Lambeth EMAT

Mother Tongue
Assessment
Pack
An initial screening for
SEN in Primary-aged
EAL children

March 2007

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Lambeth EMAT

Acknowledgements:

This pack was initiated by Amy Thompson and has been developed and compiled by a
working party of Lambeth EAL teachers and a SENCO, led by Margaret Donaldson and
Judith Vickery (Larkhall Primary School), Jacinta Waters (Hitherfield Primary School)
and Amira Hegazey (Ashmole Primary School). Guidance and compilation was by
Amanda Bellsham-Revell (Lambeth Primary EMA Consultant)
We would also like to acknowledge:
- the Speech and Language Therapy Services for Children and Young People:
Mainstream Support and Inclusion Team (Lambeth Primary Care Trust), whose
work is included in this pack.
- Hounslow Language Service Mother Tongue Assessment Pack - Interpreting
Strategies

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INTRODUCTION
This pack has been designed to help teachers assess the needs of an EAL child, who is
experiencing difficulties and whom they suspect may have additional needs beyond EAL.
Its purpose is to provide further evidence/indications as to where the difficulties may lie,
when that child is not making the expected progress, even after substantial appropriate
EAL support.

CONTENTS PAGE

1. Guidance for Teachers & instructions for the use of the pack 5

2. The Role of the Interpreter 9

3. Information Gathering Process 11

 Context Sheet – First Language Assessment Report 12

 Proforma for Class Teacher Information 13 - 14

This enables the teacher to record their observations and provide
the child’s learning profile over time. It should include details
of any specific interventions.

 Proforma for Parental Interview 15 - 18

Background information is needed in order to understand the

context in which any child may face barriers to learning at school.
In the case of children who are learning EAL this is even more
important and needs to include full information about their use of
all languages.

4. The Assessment Activities/Materials 19 - 30

One set of activities/materials which should be differentiated for Key
Stage 1/2

5. Post Assessment 31

 Prompt Sheet for Interpreter’s Report 32

 Recommendations Following Analysis of Results 33 - 34
 Actions Proforma 35

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APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Pictures for conceptual and positional vocabulary tasks 37

(p 24)
Appendix 2 Sequencing pictures for conceptual vocabulary 41
task (p.25)

Appendix 3 Story for task on p.27 – English, French, Polish, 43

Portuguese, Somali and Spanish and translations.

Appendix 4 Pictures for visual memory task (p.30) 51

Appendix 5 EAL Strategy Checklist 53

CONTACT NUMBERS 57

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GUIDANCE FOR TEACHERS

These materials have been designed to provide a basic SEN screen, carried out in
the child’s first language and through which the child’s first language development will
also be assessed. It is essential that the procedure is carried out by a teacher, with the
support of an Interpreter. For older children it is also suggested that the EAL teacher
analyses some writing samples from different curriculum areas. The tasks are based on a
child’s home and school experiences and aim to pinpoint more clearly, whether a child is
learning more slowly because he/she is learning English at the same time as learning the
curriculum content, or because he/she has learning difficulties. It is not, therefore,
suitable for the assessment of newly arrived children.

Other factors which should have been considered are;

Does the child have any health problems – vision, hearing, general health and
physical development? He/she may not have been through the English system of health
screening and this may need to be checked.

Is the child learning more slowly because the lesson content is unfamiliar and/or is
not embedded in visual and concrete contexts? A child’s needs cannot be judged
without understanding the educational context. Sometimes a child’s difficulties are a
reflection of teaching styles which do not make the language or content accessible to
EAL children. (A basic checklist of strategies is provided in Appendix 5)

Has the child’s learning been affected by stress outside the classroom? For example,
housing and family financial difficulties, family separation or trauma?

Is the child learning more slowly because of their limited experience in English?
The speed at which children develop conversational fluency in a language can mislead
teachers into setting tasks which are too abstract for the child’s current language level.

Is the child learning more slowly because he/she does not have a basic proficiency in
any language? This is common where parents stop using their first language at home.
The pack should help to provide this information.

It has been recognised that the proportion of EAL pupils that have special
educational needs is roughly the same as that of monolingual pupils, but
identification and assessment of these children and their needs is complex.

Within any assessment framework it is important to remember that:

 It is quite natural for EAL children to go through a silent period in their early
stages of English acquisition.

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 Although children may become conversationally fluent within 2 years, it takes

between 5 to 7 years for a child to develop the proficiency required for academic
learning.
 Use of and the continuing development of the child’s first language at home, has
been shown to accelerate, not hamper the process of English acquisition.
 Older children may have been educated in another country in formal English, but
this may not have been their home language and they may not have experienced
the same curriculum.
 All tests have cultural and linguistic biases and those applying and interpreting
them should seek to eliminate this where possible. It is important for an
interpreter to use any shared cultural knowledge to choose appropriate
objects/pictures.
 Interpretation of results should differentiate between the inability of a child to
carry out a task because of a lack of understanding/knowledge/skills and any
difficulty in understanding/producing language.

Below is a list of the materials required for the activities, with suggested titles/suppliers,
should schools need to purchase them. It is advisable to photocopy and laminate the
drawings in the pack and store with the other resources in a specific Mother Tongue
Assessment/SEN Screening box for repeated use. It is important that the teacher selects
the resources in advance, ensuring that they are as culturally appropriate as possible. Any
assessment will be invalidated for example, if a child is asked about vegetables/fruit that
they are not familiar with. Resources should also be age appropriate, so that different
sets of sequencing cards should be selected for Key Stage 1 and 2 children. Similarly the
teacher will need to reformulate the questions so that they are appropriate to the
pictures/resources.

Suggested Resources

 Dictionaries with composite pictures, for example The First Thousand Words
published by Usborne, 1000 Words and Pictures published by Ladybird
 Topic books for use with more fluent speakers
 Lego
 Paper cups
 Small world people/furniture eg Playmobil figures, tables, chairs
 2 or 3 small opening boxes
 Sequencing cards
eg Learning to Sequence (for KS1) from Hope Education (Cat. No. ZA 098/204)
Sequences for KS2 (Cat. No. ZI149/092)
 Classroom objects eg scissors, paper, colouring pencils, books
 Montage of pictures depicting possible favourite activities
eg books, cartoons (Tom and Jerry is popular), films, football, events,toys, TV
programmes

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Instructionsfor
Instructions forUse
the use of the Pack

An Interpreter will need to be booked, for both the parental interview and the assessment
procedure. It is best to interview the parent/carer first and then do the child assessment,
so for example interviewing the parent/carer when they bring the child to school in the
morning and then assessing the child afterwards. (This needs to be without the
parent/carer present.) The Interview takes approximately half an hour, the assessment
takes approximately an hour and then an additional half an hour for the feedback from the
Interpreter. It is therefore advisable to allow about two and a half hours for the whole.
process. (However, when the child is very young, it may be necessary to split the
assessment into 2 sessions.)

Before the Assessment

 Ensure Interpreter is booked and is familiar with pack. Contact details on p.57
 The story has been translated into 5 of the main Lambeth community languages.
Should you require it in a different language, ensure that this is known when
booking the Interpreter.
 Pages 1 to 3 need to be completed by the class teacher, before the parental
interview and assessment.
 Select resources appropriate to age/culture/experience.
 Select a picture which is home-related, as this is where the child is most likely to
use their first language. Then try one or two questions related to another picture,
to assess if the child’s first language use extends beyond the home setting.
 Ensure that you have formulated questions appropriate to your own resources and
that you have discussed these questions with the Interpreter.
 Allow half an hour to an hour for the Interpreter to look through the pack and for
the teacher to show/explain the selected resources/questions.
 Ensure the Interpreter understands how you would like the purpose of the
interview/assessment to be explained to the parent/carer.
 Interview parent with Interpreter and record the responses throughout the tasks.
Ensure that you record some directly translated responses as evidence.

Child Assessment
 A child may be both anxious and reluctant to use his/her first language in school,
so it is important that the assessment session begins with a ‘warm-up chat’.
 It can be helpful if the session is recorded, especially the story retelling.
However, this should be done at the teacher’s discretion, using his/her knowledge
of the child’s likely reaction.
 The process has been most successful where the teacher has written down the
responses, allowing the Interpreter to focus on talking with the child.
 It is essential that no English is spoken throughout the assessment, so that it is
clear which language the child is understanding.
 Indicate the language of the response:
L1 mother tongue
CS code switching or use of both mother tongue and English
E English

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 All tasks need to be completed, since they assess a structured range of concepts
and language development.
 Words/phrases in brackets can and will at times, need to be changed to fit selected
resources. Language in bold, is integral to the assessment and cannot be changed.
 Ensure that the Interpreter tells you if there are any problems with direct
interpretation eg some words may not exist in the child’s first language or
prepositions may be represented by word endings rather than separate words. The
Interpreter needs to tell you whether the child is using the form of the first
language appropriate to his/her age.
 The Interpreter should comment on the type of responses offered by the child –
one word, phrases, sentences, extended responses - and the teacher should note
this alongside the child’s ability to perform the task.
 It is the teacher’s responsibility to decide whether the response/actions are age
appropriate.
 Allow time for the Interpreter to discuss any immediate findings with the teacher.

After the Assessment

 The teacher and Interpreter should use the prompt sheet (p.32) to detail the nature
of the language responses. The Interpreter may be able to comment on whether
they consider the child’s use of their first language has been age appropriate.
 The Interpreter should also comment on the extent of the child’s responses and
any dialectal features. (Remember speaking non-standard forms does not mean
the child’s language is not developing.)
 In any report, the parent interview information should be clearly attributed to the
interviewee, for example ..’According to …..
 The EMAG/EAL teacher, SENCO and class teacher should contribute their own
knowledge when evaluating the results. It is important that the EMAG/EAL
teacher contributes his/her knowledge of additional language development.
 A course of action should be planned jointly by these teachers, referring to the
recommendations on p. 33 of this pack.

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THE ROLE OF THE INTERPRETER

Interpreting is not merely the process by which conversation is translated from one
language to another, but one which requires linguistic, social and professional skills to
ensure success and accuracy. In order to ensure co-operation, trust and confidence
interpreters need to maintain impartiality and not pass judgements either verbally or
through body language.

THROUGHOUT, REMEMBER THE FIRST RULE OF INTERPRETING IS TO

MAINTAIN CONFIDENTIALITY

Interpreters need to ensure that they have had time to familiarise themselves with the
materials in this pack. This includes:
 Working with the teacher to formulate questions which are appropriate for the
resources.
 Anticipating any areas of difficulty.
 Asking the teacher for clarification if necessary and for explanation if there is new
educational jargon, so that interpretation is accurate
 Noting how and where observations/results are to be recorded. It is important
that interpreters note whether the child’s responses are
o In English (E), first language (L1) or Mixed Code (Codeswitch CS)
o Through gesture, one word, phrase, sentence or extended especially where
there are opportunities for extended responses

Guidelines
Interpreting Process
Practical Strategies

Suggested Strategies
Register  Modify language according to situations and people involved
Language Level  Explain difficult and unfamiliar terms in simple descriptive
language
 Interpret idiomatic language used by others. Clarify.
 Take care with jargon eg SATs,

Suggested Strategies
Variations  Ask questions to clarify meaning of unfamiliar dialect, phrases,
Dialect and Tone colloquialisms
 Be prepared to vary your own tone if misunderstood. Explain the
meaning in another way

Accuracy of Suggested Strategies

Information  Be objective and avoid any generalisation
 Be accurate, avoid alterations or omissions
 Check, clarify, intervene and re-explain if necessary
 Convey information in manageable short sections.
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Parental Interview

 Explain your role clearly

 Explain the purpose of the meeting
 Try to gather information about the background/education/environmental factors
of the parents/carers
 Don’t make judgements especially if there are sensitive issues related to home or
political differences
 Parents/carers may be reluctant to answer questions. It is their choice.

Child Assessment

 Tell the child that you would like them to show you how good he/she is at
speaking ___________ (first language) and so you would like them to try not to
use English.
 Put the child at ease throughout the whole assessment
 Start with small talk to help the child feel comfortable
 Try not to put pressure on the child to perform – use gentle persuasion
 Do not say ‘it is wrong’ to the child, just try to encourage him/her to give a
different response and note
 Be aware of your own body language
 Help the teacher make accurate notes of the child’s actions/comments to provide
evidence for the assessment
 Note dialectal features – speaking a non-standard form of the language does not
mean that the language development is delayed

Reporting to the Teacher

 Inform the teacher about any cultural and educational differences

 Explain linguistic/cultural differences that affect responses eg there is no word for
this colour
 Explain grammatical differences
 Give examples (accurately interpreted) of what the child said to support the
assessment
 Offer your opinion on whether the child’s use of his/her mother tongue is
appropriate for their age, but remember it is the teacher’s role to make
conclusions about the child’s learning.

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Information
Gathering
Process

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First Language Assessment Report

Child’s Name School

DOB Year Group

Gender Country of Birth

Position in family Religion

Occupation of parents UK Occupation parents home country

Date of arrival in UK – parents Date of arrival in UK - child

Date of admission to school Year group admitted

Reasons for requesting assessment

How much support has child received from

school?
EAL: How much time per week? For
how long? Supported by whom?

Other (please specify)

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Teacher comments

Identifying strengths and weaknesses (adapted from Sandwell EMAP)

Name of Pupil______________________________________________________________

Class____________________________________DoB______________________________

Please comment on the development of the pupil in English. Include any relevant test scores,
where available, and comments from any school staff (including playground supervisors).

Area Test Comments – age appropriate

1. Speaking

Listening

2. Understand how books

work

3. Reading – ability to
decode

4. Reading comprehension

5. Writing composition – e.g.

ability to write a sentence/
paragraph independently

6. Spelling

7. Handwriting/presentation

8. Numeracy

9. Drawing development

10. Work rate/completion of

tasks

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11. Motivation

12. Concentration

13. Motor control (gross)

14. Physical/sensory

15. Behaviour

16. Interaction with adults

17. Interaction with peers

18. Self-esteem/confidence

19. Personal organisation

Areas in which pupil is

successful

Areas of difficulty in order

of priority

Current classroom
provision for pupil

Completed by:_________________________________________________

Role in school:_________________________________________________

Date:_________________________________________________________

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Children with English as an Additional Language

Joint school / parent questionnaire

Information for school staff: Please explain to parents why we are asking these
questions. We need to gather information to help us understand the difficulties
the child is having. We need to know if:
 Parents have concerns
 There are difficulties in both languages or just English
This information will help us decide how best to support the child and whether
s/he needs further assessment. Please be aware that some of the questions may
touch on sensitive issues. Parents may choose not to answer some questions.

Name of Child: Age:

Interviewer: Date of Interview:

Language at Home
Child's name used at home.

Languages spoken at home? Which

dialect?

Language most used at home?

Which languages are written / read at

home?

Language child hears/speaks at

home with
 Parents
 Siblings
 Grandparents
 Any one else?
Have you noticed any differences in
the language development between
CHILD’S NAME and his/her siblings
or other children in your community?
eg. Did his/her first language
develop at the expected time and
rate?
Do they say the sounds in words
correctly?
Is anyone else in the family /
community concerned?

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Child's use of language

How long has your child been
learning English? Progress?

Which is the stronger language: home

language or English?

Which language did the child learn

first?

How is the child able to use his/her

first language?
 Does he know the labels for lots of
objects and actions in his first
language?
 Can he tell you about his day or
what he did on a school trip?
 How many words does he put
together in a sentence? Please
give an example.
 For older children: can the child
talk about academic subjects e.g.:
maths, science, geography,
history in the first language?
 Can your child answer more
complex questions (E.g.: can your
child describe how two items are
different? Say what they think may
happen next? Describe what to do
if a stranger approached them?)
 Please give an example of when
the child is using language well.

Can he follow instructions? E.g.:

 Do you need to point or to give
other clues?
 If you ask him to do 3 things will
he remember all three? E.g.: can
you go into the kitchen and get me
a plate, spoon and a fork?
 Do you have to ask him to do
things several times?

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Are there any concerns about the

child's
 Hearing?
 Speech?
 Sight?
 Health?
Any environmental stressors, which
may be causing anxiety at present?
(e.g.: visa issues for family?
Housing/school changes? Separation
from parents/siblings/ grandparents or
other family members?)

Schooling
Date of arrival in the UK?
(If applicable)
Length of schooling abroad? (if
applicable)

Languages learnt in these schools?

How teaching was organised e.g.:

didactic / groups / strict?

Areas of the curriculum experienced?

E.g.: science, ICT etc.

Schools attended in the UK?

Terms of schooling in the UK?

Absences?
Does the child have any long trips
abroad?

Attendance at any community

classes?

Languages used?

Contact person?

Will parents give the school

permission to contact the teachers? *
* If permission given, it would be useful to contact these teachers to discuss concerns in the home language.

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Learning
Were there any difficulties when your
child was born or when he/she was a
small baby?

Did your child learn to sit

up/crawl/walk at the expected time?

Did you have any worries about your

child before he/she started school?

Can he/she concentrate when:

 Doing something he/she likes?
 Doing school work type activities
(e.g.: sharing a book with adult)
 Doing homework?

Does your child ask questions / seem

keen to find out about the world
around him/her?

Does your child have difficulty

remembering things e.g.: people you
have met / places / events?

Does he/she have difficulty

remembering things you have told
him/her?

Can he/she learn new things around

the house? Does he/she tend to learn
things quickly or need more support
from you?

Does he/she have difficulty managing

his/her daily routine (e.g.: getting up /
dressed / washed)?

Do you have any worries about your

child’s learning?

Have you noticed any differences in

the way/speed your child learns and
siblings/other children in community?
Developed by:Speech and Language Therapy Service to Children and Young People: Mainstream Support and
Inclusion Team; Lambeth Education: Educational Psychology Service; Lambeth Ethnic Minority Achievement
Team Adapted March 2007

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Assessment
Activities

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Mother-Tongue Assessment
These tasks have been constructed so that they assess the different levels of first
language development. Questions should therefore focus initially on a room in a
home, as this is where the child is most likely to use their mother tongue. Ask the
range of questions from Levels 1 – 4, but if a child is responding confidently in
their mother tongue, then maybe ask a sample of the questions at Level 3/4 using
scenes away from the home. This will assess the breadth of their language
development. If the child demonstrates fluent use of the mother tongue, then use
a picture from a topic book which is further removed from the familiar and ask a
sample of questions from Levels 3 & 4.
Sometimes, older children do not engage with scenes from the home and do not offer
any extended responses, making an assessment difficult. It is then suggested that
pictures from a topic book, for example one with an underwater scene, could be used
with selected Level 3 / 4 questions.

Ability to use high frequency vocabulary:

(Common nouns, verbs, adjectives)
Resource implication:
Use composite pictures from picture dictionaries such as The First Thousand Words
published by Usborne, 1000 Words and Pictures published by Ladybird. Try to choose
an age appropriate scene and a context in which the child uses their first
language eg the home.
Select one scene to be used initially; for example home/bedroom, park.

Level 1 questions
Ability to name objects in pictures/describe everyday experiences

Prompts
Point to picture and ask ‘what is this? (Use your cultural knowledge to choose
appropriate items, eg familiar fruit)

’Notes/evidence L1 CS E Age
appr
Y/N
What is this?

Show me the ______

What (vegetables) can you see?

What can you see?

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Level 2 questions: use of descriptive language

Adapt the questions to fit the picture.
Notes/evidence L1 CS E Age
appr
Y/N
What are the (children) doing?

What’s happening here?

What has happened here?

Describe (tell me about) the (fruit that is next to the

bananas).

Tell me about the people in the picture.

Tell me where the (bottles) are?

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Level 3 prompts: Language of prediction

Notes/evidence L1 CS E Age
appr.
Y/N
What do you think will happen next? ([Link] with the pile of
canned food; or, girl with the broken eggs on the floor/ whale
swimming to the surface of the sea)

What do you think (her mummy) will say to (her)?/the fish will
do when it sees the shark?

Find something that is not a (vegetable/fish).

Level 4 questions: use of language of hypothesising

Notes/evidence
What would happen if (all the cans fell down/a diver came
along)?

Why is the (ice cream in the freezer/fish hiding in the coral)?

How would you (clean up the eggs/feel about diving under

the sea)?

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Ability to describe everyday experiences:

Resource implication: Picture sequencing cards (Choose a set of cards from your
box that are age appropriate – 3 or 4 cards according to KS1/2.)

Prompt: Give the cards to the child and say:

‘Can you put these pictures in order and then tell me the story?’

Note whether the child merely describes the picture on each card or uses appropriate
linking vocab/structures to form a story.
Notes/evidence L1 CS E Age
appr
Y/N

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Ability to understand conceptual vocabulary:

Resource implication: (Pictures in Appendix 1)

Notes/evidence (conceptual vocabulary highlighted) Child is Y/N Age

allowed to point. appr
Which bottle has the most in it?

Which is the thinnest crayon?

Which is the tallest tree?

Which is the medium-sized brush?

Which car is furthest from the traffic lights?

Which car is nearest to the traffic lights?

Which one do you never see on the grass?

Which one do you always see in your classroom?

Who has the most balloons?

Who has the fewest balloons?

Which door is the narrowest?

Which door is the widest?

Which elephant is the biggest?

Which elephant is the smallest?

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Ability to understand positional vocabulary.

Resource Implication: Use a toy, such as a bear or Playmobil

person and direct the child to put it in the appropriate position in
relation to a Lego wall/chair/box, as below. Age
Note/Evidence (Conceptual vocabulary highlighted) Y/N appr
Y/N
Put the (boy) in front of the (wall).

Put the (boy) behind the (wall).

Put the (boy) on the (table).

Put the (boy) under the (table).

Put the (boy) between the (tables).

Put the (boy) next to the (table).

Put the (boy) in the (box).

Resource implication: Use the sequence of 3 pictures in L1 CS E Age

Appendix 2 appr
Y/N
What was happening before the window broke?

What happened after the window broke?

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Ability to follow instructions:

Resource implication: paper, set of colour pencils, scissors

Prompts:
Tell the pupil you are going to ask them to do something. They must listen first and
then do what they are asked to do. Design task appropriate to age.
Notes/evidence Y/N Age
appr
Fold this piece of paper.

Draw a circle and colour it red.

Go to the cupboard/shelf/table and bring me a pair of scissors

and a book. (Choose as appropriate to situation)

Ability to use positional language:

Resource implication: 2 cups, Playmobil figure or similar

Question prompt: Put the figure in the cup and ask “Where is the (boy) now?”
Repeat for each situation. (Please make a note if the preposition eg between, does
not exist in the first language)
Notes/evidence Y/N Age
appr
In the cup

Under the cup

Between the cups

In front of the cup

Behind the cup

Next to the cup

On the cup

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Ability to understand and produce extended speech (Recall ability):

Resource implication: Picture prompt, short narrative and appropriate translation

(Appendix 3)

Question prompts:
Show the picture and say – ‘I’m going to read you this story and afterwards I want
you to tell me the story, so listen carefully.’

Read the story with emphasis, then turn over the page and picture, and say ‘Now,
you tell me the story.’

If necessary, prompt the pupil by asking ‘What happened in the story?’ or ‘What
happened next?’ or ‘What else can you remember about the story?’
Mark Y or N in the box for each correct key point re-told Yes or No

Going to the nursery/school

Pushing the buggy or baby sitting in the buggy

Helping Dad put the painting things out

Not seeing what the baby was doing

Baby getting the paintbrush

Baby painting himself

Washing him

Baby making a fuss

Dad giving baby a slice of apple

Baby being quiet/happy

Comments about the child’s use of language – single words, L1 CS E Age

phrases, sentences, extended responses appr

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Ability to understand both literal and inferential questions.

These questions may have to be adapted to suit the child’s L1 CS E Age

age, but should include both literal and inferential. Comment Appr
on level of child’s understanding and whether responses are Y/N
extended and use the appropriate explanatory sentence
structures.
What did dad give the baby to eat?

Why did the baby wriggle and shout?

Why do you think Dad and the little girl were putting the
paints and paintbrushes on the tables?

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Ability to use language for describing and clarifying less immediate experiences:

Prompt: Tell me about your favourite toy/game/television programme. Have a

montage of pictures to act as a prompt . You may need to ask prompting questions
to elicit an extended response.

Notes/evidence Age appropriate

(language sample) Yes or No
Full sentences used

Sentence structure correct (including word order)

Correct use of tense

Correct use of word-endings

Wide range of vocabulary used

Correct use of pronouns

Speech is fluent

Speech is confident

Pronunciation is clear

Any other features

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Auditory memory test (digital span test):

Prompt: Say to the pupil – ‘I’m going to say some numbers. When I’ve finished, you say
them.’ Use the first one as a practice.
In all cases, start with the first one. Go up to no. 6 for Foundation Stage; go up to no. 8 for
KS1; go up to no. 10 for KS2 and above.
Say these numbers Able to repeat accurately or not  or X
1. 6 2
2. 9 4
3. 2 5 8
4. 7 9 1
5. 3 7 6 9
6. 4 9 8 2
7. 1 5 4 2 8
8. 6 1 3 7 5
9. 2 9 7 3 6 1
10. 4 8 6 5 2 9

Visual memory test:

Prompt: Tell the pupil you are going to ask them to memorise the pictures, (Appendix 4)
then name each picture slowly as you point to it and ask the pupil to remember it. Then turn
the page over and ask ‘what did you see?’ You can prompt once. If the child is not familiar
with the name in their first language, supply it, but make a note to that effect.
Notes/evidence
Able to recall 1 picture: which one?
Able to recall 2 pictures: which ones?
Able to recall 3 pictures: which ones?
Able to recall 4 pictures: which ones?
Able to recall 5 pictures: which ones?
Able to recall all 6 pictures.

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Post
Assessment
 Report
 Recommendations
 Action template

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Prompts for Report to Teacher re Mother-tongue assessment

(Complete with Interpreter)

Ability to use high frequency vocabulary:

Ability to describe everyday experiences:

Ability to use the language of prediction and hypothesis:

Ability to understand conceptual vocabulary:

Ability to understand and produce extended speech:

Ability to use language for describing and clarifying less immediate experiences:

Ability to understand and use positional words:

Auditory and Visual memory

Comments (issues related to EAL or additional needs beyond EAL?)

Suggestions for supporting language development

For the school:

For the mother/parents/carer:

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Recommendations

The results should be interpreted jointly by teachers who have knowledge of EAL
development and SEN.

The assessment may indicate one of four possibilities:

1. The child shows no evidence of learning difficulties and their first language
development is age appropriate.
1. The child shows no evidence of learning difficulties, but their first language is
under-developed.
2. The child shows some evidence of learning difficulties, but their first language
understanding and use is age appropriate.
3. The child shows some evidence of learning difficulties and his/her first language
is also under-developed.

If the child has difficulty with any of the tasks, which indicates that he/she may have
additional learning needs, then the school should follow their SEN Policy Procedures.
The child should be more comprehensively assessed so that the needs can be more clearly
identified. Any assessment /results should be always take into account the second
language development of the child. Similarly, any intervention should reflect good EAL
practice, ensuring that tasks are clearly modelled and embedded in visual or concrete
contexts.

It should be remembered that if a child does not have age-appropriate proficiency in

his/her first language, this does not necessarily indicate learning difficulties. Often, it is
as a result of the loss of the first language as the second language develops. However, if
the assessment indicates that the child’s first language is under-developed, regardless of
whether they also have additional learning needs, then it is recommended that the school:

 Encourages the parents to use their first language whenever possible, reassuring
them that this will help both English language development and the child’s
academic learning.
 Emphasises that the development of conceptual understanding through their first
language will support their child’s learning.
 Meets with parents to set up a system where simple information about half-termly
topics in different curriculum areas is explained to the parents. If possible send
topic related pictures/books home, so that parents and children can explore the
areas together.
 Encourages parents to read stories with their child. If they do not read in their
first language, then suggest that they can talk about the pictures. Emphasise the
importance of using questions which require extended responses, for example
why…, how….., what would happen if….
 Allows children who share the same language to work together in class.

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 Actively encourages and value the use of home languages by:

 Multilingual welcome poster

 Multilingual notices and labels
 Languages in school listed and displayed
 Whole school language of the week/month
 Word Weaving – where families translate key topic words and these are
written on large strips of paper and woven into a grid displayed on the wall.
 Greetings/Register done in different languages
 Multilingual playground games
 Multilingual rhymes and songs
 Dual language texts/texts in a range of languages
 Involve parents in translation and classroom activities where they can share
their knowledge and culture eg cooking, storytelling and visits

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Actions Proforma

Is SEN indicated? Yes / No

Areas of concern:

Further actions:

If SEN is indicated, agree action in consultation with SENCO –

Actions agreed:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

If SEN is not indicated, agree action in consultation with EAL specialist -

Action agreed:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Notes for feedback to parents:

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX 1
Pictures for conceptual
vocabulary tasks on p.24

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Conceptual Vocabulary

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Conceptual Vocabulary

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Conceptual vocabulary

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APPENDIX 2
Pictures for sequencing
task on p. 25

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APPENDIX 3
Story plus translations for
use with questions on p.27

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ENGLISH
OUR VISIT TO THE NURSERY

One day we went to the Nursery with Dad.

Our baby sat in his buggy. I pushed it next to the painting
table.
I helped Dad put the paintbrushes and paints in the pots on the
table. We didn’t see what our baby was doing. He’d picked up
a paintbrush!
Paint was all over his hands and face.
It was even in his hair!
We had to wash him. He didn’t like that.
He wriggled and shouted!
Afterwards, Dad gave our baby a slice of apple.
That kept him quiet!

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FRENCH

Notre visite à l’école maternelle

Un jour, avec papa, nous sommes allés à l’école maternelle.
Notre bébé était assis dans la poussette. Je l’ai poussée à côté de
la table de peinture.
J’aidais papa à mettre les pinceaux et la peinture sur la table
:nous n’avons pas vu ce que faisait notre bébé . Il avait attrappé
un pinceau!
Sa figure et ses mains étaient couvertes de peinture.
Il en avait même dans les cheveux!
Nous avons du le laver. Il n’a pas aimé ça!
Il s’est tortillé et il a crié!
Après ça, papa a donné une tranche de pomme à notre bébé:
comme ça, il s’est tenu tranquille!

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POLISH

NASZA WIZYTA W PRZEDSZKOLU.

Pewnego dnia poszliśmy z tatą do przedszkola. Nasz

dzidziuś siedzał w wózku. Postawiłem wózek obok stolika do
malowania.
Pomogłem tacie powkładać pędzle i farby do puszki na stole.
Nie widzieliśmy, co nasz dzidziuś zrobił. Wyjął jeden z
pędzli!
Całe rączki i buzię miał pobrudzone farbą.
Farba była nawet w jego włosach!
Musieliśmy go umyć. Wcale mu sie to nie podobało.
Wiercił się i krzyczał!
Potem tata dał dzidziusiowi kawałek jabłka. To go uspokoiło!

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PORTUGUESE

A NOSSA VISITA AO JARDIM-ESCOLA

Um dia, fomos ao Jardim-Escola com o pai.
O bébé ía sentado no carrinho. Deixei-o ao lado da mesa
das pinturas.
Ajudei o pai a pôr os pincéis e as tintas nos frascos em cima
da mesa. Não vimos o que o bébé estava a fazer. Ele tinha
pegado num pincel!
Tinha a cara e as mãos cheias de tinta.
Até tinha tinta no cabelo!
Tivémos de o lavar. Ele não gostou nada.
Esperneou e gritou!
Depois, o Pai deu ao bébé um bocadinho de maçã.
Com isso, ficou sossegado!

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SOMALI

BOOQASHADEENII XANAANADA CARUURTA

Maalin ayaan Dad la tagnay xanaanadda caruurta.

Canugeyna wuxuu ku fadhiyay bushyeerkiis. Waan ku riixay

oo u dhaweeyay miiska wax lagu midabeeyo.

Waxaan caawiyey Dad si buraashka wax lagu midabeeyo

iyo midibadda u geliyoo dheriga saran miiska. Ma aanaan
arkin waxa uu sameynaayo canugeyna. Wuxuu soo
qabsaday buraashka wax lagu midabeeyo!

Midab ayey lahaayeen gacmahiisa iyo wejigiisa oo dhan.

Xitaa tintiisa gudaheeda wuu gaaray!

Waxaan rabnay in aan ka dhaqno. Sidaas ma uusan

jecleysan.

Waan ka dhaqaajinay kuna qeylinay!

Markaas kadib, Dad canugeena ayuu wuxuu siiyay cad

tufaax ah.

Taas ayaa aamusisay!

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SPANISH

NUESTRA VISITA A LA GUARDERIA

Un día fuimos a la Guardería con Papá.

Nuestro bebé estaba sentado en su cochecito. Lo empujé junto a la mesa de

pintura.

Le ayudé a papá aponer las pinturas y los pinceles en las vasijas sobre la

mesa. No nos fijábamos que estaba haciendo el bebé. ¡El había tomado un

pincel!

Tenía su cara y sus manos llenas de pintura.

¡Incluso hasta en su pelo!

Lo tuvimos que bañar. Eso no le gustó.

¡El se retorcía y gritaba!

Enseguida Papá le dio al bebé una tajada de manzana.

¡Eso lo calmó!

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APPENDIX 4
Pictures for visual memory
activity on p. 30

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APPENDIX 5
EAL Strategy Checklist

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Strategy Checklist
(Adapted by EMAT Mar ’07)

We need to check that whilst monitoring children, you have put the
following strategies in to place before referring for further assessment:

Strategy Strategy Additional Comments

implemented? (progress made, useful
(Yes/No) strategy, easy to
implement? …)
 Are adults
consistently
monitoring their own
use of language in
terms of:
- Emphasising key
words and
reducing rate of
speech?
- Orally modelling
language
structures to be
used in writing?
- Simplifying
instructions?
- Checking
understanding
through specific
questioning and
graduated
questioning (from
closed to open
questions) as
child’s language
develops?
- Modelling good
language
structure in daily
environment?
 Are support staff
previewing lessons
to introduce a new
topic and key
vocabulary/sentence
structures?

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 Are vocabulary
activities being used
consistently such as:
- Labelling using
diagrams/pictures
- Filling in the gap
sentences or
matching
sentence
halves?
- Dictionary
exercise based
on class topic?
- Comparing
vocab meaning in
different areas of
thecurriculum?
 Are classroom
routines and routine
class language used
consistently?
 Are visual
aids/prompts being
used to support
understanding
(pictures, illustrated
word banks, charts &
diagrams, signs,
gesture, symbols,
video/audio tapes)?
 Are resources being
used to support
independent learning
including bilingual
dictionaries, material
in dual or first
language?
 Are there
opportunities for
paired or group talk ,
including children of
similar ability to
encourage
interaction with fluent
English speakers?

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 In group/paired talk
are children given
talk frames to focus
their talk and
scaffold their oral
responses?
 Are opportunities
provided for pupils to
talk in their first
language?
 Are you aware of
pupil’s previous
experiences and
learning and has this
been taken into
account in your
planning?

For more information on children with EAL and strategies, please:

 Liaise with your EMA teacher/coordinator
 Go to the Lambeth EAL website : [Link]

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