Factors That Have a Positive Influence on English Language Acquisition:
Facilitate Morning Meetings - daily gatherings where adults and students join together. There are 4 components:
Sharing Students share information about important events in their lives. Listeners offer empathetic comments or ask clarifying questions.
Group Activity Everyone participates in a brief, lively activity that fosters group cohesion (for example, reciting a poem, dancing, singing, or playing a game that reinforces social or academic skills).
Morning Message Students read a short message written by their teacher. The message is crafted to help students focus on the work they'll do in school that day.
Create a WELCOMING school community:
- All staff is aware of and understands the process for receiving English language learners and their families.
- There is a school reception team (e.g., administrator, office administrative assistant, ESL/ELD teacher, interpreter, and settlement worker, where available).
- Families are informed about the necessary documentation for school registration.
- There is a designated, comfortable place for the family and reception team to meet and share information.
- Ample time is dedicated for the intake interview and for orientation information about school and basic routines.
- There is access to competent adult interpreters who can assist parents and help them fill out forms.
- Multilingual signs, in the languages of the community, are visible in the school.
- There are efforts to build cross-cultural understandings.
- Information is available in a variety of languages about community resources (e.g., libraries, community centres, adult ESL classes, places of worship, cultural organizations).
- Parents are regularly invited into the classrooms and the school to celebrate student work.
- Space is provided for families to gather if possible (e.g., a room to sit, drink coffee or tea, and read announcements in home languages or meet fellow parents).
- Create a student ambassador program to orient the new students to the school.
Another great idea to welcome newcomers to the school community of which I have had a part in is a program (in Guelph run by Family Counselling and Support Services) called Families and Schools Together (FAST). It is a weekly program run by a team of community members (police, F&CS workers, priests, neighbourhood groups etc) and school team members. All adults go by their first name during the program no matter who they are, even to the children. This breaks down barriers/hierarchy and allows newcomers to become comfortable and feel accepted as a part of the school and community. All families are invited to participate. It is open to everyone, but newcomers and those who may appear to be struggling socially or academically are invited. I witnessed (and became friends with) a family who had just moved here from Germany and didn't speak English. It was amazing to see the other parents accept them into the "group", see the kids make friends and learn English and for them to make connections with others in the community...which are long lasting.
ReplyDeleteI never realized how unwelcoming it is to have the phone at a school answered by a recording telling me which numbers to push next until I had the pleasant experience of an actual friendly person answering the phone at John's school. If it made such a difference to me, let alone what a big difference it will make for someone new to the country.
ReplyDeleteKrista - Thanks for the great resource mentioned in your comment above. I love the idea - is it available in every school? It sounds like a wonderful way to ensure that all members of the school feel connected with the larger community. Are you a community member?
ReplyDeleteSandy, I have been a parent partner on the team twice for this program as well as a team lead. Our Guelph co-ordinators are having great difficulty currently securing funders for this. The Guelph Police Vicitm's Fund used to support it, but sadly, no longer. However, in Calgary the program is so strong they have mandated that every school HAS to run the Families and Schools Together program. It is now worldwide. I wish so much the Upper Grand District School Board would fund it like Calagary's board does. I have seen first hand the difference in parents and students this F&ST Program has made to their lives.
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