In-class observations

Aide-mémoire: in-class observations of pupils' use of language across the curriculum

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Please note: L1 = first language

These observations take place during early profiling and can be used as an on-going method of monitoring attainment.

Listening

• Responds positively to first language use in one-to-one, small groups, whole-class activities?
• Concentration is good when first language (L1) is in use?
• Quick to respond when L1 is in use?
• Is familiar with class/school routines and location of equipment?
• Understands simple, unambiguous questions and instructions in English?
• Responds better to closed questioning in English, rather than the more open-ended variety?
• Needs additional visual prompts to support understanding, e.g.: objects, nonverbal gestures, pictures?
• Needs additional verbal support to access meaning in English, e.g.: repetition, alternative phrasing, modified questions?
• Needs careful physical placement to ensure clear, direct access to all available classroom cues to meaning, e.g.: class-teacher's facial expressions and non-verbal gestures, especially in large group or whole-class activities?
• Understands more and responds better in particular groupings - one-to-one, pairs, small groups, whole class?
• Has difficulty understanding particular curriculum registers in English, e.g.: scientific investigations, mathematical problem solving, historical research?
• Understands social, conversational English and copes well with subject-based language demands but has some difficulty still with subtle innuendo, pun and metaphor in English?
• Concentrates well and listens attentively for sustained periods of time, e.g.: during storytelling?
• Watches peers closely, takes cues from them - all the time, sometimes, in particular activities?
• Is distracted easily? Has difficulties understanding during particular classroom activities, e.g.: news time, television programmes, whole-class work?
• Needs to 'rehearse' language items before being asked to respond, e.g.: being placed last in turn taking games?

Speaking

• Quality of first language oracy skills - fluent confident user, wide vocabulary, good communicative competence? Is comfortable using first language in class, small groups, one-to-one?
• Uses single word utterances in English or whole sentences; puts phrases or sentences together?
• Retells a story, describes a science experiment, using appropriate tenses and a variety of conjunctions? Is over-dependent on 'and' as a conjunction?
• Is more concerned to convey meaning than grammatical 'correctness'? Is able to make himself or herself understood?
• Pronunciation, enunciation, use of English rhythm and stress? LI Enjoys talking? Is a confident user of English - always prepared to 'have a go'?
• Is experiencing a 'silent' period, characteristic of many children in the early stages of acquiring a second language?
• Uses non-verbal gestures to communicate meaning? Non-verbal gestures and body language indicates underlying competence and understanding in particular tasks? Is able to initiate or direct the action non-verbally, e.g.: by giving out equipment, non-verbal role-play?
• Level of talk varies according to grouping? Talks more in a one-to-one with adult/peer, or in pairs, small group work?
• Collaborates well with others, has lots to say in group work? Or is a passive participant, taking on board a lot aurally but not yet confident enough to contribute
• Initiates talk, asks questions, makes requests, etc or only responds to others' questions/conversation?
• Effective use of social, conversational English masks a need for support in taking on a range of subject-based registers, e.g.: scientific investigations?
• Conveys messages accurately? Uses clear, logical explanations?
• Speech reflects EAL developmental features - inappropriate word order/ tenses/prepositions, 'he' and 'she' confusion? Do Ll language patterns influence L2 use, e.g.: Sylheti Bengali speakers use the same third person pronoun for male or female?
• Uses a range of English for different purposes - reporting, describing, predicting, hypothesising, explaining, using 'why' or 'because' constructions. etc?

Reading

• Is fully literate in the first language? Are reading strategies developed in the first language? What are they?
• Is transferring well-established LI reading skills to English?
• Is developing reading strategies in English? What are they - using phonic cues, building words up, referring to picture support, developing a sight vocabulary, left-to-right orientation, self-correcting?
• Is reading mechanically, word for word or reading for meaning? Making use of the context to help work out the meaning? Tackling print independently?
• Are home and community reading experiences influencing habits, e.g.: mechanical decoding of the Koran in Arabic?
• Needs support in moving from first language reading or recording experiences and skills to English, e.g.: unfamiliar alphabet, or L1 script direction - right to left orientation?
• Familiar with book conventions in English, e.g.: moving front to back, turning pages appropriately? Uses the contents and index well?
• Has a good or poor grasp of phonic analysis?
• Has a good or poor auditory memory?
• Has a good sight vocabulary of classroom labels and schools signs? Recognises his or her name on books and labels? Is aware that text conveys meaning?
• Enjoys sharing books with others? What kind of reading materials are enjoyed or chosen - easy and familiar texts with lots of pictures, story books, and simple narrative and pictures?
• What kind of texts are easy/difficult to use - familiar or unfamiliar stories, instructions, comprehension exercises, lists, etc?
• Interprets diagrams, follows printed instructions and refers to these in the course of, for example, science experiments, home economics tasks, etc?
• Needs help using reference and information books? Uses a dictionary or word book?
• Would benefit from access to an English-mother tongue and/or mother tongue-English dictionary?

Writing/recording

• Enjoys opportunities to write in dual language? Is able to use first language skills to support writing in English, e.g.: drafting ideas in L1 and translating into English?
• Writing reflects a lot of EAL developmental features? If so, which ones, e.g.: inappropriate word order, tenses, prepositions, over-dependence on 'and' as a conjunction? Are L1 language patterns influencing use of L2, e.g.: in Sylheti Bengali the basic word order is subject-object-verb.
• Needs support in left to right orientation because experience of L1 writing (e.g.: Arabic) has been right to left?
• Is able to write in a range of styles, e.g.: letters, stories, reports, scientific investigations?
• Is familiar with and effectively uses drafting and redrafting techniques or needs support in developing and consolidating these skills and techniques?
• Makes an attempt at unknown spellings? Gets anxious about 'correct' spellings? Does over-anxiety about spellings contribute to narrowing of content?
• Punctuation is developing well? Needs to pay more attention to, for example, use of full stops and capital letters?
• Able to copy models with consistently well-formed letters and proper spacing between words? Is handwriting fluent, joined and legible? (NB: some children e.g.: from France will have very early experience of cursive script.)
• Needs a great deal of support at this stage, e.g.: teacher/peer scribing?
• A confident writer who enjoys, for example, writing stories? Writes at length?
• Happy to share writing with peers? Prefers to write alone or collaboratively?
• Has some difficulty developing ideas?
• Competent in using the typewriter and word processor?
• Writing reflects a depth of reading?
• Needs to use, a mother tongue-English dictionary (and/or English-mother tongue) to support writing?
• Factual writing is weak? Finds it difficult to summarise?