Claire Kalambay

School of Education, University College London - EAL Education

I have just finished my 12th year of teaching English language arts and working as a teacher leader at Bronx Collegiate Academy, a high school in New York City. I serve as the Chair of the English department, inquiry leader, new teacher mentor, and advisor for extracurricular activities. In the classroom, I work primarily with students who are learning English as a new language. In 2018, the UK Department for Education reported that students with English as an additional language (EAL) outperformed compared to students who are native speakers of the language and I want to know what practices created such a successful outcome. My Fulbright project will explore how schools can support students learning English as a new language by creating a culture of additive bilingualism. My goal is to identify those methods that successful school systems use to shrink the gap between students acquiring the English language and their fluent peers. This Fulbright will allow me to explore and document different ways of approaching challenges that exist in helping students develop English proficiency, and bring my learning back to my classroom, my school, and my district. While in the UK I look forward to seeing lots of theatre, especially a Royal Shakespeare Company production.