Addressing the Needs of EAL/D Students

Running head: ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF EAL/D STUDENTS .1
Addressing the Needs of EAL/D Students.
Student’s Name:
Institution’s Name:

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF EAL/D STUDENTS. 2
Introduction.
Teachers are often instructed to modify their lessons to accommodate students with
special needs. Over the years it has been proved that it is critical and paramount for teachers to
develop a lesson plan and activities that engage students in very important subjects. A good
number of students in Australian schools are learning English as their second language and hence
the name EAL/D. EAL/D stands for English as an additional language or dialect. EAL/D
students are students whose first language is not Standard Australian English and require
additional support and assistance so that they can perfect their English language. This is the very
reason that makes this group of students special. They all come from different backgrounds and
most of them are motivated to improve their English proficiency. It has been noted that over the
years the numbers of EAL/D students keep on increasing meaning there is dire need to develop a
curriculum that is inclusive and appropriately caters for the needs of these particular group of
students. The EAL/D students are concurrently acquiring a new language and getting to
understand the knowledge and the skills of that new language using the same language that they
know little or nothing about it. Learning English may be an uphill task for the students and hence
they require extra time and targeted assistance coupled with conversant instructions from the
teachers that addresses their needs categorically(Bulloch, 2018) .Assessment is a paramount
exercise in the teaching of EAL/D students.
The K-10 syllabus used in the Australian English schools, has a specific aim and
objective. The aim is to assist students to comprehend the English language and communicate
effectively and eloquently. K-10 syllabus also aims at ensuring the EAL/D students appreciate
the language, and to enjoy the language making it possible for the students to use the language

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF EAL/D STUDENTS. 3
confidently and enjoy while they are at it. Certain books have been selected to be used in the
teaching of English in Stage on of reading. The selected books are Mirror by Jeannie Baker and
Pearl Barley and Charlie Barley by Aaron Blabey. Mirror is a picture book that gives students a
positive look at a day in the life of two families from very different parts of the world. It is an
appropriate book because it explains and describes the similarities and differences that exist in
different the cultures of different people. Pearl Barley and Charlie Barley on the hand is a
children’s literature that magically illustrates believing in self, courage and draws attention to the
positive implications of friendship. The two books were selected to be used students in stage one
because they both are child friendly and motivate the students to understand more.
Planning EAL/D curriculum and support.
Planning is the best remedy for all sorts of confusion that may be witnessed and felt when
undertaking a specific activity. (Madeleine Arnot, 2014) Planning has had many positive
implications in various fields and applies to everything. Planning in teaching is critical because it
ensures that the set educational objectives are met. Planning makes it possible for teachers to
think what they would like their students to achieve and understand at the end of the course, and
how the students will go about the learning and the kind of activities they are going to engage
themselves in so as to reap the full benefits of the sessions. Appropriate planning leads to
automatic success in the given area of specialization. In the EAL/D curriculum planning for the
development of the inclusion curriculum has been of great importance to the lives of the EAL/D
students. (Yvonne Foley , Pauline Sangster , Charles Anderson, 2013) Over the years education
has been understood as a means of improving people’s lives as well as changing societies for the

ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF EAL/D STUDENTS. 4
better. It is important to provide an inclusive education for all the students as this will lead to the
betterment of the country as a whole.
The development of an inclusion curriculum is a process intended to strengthen the capacity of
EAL/D teaching so as to reach out to all the students and meet their unique needs. The inclusion
curriculum has made it possible for the instructors to be proactive in identifying the barriers that
be met while teaching the English language and also coming up with strategies and appropriate
resources required to overcome the barriers along the way. Inclusion curriculum has shifted the
attention from the curriculum developed for the students to the process of responding to the
needs of the students and understanding that students are different and that they require different
support as their abilities are different. It is important to note that the selection of the two books
Mirror and Pearl Barley and Charlie Barley was a great milestone in the development of an
inclusive curriculum. The books are very appropriate and useful in the teaching of the students in
stage on of reading. These two important texts cover a great percentage of the provided K-10
syllabus. The study of these books will lead to the set lesson objectives. This is because the two
texts enables students to be creative and think imaginatively, it also improves the students’
vocabulary and enables them to express themselves appropriately.
Potential barriers to understanding the texts.
EAL/D students are vulnerable to a number of challenges during the course of their
study. Scholars define barriers as anything that stands on the way of a person preventing that
individual from achieving the set goals and objectives. EAL/D students may experience a lot of
challenges and barriers along the way as they try to perfect and even learn English. The barriers
that may be experiences while covering the book Mirror may be experienced because the book is
a wordless picture book that may be a bit complex for young children to understand and draw the