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ESL learners: Points of entry to school and differences in backgrounds

ESL students include those:

• beginning school with minimal or no exposure to English, whether born overseas or in Australia to parents from language backgrounds other than English
• entering school in Australia with little or no exposure to English, but with schooling equivalent to that received by their chronological peers in English
• beginning school with little or no exposure to English and no previous formal schooling in any country, or with severely interrupted education
• with some exposure to English entering school in Australia
• with varying exposure to English, who have had disrupted education in one or more countries, and who are returning to schooling in Australia.

The ESL Companion acknowledges this diversity in student background and the varying points of entry to school by providing an overview of English language development within three broad bands of schooling: Lower primary, Middle and upper primary, and Secondary.