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Administrative Procedure

AP-935 — English as an Additional Language

Section Nine: Students
Effective Date: August 29, 2017 Last Reviewed: March 13, 2023

Definitions

Home Language - A home language is the dominant language that a student uses to communicate in the home. Many English as an Additional Language students have more than one home language.

EAL – English as an Additional Language. This term is used to describe individuals who speak, or are learning to speak, English in addition to their home language(s).

Procedures

  1. School EAL Programs
    1. Principals shall work with the superintendent or designate to create EAL programs in any school in which there are EAL students enrolled. These programs will be based on student need, whether or not additional funding is available. The type of program in each school will depend on the number of EAL students and their needs.
    2. In determining the type of program to be offered in a school, consideration will be given to:
      1. Age – Language acquisition occurs differently at different ages. Also, the need for academic vocabulary to succeed increases in higher grade levels.
      2. Demonstrated proficiency in English – Students must progress from their current proficiency; those the same age will have different needs.
      3. Demonstrated proficiency in the home language – Demonstrated ability in another language will enhance the ability to learn a new language.
      4. Amount of formal schooling – Students with limited formal schooling experiences often have fewer academic understandings from their home language to transfer to English; therefore, they are not only learning the language, they are learning new content and concepts. These students will also have to adjust to a school schedule and culture and likely a different way of life.
      5. Trauma – Some EAL students are also dealing with the impact of trauma and trauma-informed practice is important. They may or not be refugees.
  2. Assigning Codes

Principals will consult as necessary with the superintendent, or designate, and the associate superintendent business services in order to code students who are receiving additional support as English Language Learners appropriately for funding.

  1. Staffing
    1. Given that EAL programs are specialized; teachers will be placed or hired specifically for those positions. Teachers may only be transferred into EAL-dedicated teaching assignments in consultation with the superintendent or designate.
    2. Teacher assistants in EAL programs will also be hired or reassigned with input from the superintendent or designate, will receive training in the area, and their seniority will be based upon that classification.
  2. Home Languages

Emphasis in EAL programs will be on development of English as a complement to the child's or student's development of their home language(s). Encouraging the use of English should not suggest that the home language(s) will be discarded.

  1. Developing languages build on each other rather than take away from each other. The stronger the home language proficiency is, the stronger the additional language proficiency will be, particularly with academic literacy. Maintaining the home language is key to a child's success in school.
  2. Family relationships can weaken if children and parents do not share a common language of communication.
  1. English Language Arts

The ability to converse in English can be misleading. Academic competence comparable to that of native-language peers can take between five and 10 years. Support may be required beyond the potential five years of funding. The goal is for students in EAL programs to become proficient in the six areas of listening and speaking, reading and writing, and viewing and representing.

  1. Academic Vocabulary

    The acquisition of language required for social interaction is necessary but students also need to learn the academic vocabulary and strategies required to succeed in various academic courses.

  2. Assessing Proficiency

    Teachers will use the Alberta K-12 EAL Proficiency Benchmarks to assess students' proficiency in English in order to design individual programs for newcomers and to modify the plans as students progress.

  1. Assigning EAL Codes
    1. Children/students who require and receive additional English Language supports and instruction to achieve grade level expectations in English and other subject areas must be coded as either EAL-Funded Foreign born (code 301) or EAL-Funded Canadian born (code 303).
    2. Documentation of an assessment must be kept on file at the school that supports the need for additional English language supports. Annual assessment of a child's/student's language proficiency development is required to inform instructional planning and the provision of timely and appropriate learning supports.
    3. Children who attend Early English Language Learner programs (EELL) require assessment and EAL coding. Their EAL code shall be removed in Kindergarten and may be reapplied at a later grade if the student requires additional English Language supports and instruction to achieve grade level expectations in English and other subject areas.