HLS joins the Global Education Initiative hosted by the Global Education and Training Institute in India.We were pleased to have the opportunity to join colleagues from 50 different countries for the ‘13th Education Leadership international Virtual Conference’ held online from 21 st to 24th January 2021.The Conference for Education leaders and teachers focused on key issues ineducation today and gave opportunities for Round Table sharing of ideas and practice. The Keynote speech by Andy Harvey from HLS led the discussion on ‘Empowering Pupils through Language’. His session stressed the importance of spoken language as a key bridge to academic language
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We hope you and your families are keeping well and safe during this very difficult time. Due to several requests from schools for online training we are now able to offer 2 of our most popular courses ie Beginners and Advanced Learners in the form of a webinar. If you are interested in booking a 1.5 hour session for your school staff, please get in touch. This session will cost £250+ VAT and will allow up to 20 staff to join. We can also provide bespoke sessions if you would like to contact me to discuss your needs. Looking forward
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Our Conference this year was a great success! The  focus was  on analysing and planning structured support for EAL learners that takes into account the demands of topics and academic English in subject areas. The Keynote was delivered by Jonathan Brentnall, EAL Adviser, and it was followed by a range of workshops. Jonathan’s workshop encouraged us to break down structures in the language we use across the curriculum – in order to analyse our expectations from students. Danny Diaz and Rehana Ahmed  aimed their workshop at Early Years and KS1. Their enthusiasm and passion was appreciated by participants, who shared
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Manny Vazquez was recently invited to contribute to the Ninestiles Academy Trust Conference in Birmingham. His workshop aimed to equip teachers with the supportive strategies needed to raise the achievement of advanced EAL students. In an interactive session, participants studied samples of pupils writing and tried out activities to support improvement back in the classroom. They looked at a case study of an EAL student over the academic year, discussing how to assess their progress and develop their language. Manny focussed on the DfE codes and how to apply them to EAL students. Ninestiles were pleased that Manny’s work raised
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CLIL equates to teaching the curriculum through English and has become very popular in European schools. HLS has had recent experience of delivering training for CLIL, for Spanish teachers and in the UK for a range of European teachers. Ten schools in Italy invited HLS to run a video training session for their English and Maths staff. Andy Harvey from Hounslow Language Service was  able to introduce the underlying principles of CLIL which include both content and language skills teaching. Our Italian colleagues gained a lot from this session and are hoping to book some follow up training with us
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In January, the Elliot Foundation held a Conference at Ramnoth Junior School in Wisbech on the Topic of ‘Getting Reading Right’. Andy Harvey, from Hounslow Language Service , provided workshops which focused on ‘Developing Reading for EAL Beginners’. He introduced the importance of recognising that both background knowledge and an understanding of the language system are key to getting meaning from texts. He stressed the need to provide a rich contextual background, building on previous knowledge, using visuals, artifacts, displays and previous vocabulary. Participants were enthused by the range of practical activities and ideas and the very useful HLS Model
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Andy Harvey from Hounslow Language Service, was invited by HereTeach to provide EAL training for new teachers in Herefordshire. In fact, the 42 staff attending included several experienced teachers who valued the opportunity to focus on EAL.  In this session, teachers gained knowledge about the needs of Beginner EAL pupils and also how to extend the language skills of more Advanced EAL learners. Teachers commented on the many useful teaching activities and resources which they were going to use in class. They appreciated the practical focus of the day and commented on how helpful many of the differentiation ideas would
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At Saturday’s Conference, at Kings College London, Manny gave a lively and entertaining keynote presentation about how to use EAL assessment effectively. He gave an example of assessing an EAL Beginner and putting together a step by step programme of teaching to support that student in achieving full linguistic competency. This case study illustrated all the challenges of linking local EAL fluency stages to national and international measures such as CEFR new standards as well as new GCSE bands and IELTS. As always, Manny was informative and practical, linking EAL assessment to on-going EAL classroom teaching. We are glad to
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