Welcoming New EAL Learners: Why and How We Assess English Proficiency

Summer is coming to a close and as teachers and educators our minds start to refocus on the term ahead and the start of the new academic year - the lessons we will teach and the children we will have. Planning, as every teacher knows, is the key to success in every sense - from a calm learning environment, to appropriate resources, to ensuring that our teaching is adaptive to the needs of the children in our classrooms. Knowing our children is the most important element of planning great lessons and of course assessment of a child's baseline knowledge and understanding is a crucial part of this.

At the Coterie College, we know that assessment isn’t just about tests and grades! It’s about understanding where our learners are starting from, where the gaps are, and most importantly what support they need to develop and thrive.

For pupils who are newly arrived and learning English as an Additional Language (EAL), assessment is especially important. Before we can create adaptive lessons that enable these children to access the curriculum, we need to get a clear picture of their English language skills - and just as importantly, their background, strengths, and interests.

Why Assess English Proficiency?

When a new EAL learner joins your school, one of your first questions will be: How well can they use English right now?

Assessing English proficiency helps you:

Get a starting point for listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Adapt teaching and plan support that matches each learner’s needs.

Track progress over time and celebrate achievements.

Communicate clearly with families about how their child is doing.

Make sure pupils can access the curriculum and feel included in school life.

There are lots of tools out there to help with this, such as the Bell Foundation EAL Framework, WIDA and the Oxford Placement Test. These assessments give a snapshot of a learner’s skills, but it’s worth remembering that language tests alone don’t tell the whole story. To see the bigger picture, we also need to understand each learner as a person - their previous schooling, their personality, their interests, and the experiences they bring with them.

Where to Start with New Arrivals

Start simple. Before diving into a formal assessment, take some time to talk with the learner (and their family, if possible). A short conversation during the first few days can reveal a lot about how confident they are in everyday interaction and whether they can sustain a basic conversation.

Follow this up with some classroom observations. Support staff, teaching assistants, or buddies can be a huge help here - they often notice things in the day-to-day that formal tests might miss.

Practical tools that help at this stage include:

A New Arrival Profile where you note down key background details, prior schooling, and first language literacy.

An “All About Me” booklet that captures the learner’s interests and personality.

After a few weeks, you may want to use a more formal assessment that covers listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Tools like AssessEP can be particularly helpful here, as they combine online and offline tasks and align with familiar frameworks (like CEFR and the Bell Foundation).

Things to Keep in Mind

1. Language Barrier or Lack of Understanding?

Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether a learner is struggling because they don’t know the subject, or simply because they can’t yet express what they know in English. Many new arrivals bring strong literacy and subject knowledge from their first language.

Teacher Tips:

Where possible, check understanding in the learner’s first language (using bilingual staff, peers, or digital tools).

Include practical, problem-solving activities that let learners show what they know without relying only on English.

2. The Impact of Transition or Trauma

Some pupils may have had disrupted schooling, or experienced trauma or displacement. This can affect confidence, concentration, or willingness to engage in assessments.

Teacher Tips:

Build trust first—positive relationships make assessments less intimidating.

Keep assessments stress-free and supportive.

Give extra processing time and model answers where needed.

3. Progress Takes Time

Language learning is a marathon, not a sprint. That means ongoing, low-stakes assessment is essential.

Teacher

Tips:

Use observations, portfolios, and even pupil self-assessments to track progress.

Scaffold tasks (e.g., provide sentence starters, visuals, or guiding questions) to make sure assessments measure understanding, not just language.

A More Holistic Approach

At Coterie College, we believe that assessment should do more than “place” an EAL learner at a certain level. It should help us see the whole child - their knowledge, their experiences, and their potential.

When we assess thoughtfully, we can:

Plan support that is fair and effective.

Value and build on learners’ prior knowledge.

Give pupils the right tools to succeed both academically and socially.

Ultimately, assessment is about helping every new learner feel seen, understood, and supported so they can grow into confident, capable members of the school community.

Wishing all of our Partner Schools a wonderful start to the new Academic Year!