This session discusses the effectiveness of this program providing newly arrived EAL/D learners, most of whom are refugees, opportunities to express and communicate their ideas through various art forms. The major outcome of the program was a noticeable increase in the oral language development, substantive engagement, improved confidence and achievement of students.
Presenter: Cindy Valdez-Adams
Cindy Valdez-Adams has been an EAL/D specialist for over 20 years. She has predominantly worked in south-west Sydney and is passionate about inclusion, and catering for the academic and wellbeing needs of EAL/D learners, including students from refugee backgrounds.
Cindy led an action learning project, Designing Learning for Vocabulary Development, during her role as Refugee Support Leader from 2017 to 2019. She is currently an EAL/D Education Leader at the NSW Department of Education, and President of the Association for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ATESOL) NSW.
Malynda Price