St Mark's is a vibrant multicultural community. Our school is enriched by the culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds of our students and staff. Every year, we showcase our community's diversity with a colourful Harmony Day celebration.
EAL/D learners are students whose first language or dialect is not English, and who require English language support to access the Australian Curriculum.
At St Mark's, our dedicated EAL/D teachers develop students' skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing and provide intensive English language support for eligible newly arrived students. We encourage our EAL/D learners to use their home languages to support their learning as this improves their ability to access concepts in English.
EAL/D Teachers with classroom teachers are aimed to:
- develop EAL/D students' ability to function effectively in English in a wide range of social and learning contexts at school.
- build on students' linguistic and cultural identities in order to foster their confidence and motivation.
- develop students' skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English, and to ensure that these skills are linked to all curriculum areas.
- develop learning experiences with multicultural awareness across all curriculum areas.
- assist the progress of students' continuing conceptual development while they have minimal use and understanding of English.
EAL/D support is provided within the classroom and through a variety of individual and group programs to promote students' English language acquisition and literacy development. Informed by BCE current practice, EAL/D specialists collaborate with classroom teachers so that all students at St Mark's can achieve their full potential.