About the Reporting Resource
This resource is for teachers of EAL students in mainstream education settings and new arrivals programs. You can use it to identify your students’ current level of English language proficiency. It outlines the skills and knowledge students learn as they progress towards the achievement standards of the Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL.
The tool describes two levels (Beginning or .1 and Consolidating or .2) a student will progress through before reaching the achievement standard (Achieved or .3). This means you can report EAL learners’ progress towards – as well as at – the Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL achievement standards.
A one-page document for each language mode and level of the curriculum summarises the learning needed at each proficiency level and achievement standards.
Teachers of other learning areas, for example, Science or Art teachers, are not expected to use the EAL curriculum for assessment and reporting purposes. EAL-informed teaching practices should be in place to support learners in all subject areas.
How teachers can use the Reporting Resource
The Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL includes content descriptions and achievement standards. The additional proficiency levels described in this resource allow you to report on the language learning progress of EAL students before they reach the achievement standards.
When making an assessment or reporting on student English language proficiency, teachers should make an 'on balance' judgement about whether an EAL student is at the beginning or consolidating levels or whether he or she has reached the achievement standards. The descriptions of the skills and knowledge provided for each of these levels in the Reporting Resource should not be considered as a check list. Students do not have to demonstrate mastery of all of the skills and knowledge described at each level in every assessment task. Teachers should use their professional judgement and make assessment decisions based on a variety of tasks that the student has completed in all three language modes.
Example
A Foundation student may arrive on the first day of school with limited skills and little exposure to the English language, even if they were born in Australia. It may take time for the student to develop the skills and knowledge outlined in the A1 achievement standards.
You can use the additional proficiency levels to show that the student is making satisfactory progress and demonstrating achievement in learning English as an additional language.
Planning
To use the resource for planning, you can:
- identify the key points of progression that differentiate each proficiency level
- make sure that students have opportunities to learn and revise the new skills.
Example
At the C1 level for writing, a student at the Beginning level tends to focus on producing a final product rather than planning, revision and editing. At the Consolidating level, the student can – with help – review their writing and identify parts they might change or revise.
To move forward, the student should have many opportunities to:
- revise their writing
- talk to teachers and other students about ways to make improvements.
You could include regular drafting and rewriting in the class schedule so that students get used to editing their own work. These writing sessions can include different types of texts, as outlined in the achievement standards for C1. With this type of support, the student will be on track to progress through the Consolidating level toward the achievement standard.
Reporting resource
EAL Reporting Resource: At a glance - plain language statement: providing an explanation of the one-page documents that describe each level of language learning in a given mode, for example, Level A1 in Speaking and Listening.
Pathway A: Foundation to Year 2 - Reporting Resource, pathways and transition information and samples of student work at Pathway A
Pathway B: Year 2 to Year 8 - Reporting Resource, pathways and transition information and samples of student work at Pathway B
Pathway C: Year 7 to Year 10 - Reporting Resource, pathways and transition information and samples of student work at Pathway C.
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