Mainstreaming EALD Students in High School Classrooms: Investigating Policies, Practices and Participation

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This research project examines secondary school English teachers’ pedagogical practices related to teaching English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) in the Australian state of Queensland. Recent Queensland Department of Education policies have resulted in large-scale changes in the settings for and provision of academic and social support for students who speak English as a second or additional language in Queensland public schools. The study will be a case study utilising a qualitative design comprising focus group interviews with EAL/D students and focus group as well as semi-structured one on one interviews with teachers. The contribution of this study will provide new understandings of how specialist EAL/D programs position teachers, EAL/D students and English learning in secondary schools. In addition, it will provide pedagogical insights into how mainstream teachers who are not trained in second language pedagogy can incorporate such knowledge, skills and understanding into their practice. The study will also fill a gap in current research by analysing the perspectives given by EAL/D students on how they learn and the strategies they have developed in their endeavours to acquire academic English.