IELP and Year 10 EAL/D Curriculum in Australia: An investigation into the adequacy of prior knowledge to international students

Abstract

Emerging English as an additional language and dialect (EAL/D) teaching concepts suggest that the current education system for international students is lacking consistency. While the new Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL 2020 Reporting Tool (DET, 2019), and other initiatives, show efforts being made to support students whose first language is not English, international students continue to struggle to successfully transition from language school to mainstream school education. Data is collected from IELTS Writing band 5 and EAL Developmental Continuum indicator S3 (DET, 2019). It is analysed using mostly Fairclough’s (2013) but also Gee’s (1999) and Foucault’s (cited in Garrity, 2010) definition of Critical Discourse Analysis and supported by Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory (1982) for a look at the psychological impact of the transition on students. An unachievable gap between the existing IELP and EAL/D courses is showcased and found to be caused by unassociated course content, independent governing bodies and inequivalent and inefficient teacher qualifications, restricting Year 10 international students from being successful in their education. A pathway course to provide a common space (Nakata, 2011) between the curriculum expectations of the relevant governing bodies, ESOS (2018) and VCAA (2017) /ACARA (2018b), and broader qualified educators to teach the courses, are recommended.

Exploring challenges and supports for writing in Standard Australian English for Australian secondary English as an Additional Language/Dialect Students: A scoping study

“…These have been reported elsewhere under the main theme of the study. In this section, however, only Indigenous EAL/D students (IEAL/D) (Bevan & Shillinglaw, 2010) and international students (Crossley, 2021;Filipi & Keary, 2018;Lindner & Margetts, 2022) are reported, as these are the key studies that centred around the experiences of these specific groups. Bevan and Shillinglaw (2010) found that Year 11-12 IEAL/D students from a secondary school in Western Australia, when completing an EAL/D course of study, needed further SAE literacy development.…”

“…Filipi and Keary (2018) found that content area teachers lacked confidence in addressing international students' language needs, even though they felt a responsibility to do so. Crossley (2021) indicated a challenging gap between Intensive English Language Programs to Year 10 EAL/D courses in which some students enrol in some Victorian colleges. This was brought about by disconnected course content and insufficient teacher qualifications to support this transition, where higher order language skills, literacy and critical thinking are required.…”