English as an additional language, or EAL, is the support an English-medium school gives a child whose English is still developing. In international primary schools it usually combines help inside the classroom with some small-group sessions, and children are reassessed regularly until they no longer need it. A five- or six-year-old with limited English can do well in an English-medium Year 1 or Grade 1, but everyday fluency typically comes within a year or two, while the academic English needed for reading and writing across subjects takes considerably longer.
For a child arriving from a bilingual preschool, where English was one of two languages, or from a Vietnamese or other-language preschool, the question is less whether they will learn English than how the school will carry them through the period when they cannot yet follow everything. The answers vary a great deal between schools. This guide explains the main models of support, what research says about how long it takes, and what to ask before you enrol.
The main models of support
Support inside the class. An EAL specialist or teaching assistant works alongside the class teacher, helping children understand instructions, preparing visual supports and adjusting tasks. The child stays with classmates throughout. This is the most common model in primary schools and the one most researchers favour for young children, because they learn much of their English from peers.
Small-group sessions outside the class. Children leave the classroom for short periods to work with an EAL teacher on vocabulary, sounds and sentence patterns. This can speed up early progress, but if sessions coincide with the same lessons every week, a child can miss content or feel set apart.
Intensive or reception programmes. Some schools place new arrivals with very little English in a separate class for a term or more before they join the mainstream. This is more common for older children than for five-year-olds, who generally gain more from staying with English-speaking classmates for most of the day.
Blended approaches. Many international schools mix the above, with in-class support as the base and short focused sessions for those who need them. Ask which pattern your child would receive, for how many hours a week, and who decides when it changes.
How long English takes: everyday and academic language
The researcher Jim Cummins, working in Canada, drew a distinction, now widely used in schools, between basic interpersonal communicative skills and cognitive academic language proficiency, often shortened to BICS and CALP. Everyday conversational English, the language of the playground and classroom routines, tends to come relatively quickly, often within one to two years. The more abstract, context-reduced English of reading, explaining and reasoning across subjects takes much longer, with Cummins and others estimating several years for children to reach the level of peers who speak English at home.
This distinction matters for parents because it explains a common surprise. A child chatting happily in English by Christmas of Year 1 may still find a science text or a written maths problem hard in Year 3. That is not a sign that something has gone wrong; it is the normal shape of second language learning. Good schools keep an eye on academic language long after the child sounds fluent, and good reports say so plainly.
Age helps in some ways. Young children usually develop a native-like accent more easily than older learners, and the language demands of Year 1 are lower than those of Year 5. But young children are not instant sponges. They need time, meaningful interaction and a classroom that makes language visible and repeated.
What the first months often look like
In her book One Child, Two Languages, the researcher Patton Tabors described a sequence often seen in young children entering a classroom in a new language. Many first try their home language, then go through a quiet period of watching and listening, then use single words and set phrases such as greetings or requests, and only gradually build their own sentences. The quiet period can last from a few weeks to several months.
Parents sometimes worry that a quiet child is unhappy or falling behind. Silence at this stage is usually active: the child is taking in sounds, routines and patterns. What matters is that they are engaged, following routines by watching others, and gradually joining in non-verbally, through play, pointing and imitation. A good teacher creates chances to participate without speaking and does not force a child to perform before they are ready. Visual timetables, gestures, repeated songs and predictable routines all let a child take part fully before the words come.
Signs worth raising with the school are a child who seems withdrawn at home as well as at school, who stops playing, or who shows distress over many weeks without improvement. These may have causes beyond language, and the school's learning support team, together with your doctor, can help work out what is going on.
How schools assess and track EAL progress
Most international schools use a recognised framework to describe a child's English and decide on support. The names below are common; schools may use their own versions.
| Framework or tool | Where it is often used | What it describes |
|---|---|---|
| WIDA English language development standards | Many American-curriculum schools | Levels of English development across listening, speaking, reading and writing |
| Bell Foundation EAL Assessment Framework | Many British-curriculum schools | Bands of English proficiency for schools in England, used by some schools abroad |
| School's own entry screening | Most international schools | A short check of understanding and speaking at entry |
| Teacher observation and work samples | All schools | How the child uses English in real classroom tasks over time |
Ask the school which framework it uses, how often it reassesses, what level a child must reach to leave support, and how it will report progress to you. Regular, specific feedback such as can follow two-step instructions or retells a simple story in sequence is more useful than a single number.
Expect progress to be uneven. Children often move quickly through the early levels and then seem to stall while the more demanding academic language develops. A plateau in Year 2 or Year 3 is common, and the right response is usually patient, targeted support rather than alarm.
The home language: keep it, do not swap it
Some families, wanting to help, decide to switch to English at home once their child starts an English-medium school. Research generally advises against it. Cummins's interdependence hypothesis, and much later work, suggest that concepts and literacy skills developed in one language support learning in another. A child who hears rich stories, explanations and conversation in Vietnamese, Korean, French or any home language is building understanding that transfers.
Switching to a parent's weaker English can also reduce the quantity and quality of talk at home, and it can put the home language at risk, with consequences for the child's relationship with grandparents and extended family. The better pattern is usually to keep the home language strong, read with your child in it every day, and let school provide the English, with some English reading at home if a parent is comfortable doing it.
If both parents speak English at home already and the issue is a child who learned mostly Vietnamese at preschool, the same principle applies in reverse: keep some Vietnamese going if you can, through a nanny, relatives, books or a weekly class, so that the child's preschool years are not lost.
Where a child from a bilingual preschool usually starts
Children who spent two or three years in a Vietnamese–English bilingual preschool often arrive at an international primary school with better English than their parents expect, particularly in understanding. They know classroom routines in English, songs, stories and the vocabulary of daily activities. What they may lack is the longer, more complex English of instructions with several steps, explanations and storytelling, and the early reading skills that children in English-medium Reception or Kindergarten classes have practised.
As a result, many such children receive a light form of EAL support for a term or a year, or none at all, while others need more. The main factor is usually how much English the child used actively, not just heard. A child who played in English with classmates and foreign teachers is in a stronger position than one who understood English but always answered in Vietnamese.
If you are not sure where your child stands, ask the preschool teachers, who see your child use both languages daily. Their view, combined with the primary school's entry screening, gives a far more reliable picture than any test result on its own, and it lets you prepare your child, and yourself, for what the first term is likely to bring.
What helps at home
Read every day, in the language you read best. Shared reading builds vocabulary, attention and an understanding of how stories work, all of which transfer to English. If you read English comfortably, add some English picture books; if not, your home language is just as valuable.
Talk about school, in any language. Ask about the day using specific questions: who did you sit with, what did you build, what was the story about. Explaining the school day at home, even in another language, helps children process what they heard in English.
Create easy English contact. Playdates with English-speaking classmates, a sports club, or a library story session give children relaxed practice where English is the natural language rather than a lesson.
Keep expectations patient. Avoid asking your child to perform English for relatives or quizzing them on words. Pressure tends to make young learners quieter. Praise effort and communication, not correctness.
Protect rest. Learning all day in a new language is tiring. Many children come home exhausted and irritable in the first term. Early bedtimes, quiet afternoons and fewer activities in the first months often help more than extra English practice.
Questions to ask before enrolling
Before you accept a place, an honest conversation about EAL support tells you whether the school will be a good fit for a child whose English is still developing.
- How many children in my child's year group currently receive EAL support, and how many adults provide it?
- Is support given mainly in the classroom, in small groups outside it, or both? How many hours a week would my child get?
- Is EAL support included in tuition or charged separately, and does the charge change as my child progresses?
- Which framework do you use to assess English, how often, and what level is needed to leave support?
- How will you tell me how my child is doing, and how often?
- How do you value and use children's home languages in class?
- Is there a limit on the number of children needing EAL support per class, and could that affect our place?
Schools with strong EAL practice usually answer these readily and in detail. Vague answers, or an assumption that young children will simply pick up English, deserve a follow-up question. So does a school that cannot say who teaches EAL or what training that person has, since the quality of support depends heavily on the specialist behind it.
Câu hỏi thường gặp
Is it better to wait a year so our child can learn English first?
Usually not. Children learn much of their English from classmates and daily routines, which a delay does not provide. If your child is very young for the year group or has other needs, a delay may still make sense, but discuss it with the school and your preschool teachers rather than deciding on English alone.
Do international schools charge extra for EAL?
Some include EAL support in tuition, while others charge a separate fee, sometimes by term and sometimes by level of need. Ask for the policy in writing, including how long the fee lasts and how the school decides when support ends.
My child is quiet at school but chatty at home. Is that a problem?
Often not. Many young children go through a quiet period in a new language, watching and listening before they speak. If your child is engaged, following routines and happy at home, it is usually part of normal learning. If the quietness continues for many months or spreads to home, talk to the school.
Should we hire an English tutor for our five-year-old?
For most young children, a tutor adds less than ordinary play, reading and conversation. If you want extra English, choose activities where English is used naturally, such as a sports club or a playgroup. Keep reading together in your home language as well, since it supports the same skills.
How do we know whether EAL support is working?
Ask the school for regular, specific updates: what your child can now do in English that they could not before, and what they are working on next. Progress in the first year is usually visible in understanding and everyday speaking. If updates are vague, ask for examples from classroom work.
Can EAL support hide a learning difficulty?
It can delay recognising one, because language learning and learning difficulties can look similar early on. Good schools watch for signs that persist in the home language too. If you or the teacher notice difficulties in your child's stronger language as well, ask about an assessment that takes both languages into account.