The goal of English as a second language program shall be to enable limited English proficient students to become competent in the comprehension, speaking, reading and composition of the English language through the integrated use of second language methods. The English as a second language program shall emphasize the mastery of English language skills, as well as mathematics, science and social studies, as integral parts of the academic goals for all students to enable limited English proficient students to participate equitably in school..

ESL Program at Harmony Science Academy

COURSE OVERVIEW

The English as Second Language program shall be an intensive program of instruction designed to develop proficiency in the comprehension, speaking, reading, and composition in the second language. The amount of instruction provided in the English as a second language shall be commensurate with students' level of English proficiency and his or her level of academic achievement. The students' level of English proficiency and academic level shall be designated by the language proficiency assessment committee. In grade 6 or grades 7-12, instruction in ESL may vary from 1/3 of the instructional day to total immersion in second language approaches. The LPAC however may recommend only one period a day based on individual needs of the student.

The ESL curriculum is divided into 3 levels generally organized by skill area. Listening, reading, writing, grammar, conversation, math, social studies, and science are taught at each of these levels. In addition, students have to do some project work and presentations on different themes at different times of the academic year and they will be given a list of books to be read as well. The ESL program is an integrated skills program; any given course will require students to use all their language skills. To define the students' level we will use the state-criterion -referenced tests and then teach them on level-basis.

Level 1(beginner-elementary)

Listening

This course is designed to give students a basic foundation in listening comprehension skills. The course concentrates on listening tasks. Students listen for letters, spelling, numbers, and directions and respond in a workbook accordingly.

Content-based Reading

This content-based reading course is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their reading skills in English within a content area. Students use a variety of authentic reading materials to learn basic pre-reading and reading strategies which are designed to improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary. Easy outside reading will be required as well. Writing This course focuses on the skills of reading and writing English at the elementary level. The focus of the course is to help students gain confidence in writing.

Conversation

This course is designed to give ESL students in Level 1 more practice in using oral English. The emphasis is on small group work, problem solving, role plays, and informal discussion. The ratio of students to teacher is maximum six-seven to one.

Grammar topics

This course is designed to give students a basic foundation in English grammar and vocabulary. The course also focuses on helping students improve their oral comprehension and production skills. It includes absolute zero beginners and elementary level .
Grammar topics are:

• verb 'to be'
• present simple affirmative
• present simple interrogative
• present simple negative
• there is, there are
• possessive 's'
• adjectives
• adverbs of frequency
• can
• past of verb 'to be'
• past simple affirmative
• past simple interrogative
• past simple negative
• present continuous all forms
• going to and present continuous for future
• comparatives and superlatives
• some, any
• verb patterns
• whose?

Level 2(pre-intermediate - intermediate)

Listening

This course is designed to introduce ESL students to listening skills which are needed for aural comprehension in an academic setting. The course is a directed program which gives students practice in listening to short lectures, note taking, and vocabulary development. Students are introduced to several English language speech patterns and the words and phrases which let the student know that a particular pattern is being used.

Reading

The class focus is on the development of reading skills and vocabulary. Students learn to read the language presented in textbooks and required outside readings. They also demonstrate their understanding of the ideas presented by participating in class activities and discussions, as well as by responding to short answer essay.

Composition

This writing course focuses on the development of well-written paragraphs. Students are introduced to the role of American thought patterns as they relate to writing in English, and they participate in the writing process based on that knowledge. Some instruction is also given in grammatical structures which are found in well-written English sentences.

Conversation

This course is designed to give intermediate ESL students more practice using oral English. The emphasis is on small group work, problem solving, role plays, and informal discussion.
Grammar topics

• past continuous all forms
• present perfect simple all forms and uses
• for, since, ago
• articles
• zero conditional
• first conditional
• should, may, might
• 'will' and 'going to' futures
• must and have to, don't have to
• quantifiers
• 'have' and 'have got'
• question tags
• 'so' and 'such'
• present perfect continuous
• second conditional
• passive in present and past
• past perfect
• make, let, allow
• used to, be used to
• modals
• phrasal verbs
• gerund or infinitive
• relative clauses
• subject and object questions

Level 3(intermediate- upper-intermediated)

Conversation

This course is designed to give advanced ESL students more practice using oral English. The emphasis is on small group work, problem solving, role plays, and informal discussion.

Listening

This course focuses on the skills needed in listening for academic information. The majority of the course concentrates on learning how to listen for important information and take notes from formal lectures.

Content-based Reading

This course is a continuation of level 2 reading and focuses on the further development of reading skills needed by students to participate in academic classes as well as those skills needed in reading for entertainment and general information. Students read and discuss a variety of authentic texts and articles and are introduced to specific discourse markers.

Composition

This course is a continuation of ESL level 2 writing, with an emphasis on developing the writing skills learned in level 2 and expanding these skills to writing essays. Students work on writing connected discourse and are introduced to various styles of English essays.
Grammar topics are

• third conditional
• mixed conditionals
• wishes, regrets
• phrasal verbs
• reported speech
• reported questions
• be used to doing
• UK and USA English
• future continuous