Welcome to the Beginners' Web

Approximately one in ten pupils in England are learning English as an additional language. Although there are no national statistics available, many of these pupils join schools and classes with limited or very little knowledge of English. These pupils come from a wide range of backgrounds. They may be the children of families fleeing persecution in other countries. They may be the children of visiting health and education professionals employed to work in UK schools, hospitals and universities.  They may be the children of families from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus seeking work in the UK since EU enlargement in May 2004.  Whatever their diverse backgrounds, they share a common and 'distinctive task' which is to 'catch up' with a moving target by learning an additional language whilst simultaneously learning National Curriculum content, skills and concepts.

Despite continuing and increasing global mobility, there is very little systematised provision to support learners in this task.  Although most teachers will work with pupils at early stages of learning English at some point during their careers, they may have had little, if any, training in this area of work.  There is no 'national curriculum' for English as an additional language, nor a distinct national assessment system. 

This website is designed to support teachers and support staff new to working with pupils at early stages of learning English as an Additional Language (EAL). It is built on the experience of one local authority in providing guidance to schools and staff on meeting the induction, assessment, English language and curriculum needs of early stage EAL learners in mainstream primary and secondary classrooms.  It further aims to help schools, teachers and specialist staff locate and develop  resources for pupils at early stages of learning EAL.