining DBIS.

Our Goal 

Our goal is to inspire and empower our students to reach their full potential and to build their confidence and self-esteem.

What do we value?

We celebrate the different languages spoken by our EAL students and encourage them to keep learning those languages and to use them to understand concepts and vocabulary in English.

We value the cultural, linguistic and educational experiences that our EAL students bring to DBIS.

We want to assist parents and caregivers in supporting their children’s acquisition of English outside of school.

We care for the wellbeing of students who are new to English.

How can you help with your child’s acquisition of English?

“The stronger a child’s home language development is, the better they will learn English.” (Chalmers, 2019. The Role of the first language in English medium instruction. Oxford University Press.)

Resources

  • Contact the EAL team with requests or concerns via email, phone call, Google Meet or, when school reopens for in-person learning, through face-to face meetings.
  • Help your child with home learning tasks by:
    • making dual-language glossaries/keywords through the use of Google Translate,
    • discussing upcoming lesson topics with your child through photos/pictures,
    • discussing concepts and vocabulary in your home language – this will help your child acquire these concepts in English more effectively,
    • reading for pleasure with your child in English, your home language or through dual-language books: 

  • Switch on the subtitle function on your home TV so your child can read English as they watch and listen.
  • Provide opportunities for speaking English through playdates with native English speakers.
  • Enroll your child in extracurricular activities for exposure to English outside of school.
  • Use EAL apps to practise speaking skills:

DBIS Hub

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