THE RIGHT MOVES

Transition to Secondary School for English Language Learners

Understanding ESL/ELD Support at Secondary School

A Guide for Ontario Middle School Educators

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To help prevent middle school English language learners from becoming

“LOST IN TRANSITION”

this slide show has been developed to assist you in supporting ELLs and their

families with the transition to secondary school.

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Terms and Issues

What do the following mean?

• ELL• ESL• Everyday English• Academic English

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ELL: English Language Learner

English language learners are students in provincially funded English language schools whose first language is a language other than English, or is a variety of English that is significantly different from the variety used for instruction in Ontario’s schools, and who may require focused educational supports to assist them in attaining proficiency in English.

(English Language Learners, ESL and ELD Programs and Services: Policies and Procedures for Ontario Elementary and Secondary Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12, Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007)

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What is ESL?

English as a Second Language (ESL) programs are for students whose first language is other than English or is a variety of English significantly different from that used for instruction in Ontario schools. Students in these programs have age-appropriate first language literacy skills and educational backgrounds.

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English Proficiency: Everyday and Academic

In order to participate in the curriculum learning taking place in their classrooms, English language learners must achieve two types of English proficiency:

• Everyday English proficiency• Academic English proficiency

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Everyday English

Everyday English takes 1 – 2 years to acquire.

Everyday English proficiency is relatively easy for most ELLs to master, usually within one to two years, because the vocabulary and language skills directly relate to their immediate surroundings, daily lives and needs.

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Everyday English proficiency includes:

• the ability to maintain a face-to-face conversation with peers and others in various settings, inside and outside the classroom

• the ability to talk, read, or write about familiar content or about what is happening here and now

• knowledge about basic vocabulary/high frequency words such as old, food, tired, cars, trees

• the ability to use simple sentences and the active voice such as: We heated the water until it boiled. We used a thermometer to measure the temperature.

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Strong Everyday English proficiency enables ELLs to:

• Communicate more effectively with teachers and peers in social contexts

• Integrate well into their new school environment

• Interact comfortably with English speakers outside of school

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Academic English

Academic English takes 5 -7 years to acquire.

Academic English is more difficult to acquire and takes much longer, often five or more years. ELLs are working hard to catch up to a moving target – they are learning the language of instruction at the same time as they are learning the grade curriculum.

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Academic language proficiency includes:

• the ability to understand when there is less opportunity for interaction (e.g. listening to a presentation or reading a textbook)

• the ability to talk, read, and write about content that has fewer connections to prior learning or personal experience, is more abstract, and is more distant in space or time (e.g., learning about the water cycle, studying the earth’s crust, or learning about the economic differences in Canada’s various regions)

• knowledge of more sophisticated, low frequency vocabulary such as ancient, nutrition, fatigued, vehicles or deciduous

• the ability to use more complex sentences and grammatical structures such as: When the water was heated to the boiling point, a thermometer was used to measure the temperature.

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Academic language proficiency includes:

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Implications

Although students may be integrated into mainstream classrooms and functioning well on an everyday, social level, they may still be in the process of acquiring the academic English language skills which will be needed for academic success at secondary school and beyond.

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Eligibility

• Regardless of length of time in Canada, ELLs who need ESL courses at secondary school are eligible to take them.

• Students who have not received ESL support in the middle grades due to various program delivery considerations, can still transition into ESL courses at secondary school.

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ESL programs at secondary school

The framework of ESL programs in secondary school differs significantly from the framework of ESL programs in elementary school.

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Differences between ESL programs at Elementary and Secondary

Elementary School

• ESL is a support program

• ELLs may be • in an intensive

small group setting• withdrawn from

other classes • receive in-class

support• be monitored

Secondary School

• ESL are CREDIT granting courses

• ESL courses are offered as part of the student’s timetable, similar to English, math, or any other subject

• Up to THREE ESL courses may be substituted for compulsory ENG credit requirements

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ESL programs at Secondary School

• are set up on a continuum from ESL A to ESL E

• ESL A introduces students to the English language and helps them adapt to their new lives in Canada

• ESL E provides students with the skills and strategies they need to make the transition to college and university preparation courses at the senior level in ENG and other subject areas

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ESL Level 1ESLAO

ESL Level 2ESLBO

ESL Level 3ESLCO

ELD Level 2ELDBO

ELD Level 3ELDCO

ELD Level 4ELDDO

ESL Level 4ESLDO

ELD Level 5ELDEO

ELD Level 1ELDAO

ESL Level 5ESLEO

ENG1P/1DENG2P/2DENG3E/4E

ENGLDCCENG1P/2PENG3E/4E

ENG3U/3CENG4U/4C

Pathways to English

Please note that not all ELLs will follow this sequence exactly and individual students may vary in the rate atwhich they progress through the levels.

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A sample of expectations at different ESL levels

Skills ESL A ESL B ESL C ESL D ESL EListeningandSpeaking

Present ideas and information orally for academic purposes in simple, highly structured situations. (e.g., retell key events from a photo montage or picture sequence)

Present ideas and information orally for academic purposes in simple, structured situations (e.g., tell a brief story about an imaginary or real event following a model provided by the teacher)

Present ideas and information orally for academic purposes in supported situations (e.g., make short oral presentations on familiar topics using elements of presentation format)

Present ideas and information orally for academic purposes in a variety of situations (e.g., plan and make oral presentations on school-related topics using subject specific vocabulary)

Present ideas and information orally for academic purposes in a wide variety of situations (e.g., explain a viewpoint on a current issue during a debate)

Reading Respond to simple texts created or adapted for English language learners (e.g., create a pictorial representation of a story)

Respond to simplified or adapted texts in a variety of ways (e.g., participate in an informal class discussion)

Respond to adapted and authentic texts in a variety of ways (e.g., identify and discuss story elements )

Respond to more complex authentic texts in a variety of ways (e.g., connect ideas in the text to their own knowledge, experience and insights

Respond to more complex authentic texts in a variety of ways (e.g., write a critical review of a book or article)

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Sample ESL Expectations

Skills ESL A ESL B ESL C ESL D ESL EWriting Organize

information in chronological, sequential or spatial order in a scaffolded paragraph

Organize information relating to a central idea in a short paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence

Organize information relating to a central idea in a series of several linked paragraphs

Organize information relating to a central idea in a structured composition of three or more paragraphs.

Organize information in a logically structured essay of five or more paragraphs that includes a these statement, body and conclusion.

Socio-Cultural Competenceand Media Literacy

View, read and listen to simple media texts to obtain information and complete assigned tasks (e.g., report the weather as forecast on television)

View read and listen to a number of media texts to obtain information and complete assigned tasks (e.g.,television, radio and internet news broadcasts)

View read and listen to media texts to compare the information available on a subject or issue in different sources.

View read and listen to media texts and identify strategies used in them to influence audiences

View read and listen to media texts and explain some ways in which they influence society

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Placement Information

• Students may enter the ESL continuum at any level.

• Students who are not in an ESL program at elementary or middle school but who require ESL courses may move into them at secondary school.

• Secondary schools may vary in the range of ESL courses that they offer.

• Check with your local secondary school to determine which ESL courses are offered.

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Subject Support

In addition to ESL courses, some secondary schools offer sections of other courses designated for ELLs, such as:

• ADA 1O8 - Dramatic Arts adapted for ELLs

• SNC 1D8 - Grade 9 Science for ELLs

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Subject Support con’t.

• ESL subject section courses are credit-granting courses.

• These courses focus on the subject content while placing emphasis on subject-related vocabulary, language structures and cultural background in order to support students who are acquiring English at the same time that they are learning the subject.

• Often these subject specific courses are aligned with specific ESL levels.

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Myths and Realities

Myth:

Some students and parents believe that having an ESL course on a transcript will impact post-secondary acceptance.

Reality:

Post secondary institutions look at students’ achievement in their final years. Taking ESL will give students the skills to perform well in their senior English courses and other subject areas.

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Important Additional Considerations

• Students in ESL classes may receive a deferral from the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

• Students in ESL classes can be given extra time and other accommodations on tests, assignments and exams in other subject courses

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