Supporting EAL learners effectively: Important research
A new research report from the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) examines 9 years of data from over 110,000 NSW students and reveals that Australian English as an additional language (EAL) learners need sustained support to thrive academically. One key finding from the research was that students commencing with beginning levels of English proficiency may need at least 6 years to successfully engage with the curriculum.
Despite this, AERO CEO Jenny Donovan noted: ‘One of the most promising findings was that students beyond the Beginner stage progressed exceptionally well, which points to the benefits of supporting and valuing first language development for all students – creating pathways for multilingual students to thrive in our education system.’
This research has important implications for understanding the support needs of EAL learners, including:
- the length and continuity of language and literacy support
- teacher and school expectations for EAL student learning
- allocation of EAL resources in response to students’ needs.
- Read the full report or summary on AERO’s website.
- Read a related article, Some students learning English can take at least 6 years to catch up to their peers. How can we support them better? on the Conversation web site.
