Abstract:

The number of children learning English as an additional language in the UK has drastically increased so the UK schools deal with problems about helping these children. There appears to be insufficient materials as well as anxiety among mainstream teachers who must teach these children as their only source of exposure to English. Due to funding-related issues, English as an Additional Language (EAL) support in the mainstream schools can be quite inadequate. Therefore, this study is employed to design a course with practical and interactive activities suitable to children who move to the UK schools for various reasons to continue their education. The participants consist of six children (2 Czechs, 1 Portuguese, 1 Italian, 1 Eritrean and 1 Pakistani), aged 6 to 11 who have no previous experience of learning a foreign language. As a case study, the data were collected qualitatively and quantitatively through questionnaire, colleague interviews, language profile, parent survey and also diagnostic testing. All the information collected through these tools was utilized to be able to design a well-fitting introductory course and help these newcomers adapt to the new school environment, culture and school policies. The needs analysis results identified students’ needs that helped us determine the aims and objectives of the course. The course proposal can potentially set an example to address these learners’ emergent needs and can be regarded as a useful teaching aid to be used in upcoming years for these children within the mainstream school by complementing existing learning activities.

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