‘Amazing progress’: how regional schools are breaking the language barrier and helping students thrive

Specially trained teachers have made a huge impact in regional Victoria, where the number of students from non-English-speaking backgrounds is growing

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At the beginning of the school year, the staff at Delacombe primary school in Ballarat, western Victoria, noticed a change in the demographics of prep students. More than one in six spoke a language other than English at home.

“We were discussing the number of students we were noticing with an English as an additional language (EAL) background and how we were lacking in the expertise or focus on these students,” the principal, Scott Phillips, says.

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