At Sidcot, all international students whose first language is not English are enrolled in our EAL (English as an additional language) programme to develop their language skills, which will help them with the English they need for studying other subjects.
Students requiring English as an additional language support usually have one 50-minute 1-2-1 lesson with an EAL teacher each week. Some students may require more than one individual lesson per week - this will be arranged in consultation with parents and/or guardians.
The EAL teacher will design an individual programme of work for each student, depending on their specific language learning needs. EAL lessons are charged at an hourly rate for individual lessons.
EAL vs ESL: What’s the difference?
EAL/ESL are sometimes used as interchangeable terms, but this isn’t correct. Learning English as an additional language is different to having English as a second language.
ESL implies that a student only has two languages, but many of our international students are multilingual, and we celebrate this. However, they will require a certain level of English to understand all of our curriculum content and to sit their exams, which is why we place a focus on specifically developing English as an additional language.
In the US, the acronym ELL (English language learner) is often used in place of EAL.
Can International students sit foreign language exams?
Our international students may take an AS Level examination at the end of the Lower Sixth and an A Level at the end of the Upper Sixth in their native language. For example, previous students have sat exams in Chinese, Malay, Indonesian, Russian, Thai, and Japanese.
Cambridge Assessments: English Language Learning
International students who stay at Sidcot for a full year or more will be supported in taking the world-leading Cambridge assessment qualifications, which will equip them with internationally renowned evidence of their EAL skills to take into their future.
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