Monday April 27, 12:30 – 13:30
Cost: From £55
Location: Online (Watch live or on catch up)
Course outline:
Identifying additional needs in EAL Learners: strategies for assessment and support
Many multilingual learners can contribute confidently in classroom discussions but struggle to express subject-specific understanding in writing. This hands-on session explores how teachers can bridge the gap between social language and academic literacy—across subjects and proficiency levels. By integrating AI tools such as Claude AI and ChatGPT, we demonstrate how to generate deep linguistic insights and create effective scaffolds and that go far beyond what most subject teachers or EAL specialists could do unaided.
Training Topics Include:
- From BICS to CALP: what your learners can really do
- The register continuum: informal talk to formal writing
- Vocabulary tiers and disciplinary discourse
- Talk-before-writing strategies that build confidence and clarity
- Using AI tools to generate and analyse high-impact scaffolds
- Techniques for recycling, embedding and assessing vocabulary
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and analyse language demands in your subject area
- Create tailored writing frames, sentence starters and vocabulary support using large language models
- Design engaging literacy activities which can be transferred across subject specific disciplines
Speaker:
Dr. Helen Wood, Head of School Partnerships, Password English Language Testing
Helen’s career began as a language teacher. While following a bi-lingual postgraduate at Geneva University she discovered passion for EAP and CLIL methodologies. This led to twenty years in the independent school sector working in support of international students, first as Head of EAL and later a senior leader involved in CPD, curriculum development, pupil progress tracking and school improvement. Helen joined Password in 2018 to promote the use of appropriate assessment tools for EAL learners in the school sector.
