[Challenge for Less Able and EAL Children in Learning Numeracy]

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Acknowledgement

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Abstract

It is evident that the advanced bilingual learners are not capable to achieve full potential in English while moving through the school. Moreover, the less able children or EAL children are taught within the curriculum of mainstream but the needs and requirements of EAL children are different. The most significant distinctive feature of such children is that they are learning through a language, which is not their first language. Therefore, this paper is aimed at conducting a study to assess the understanding of targets by EAL children in Numeracy within a setting of key Stage 2 classroom. It was observed that there were various challenges faced during the study for raising the levels of EAL children to Age Related Expectations (3A) by the end of academic year. The challenge of greatest importance faced in this study was related to the understanding of targets by the EAL children. Additionally, the procedure of target setting with the group of children, most specifically, EAL children, involving the feedback on previous performance, open discussions, and negotiation can prove to be the most effective and efficient strategy. Therefore, various strategies and techniques using target setting were carried out for the EAL children to overcome the challenge and achieve the objective of the study. Furthermore, in order to determine the significance of the study area, it was essential to review the literature regarding the understanding of targets by EAL children in Numeracy within a given setting of a classroom. The research was conducted on small group of less able children in level 2 for raising their levels to level 3a. Furthermore, the research was conducted using the method of target setting by gaining information of the teachers and students towards the concept with the help of questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews. It was found from the observations that the less able children or EAL children face difficulties in understanding to achieve their targets. The successful achievement of the study was evident from the feedback, views, and thoughts of children, which illustrated that they felt confident in understanding their targets and they can set their own targets to learn Numeracy and raise their levels to Age Related Expectations smoothly. It was found that the study conducted resulted in the easier understanding of the targets and enabled the less able children or EAL children to move further towards more challenging targets.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION7

Background10

Attitudes11

Problem Statement13

Observation17

Rationale for the study19

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW22

What or how will these important changes for the 2012 target-setting ...