EAL educators support the language learning of EAL learners in their settings in a range of ways.
This includes by linking into curriculum resources, employing a range of pedagogical strategies, building school-community partnerships and by supporting the use of the first language as a means to learn English.
The aim of the 2018 VicTESOL symposium is to focus on this connection between learning English as an additional language whilst supporting the development and maintenance of learners’ first language(s).
Many EAL learners view the use of more than one language as a normal part of everyday life.
This symposium aims to acknowledge the importance of first language development for EAL learners.
The intent is to promote the development of first languages so as to actively support multilingual practices whilst remembering that children, young people and adults learn in different ways and come to educational settings from diverse backgrounds and experiences.
