EAL

English as Another Language (EAL) Program

EAL does it again !  In 2017, the average Study Score in the subject EAL at Cranbourne Secondary College was 33, which is greater than the State Average achieved by all other EAL students (27).  Furthermore, in the years 2012 and 2015, both “Dux of School” were EAL students majoring in the Sciences and Legal/Business Studies, respectively, so demonstrating that EAL students at Cranbourne Secondary College can out-compete Australian-born students in a variety of subjects.  Thus even though EAL students constitute less than 10% of the College population, their contribution to maintaining the academic standards of Cranbourne Secondary College is repeatedly proven beyond question by independent external assessors. Secondary Colleges are academic institutions, and so there can be no greater honour than to be in a group that gains the highest Study Scores or gain the status of “Dux of School”.  Academic achievement is what makes a College great, and gives to it the reputation in the general community needed for the College to become chosen as the institution of choice by the parents of prospective students.

It needs to be remembered however, that good students need and deserve good teachers.  The EAL Program at Cranbourne Secondary College provides such teachers.  Danielle Radivo has the two equally important roles of being an EAL classroom teacher, and the co-ordinator of the EAL Program at Cranbourne Secondary College.  Her ability to nurture high academic performance in EAL students and to maintain the efficient operation of the EAL Program are testimony to the importance of her abilities as a teacher and an administrator to Cranbourne Secondary College.  The other teaching staff, Sonja Burnham, Paros Kyriacou and Jocelyn O’Shea, are also skilled in their abilities to teach EAL students, and all have specialist training specific to the task.   Furthermore, the EAL education support staff; Masroor Ahmed, Maida Kanwal and Stephen Phillips work together with regular College teaching staff to provide additional guidance for students in specific subjects such as the sciences, which are popular with EAL students.  In addition to staff assistance, a library of the latest literary resources is also kept by the EAL Program which is accessible to EAL students upon request.  Thus the EAL Program at Cranbourne Secondary College provides a comprehensive learning environment that is the envy of other Colleges and a proven promoter of outstanding scholastic achievement by its students.

Stephen C. Phillips