Essay Supporting The Writing Development Of EAL/D Students

There are various methods to support the writing development of EAL/D students. One of them is through drawing, which serves as an effective scaffold to EAL/D learners when writing (Adoniou, 2013). As discussed by Adoniou (2013), drawing is a beneficial way for children to convey their thoughts via visual means. She further mentions that it also serves as a crucial mode of communication for children who have limited English proficiency (Adoniou, 2013). With that said, an activity relating to this is encouraging EAL/D children to draw before writing their text and incorporate it in their classrooms frequently. For instance, given that the topic was “My Favourite Animal”, children can draw it and teachers could encourage them to add more detail to it, such as colouring it or adding

The Victorian Government (2023) elaborates that this gives EAL/D learners to communicate meaning through multiple modes such as this. This form of play enhances their writing development as it encourages them to engage in pretend talk, which requires them to exhibit strong language and literacy skills (The Victorian Government, 2023). According to the Victorian Government (2023), sociodramatic play allows learners to develop skills like problem solving and creative thinking. Within classrooms, teachers can use written texts as a stimulus to create their play scenario. Teachers could also even instruct children to create their scenario first, then act it out. For example, a group of EAL/D children are acting out one of their experiences of visiting their loved ones in the hospital. Symbols and props such as pretend play x-rays and the “Hospital” sign are used to represent meanings within their play. From this, EAL/D children could understand more of the connection between oral, written, and symbolic representation (The Victorian Government,