Developing appropriate assessments of English language fluency for children with English as an Additional Language

OVERVIEW
While ‘English fluency’ (a general term used to denote English language skills) is known to be a strong predictor of academic success in EAL pupils, there are currently no appropriate measures that teachers can use to assess EAL children’s English fluency. Lack of detailed information of this kind is particularly problematic when children transfer between schools. The aims of this project are first to develop a reliable assessment tool that teachers can use to evaluate children’s English fluency in Year 6 EAL and then to collaborate with Year 7 teachers to identify ways of using this tool most effectively to support the students’ transition from primary to secondary school.

This research will be conducted within local school partnerships, working with the feeder primary schools of a particular secondary school in order to focus on the value of the tool and how it may be used to support transition. The work exploring how Year 7 teachers can use the assessment tool to tailor their teaching most effectively will involve the science teachers in the secondary school.

HOW THE RESEARCH WAS CARRIED OUT
Currently being carried out.

FINDINGS – IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHERS
Pending – Research currently being carried out.

Author(s)
Professor Victoria Murphy (Department of Education)
in conjunction with Professor Kate Nation (Department of Experimental Psychology)

Contact information:
Email: victoria.murphy@education.ox.ac.uk

Research Role
Academic

Funding
University of Oxford, John Fell Fund