WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.420 Finally, let me introduce myself. 00:00:02.040 --> 00:00:05.640 I'm Bene't Steinberg, I'm Group Director of Public Affairs at Cambridge Assessment, 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:08.720 and I'll be the overall chair for the event today. 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.320 I'm delighted to welcome you here on behalf of Cambridge Assessment. 00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:18.360 Established over 150 years ago, the group owns and manages the university's three exam boards 00:00:18.360 --> 00:00:23.900 and carries out leading-edge academic and operational research on assessment in education. 00:00:23.900 --> 00:00:34.800 We are a not-for-profit organisation developing and delivering educational assessment to 8 million candidates in 160 countries every year through our three exam boards, 00:00:34.900 --> 00:00:45.300 which you will know as OCR, Cambridge International Examinations, and University of Cambridge English for Speakers of Other Languages Examinations, 00:00:45.380 --> 00:00:47.720 or Cambridge ESOL, as you will probably know them as. 00:00:47.720 --> 00:00:54.660 As experts in assessment, we believe it's our duty to provide a forum to debate key educational issues. 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.020 At Cambridge Assessment, we believe that assessment is part of the whole learning process. 00:00:59.860 --> 00:01:07.440 And as an independent voice, we look for what works and therefore balance the needs of the individual, the economy and society. 00:01:08.100 --> 00:01:21.531 And to that end today we debating the impact of non speakers in the classroom In England the proportion of primary and secondary school children speaking other languages at home has been increasing steadily over recent years 00:01:22.351 --> 00:01:26.431 Nearly a million students out of an education population of around 10 million 00:01:26.431 --> 00:01:28.791 now have English as a second language. 00:01:29.731 --> 00:01:33.111 There are three main areas that we think are worth exploring, 00:01:33.231 --> 00:01:34.531 but actually when we get to the debate, 00:01:34.671 --> 00:01:36.691 you may well take it in a completely different direction. 00:01:36.691 --> 00:01:39.771 in no particular order, they are, 00:01:40.331 --> 00:01:43.691 are we missing opportunities to help the academically able 00:01:43.691 --> 00:01:46.771 because their talent is obscured because of a lack of English? 00:01:47.611 --> 00:01:50.791 Are we missing opportunities to help those with special needs 00:01:50.791 --> 00:01:54.531 because their needs are obscured by a similar lack? 00:01:55.471 --> 00:01:59.111 And where we do spend more time on helping EAL students, 00:01:59.451 --> 00:02:01.331 are we in some inadvertent way 00:02:01.331 --> 00:02:04.331 disadvantaging those with English as a first language? 00:02:04.731 --> 00:02:06.391 Those are the three big points. 00:02:06.691 --> 00:02:10.891 There are a multitude of other matters to discuss, I freely admit. 00:02:12.051 --> 00:02:20.531 Are there differences, different issues, when a whole class is from one EAL group to those when the class is half EAL, half not? 00:02:20.931 --> 00:02:26.371 Or when there are 15 mother tongues in the class with the first language English in majority? 00:02:27.191 --> 00:02:28.531 Do students from an oral tradition... 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:30.520 require a different approach. 00:02:31.540 --> 00:02:34.020 Can we draw the same conclusions about what works 00:02:34.020 --> 00:02:39.080 from the teaching of Polish, Ethiopian, Vietnamese or Bangladeshi children? 00:02:39.940 --> 00:02:42.460 In short, and in only one afternoon, 00:02:43.020 --> 00:02:46.820 we want to explore how we can assure that every child can access the whole curriculum. 00:02:47.640 --> 00:02:51.180 We invited Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, to join us today, 00:02:51.320 --> 00:02:53.720 but diary commitments meant that he couldn't be here. 00:02:53.720 --> 00:02:56.800 But he acknowledged the importance of correctly assessing the potential 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:02.800 and progressive EAL pupils and told us, as a government, we want to build a more integrated 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:09.440 society with greater participation and equality of opportunity for all. To achieve this, it 00:03:09.440 --> 00:03:14.520 is important that pupils with EAL are given the support they need to acquire English language 00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:20.620 skills and to take their place in mainstream education as quickly as possible. Now, the 00:03:20.620 --> 00:03:24.760 Department for Education also kindly supplied us with a rather good summary of policy in 00:03:24.760 --> 00:03:30.340 this area which you will find in your packs. Moving on, some ground rules. 00:03:30.340 --> 00:03:34.940 Firstly, this is a debate, not a question and answer session. If you want to pick up on a point made by 00:03:34.940 --> 00:03:51.271 somebody else in the audience feel free to do so If you want to make a statement and not ask a question also do so All I ask is you do it through the chair and that you make your points as concisely as this complex issue allows I will cut people 00:03:51.271 --> 00:03:56.231 off if I think they've already made their point. Secondly, you'll note we're filming 00:03:56.231 --> 00:04:02.051 the discussion and broadcasting it on the web live for the benefit of the much wider 00:04:02.051 --> 00:04:08.231 audience that couldn't get here today. Please ignore the cameras, but please make sure that 00:04:08.231 --> 00:04:12.591 if you're asked to speak, that you wait for a microphone to arrive in front of you and 00:04:12.591 --> 00:04:19.491 give us your name and the name of your institution. Thirdly, I'd like to encourage you to submit 00:04:19.491 --> 00:04:23.751 questions and comments using the question sheets that can also be found in the delegate 00:04:23.751 --> 00:04:29.931 bags. Please pass your question sheets to James, who will be stationed at the registration 00:04:29.931 --> 00:04:34.431 desk during the coffee break. And of course those of you joining us from home can submit 00:04:34.431 --> 00:04:40.171 questions and comments at any time online. We're going to start the event with a short 00:04:40.171 --> 00:04:44.411 film which features teachers from schools with very high proportions of English as additional 00:04:44.411 --> 00:04:48.931 language learners, which I think we're going to call EAL from now on, I think we've established 00:04:48.931 --> 00:04:57.131 that, giving their accounts of educating those students.