Supporting English as an Additional Language Learners: A Sea of Talk - Jennifer Flight

Oct 15, 2026

The paper examines the growing population of English as an additional language (EAL) learners in Manitoba and the classroom needs that follow. It highlights that young learners must develop literacy while building proficiency in a new language through meaningful conversation, reading, and writing. Drawing on limited research, the study describes effective practices from Reading Recovery Teacher Leaders and offers classroom strategies centered on assessment, oral-language monitoring, and instructional planning to extend each child’s language competencies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Recommendations for Supporting EAL Learners

Monitor the child’s oral language

Administer and reflect on assessment tasks

Supporting English as an Additional Language Learners: A Sea of Talk Jennifer Flight English as an additional language (EAL) learners are increasing in Manitoba. They currently comprise 14% of our grade 1 population (A. Matczuk, personal communication, August 4, 2016), which translates to about three students per classroom. These young learners are “trying to master academic skills, including initial literacy, in a language in which they do not have full proficiency yet” (Rodriguez-Eagle & Torres-Elias, 2009, p. 53) . Teachers need strategies to help these students engage in meaningful conversation in a new language, in addition to learning to read and write. Research on the teaching of young EAL learners is limited (August & Shanahan, 2006; Espinosa, 2010) . To learn more about supporting students and teachers, I undertook a study to identify effective teaching practices used in individual lessons by experienced Reading Recovery® Teacher Leaders. Reading Recovery is an early literacy intervention that provides one-on-one teaching to grade one children who are most at risk in literacy learning , but I believe some of the techniques can be applied by the classroom teacher in whole-class, small-group, and individual instruction. My recommendations include what teachers can do to understand each child’s current ability to use language and how best to teach with a focus on assessment. In Reading Recovery lessons, teachers support language development through the literacy tasks of reading books and writing stories. Engaging in conversation, reading, and writing all contribute to language learning. Rigg and Allen (1989) explained, “Writing, speaking, listening, and reading all nourish one another; we don’t wait for mastery of one before encouraging developments of the other three They need not be fluent English-speakers before they can write and read” (p. xiii) . Both Reading Recovery lessons and early years classroom instruction bring together the tasks of speaking, reading, and writing. The question is, what can teachers do to enhance instruction in order to support the needs of the child as a language learner? Recommendations for Supporting EAL Learners Teachers need to see EAL students as capable learners, expecting participation in speaking, reading, and writing tasks. Children enter school “with two self-extending systems in place – making sense of the world and knowing how to learn language” (Neal, 2009, p. 105) . EAL children have also learned to make sense of their world through engagement in family and community life. They have learned to speak the language of the home. They are learners. Studying our teaching and decision making with respect to teaching EAL learners can help us to become more effective teachers. The teacher’s understanding of an individual student’s strengths is important. The following ideas may support classroom teachers in monitoring the development of a child’s language competencies, planning instructional opportunities to extend learning, and reflecting on the effectiveness of instructional decisions. Monitor the child’s oral language. Teachers need to be meticulous observers of the EAL child’s spoken language. Observation of spoken language is challenging, because the act of speaking is heard but not seen. Teachers need to become sensitive to the child’s use of language, because “the better the teacher understandshow the child is going about his business of constructing the new language, the more effectively she can support the child’s work – by providing, observing, and responding appropriately”(Lindfors, 1991, p. 469) . The following are three ways to monitor a child’s use of language, thus making the child’s oral language more visible: 1. Administer and reflect on assessment tasks. Early reading and writing measures administered in English provide a valid means of screening young EAL learners (Chiappe & Siegel, 2006; Geva, 2000) . Assessment tasks such as An Observation

FAQs

Why is conversation important for young EAL learners?

Conversation, reading, and writing all contribute to language learning. Teachers need strategies that help students engage in meaningful conversation while also developing literacy skills.

What does the paper suggest teachers do to monitor oral language?

Teachers should observe spoken language closely, even though it can’t be seen. The paper proposes ways to make the child’s oral language more visible through structured observation and assessment.

How can assessment tasks support instructional decisions?

Early reading and writing measures in English can screen young EAL learners. Specific oral-language tasks help teachers understand changes in language structures and decide when a child needs additional language development and enriched oral interactions.

Oct 15, 2026

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