Professor Constant Leung's work in English language teaching and assessment in partnership with the Bell Foundation has been recognised at the British Council's 2018 ELTon awards.   

This year's British Council Local Innovation Award (in partnership with Cambridge English Language Assessment) was given for the EAL Assessment Framework for Schools, which provides teachers with an academically robust, curriculum-based, easy-to-use framework for assessing pupils with English as an Additional Language. It enables teachers within primary and secondary settings to effectively report English language proficiency of EAL learners to the DfE and gives practical strategies on how best to support and track progression.

"As the student population gets more and more diverse in terms of language backgrounds, and educational backgrounds, this kind of provision is very much needed, and we set about developing this framework with that purpose in mind," commented Professor Leung.

Teachers and senior advisers commented on the EAL Assessment Framework for Schools:

“The Framework is the most comprehensive assessment tool so far produced and it needs to be shared with schools.” 

“Staff needed more support in assessing children and the DfE broad descriptors of English proficiency were not sufficient to ensure progression was planned for. Staff love the fact that each stage of proficiency was then split up into speaking listening reading and writing and this ensured that provision was closely matched to the needs of the child.”

Version 1.1 of the Framework includes primary and secondary support strategies that map directly onto the descriptors and provide practical ways to support EAL learners at each stage of their language development. It also includes a pupil tracking tool for teachers to monitor and record the progress of EAL learners, and ensure accurate records of language development are maintained.

The ELTons Innovation Awards, now in their 16th year, are the international awards that recognise and celebrate innovation in English language teaching (ELT). The awards recognise innovative educational products, publications, apps and projects meeting high standards of excellence in innovation and supporting English language learners and teachers achieve their teaching and learning goals.

The Department for Education (DfE) now requires all schools to include details of their EAL pupils’ English language proficiency as part of school census data. To support teachers to meet this requirement, The Bell Foundation has worked with leading EAL assessment experts at Kings College London and The University of Cambridge to design an EAL Assessment Framework for Schools.

Find out more about EAL Assessment Framework for Schools.