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HI Nicola.

Yes, I did experience this when I was teaching in ESOL. It's partly to do with limited resources, but also to do with learning support staff not really being confident in assessing students who are not highly proficient in English. However, the Equality Act requires us to anticipate as well as respond to needs, if we believe that a learner has a disability or a learning difference. No college wants to be dragged through courts.

My response to the situation was to develop the CAML materials (Cognitive Assessments for Multilingual Learners), which I'm sure some people on this forum have come across. It's a suite of assessment tasks that teachers can use (you don't have to have special training - although I do run training if required) and it takes the English language out of the assessment.
On the one hand, classroom teachers can use them to work out what is really going on with a learner - to confirm those gut instincts that experienced teachers have - and to inform inclusive teaching,
On the other hand, you could use the results of a CAML test to persuade reluctant assessors that there really is something they ought to look at.

After an assessment you may be able to get exam access arrangements for a learner, but you would certainly be able to adapt your teaching to make the curriculum more accessible, and to help the learner (indeed the whole class) develop better memory / phonological awareness / study skills or whatever they need in order to succeed in learning.

Best wishes, 
Anne Margaret 
ELT well

On 2017-02-17 15:02, Nicola Dean wrote:

Dear colleagues 

 

We have a bit of a challenge at Rotherham College in getting ESOL students referred to our ALS (Additional Learning Support) department. In our team, time and experience tells us when a student isn't making progress as we would expect and we have a strong sense of a needs such as dsylexia and ADHD. However, those experienced in this field don't always agree with this. Do others experience this in their settings? Does anyone have any advice on how we can move things forward?

 

Kind regards

 

Nicola Dean

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) lecturer

 

Room C336D

Rotherham College

Eastwood Lane

Rotherham

S65 1EG

 

01709 722759

 

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