Modern Day Slavery in the Middle East Research Paper

Modern Day Slavery in the Middle East - Research Paper Example In other cases, children are obliged to labor as slaves through forced marriages and as child soldiers. Studies show that there are more slaves in the 21st era than during any earlier time. Slavery has been in existence in numerous cultures and it predates inscribed records. The figure of slaves currently continues to be as high as 13million to 28 million. Many of them are debt slaves, mostly in South Asia. The slaves are on debt bondage bought upon by lenders, at times even for decades. Slaves and the work they provided were economically crucial in the pre-industrial communities. This paper will therefore discuss how to end modern slavery in the Middle East. An objector's work is not once done. In 1807March 25th, two hundred centuries ago following vigorous petitioning headed by Wilberforce William, Parliament rendered it illegitimate for British vessels to move slaves and importation of slaves by British colonies. (Denmark actually had passed the same law three years previously, ne vertheless only Danes reminisce that.) In 1948, the United Nations seemed to end what Wilberforce & Co hadbegun. This is signifiedin simple language in the (UDHR) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 4: â€Å"Nobody shall be seized in servitude orslavery; slave trade and the slavery shall be forbidden in all theirtypes.† Slavery was formally a worldwide no-nothis is according to â€Å"The Economist†(Of inhuman bondage par. 1). However, in 2007 no one knew there would be many more servitudes in the domain than ever formerly this is according to â€Å"The Economist†(Of inhuman bondage par. 2). An International Labor Organization report proposes slightly 12.3m. While others say, the total figure is approximately 27m. Majority of slaves are in Latin America and Asia. Kevin Bales a sociology professorat University of Roehampton assesses that the cost of an average slave is $100. The charge differs around the domain, and whereas one couldprocure a 20-year-ol d man plantation worker from West Africa for $50, the charge of a good-looking Ukrainian female in North America couldrun overto thousands. When we contemplate of bondage, we incline to contemplate of the 19th-period â€Å"chattel† diversity—Africans fastened in irons, sold off like livestock and hurled to harvest cotton into the Deep South. Overall, modern suppression does notappear —oroperate —greatly like that. Conferring to â€Å"The Economist†(Of inhuman bondage par. 3) what current slaves dobearsome similarity with their cotton-harvesting predecessors, nonetheless, is they cannot picktheir situation and cannot escape it. The major common type of captivity is bonded labor, wherein labor is procured as reimbursement for a debt. It is prevalent inPakistan, India and Nepal. The whole familymay be subjugated in this manner; typically, they happen to be low-caste and untouchable members of the community. Interest is ratedcovering the original debt sum and the pledge can be passed on from one generation to another. Bonded labor may seem as if it has an intended aspectthat excludes it as bondage. However,rendering to â€Å"The Economist†(Of inhuman bondage par. 3) most bonded laborers bear no preference and their share is in fact that of chattel servitude. Other types of slavery are thriving also according to â€Å"The Economist† (Of inhuman bondage par. 4). In Sudan, children and women are kidnapped and auctioned to government-sponsored guerrillas. In Brazil, farmers clear the forest at

Comparison and Contrast of Keynesian and Classical Economic Essay

Comparison and Contrast of Keynesian and Classical Economic - Essay Example As the study discusses  Keynes further argued that the level of total spending in the economy could be less to provide full employment. This disagreed with the classical economists who believed that the interest rate adjustments, wages, and prices would help to prevent the unemployment. Keynes said that the full employment happens when the amount of total spending is enough. Moreover, if the spending is not sufficient, then the unemployment will occur.This essay highlights that  Keynes also disagreed with the relationship between saving and investment not being enough to support classical claims that the support full employment. Classical economist described two forces that ensure full employment occurs. Those are the interest rate adjustments and wage/price flexibility. If the interest rate falls as planned and the investors result in little spending, salaries and prices can still support to ensure full employment is reached. When a competitive market occurs, the low demand will lead to falling wages and prices that will finally lead to all outputs being sold and prevent unemployment.  Keynes disagreed with classical assumptions about high wages and prices are not consistent with the real world. Keynes explained that variety of forces prevented prices and wages from adjusting quickly. These forces prevent prices and wages from changing quickly and in a downward direction.  Keynes said that many product markets are monopolistic or oligopolistic.

American Arbitration Associate Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

American Arbitration Associate - Article Example The Dispute Resolution Services is the largest worldwide provider of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that is aimed at reducing the effect of the dispute through mediation, arbitration and out-of-court settlements that involve employment healthcare, international trade conflicts, intellectual property, consumer technology and construction. It also enables the access to the American Arbitration Association claim program, rules and real-world solutions to business and industry professionals, government agencies as well as consumers. It of paramount importance to note that these services are involved in the establishments of protocols as well as methods geared towards resolving disputes before they occur, thus contributing positively in saving costs and time and at the same time maintaining relationships. The dispute resolution services also contribute in assisting to meet the objectives by providing a variety of process and procedures that set the stage for early resolution for conflicts ideally helping to reduce the level of antagonism between parties. Monica, A. M.(1992). Reference to American Arbitration Association Rules in Home Warranty Contract Makes Arbitration Decision Binding, 4 Loy. Consumer L. Rev. 63. Retrieved from: http://lawecommons.luc.edu/lclr/vol4/iss2/7 and

Shakespeare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Shakespeare - Essay Example Shakespeare wrote the second series of history plays at the peak of his career, roughly around 1595-1599, covering the history from around 1398-1420. Although the events he writes about occurred around two centuries before his time, but Shakespeare expected his audience to be familiar with the characters and events he was describing. The rise and fall of kings and the battles between the houses were woven into the cultural fabric of England and formed and integral part of country's patriotic legends and national mythology. The specific details of important historical events have obscured with the passage of time and thus, the heroes and battles of an event are to a degree, cloaked in myth. The plays innovatively mix history and comedy, moving from lofty scenes of kings and battles to base scenes showing ruffians engaging in robberies and drinking. The strength of the plays is its remarkable richness, a variety of textures and a fascinatingly ambiguous take on history as well as on political motivation. Shakespeare drew on a number of sources for writing his history plays as he did in almost all of his work Since it is not possible to know Shakespeare's beliefs, attitude and the methodology he used in writing his plays, we can only hypothesize on the basis of his textual evidence regarding his authorial intentions and the underlying didactic message found in the second tetralogy

Death Penalty Essay Example for Free

Death Penalty Essay Capital punishment or also known as death penalty is the killing of an individual by a state which serves as punishment for committing unlawful actions and retribution on behalf of the victims. Several countries such as China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and the United States have retained this process of executing criminal. Different views regarding this issue have arisen but most people especially those governed by religious sectors have went up against the idea of death penalty. Death penalty has already gained its popularity worldwide. In fact, it was often the theme in any debate or even the usual conversation, thus lead to the emergence of several arguments which are in favor and against death penalty.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Implementation of death penalty has several advantages. Death penalty provides closure to the victim’s families. It was very hard for family members of the victim to forget the traumatic experience and recover form the loss of a loved one. In fact there are cases that the relatives of the victim do not recover at all. This sort of closure is a great help for the recovery of the relatives. Life in prison is not enough punishment compare to death sentence which gives finality to the horrifying experience felt by the members of the family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In death penalty, justice is better served. The primary principle of justice is that a crime deserves an equivalent punishment. Hence, when someone brutally murders another person, he deserves to be put into death. Just like what the code of Hammurabi have stated, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Implementation of death penalty prevents the crime from happening again. If criminals are not put into death, we are not assured that this kind of person would not do such crimes again. On the other hand, death penalty can execute all criminals but there are cases that implementation of death penalty may include execution of an innocent man. Do you mind an innocent individual will suffer from death? Implementation of death penalty is a good way of obtaining â€Å"justice† but can we call it justice—killing an innocent. Another argument against death penalty is that it is arbitrary and capricious. Implementation of death penalty often favours well-off individuals or people who have money. How about the poor ones? Only the rich are able to afford a highly competent lawyer, thus makes the process unfair. Those accused people who are struggling from poverty cannot pay good attorneys thus making their chances of being acquitted very little. See how unfair it was? Even appealing to court was not possible. There are even cases that convicted wealthy persons pay the judge with a very big amount of money in order to become free of death penalty. Death penalty is geographically contingent which that it depends on state to sate. Maybe for this place, death penalty is not implemented but on others it is strictly performed. Death penalty also is racist and classist in nature. Race really makes a big difference when it comes to the implementation of death execution. For an instance, a black murdered a white victim. The black will executed 4 times than any other races. Still racial discrimination is dominant. That becomes a big problem of implementation of death penalty. One cannot avoid looking at races. Everyone is created equally by a supreme being God; hence one must receive equal rights and equal opportunities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Some will surely say that implementation of death penalty can reduce crimes because of the fear of death. That belief is not true. It is not true due to the fact that some people commit crimes when they are not on the good state of mind. How can they think of fear of death if they cannot think rationally?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   We have presented both the pros and cons of death penalty. Death penalty is good in some ways but also awful in some other manner. Every human has different perspective regarding this social issue. Death penalty may be good for some but some would surely disagree with it. What is important is we respect everybody’s opinion. Work Cited Gregory, David L. â€Å"2000.Legal Arguments Against the Death Penalty. 2 April 2008   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.vincenter.org/95/gregory.html. Messerli, Joe. â€Å"November 11, 2007. Should the death penalty be banned as a form of punishment?†. 2 April 2008 http://www.balancedpolitics.org/death_penalty.htm.

The European Conquest of the Americas Essay Example for Free

The European Conquest of the Americas Essay One of the primary reasons for exploration was the search for the Northwest Passage, an imaginary path that could be used to reach Asia without having to go around Africa, or through the Middle East. The Panamanians proved that travel was possible around Africa with a new kind of boat that utilized wind better, but the Spaniards and other Europeans were more interested in a more direct approach to reaching Asia. So they began to head westward. The Queen of Spain commissioned Christopher Columbus to lead an expedition westward to reach Asia, and he instead stumbled upon the most successful failure in history, The Americas. He reached the islands of the Bahamas, and thinking that he was indeed in the Indies, he named the inhabitants Indians. Ironically, after making the greatest discovery of the past millennium, his tombstone marked him as a failure, due to the lack of the Northwest Passage. Once the queen of Spain realized the goldmine (quite literally), that was before her, she sent basically an entire army of conquistadors to seize the assets of the natives, and secure it for the Spanish empire. The three â€Å"G†s are what the Spanish conquistadors sought after. God, Gold, and Glory, all of which they could find in the native inhabitants possession. They â€Å"harvested† the souls of the natives by converting them (whether they liked it or not) to Catholicism, and at the same time, took all of their gold and silver, and for this cultural rape, they got their precious glory. Even though the natives were devastated by the diseases brought by the Europeans, and the loss of all natural resources, and the loss of culture, and the loss of their religion, language, land, and dignity, they submitted to the conquerors. Now let’s discuss for a little bit, the real discoverers of the new world, who aren’t credited for the discovery, but definitely should be. There are many different accounts of why Lief Ericson traveled to the new world, but the end result is always the same, no matter what version of the story you hear. He arrived in this beautiful land filled with plenty of grapes and lush forests and named the new land Vinland (after the amount of grapes). He made a small settlement that only lasted for 2 years, and then returned back to Greenland. It was recorded in sagas by the nords and in folklore, but still by most, Columbus is given credit for the discovery. After the nords and the Spaniards came the English. The English settled the new world for land. Some were looking for new land to farm and harvest crops with, some were searching for freedom from religious persecution, and others were just looking to start a new life in a new place. They didn’t arrive there planning on turning their backs on the crown, or disobeying the empire in any way, and up until the last few years that the 13 colonies were under British rule, there was no need to revolt. The new English settlers were still under the empire’s control, however, the colonies and settlements were for the most part self-governing, and relatively independent. The only problems arose when the crown decided to impose taxes on the colonists that were unfair and unjust and the colonists got sick of it and decided to lead a full-fledged revolt against the thrown, resulting in massive bloodshed and an entirely new nation with a unique constitution compiled from bits and pieces of other nations constitutions and blended with perfect harmony to create our United States of America. So, really there were many different reasons for the exploration, settlement , and conquest of the new world, and all of them came from different nations. All in all, the outcome was the creation of several new nations which would all eventually break away from the nations which brought them to be. Some would become super powers and others would become 3rd world countries, but without the voyages made by the Spaniards and Nords and English, we wouldn’t have any of this.

English As An Additional Language

English As An Additional Language Over the past decade, there has been much discussion and research into factors affecting the performance of pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in mainstream secondary schools in the United Kingdom. Recent studies in the UK have focused on the relationship between factors such as gender, ethnicity, pupil mobility, parental occupation, entitlement to free school meals and educational achievement. Nevertheless socio-economic status (SES) continues to be the most important single determinant of educational and social outcomes. The nature of the relationship between socioeconomic status and student achievement has been the point of argument for years, with the most influential arguments appearing in Equality of Educational Opportunity (Coleman, et al., 1968) and Inequality (Jencks, et al., 1973) in the United States of America, and a number of commissioned inquiries in Australia (Commission of Inquiry into Poverty, 1976; Karmel, 1973). How SES influences student achievement is not clear, and there have been many theories to explain the relationship. In one scenario, school students from low-SES homes are at a disadvantage in schools because they lack an academic home environment, which influences their academic success at school. Another scenario argues that school and neighbourhood environments influence academic success, so that low-SES schools are generally lower-performing, and that only extremely resilient young people can escape the fate of low academic achievement. How governments interpret the SES-achievement debate influences education policies designed to ameliorate educational disadvantage, so it is important to point out the contribution SES makes to achievement at both student and school level. This study seeks to find out what level of performances EAL pupils have achieved in recent years and what are the overriding factors that determine their achievement in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). A central characteristic of provision for EAL students in mainstream classrooms in the English context is that it can best be described as patchy and varied (Bourne, 2007; Leung, 2002; Leung Franson, 2001: 155; McEachron Bhatti, 2005). Given the ever-increasing number of EAL pupils in schools, the outcomes of the study will permit me to evaluate their progress in MFL and will also aid my own professional development. The research will also aim to arm me with a wide variety of experiences outside my specialist subject area. As part of this element of the study I am required to carry out some research into any aspect of general school life, with the objective of learning through reflective practice. This study has two elements. The first aspect includes studies of how EAL pupils perform in foreign languages. This section will seek to provide interesting points of comparison between their Home Language, their English Language Acquisition and the Target Language studied. In this context, the research should also shine some insight as to whether there are other external factors such as demographics, economical or social influences that can impact on the learning of EAL learners. The second will examine the various ways in which EAL learners perform generally in English and what trends can be drawn from research over recent years. I will be looking at current concerns such as the barriers of language, the effects of schooling on children from poor families, and the kind of interventions that would make a difference adapting to a different social and school environment. The investigation will focus on the performance of pupils with EAL and I will situate this analysis within the context of a mainstream secondary school situated in London. The school in question which holds a Language College Status will be referred as School E for anonymous purposes. It is a mixed establishment which counts approximately 650 pupils between the ages of 11 -16, and where 15 % of pupils have English as an Additional Language. Ten students aged eleven to fifteen years, who are currently learning French or Spanish, agreed to take part in the study: three monolingual English speakers and seven pupils with EAL. From this sample there was one girl who was originating from Ivory Coast, one boy from Cameroon, two girls from China, two boys from Portugal, and one girl from Spain. For the most part they can be described as being relatively recent arrivals to the UK as they have arrived within the previous six months to two years with a moderate level of English, little English or no English at all. Students such as ours often have different language and social experiences than so-called mainstream or home students, but as recently settled residents they do not fit the model of foreigners learning English. In UK cities there is a good deal of movement and settlement of people from diverse backgrounds. In London schools it is not unusual to find 40% (or more) of the students from ethno linguistic minority homes (Baker Eversley, 2000). At this time there is no nationally recognised policy or strategy for EAL learners although there are individual schools and local education authorities that offer strategies, policies and expertise for these pupils. Hence the outcome of this research will decipher whether school E is adept, skilful and well resourced in EAL provision. On the first week of conducting the study, my aim was mainly to build up a good professional relationship with the pupils who took take part of the study. I also ensured finding out the correct pronunciation of each childs name and made them aware of mine. In addition, I collected their background information and use EAL levels as well as English stages to contextualise their achievement data. There is evidence to suggest that background information will ensure clarity in determining how cultural factors and linguistic experience influence progress and will also inform teachers planning. Government publications have strongly recommended the use of achievement data to target EAL learners in schools and classrooms. For example, the Assessment of pupils learning English as an additional language recommends teachers gather and use data such as gender, age, ethnicity, prior education, years of UK education, first language details including literacy, key stage test results and cognitive ab ility test scores to decide on appropriate action for individual bilingual pupils. (DfES, 2003). The research that was carried out with the EAL learners involved several weeks of informal induction that included a peer buddying arrangement to help them adjust to school routines. The emphasis for these new arrivals was on supporting English language development and promoting awareness amongst their peers and understanding of their new environment. Circle Time sessions were put in place after school to consult and involve pupils and for further developing peer support skills. As a result, students developed fantastic resources to promote a welcoming ethos around the school and classroom, by making presentations, displaying their multi-lingual posters, artwork, and booklets outlining the role of buddies. They have also consulted pupils, through written questionnaires and conducted a school assembly. I investigated MFL learning techniques using active approaches such as role play, repetition and other strategies. Simple signs with language captions were displayed around my classroom and I found that EAL students made significantly more contributions to my lessons since I was breaking instructions down and providing important teaching resources such as visual stimuli. I have used some visual support and where possible used real objects such as examples, photographs and good illustrations to facilitate learning. The majority received language support with specialist teachers and classroom assistants that took place during normal class times within the framework of the National Curriculum. Ive also implemented a club for extra languages support which was given on a one-to-one basis or in small groups during lunchtimes where conversation was taught explicitly in relevant contexts, as was vocabulary. Outside the classroom, I have used very practical methods: taking children out to local shops, walking around school and taking photographs which became meaningful to them. Hence, I intended to broaden our monolingual pupils knowledge and understanding of the wider world as I was looking for new challenges; I wanted the international dimension to become part of the school ethos, to be integral to childrens daily learning and not to be just a meaningless add-on, or a tick in the box. I strongly believe EAL pupils should be actively encouraged to value their native language. The greater the skill they possess in this, the greater the progress in the acquisition of the second. As I observed my EAL pupils partaking in English lessons I noticed that some of them were often shying away from writing, while they may have been fluent in their spoken English; their formal written assessment was much more of a challenging obstacle to overcome. I became aware that pupils ability to learn a completely new language is beneficial because it puts each student in the same boat. It also came to my attention that through learning a new language, monolingual English speakers had more empathy for those who have come into the class not speaking English. In one interview, one of my monolingual pupils was quoted as saying Its nice to have something that we can all learn together Nicola Davies, chair of the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum, said: Language learning can be helpful as English speaking pupils encounter the kinds of problems that new arrivals face as well as promoting intercultural understanding. In addition to supporting pupils learning English as an Additional Language, School E also endeavoured to support parents. For the purpose of the study, families have been encouraged to attend normal school days with their offspring and this provided an opportunity to see parents and children engaged with others. These sessions allowed Parents who had little or no understanding of English an ideal platform to understand how schooling in the UK works. Few parents were involved in translating signs for the school and were invited into school to work alongside children and other parent helpers in the classrooms. My students and their parents were very receptive to language learning, and their experiences included several languages. For the purpose of this research I exchanged information on traditional food with a school in France and managed a live videoconference. Enthusiasm soon spread since the children were excited about learning a new language and the teaching staff motivated and inspired. This was extraordinarily motivating for our pupils and they voluntarily wrote thank you letters to the French teacher in the Target Language. Then we celebrated international events, and enriched the whole curriculum. We had themed weeks focusing on particular countries, inviting parents to lunches where pupils prepared typical dishes. One of our pupils even had a Chinese cake for his birthday! This study affirms that supporting and valuing EAL pupils previous learning is important for their development. It was also useful for the study to discover their heritage country and languages spoken in their home in order to celebrate their faith and customs. Rather than separating it into home languages, Modern Foreign Languag es and English, it was all under the umbrella of languages. Recent research has shown that there is a strong link between proficiency in the first language and the development of a second, or third. This is because the more competent EAL learners become in their home language the more competent they will become in MFL. The skills from the first language transfer across and allow the childs proficiency to grow. In accordance with all these suggestions and following on from my observations and personal experiences, I would affirm that pupils who learn a foreign language will not be detracted from learning English, rather it will support it. From my view point it is also important to allow children to use the home language in the setting if he or she wants to because if they remark that their language is recognised and valued their self esteem and identity could further develop. Language and culture are inextricably entwined and an awareness of this could assist EAL children in developing a healthy self-perception. During the study, I decided to focus on the progress of the seven EAL pupils from my sample, specifically investigating their ability in my own subject area. I had noticed that these pupils appeared to have an aptitude for learning languages, yet they were often placed in low-ability groups, so I set about gathering evidence to substantiate my theory. Furthermore, I became aware that 5 of my EAL pupils were at risk of underachieving, as they were placed in sets corresponding to their level of English rather than to their cognitive ability in MFL. I also detected that some of them were implementing knowledge of their mother tongue to facilitate the target language learning, so they could potentially obtain higher grades than native English speakers and should be given every opportunity to demonstrate these abilities. EAL is an under-researched area in the UK context, but much of the available research, including the EAL policies of School E presents similar findings. The research indicates that for EAL pupils to succeed, communication between EAL specialists and other school subject departments is vital. Researchers are unanimous in their conclusions that EAL learners should be in a set corresponding to their intellectual capabilities, regardless of their level of English, as EAL pupils make more progress and learn more quickly working alongside fluent users of English who are good language and learning role models (DfES, 2005). My two year 9 students, both from French-speaking Africa, came to the UK when they were 12 years of age and were taught French because of their background. It later transpired that French lessons were too easy for them and a decision was made to teach them Spanish instead. They were eager to learn and made incredibly good progress in Spanish, whilst also mastering English which equated to a good level of their home language. On the other hand the two girls who were from China found learning Spanish harder to grasp, this was not helped as they formed their own inner circle speaking only in their home language. The fact they arrived at School E at the same time may have played an influence to them not interacting with other students and during MFL lessons it became apparent that they were becoming withdrawn. Although multilingual family and friendship networks played key roles in supporting their day-to-day school work and future ambitions, I remarked that silence and self-study emerge as key survival strategies for these EAL students. The pupils who came from Spain and Portugal adjusted well to school life after just one year and this was reflected in their knowledge and comprehension of French. They actively participated in oral activities and became fully engaged during lessons. However they underachieved when it came down to English. A recent study at Goldsmiths College found that Portuguese students who attended mother tongue classes were five times more likely to achieve five or more A* to C grades at GCSE than those who did not attend (NALDIC, 2005), which supports the pro home culture argument. The contentious role of the mother tongue makes assessment of EAL pupils another highly complex area, for example, there has been discussion of whether all pupils should be assessed in English to preclude prejudice (Mills, 2002). Many EAL studies focus on specific ethnic groups rather than on all learners, but all investigations that I have examined emphasize the importance of valuing the mother tongue and culture of the EAL learner (Scarcella, 1990:54). Although conflicting opinions regarding treatment of EAL learners are not apparent, problems arise from attempting to put theory into practice. In 2008, OFSTED declared provision and support for EAL pupils outstanding in School E, yet I observed inconsistent adherence to the EAL policy, which appeared to place EAL learners at a disadvantage. In order to analyse the current situation, I will use my personal experience in the MFL department within the context of School E to synthesis this research. To aid research preparations, Fischer (2001) solicits, As you think about your teaching, how do you know when something really went well? What do you feel you are good at? How did you get good at it? I believe that all of these questions can be answered through teacher-pupil interaction, consideration of examination results and observance of best practice, along with learning from mistakes. For this reason, I have focused a large bulk of my research on one-to-one sessions with my EAL pupils. I carried out my research on their learning outcomes by discussing the MFL situation informally with pupils and teachers, but as this evidence will be subjective, it is not a reliable enough foundation on which to base my conclusions. My main source of evidence will be to set lists and examination results because these are totally unbiased a nd factual. The negative side of this sort of information is that it does not provide details on pupils levels of ability nor on the motivation in the subject. I will analyse the number of EAL pupils in different sets, and I predict that there will be a higher proportion of EAL pupils in low-ability sets. I will use original set lists from the beginning of the school year, before any set changes, to ensure there is no duplication of data. As this evidence is statistical, there is no potential for biased data manipulation, so I am certain that all information collected will be true and accurate. Although previous research concluded that EAL pupils should be placed in sets corresponding to their cognitive ability rather than to their level of English, prior to this I had not found any evidence that this was not happening in school E. It was perhaps presumed that schools would follow advice from professionals and heed research into the field, but this investigation has proven that in School E this is certainly not the case. Although EAL pupils in School E appear to be achieving higher MFL GCSE grades than non-EAL pupils, they are consistently placed in low-ability sets in Key Stage 3, which could have negative consequences on them gaining better MFL results. In addition to set lists, I will examine 2007 MFL GCSE results to evaluate the performance of EAL pupils. The downside is that as MFL is no longer compulsory at Key Stage 4, the GCSE group at School E was small, so I will also use 2008 mock GCSE examination results for this school. Again, this information is based on figures so there is no possibility for prejudiced conclusions. From an ethical viewpoint, it is imperative to remain objective throughout and guard the anonymity of any participants in the research. In School E, more EAL pupils were present in low-ability than high-ability sets, but the difference between top and bottom sets is significantly reduced during Key Stage 3. In Year 7, 7.4% of top set and 32.4% of bottom set are speakers of EAL a difference of 25%; in Year 8 the difference is reduced to 16.2%; and in Year 9 to just 10%. This implies that School E places EAL pupils in the bottom set until they have proven that they are capable of more, rather than giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their ability from the outset. As confirmed by the decrease in range of EAL pupils between top and bottom sets from Years 7 to 9, some EAL pupils must be proving themselves and being moved into higher-ability sets. However, previous findings that EAL pupils learn more quickly working with fluent native English speakers (DfES, 2005) are being disregarded, as in low-ability sets this is not always possible, due to the fact that non-EAL pupils are often stretching themselves to understand the work so do not have the time or ability to help EAL learners. Foreign languages are new subjects which give pupils with learning difficulties the chance to make a fresh start. However, behavioural difficulties, which are more common in lower-ability groups, also affect progress. In brief, the outcomes of previous research seem to be being overlooked, and EAL pupils are put in sets with no consideration of linguistic skills already acquired through learning English. Some manage to demonstrate a higher level of ability and move sets, but others never gain this opportunity. This further supports one of the issues highlighted by Mills (2002), that assessment of EAL pupils is extremely difficult. This study has in fact uncovered more questions than answers. At School E, although an EAL policy exists and specialist advice is available, these are often overlooked, so further research into the practicalities of the philosophy may be beneficial here. Vis-Ã  -vis GCSE results, having predicted that EAL pupils would outperform non-EAL pupils, the outcomes of this investigation show that EAL pupils may achieve higher grades in Spanish, but that French may not be affected. Further research, using a larger sample of pupils studying a variety of Modern Foreign Languages, perhaps at a language college, where all pupils must study a language to GCSE level, would be necessary to obtain a definitive conclusion. Since EAL pupils appear to perform better than non-EAL pupils at GCSE level, at least in Spanish, it would be advantageous for them to be in a high-ability set from the beginning of Year 7. From this study, it is clear that current assessment criteria for setting pupils should be modified in some way for EAL pupils, and in case of doubt, they should be placed in a higher-ability set until a more accurate recommendation can be made. What does this suggest about the experiences/expectations of EAL pupils studying MFL? This, alongside school catchment area, parental backing and degree of specialist support available in the area, is a major influencing factor that could be considered in future investigations. To discover the true national picture, research would have to be completed in a wide variety of schools across the country, as this investigation has already shown two vastly different operational approaches. The completion of this research greatly enhanced my understanding of the way in which pupils with EAL learn foreign languages, which has assisted me with developing new teaching strategies to accommodate these pupils and integrate them into lessons where they may at times be in the minority. It has also increased my awareness of the difficulties schools come up against when faced with placing EAL pupils into sets for modern languages, particularly if they arrive into the UK education system midway through their schooling, sometimes with little or no previous education in their country of origin. I am aware of the situation, in future I will always keep careful track of the progress made by EAL pupils in my classes, and at the slightest sign of underachievement, I will do my best to move them into a different set, using this research to support the case. Hopefully, however, a suitable means of assessment will be devised in the near future to test the true capabilities of EAL pupils, thus eliminating the need for such action. By making this research available to others, I hope to increase the awareness of other teachers and professionals of the actual situation of EAL pupils learning modern languages in schools today, and in doing so enable them to enhance provision for the specific needs of EAL pupils learning in our education system. In conclusion, the support setup in operation for EAL pupils at School E has been successful at identifying areas to meet the needs of EAL pupils, and it has also paved the way for further research into the domain. It has enhanced my professional development and influenced my future in teaching by making me aware of the situation and assisting me in providing evidence to substantiate what I suspected through observation of the system that EAL pupils often have an aptitude for learning other foreign languages and that their needs are different to those of non-EAL pupils, so must be met by different means. One possible way to begin meeting the needs of EAL pupils more successfully is to ensure that research findings are more extensively published, and therefore reach a wider audience.