Int’l Teachers: EAL in the Mainstream Classroom

Online
24 - 28 June 2025
Facilitator: Virginia Rojas

Every international teacher is an EAL (English as an Additional Language) teacher by virtue of the fact that the majority of international-school students have primary languages other than English. In this course we focus on shifting the historical deficit narrative for multilingual learners in international schools based on a crosswalk of research-based principles and schoolwide implementation of CLIL (content and language integrated learning) which refers to learning environments where content-area subjects are taught with dual-focused aims; namely, the learning of academic content and the simultaneous acquisition of a second (or third) language without requiring extra time in the curriculum. CLIL has been bold enough to encapsulate itself within an acronym, implying that it is an approach, a philosophy - an educational paradigm with frontiers that can be clearly articulated and therefore open to transforming the status quo. Participants access these principles and practices, engage with each other in daily synchronous sessions and in small groups in order to express who they will be as advocates of multilingual learners in international schools.

What Will I Learn?

During this learning experience we will explore the following topics:

  • the shifting paradigms of language education which is impacting policies, programs, partnerships, and practices

  • the ten CLIL (content and language integrated learning) principles to ensure a responsive learning environment with specific pedagogical benefits for multilingual learners

  • the ways in which EAL specialists can ‘create, collaborate, consult, and coach’ spaces to advocate for multilingual learners

Learning Goals

  • Use an inventory of best practice paradigms to prioritize ‘change spaces’ in schools with majority multilingual learners

  • Compare and contrast an array of EAL-related principles and practices including CLIL, SIOP, WIDA, and professional teaching standards for EAL teachers from the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand

  • Analyze ways in which subject-area disciplinary teachers and EAL specialists can operationalize the ten CLIL principles collaboratively

  • Design an EAL Instructional Playbook to include strategies for developing language forms, skills, and usage as well as for accessing content

  • Propose a transformative change idea to advocate for multilingual learners’ inclusion, equity, and sense of belonging