I’m not saying this is perfect but hopefully the assessment below gives an example of how to assess EAL learners who are New to English (DfE Code A) / at the Early acquisition Stages (DfE Code B) of developing proficiency in English.
The assessment is related to JB Priestley’s play An Inspector Calls. Year 10 (14 – 15 years old) study the play as part of their English literature GCSE. The assessment is designed for some EAL learners who are at code A and possibly B. The assessment does not have first language (L1) support e.g. writing in their L1 because the learner this was designed for was not literate in their L1. Due to this, the learner also has low literacy in English relying on writing simple sentences. If the learner was literate in their L1 then I could allow them to show their understanding by using their L1. This could take the form of reading a text in the L1 and writing in English or writing responses to translated questions in the L1. As mentioned, this is for learners with little or no literacy in English and their L1.
The assessment looks like this:
Copy the correct sentence which could include a teacher led example to help understanding the task
The next section of the assessment is taken from the excellent Bell Foundation website which has a wide range of resources for EAL learners and many linked to curriculum content. The site has some great resources for An Inspector Call. I used their scene summaries and the substitution table / true false activity to assess reading comprehension. Substitution tables are a great way to scaffold writing and true / false statements are good for New to English learners – you could also add correct the statements that are false.
I hope this post might give you some ideas of how you can assess New to English learners who speak EAL using curriculum content. The best assessments are those that are directly related to the curriculum and in some way mirror what other learners in the class are doing.
EAL in the Daylight 
Good ideas Jonathan – would suit learners who have pretty decent reading comprehension but MAY struggle with written production at this stage. Would you suggest anything supplementary for students who ace this assessment?
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Thanks for the message. For students who ace the assessment I would look to give them an assessment which is closer to an authentic GCSE assessment – maybe focusing on single quotes as opposed to whole extracts.
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