English as an Additional Language (EAL) & English Language Acquisition (ELA) Programme

Students placed in the Programme have been assessed as requiring this additional support to provide the foundational language skills required to meet the demands of the curriculum. This is not an optional Programme that can be subscribed to. It is a requirement of admission.

In order to determine a student's level of language acquisition, standardised assessments are used to assess a student's reading comprehension & proficiency and vocabulary knowledge to make decisions around the support required. The Programme is designed to help students improve in these areas in order for them to access the curriculum successfully.

We use a number of assessments to help identify and track the progress of EAL students. There is the Oxford Placement Test to help identify the general ability range of a student. From this general assessment, we can follow up on further assessments to see if they require EAL withdrawal support and track their progress once they are on the programme. 

There is a more specific test called Aptis from the British Council, which assesses reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary; the Paul Nations Vocabulary Size Test; and a programme called Read Theory. 

In grades 7 and 8, students can transition out of EAL withdrawal at the end of Term 1 or 2 after demonstrating that they will succeed in their first language, English. Movement decisions will be based on the assessments mentioned above. Support will continue to be given in the form of in-class Support or one-on-one sessions where necessary.

Unlike the Grades 7 and 8 course, students in Grades 9 and 10 will only be able to move at the end of IGCSE. Learners follow EAL lessons in place of English lessons, preparing them for an IGCSE examination in English as a Second Language at the end of Grade 10. It also includes preparation for English Language B HL of the IB Diploma English course.

Students learning English as an Additional Language must study a first language as they move through school. We offer Chinese and Indonesian as mainstream first languages, and many others are offered on the Home Language Programme. Please be aware that if your child has sufficient proficiency in their first language, only then they will have a pathway through to the IBDP. Therefore, a clear language pathway must be decided upon admission into SJI International.