EAL at Bloomsbury

GENERAL EAL SUPPORT

As part of our access to learning the EAL team work with children to bridge their English understanding in school. This involves withdrawing the children from class to focus on the four strands of English: Listening and comprehension, Speaking, Reading and Writing, as well as phonics, grammar and pre-teaching or repeating vocabulary/going over class work done in class.

NANCY SACHDEV (BA,MA) - EAL KS1 teacher

Hello, my name is Nancy Sachdev. I have a Bachelor of Business English from Bangkok University, a master’s degree of Education from Ramkhamheng University and a TESOL Certificate from AUA. I am delighted to be a part of the Bloomsbury family. My experience ranges from teaching in Public Thai Schools to International Schools in Bangkok. As a teacher, you are always learning and developing your pedagogy. Coming to school is a blessing for me as I have fond memories of my school days, and I want to share my knowledge with all the students.

Intensive EAL with Class TA’s (Primary Y3-6)

For those children who are in the early stages of acquiring the English language, they require additional support to help make faster progress in learning English so they can begin to access the curriculum independently. This programme uses an Intensive English programme and is bespoke to a child or group of children, depending on their needs.

TOM SCHACHINGER (BA) - EAL KS2 teacher

Hi, Hallo and Ni Hao. My name is Tom and I am super happy to be a part of the Bloomsbury academic team. I graduated in 2002, from Canterbury University, South Africa, were I gained a BCOM Business Management degree. I started my teaching career as an ESL teacher in China in 2004, working in a key government school in ChongQing. In 2008, I took a senior teaching position with EF English First, furthering my education with the company and later becoming a valuable member and the senior director of studies for Sichuan province. In 2010, I then switched to the private sector and started at an IB kindergarten, where I became a certified IB educator. Since then I have been focusing on Kindergarten and Primary schools, working for Etonhouse International School in Chengdu, China. I enjoy learning languages, and can speak German, Chinese and Afrikaans. I’m looking forward to the new challenge of learning Thai. I have a passion for history and culture, I enjoy traveling to historical places across the world. I hope to pass this passion on to the students, guiding them to be the best they can be. I am an enthusiastic outdoor person and enjoy traveling by motorcycle, flying my drone and water sports. According to Confucius, “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”, I feel this reflects my approach to education, as well as my own continuing education.

THE SECONDARY EAL PROVISION

Key Stage 3 EAL and inclass support

This is for students in Years 7-9 who require additional English language support to access the curriculum. Students are withdrawn from English, Humanities, and Science lessons for specific English Language support. The support they receive is adapted to suit the students and could be in the form of small group sessions or specific support in lessons while following the standard curriculum.

JOSEPH CHANG (BA) - EAL KS3 teacher

My name is Joseph Chang. I am from Los Angeles, California. I went to Calpoly San Luis Obispo and got a BS in Graphic Communication. I love interacting with children to young adults because of their energy and vitality. The last school I worked for was in Taiwan called Yuteh Bilingual School and I was the Head of Science. I also doubled as a college advisor and was the SAT testing supervisor. Before that, I was the KS4 EAL instructor at Bromsgrove International School in Bangkok. I've also taught in Erbil, Phnom Penh, and Mandalay. In my free time I love to travel and dabble in the stock market. I am also an avid NBA fan, especially the LA Lakers. I hope I can make solid contributions here at Bloomsbury and help our pupils get into tertiary schools in UK, Australia or USA.

KEY STAGE 4 EAL AND IN-CLASS SUPPORT

Key Stage 4 EAL and In-class Support

This is for students in Years 10 and 11 who are following a modified GCSE pathway. EAL teachers provide in-class support to students whose first language is not English. The EAL teachers may co-teach or work with students in small groups. This provision ensures that the planning and delivery of lessons take into account the specific needs of our EAL students.

RUTH STEVENS (BA, PGCE) - EAL KS4 teacher

My name is Ruth and I am from England. I grew up in Leicester, a very diverse city with a fantastic mix of languages and cultures. I have a BA Honors degree in History from the University of Leicester and a PostGraduate Certificate of Education from the University of East Anglia. I began my career teaching in Leicester, and the majority of my students were English as an additional language. I have taught English in Poland and spent 2 years teaching IGCSE Humanities subjects in China. I taught in Myanmar for 3 years and unfortunately my time there was cut short due to the pandemic. After a brief return to England, I could not wait to come back to South East Asia and I am absolutely delighted to be teaching at Bloomsbury this year. I have a passionate love of travel and other cultures and love to train Muay Thai. I am dedicated to ensuring that students leave my classroom with a sense of achievement and value. Being surrounded by a new language can be a challenge, however with a positive approach and a willingness to try it should be an enjoyable challenge with achievable goals of which every student can feel the reward. I am excited by the prospect of what I can bring to the Bloomsbury team this year.