Historically ESOL provision in Scotland has been composed of English classes which have supported learners from the settled minority ethnic community and new arrivals to Scotland. The growing number of ESOL learners, such as migrant workers and refugees, may also want to access mainstream training vocational courses to support their employability. This has implications for the type of language support given to learners to provide them with the necessary language and literacy skills to access the content of vocational courses.
Practitioners providing language support may want to consider the following scenarios that highlight different types of provision:
For each case consider:
Some of the scenarios have been taken from Schellekens (2007). Can you think of any other examples from practice that reflect the range of models of support?
As there is no 'one' ESOL learner, ESOL in Scotland can be delivered in a variety of contexts, as the diagram illustrates:
However, it is now common for providers to deliver collaboratively; for example:
ESOL provision can also take place in workplaces as well as through voluntary sector organisations, initiatives and projects. This could include ESOL provision for learners by volunteer tutors as well as paid tutors. ESOL provision has also been identified in places such as prisons and churches. Partnership working between providers across different sectors is essential in order to maximise the impact of ESOL learning opportunities and to enable learners to progress into further learning where appropriate.
Most existing ESOL provision, however, is delivered currently in three contexts, College-based, within Community Learning or to young adults in schools. It can be diverse in terms of:
All these above factors contribute to the potential 'patchiness' of the learning experience. Research (Schellekens) has shown that it can take as long as eleven years to acquire English but there are not always the resources available to deliver the number of hours per week required to accelerate learning.
It is important to consider the potential benefits of e-learning, which can support classroom delivery traditionally associated with ESOL.
While provision in the community supports ESOL learners from beginner level (SQA Access 2) to intermediate level (SQA Intermediate 1), community learning providers will usually refer learners to college provision for higher levels (SQA Intermediate 2 and above). Colleges can also provide ESOL courses at all levels.
English for Work and Workplace ESOL
The types of ESOL courses that are offered by providers in Scotland range from general English classes to courses for specific purposes. The courses reflect the particular needs of learners for example an “English for Work” course may be aimed at learners looking for employment or learners in employment looking to improve their skills for their job. This is a growing area of provision and supports the vision of the Strategy. ESOL for Work or Workplace ESOL can be promoted to employers and workers as well as other stakeholders using the following points:
Benefits to employees:
Benefits to employers:
Academic English
Academic English may also be the specific focus of an ESOL class or embedded within a higher level class. The main content would be English for Study purposes, which might focus on specialized area for a specific group, for example doctors or teachers, or be more generic as in the SQA Higher ESOL qualification.
The SQA Higher ESOL Course is delivered mainly in colleges and schools across Scotland. It has been confirmed by all Scottish universities, and Oxford University, as part of general entrance requirement for University, and for entrance to many HN college courses as, like any other SQA Higher qualification, it sits at level 6 on the SCQF.
The SQA Higher ESOL comprises:
Unit Assessment, taken when the candidate is ready, throughout the academic year:
As well as Course (or external) Assessment, taken during the SQA examination diet in May - June:
Cambridge also offers qualifications for the academic ESOL qualifications for those learners who wish to access the academic route:
Learners can take a month to prepare for the IELTS Test if attending an intensive ESOL course. Universities usually ask for an IELTS score of 6.0 or 6.5 for entry to courses but it may be higher if there is a high language element to the course. ESOL Learners that come to Scotland with professional qualifications and looking to continue in that profession need to demonstrate a certain level of English and the IELTS scoring scale is used as an indicator for this.
English as an Additional Language
English as an Additional Language is the term used in schools and refers to the additional support that a specialist EAL teacher will give to children and young people with English as an additional language. The main focus for an EAL teacher is to support children and young people to access the mainstream curriculum and English language support is a contributing factor to this. Teachers can be trained to assess English language levels of children and young people with EAL using a list of descriptors of English language level. The assessment can then help to identify strategies for supporting learning. This support usually involves the EAL teacher and the class teacher working together to plan and prepare lessons and can include joint delivery of lessons.
The approach to English language support in schools is different to the approach taken in Adult ESOL learning because language support in schools is about helping the child to access the mainstream curriculum and using the mainstream curriculum as a resource for learning English. In Adult ESOL learning, English language learning is the focus and is determined by learning goals of the learner.
"If you take the example of a young person in secondary school who has recently arrived in Scotland. In their Maths class, they may already know the maths or even be further ahead in terms of knowledge and understanding, they just need to learn how to communicate this in English. EAL is about identifying the support children and young people need to achieve the same curricular goals as their peers".
(Maria Walker, Head of EAL Services, Glasgow)
This example could apply to children who have recently arrived in Scotland and have joined the Scottish education system where they know parts of the curriculum very well.
The Adult ESOL Curriculum Framework recognises the diversity in which English language learning and support exists and this diversity is united by the qualifications framework. In schools, the ESOL qualifications are a small component to the learner’s learning. Schools are encouraged to fully immerse children and young people into English classes as opposed to withdrawing them for separate English language support sessions as the mainstream classroom is the best place for them to experience a variety of models of English. An ESOL qualification would only be considered at the point when the young person is preparing for external assessments. This is normally in 4th and 5th year and only then if ESOL is deemed a more appropriate qualification to meet the young person's needs.
The following case studies, which are taken from Glasgow City Council's ESOL Policy for Glasgow Schools, give examples of this.
Mina arrived in Scotland from Somalia about 5 years ago. She had no formal education in Somalia. She was enrolled into Primary 7 and was there for about 7 months. She then transferred to secondary. She has just completed S4 and achieved Standard Grades in 7 subjects – Grade 5 in English, Maths and Science, Grade 6 in History and French, Grade 4 in Home Economics and Grade 3 in Art. She works hard in class. She has good spoken English and can discuss things she has learned orally. She finds written work much more demanding and needs time to plan and redraft. She can identify simple information in a written text but finds close reading passages very difficult.
Mina has had some primary education in Scotland. However, it was only for a very short period (less than a year) and it was her first experience of formal education. Her English language level on Click and Go is Developing Competence and it is anticipated that she will be at this level for some time. Her performance at Standard Grade shows that she performs better in subjects that are less language dependent. This is probably due to her limited previous educational experience.
ESOL would be an appropriate qualification for Mina in S5/S6. It would allow her to focus on developing the language skills needed for study and would be accepted when she comes to apply for college
Aref is from Afghanistan and arrived in Glasgow age 14 years. His first language is Pushto. He has not attended school in Afghanistan and is not literate in his first language.
He enrolled in school in February and was put into S3. Throughout the course of S3 he made some progress in terms of developing his oral skills in English and is also developing his literacy and numeracy. Having moved into S4 he is still at an early stage in terms of his English and developing literacy but he is making steady progress. He will struggle to achieve a Standard Grade in English particularly with doing critical evaluations of literature. He wants to leave school in summer and go to college. It has been suggested that Access 3 ESOL will be a more appropriate qualification for him.
Aref has lived in Glasgow for less than two years. He has had less than two years of education in Scotland. His English language level on Click and Go is Early Acquisition. He is not performing well across the curriculum because he is new to learning English and has had no previous education.
Access 3 ESOL would be an appropriate option for Aref in S4. It would give him accreditation for the progress he has made in English in the limited time he has been here. When he goes to college, it will be easier for him to be allocated a class at the appropriate level with a recognised ESOL qualification.
The National Case Studies of Effective Practice, which give an insight into a wide range of ESOL provision across Scotland, can be found on the National ESOL website.
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