"Nada's ESL Island"

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Note to Subject Teachers:
"ESL Students' Integration Into Mainstream Subject Classrooms"

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Teaching Approach

Students in ESL classes benefit from a content-based approach to lesson planning and delivery. Language and content instruction are integrated so that students develop academic knowledge and skills in specific content areas at the same time as they develop their language skills.

Curriculum Expectations

The expectations identified for each course describe the knowledge and skills that students are expected to develop and demonstrate in their class work, on tests, and in various other activities on which their achievement is assessed and evaluated.

Two sets of expectations are listed for each strand, or broad curriculum area, of each course. The overall expectations describe in general terms the knowledge and skills that students are expected to demonstrate by the end of each course. The specific expectations describe the expected knowledge and skills in greater detail; you will find them in the "Detailed High School Curricula" sites.

On this page you will only find the Overall Expectations.

Strands

The expectations in all ESL courses in High School are organized into the following four strands:

Oral and Visual Communication. Expectations require students to understand, interpret, and use oral English, and related visual cues, in a variety of contexts and media.

Reading.**.Expectations require students to read a variety of informational and literary texts for different purposes, using a range of reading strategies effectively. Read note below.(Apr. 2010)

Writing. Expectations require students to communicate clearly in writing for a variety of purposes and audiences.

Social and Cultural Competence. Expectations require students to understand and value their own cultures, to appreciate the variety of languages and cultures at ACS, and to demonstrate social and cultural competence in a wide range of situations.

Most lessons will include all four strands in an integrated way. The weighing of the strands may differ from course to course.

Technology will be integrated within the four strands.

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**The ESL Reading Curriculum- New Lenses
.....Added: April 2010
The lenses used to frame the following section are those of Tyler (1949), Finn (1999), Kumashiro (2001), Apple (2004), and Kliebard (2004), focusing mainly on Tyler’s emphasis on the child’s interest and cultural heritage; on Finn’s powerful literacy (creativity, reason, and higher order thinking skills) and challenge of conformity; on Kumashiro’s anti-oppressive education and consciousness-raising processes; on Apple’s ideology, self-questioning, and conscious emancipatory activity; and on Kliebard’s promotion of activity, reasoning power, social change, social justice, and independent thinking.

This ESL reading curriculum is a good traditional and exhaustive one that covers all the major components of a reading curriculum for ESL students. However, good is not great and, in the twenty-first century, good is no longer enough. We can no longer afford to be teaching just the way we used to teach before. Therefore, our curricula need to include additional components which leave nothing to chance. We all know that teachers’ ability to teach and devise good syllabi varies tremendously from a teacher to another. We all know that teachers’ backgrounds, personal identities, and particular biases cannot but affect their knowledge (which is always partial), the way they teach and what they choose to teach (Kumashiro, 2001). Hence, it would be greatly unfair to students to just leave it up to the teacher only to choose the materials to cover and the way these materials should be covered. The curriculum must, nowadays, expressly include topics that are crucial to be covered, and it must also include some appropriate ways to cover them. This does not mean, however, that teachers should be excluded from curriculum design: they should, on the contrary, have an “authoritative position in shaping the course of study” (Kliebard, 2004, p. 74), but they just need to be guided so as to make sure different perspectives will be covered! Therefore, we suggest that the following major section be added to the reading curriculum.

For the Teacher: Underlying Assumptions and Content

• Underlying assumptions. By the end of this course, students will

o practice targeted behaviors and obtain satisfaction from carrying them on
o have learning experiences that are within their present attainments and predispositions, within their zone of proximal development (Vygoysky, 1978).
o achieve powerful literacy (be creative, reason, solve problems and conflicts, and perform higher order thinking skills)
o see knowledge as problematic
o question everything around them, their commonsense assumptions, what they take as given, their ideological and epistemological commitments, the interpretations of the world we live in, their values, their rights, and their duties.
o learn that historical facts are far from being objective and impartial
o work in teams and achieve a sense of community
o explore different ways to read text, whereby they try to read against commonsense interpretations and critique the harmfulness of stereotypes.
o look beyond the knowledge they are being taught, think differently, outside the box

• Content. By the end of this course, students will study content that

o is based on their interests and needs
o is based on an analysis of modern society to see which topics and conflicts would benefit them the most
o fosters the development of high moral character
o promotes an active concern for social justice
o covers functional needs and significant life problems (deals with conflict/introduces crisis)
o challenges conformity, rigid sex roles, and opinions that are dictated by group consensus
o incites them to challenge what is taken for granted with regards to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and family norm

In conclusion, we cannot but acknowledge the fact that a curriculum is just a curriculum, no matter how comprehensive it is. It is up to the teacher to implement it properly. By recommending the section titled "For the Teacher: Underlying Assumptions and Content" (which needs to be placed at the beginning of the curriculum), we hope to eliminate the singularity of perspective in the classroom. In the twenty-first century, we can no longer accept that students be taught through one set of lenses only; it is a must that we expose them to different perspectives on life. It is a must that we instill in them tolerance and acceptance of difference. It is a must that we help them to realize that knowledge is relative; that it is always partial.

Nada Salem Abisamra
Foundations of Curriculum Theory
(If you need access to the whole paper titled "Advanced ESL Reading Curriculum Analysis and Critique Based on Tyler, Finn, Kumashiro, Apple, and Kliebard," go here)

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The following chart shows how most students would progress through their ESL courses.

 

ESL Level	Course Name	Credit Value	Prerequisites
1	Beginning Communication in English	1
2	Low intermediate course	1	ESL 1 or equivalent
3	Intermediate course	1	ESL 2 or equivalent
4	High Intermediate course	1	ESL 3 or equivalent
5	Advanced course	1	ESL 4 or equivalent

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ESL Level 1- Beginning Communication in English

This course builds on students’ previous education and language knowledge to introduce basic literacy skills and help students adjust to their new cultural environment. Students will develop the ability to use oral and written English for daily needs, acquire basic conversation skills and vocabulary, and use simple sentence patterns. Students will also acquire basic orientation information related to their needs as newcomers to ACS.

Oral and Visual Communication

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

participate in oral learning tasks and engage in social interaction in the classroom;

use high-frequency words and simple sentence patterns to communicate meaning;

demonstrate some awareness of different levels of formality in social interaction;

obtain key information from media works.

Reading (Note)

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

read and respond to short passages from fiction and non- fiction texts designed or adapted for beginning learners of English, with teacher guidance;

use some reading strategies to acquire key English vocabulary from simple texts for classroom studies, with teacher guidance;

use some key reading strategies for decoding and comprehension, with teacher guidance;

find specific information in straightforward reference materials, with teacher guidance.

Writing

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms, with teacher guidance;

use some simple sentence patterns and key conventions of standard English to write about classroom topics and activities.

Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

demonstrate a beginning awareness and appreciation of the cultural diversity at ACS;

demonstrate adaptation to some key teacher expectations and school routines.

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ESL Level 2- Low Intermediate

This course expands students’ essential English communication skills and cultural knowledge and introduces the language of classroom studies. Students will develop oral classroom skills and reading strategies, expand their vocabulary, and use more complex sentence patterns. Students will also learn how to use some school and community resources.

Oral and Visual Communication

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

participate in conversations on familiar topics in some social situations;

recognize and respond appropriately to body language, pauses, and common stress and intonation patterns in English speech;

understand and use some key subject-specific vocabulary in classroom discussions when visual aids are used;

communicate orally, using accepted word order, common tenses, and other features of English grammar with some accuracy and consistency;

use appropriately some features of language that indicate different levels of formality in English;

demonstrate comprehension of key information from media works.

Reading (Note)

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

respond to a range of short fiction and non-fiction texts, using a variety of strategies;

choose reading materials for study and personal enjoyment, with teacher guidance;

demonstrate knowledge of English vocabulary related to classroom studies;

read texts with familiar content or vocabulary, using a variety of reading strategies;

choose appropriate resources from preselected materials for use in teacher-directed assignments.

Writing

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms;

use some elements of the writing process, with teacher guidance, with an emphasis on prewriting activities;

use a variety of simple sentence patterns and basic conventions of standard English with some accuracy in written work.

Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

demonstrate understanding of and respect for the wide variety of cultures and languages at ACS;

demonstrate knowledge of a variety of facts about American culture, geography, and history;

participate in some school and community activities;

demonstrate adaptation to school norms, key teacher expectations, and classroom routines.

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ESL Level 3- Intermediate

This course is designed to improve students’ accuracy in using English in classroom situations, and to help them understand the changing world around them. Students will study and interpret a range of texts and produce a variety of forms of writing. Activities will also help students to develop their oral presentation skills and acquire study skills (including note-taking and summarizing skills) that will enhance their ability to learn in all subjects.

Oral and Visual Communication

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

initiate and take part in conversations, participate in classroom discussions, and make short oral presentations, with teacher guidance, using a variety of subject-specific words and expressions;

communicate orally, using a variety of the conventions of English grammar with some accuracy;

use appropriately a variety of features of formal and informal communication in English;

create and analyze a variety of media works.

Reading (Note)

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

choose and read books at the appropriate reading level for a variety of purposes;

demonstrate knowledge of subject-specific terms;

read for specific purposes, with teacher guidance;

locate and evaluate resource materials for guided research and career exploration, with teacher guidance.

Writing

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms for various purposes and audiences;

use the writing process, with teacher guidance, with an emphasis on peer and independent review of content and organization;

arrange ideas in logical order and present them in linked sentences and simple paragraphs;

use a variety of sentence patterns and conventions of standard English with some accuracy in written work.

Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

use knowledge of American culture and history in school and social situations;

respond appropriately in most teaching and learning situations.

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ESL Level 4- High Intermediate

This course prepares students to use English with increasing accuracy in most classroom and social situations and to participate in ACS society as informed students. Students will develop the reading, writing, and oral presentation skills required for success in all subjects. Students will study and interpret a variety of grade-level texts, develop oral communication skills through participation in informal debates and seminars, and extend their range of research skills.

Oral and Visual Communication

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

communicate orally in English in a wide variety of daily activities in the community, and in the classroom;

use the elements of English grammar with increasing accuracy in speech;

use appropriate language and non-verbal communication strategies in a variety of situations;

create, analyze, and interpret a variety of media works.

Reading (Note)

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

read and respond to literature, with teacher guidance;

use a range of strategies to build vocabulary;

extract information from grade-level texts, with teacher guidance;

locate, evaluate, and use information from a variety of sources for academic, social, and career purposes, including guided research projects.

Writing

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms appropriate to different subject areas, personal needs, and career goals, with teacher guidance;

use the writing process to prepare final drafts, with teacher guidance;

arrange ideas in logical order and present them in linked paragraphs;

use the sentence patterns and conventions of standard English with accuracy most of the time in written work.

Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

demonstrate understanding of the rights and responsibilities of American citizens and of ACS students;

demonstrate flexibility as learners in different teaching and learning situations.

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ESL Level 5- Advanced

This course prepares students for secondary school English and other courses at the college and university preparation levels. Students will be encouraged to develop independence in reading literary works and academic texts, in writing essays and narratives, and in applying learning strategies and research skills effectively. Students will also learn to respond critically to print and media works.

Oral and Visual Communication

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

initiate, sustain, and conclude conversations and discussions on a wide variety of topics of personal, social, and academic interest;

communicate orally, using patterns of English grammar and pronunciation with the accuracy necessary for continued success in subject classrooms;

analyze a variety of social contexts to determine the appropriate style of language and non-verbal behavior to use in them;

create and analyze a variety of media works in forms appropriate for different purposes and audiences.

Reading (Note)

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

read and respond to literature;

choose and respond to personal reading material comparable in scope and difficulty to materials chosen by their English- speaking peers;

extract information from a variety of texts used in subject classrooms;

demonstrate understanding of the elements of a range of fiction and non-fiction forms of writing;

use independently a variety of strategies to build vocabulary;

use a range of research strategies independently to gather information for a variety of purposes.

Writing

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

write in a variety of forms, adopting a voice suitable to the intended audience;

use the writing process independently to produce a final written or electronic version of an essay or a piece of creative writing;

organize and link ideas logically and effectively in written texts such as narratives and essays;

use the sentence patterns and conventions of standard English in their writing with the degree of accuracy necessary for continued success in subject classrooms at the college and/or university preparation level.

Social and Cultural Competence

Overall Expectations

By the end of this course, students will:

demonstrate understanding of a range of local, national, and global issues;

learn effectively in a wide variety of teaching and learning situations.

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Note to Subject Teachers:
ESL Students' Integration Into Mainstream Subject Classrooms

The successful integration of students who are learning English into the academic and social life of the school requires all teachers to work together to support them. Although many students become proficient users of English for most day-to-day purposes within two years, students may require up to seven years to catch up to first-language English speakers in their ability to use English for academic purposes. Participation in ESL courses assists second- language learners to make rapid progress; however, students who arrive as beginning learners of English in High School may not have enough time to catch up with their peers by the end of Grade 12. Reading textbooks, participating in academic discussions, or writing essays or examination answers may be much more difficult for these students than for first-language English speakers. Their relatively limited vocabulary may make reading some textbooks difficult, and in some cases, inexperience with complex sentence patterns may make it difficult for them to write as fluently as some of their peers.

Most students who have completed their ESL courses will therefore continue to need support from their subject teachers to achieve success.

In some courses, students in the early stages of learning English will need program adaptations in order to be successful. Appropriate adaptations include:

modified expectations (e.g., modification of some or all of the course expectations);

a variety of instructional strategies (e.g., extensive use of visual cues, graphic organizers, peer tutoring; strategic use of students’ first languages);

a variety of learning resources (e.g., use of visual material, simplified texts, and bilingual dictionaries);

modified assessment strategies (e.g., granting of extra time; use of oral interviews and tasks requiring completion of graphic organizers and cloze sentences instead of essay questions and other assessment tasks that depend heavily on proficiency in English).

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This ESL curriculum is based on the following curricula:

*TESOL- ESL Standards
*Orange County Public Schools- Florida- ESOL Curriculum- Advanced
*Victorian curriculum and assessment authority- Australia- ESL Companion
*Ontario- Canada- Ministry of Education- Secondary Curriculum
 *Florida Department of Education- Florida International University
   Office of Multicultural Student Language Education (OMSLE)
   Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks
   Language Arts through ESOL: A guide for ESOL teachers