Recent Posts from my Blog
Is this normal? – encouraging parental engagement
This is an email which I have received from the parent of one of my newly-arrived students who speaks English as an Additional Language (EAL). I have had many conversations with parents whose education system differs from the UK one. They are used to having textbooks, so they know exactly what their children have studied Read More ...Read More »Symbolism in the film – “1917”
I am not big on war films, but went to see “1917” and I LOVED it. For me it is just a story told in beautifully-filmed images. I said “just a story”, but it is all but “just”. It is a riveting story, told in a poetic, picturesque way. From the opening scene, I knew Read More ...Read More »
“Pushkin is better than Harry Potter”
We have just admitted a new student from Ukraine. Apart from Ukrainian, she also speaks Russian. She told me her favourite book is “Eugene Onegin.” She spotted a couple of Harry Potter books in Russian in our library, but she politely declined borrowing them as she had already read them. When asked what she thought of Read More ...Read More »You must come for dinner – reporting to EAL parents
“You must come for dinner”. I doubt this phrase will be used during the parents’ evening, but let’s face it – it is not a real invitation, it’s just being polite. Much has been said in papers and online about the British and their use of language and euphemisms. It is quite funny, as it Read More ...Read More »
Kacper still does not talk to us
"Kacper still does not talk to us", a worried nursery worker said to me. "Could you talk to him in Polish, maybe he will feel better then". I took pictures of some well-known Polish bedtime cartoons. When Kacper saw the little black mole, his eyes lit up. "Krecik, krecik" (mole, mole), he pointed excitedly to the Read More ...Read More »
Can visual notes be an aid to EAL Learners?
I cannot draw. My spaceship looks like a fish. This can be a hindrance if you work with the EAL (English as an Additional Language) learners. But, I am a big supporter of presenting information in a visual way, as it allows children to understand and process new information. It also allows them to express Read More ...Read More »
Utilising the culture of EAL learners in the classroom
So many teachers are interested in their EAL learners’ cultural background. Most Polish children, who attended a Polish school, will know the legend of the Wawel dragon (Legenda o Smoku Wawelskim) or the Locomotive poem full of wonderful huffing, puffing, whistling and whizzing onomatopoeic sounds (Lokomotywa). Many Polish books have been awarded literary prizes, the Read More ...Read More »
How does your Polish change when you are an immigrant?
I have always remembered a Polish actress, who, after having spent a short time in America, appeared on the national Polish television. She spoke with a very prominent American accent, could not find Polish words, was hesitant and used a lot of pauses and non-lexical fillers like hmmm, ah, eh. Ok, she was an actress, Read More ...Read More »