English as an Additional Language (EAL)


At Mount Waverley North Primary School, our English as an Additional Language program ensures that children for whom English is not their native language get the support they need to become fluent in the English language in order to facilitate their learning.

Our EAL teacher provides intensive English lessons for these children to give them the best opportunity to learn alongside their peers.

EAL lessons may include:

  • listening to stories being read to them in English

  • using specific vocabulary to write about familiar objects or events

  • practising reading fiction and non-fiction books aloud with fluency and comprehension

  • revising grammar concepts such as past and present tense, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, etc

  • using ICT such as computers, iPads and Smartboards to play interactive games which reinforce the language concepts covered

EAL learners are simultaneously learning a new language and the knowledge, understanding and skills of the English curriculum through that new language. They require additional time and support, along with informed teaching that explicitly addresses their language needs, and assessments that take into account their developing language proficiency. These children become fluent speakers of English very quickly, as they interact with English speakers in the class and the playground.