EAL Provision

EAL at Hollymount School

Hollymount School is a multicultural, multilingual school.  We have over a third of our children who speak languages other than English at home.  These children are called EAL children – English As An Addition Language. All teachers support their language development but we also have a teacher, Miss Whitworth who is a specialist in this area.

There are many languages represented in school: Polish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Thai, Romanian, Italian, Indian, French, Nepali, Twi, Hindi, Greek, Urdu, Kurdish, Malayalam, Panjabi, Yoruba, Turkish & Bulgarian.

Support for EAL Children

Children who arrive with no English are usually conversational within a year although it can take 4 to 5 years to be truly fluent in a new language. During their first year at Hollymount, older children have a special EAL lesson each day. In this lesson, they are taught English vocabulary and speaking skills as well as how to read and write in English. The rest of the day is spent within their classes. During the second year, children are supported by Miss Whitworth within their mainstream classes. Please click here to visit the EAL Class page.

EAL children are given translated vocabulary books to help them remember and use the new words they are learning. They also have an individual tablet to support their learning and can use it to used to translate any piece of work.  Just click on the links below to download the vocabulary book or a presentation about EAL provision at our school.

EAL Vocabulary Book

EAL Presentation

Young Translators

Children who have been in England for a few years are often asked to help translate for newer children and parents.  These ‘Young Translators’ are usually in Years 5 or 6 and wear badges to show which languages they can speak.  We also have several bilingual staff at Hollymount who can help new families settle into school.  We currently have staff who speak Polish, Romanian, Urdu & Punjabi.

“I help other children by translating for them.”  IM Y5

“I am good at explaining things to my friends when they get stuck.  I speak English and Portuguese.”  SV  Y6