The Butterfly House Program     

English as an Additional Language (EAL) Support  

At Glen Huntly Primary School, we ensure that all students can reach their learning potential and as such, The Butterfly House Program was developed in 2017. 

The Butterfly House Program was first developed for students who were from multilingual families or families who speak additional languages other than English at home. These students are assessed against the EAL Curriculum by the EAL teacher alongside their classroom teachers to evaluate whether they would benefit from extra English Literacy support. As the program developed, it has become a support for not only EAL students which make up the bulk of the program’s students but also includes some native English speakers as well.

The Butterfly House Program is a small group intervention program which is designed to assist students who would benefit from additional language and literacy support. The groupings of students are flexible and therefore students move in and out of the program throughout their years at Glen Huntly Primary School based on their needs.

The Butterfly House Program classes are fun, interactive lessons where students develop a broad range of English language skills and experiences. The groups are ability based and usually no more than six students attend per group. The lessons are designed to assist students who are learning from the EAL Curriculum to build their vocabulary and oral language understandings and improve their skills in Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing. The Butterfly House Program lessons include a wide variety of skills and knowledge based activities such as, small group reading and role play exercises, singing and action songs, mindfulness practices, discussion and sharing, writers workshops and shared writing activities and reflection. 

The Butterfly House operates throughout the week with two EAL teachers currently co-constructing the program. The students come once or twice a week depending on their current needs. Students can be moved back into full time classroom learning once their proficiency levels in English allows them to take on the challenges of classroom activities with independence and success, however, The Butterfly House Program and the EAL teachers are always available to assist classroom teachers and students with anything additional.