Sample Solution

either power nor, if they lack proficiency in English, voice. (Coles, 2008:90)

In her case studies, Coles discovered that students were aware of what racism is, of how it manifests itself, however, they are unaware of the school’s policy regarding how to deal with racist incidents. This could be another reason as to why pupils are less likely to report anything, they do not know how it will be dealt with, and if it will be dealt with. The report suggests that the pupils were unlikely to report any form of racist bullying because they didn’t think the school would know how to handle it. In her research, Coles (2008:90) tries to understand how the bilingual learner might be feeling. She suggests that students were perhaps less likely to say anything because their English wasn’t good enough, because nobody at the school speaks the same language or even because no one understands how different their previous school might be. These could be amongst many reasons why the EAL pupil is isolated, even if they aren’t being bullied. It is essential for me to know the bullying policies from the different schools I work in. I need to familiarise myself with what has been put in place in order for me to act upon what I see as a teacher.

A child’s frame of mind can alter their behaviour and the way they interact with others. Different testimonies from adults reflecting on their childhood experiences as bilingual learners show that when they moved countries, everything was so different that they felt isolated right from the start. Gus (2008:XIII) states that: ‘my two best friends were from Cyprus and Trinidad, I think we were quite an isolated group at that time – foreign students were quite a new thing.’ It is common for bilingual learners to become friends with other bilingual learners who speak the same language. This will either help them be a part of the school life or they will become an isolated group within the school. Gus goes on to talk about how the culture in England and his home country – Argentina – are different and that was another thing he had to adapt to, all the while learning English. He mentions the teachers, that the pupils worked for the