English as Additional Language program has evolved as diversity grows
By Samantha Johnson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on December 7, 2023.
reporter@medicinehatnews.com Medicine Hat Public School Division’s English as Additional Language team presented to the board of trustees at their most recent meeting, detailing their role in assisting families new to Canada with school-aged children. There are 42 languages spoken among students throughout the division, with 27 per cent of the student population coded as EAL. A total of 354 are foreign-born students, while 104 were born in Canada but their home language wasn’t English, and there are 108 international students. Emma Piayda explained the term English as a Second Language or ESL is not used anymore as English might not be the student’s second language but their third or even fourth and, as a result, ESL fails to catch the learner profile. All EAL students receive a formal intake, which often incorporates an interpreter and sometimes Saamis Immigration. It provides an opportunity for the family to ask questions and have a tour of the school. Determining the language spoken and the percentage of different languages used at home is the first assessment completed with each incoming student. Trustee Rick Massini asked if there were students arriving who did not have any schooling. Piayda replied this was part of the initial conversations the team has with the student’s guardians. Some students had formal schooling for a few years and were then in refugee camps where there are no schools. For others, their language is only spoken, with no written language, thus, the student is unable to read or write. The EAL team looks at two types of languages, the first is basic interpersonal skills, the type of language students acquire on the playground and the one they need to build peer relationships. If a student arrives in MHPSD without any English, it may take two to three years for them to communicate comfortably with peers. Cognitive academic language proficiency, the language used within schools, can take an EAL student five to seven years to be proficient in. “Sometimes this is where it can be confusing with our students who were born in an English-speaking community. They arrive in our school and are able to understand orally and also speak proficiently. When we assess their cognitive academic language proficiency, we are finding there are some gaps, so it’s important for us to be able to identify that,” said Piayda. 10-9
