§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's estimate is of the number of children who have English as an additional language in schools. [74958]
§ Mr. MilibandIn January 2002 there were 350,483 or 10.0 per cent. of pupils in maintained primary schools in England whose mother tongue is known or believed to be other than English. The corresponding figure in maintained secondary schools is 282,235 or 8.6 per cent.
The collection of data on pupils' "mother tongue" through the Annual Schools Census in January 2002 replaced the earlier collection of data on English as an Additional Language.
§ Mr. GerrardTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent research she has commissioned on how children with English as an additional language learn English most quickly; and what the findings were of the research. [76144]
Mr. Twigg[holding answer 21 October 2002]: There is already a great deal of research evidence from the UK and elsewhere about effective strategies for teaching English as an additional language (EAL). The general consensus among practitioners in England is that EAL teaching is most effective where it is firmly embedded across all National Curriculum subject areas. This ensures that pupils have the opportunity to learn English in a meaningful subject-specific context. My Department's role is to ensure that the particular needs of bilingual learners are properly taken into account in all policies and programmes aimed at raising standards. Recent examples include the development and dissemination of EAL modules as part of the National Literacy and Numeracy strategies and Key Stage 3.