Teacher guide Language, Literacy and Learning Two-Way: teaching Aboriginal EAL/D students in the early years

TLF ID S7071

This teacher resource describes the Two-Way early childhood professional learning course implemented in Western Australian Aboriginal focus schools, public, Catholic and independent schools to increase opportunities for Aboriginal students who speak English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) to acquire language, literacy and learning equivalent to their Standard Australian English-speaking peers. Organised in nine sections: Summary; Target student group; Method; Results; Lessons learned; Next steps; Research base; Further reading and links; and Contacts, the resource shows how the program modelled collaborative Two-Way partnerships and EAL/D practice.





Educational details

Educational value
  • This is an important resource for schools seeking effective programs that accelerate improvements in the educational outcomes of Aboriginal students, particularly those who speak Aboriginal English as their first language or as a language additional to their Aboriginal language/s. The program involves eight modules of professional learning delivered by visiting facilitators over one year. Action research takes place between visits. The program has proved to be very effective across a wide variety of geographical locations from metropolitan to very remote, with teacher skills and confidence levels growing significantly and student outcomes in speaking and listening improving markedly.The program models the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures cross-curriculum priority in curriculum planning and implementation and in teacher professional learning. The Two-Way partnerships and inclusive learning environments integral to the program support the priority's central theme of identity linked to living, learning communities; and its organising ideas that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies have many language groups, and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' ways of life are uniquely expressed through ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing.
Year level

F; 1; 2

Learning area
  • English

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Commonwealth of Australia
  • Organization: Commonwealth of Australia
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.australia.gov.au
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
Access profile
  • Generic
Learning Resource Type
  • Online
  • Text
Rights
  • © 2014 Commonwealth of Australia, unless otherwise indicated. This material is provided under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike licence (CC BY-SA 3.0 AU) unless otherwise indicated. You may distribute, remix and build upon this material, provided that you include the acknowledgement '© Commonwealth of Australia 2014' and license under the same terms any new creations you have based on the material.