Lynne Cameron Research –

Focus areas identified to develop EAL learners’ writing

EAL writers achieving level 4, need further help with character, problem and resolution to achieve L5

L3/4 EAL writers can be helped to increase the amount of development of setting, character and resolution, by thinking about what the imagined readers might want to know and how to make it more interesting. Increase activities with stories that are rich in development

L3/4 writers can enrich their writing by being helped to understand and use a wider range of modal verbs to express a greater range of probability and possibility

Attention to agreement errors and verb errors is especially important for lower achieving EAL learners, who seem less likely to notice grammatical patterns by themselves than higher achieving writers.E.g. ‘he hurt his self’ ‘the shop is close’ ‘They was a huge line’ ‘the girl knewed’

Spelling – as with other aspects of English that are explicitly taught, spelling was being learnt by EAL learners as well as, or even better that EMT peers

Animal metaphors and similes may be a useful introduction to figurative language for young writers

Pupils learning EAL should be helped to notice collocations, i.e. which words tend to be used together. They should meet and learn words, especially prepositions, as part of formulaic phrases, as well as individual words

Errors in formulaic phrases (i.e. a group of words that are bound together in English. E.g.s ‘face the music’, ‘for a long time’) should be corrected, in speech and in writing, through all Key Stages. E.g.s – through word order

o “Can I go with you shopping?”o “He thought they should go or stay”

- through word choice

o “.. he quickly wore ( put on) his shoes”o “It costs (is) expensive”

Chris Green

May 2010

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