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Language support for emergent bilinguals in English mainstream schools: an observational study

Four broad objectives are outlined which would ensure inclusivity and adequate support for emergent bilinguals in mainstream classes. Ideally, children should feel that their first language makes a contribution to the classroom, they should have frequent opportunities to interact with the teacher, and equally important, with their peers, and they should feel that the general objective of the classes is to make them bilingual and bicultural. In search of what might be considered good practice, the present article presents ‘snapshots’ of five teaching scenarios in mainstream schools with support for English as an additional language (EAL) in the UK, using observer field notes, pupils' diaries and interviews to describe the experiences of the pupils. While the study finds some approaches in the mainstream classroom to be problematic, and is sometimes critical of them even when they have EAL support, the examples of small group teaching that are presented suggest that strategies that provide focused support for new arrivals in a separate EAL class have their merit, and do not run counter to the principle of inclusion, although the ideal of inclusivity is a long way from being achieved.