More Literacy strategies for supporting EAL students in mainstream Secondary classes

Critical Agendas presents this hands-on follow-up workshop with Rowena Bata, designed specifically for mainstream secondary teachers who have no specialist EAL training but find themselves teaching students for whom English is an additional language. Building on the foundations laid in the earlier 'Supporting EAL Students' workshops, this session goes deeper into the micro-skills of reading, writing, and vocabulary acquisition, providing classroom teachers with practical techniques drawn from language teaching methodology that they can incorporate into their existing practice. Bata's approach is refreshingly practical: rather than asking mainstream teachers to become language specialists overnight, she shows them how to give their existing classroom activities a stronger literacy focus using techniques that benefit all students while providing essential scaffolding for EAL learners. Participants will work directly with Rowena to adapt their own materials, ensuring they leave with ideas they can use immediately. With twenty-five years of experience as a languages teacher across schools in Victoria, France, Papua New Guinea, and Malaysia, and a Master's degree in Linguistics, Bata brings deep expertise in bridging the gap between second language acquisition theory and everyday classroom reality.