|
INTRODUCTION
The Brent International School Subic ESL (English as Second Language) Course is a five-week intensive English program for students 4 years old and up. 16 hours of class time is devoted each week with approximately an additional 2 hours of homework each day. Work outside the classroom may require a minimum of 3 to 4 hours study a day. Some classes may include field tips and after-school meetings.
ESL classes are offered to meet the needs of English Language Learners (ELLs) whose goal is to learn English and later to become highly fluent in oral and written English and students who have basic English skills but need more practice and support.
While the course stresses the development of competencies in the four areas of reading, writing, listening and speaking, close attention is paid to students’ individual needs. They are exposed to a wide variety of English materials and are expected to understand and respond to English-based texts across a broad range of games, puzzles, books, genre, films, articles, fiction and non-fiction, among others.
Classes are small (typically 10 students) and highly interactive. It is not unusual to find three or more cultures represented in any given group. Students are evaluated upon arrival for placement purposes.
PLACEMENT
Individual grade level representation include Pre-Kindergarten, First grade, Second grade, Third grade, Fourth grade, Fifth grade, while the Sixth grade, Seventh-Eighth grade combined and Ninth-Tenth grade combined form the middle school-high school clusters.
The middle-high school clusters differ from the Pre-Kindergarten through Fifth grade curricula in that the former are based on proficiency and course design rather than specific grade level content. Thus, a middle-high school ELL is assigned to a course based on English proficiency and not on grade level designation. For example an older student with very limited English proficiency would need ESL 1 coursework. The Beginner designation above corresponds to ESL 1 course curriculum, the High Beginner to ESL 2, Intermediate to High Intermediate to ESL 3 and the Advanced level to ESL 4.
The following categories which reflect the level of ability of ELLs are provided below:
LEVEL 1 – BEGINNER – Students at Beginner level have virtually no functional ability in listening, speaking, reading, and writing English. They are often new arrivals. They may go through a “silent period” as a stage of normal second language acquisition development wherein they observe, listen and absorb what is being said around them. These are initial literacy skills.
LEVEL 2 – HIGH BEGINNER - Students at High Beginner level are beginning to understand language and use it in a limited capacity. They typically memorize words and phrases. They can comprehend and utilize language that they have been taught prior to arrival. The focus in this level is to apply literacy skills to the development of new knowledge. It is common for second language learners to acquire social language before academic language development.
LEVEL 3 – INTERMEDIATE – Students at Intermediate level are able to understand most oral language pertaining to familiar topics but have difficulty comprehending and using academic vocabulary. Their speech and writing are basic and contain frequent errors. Social Language ability can be misinterpreted for more advanced ability in academic language. Grade level academic content skills are still in development. The curricular focus is on advancing applications of literacy skills for the development of new knowledge.
Students at High Intermediate level are able to function well in most everyday situations but still require academic language support. They may have difficulty understanding text beyond the literal level. They often make errors in structure and idiomatic expressions. The curricular focus is on more advanced applications of literacy skills.
It is recommended that ELLs achieve intermediate level proficiency before taking a regular high school English course.
LEVEL 4 – ADVANCED – Students at the Advanced level can handle most personal, social and academic language. Idioms and structure are frequently still problematic. Complicated literary and academic texts may require use of a dictionary when the language and context are unfamiliar. The curricular focus is based on literacy skills necessary for success in a grade level classroom.
The Advanced level is based on standards necessary for success in the mainstream classes. When an ELL reaches this level, grade level achievement is possible either independently or with very limited or no ESL support.
GOALS
The three main goals of the ESL program listed below are related to the four language skills and apply to all ELLs from Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12.
- To be able to use English as a means of communication in social settings.
- To be able to use English successfully in all academic settings.
- To be able to use English in socially and culturally appropriate ways in multicultural and diverse settings.
CURRICULUM
Language Arts
Language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing develops at different rates. Thus, there are different levels of proficiency across the different language skills.
Listening
Speaking
- Pronounciation
- Vocabulary
- Grammar/Structure
- Discourse
Reading
- Print/Letters
- Phonics
- Phonemic Awareness, Decoding and Word recognition
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
Writing
- Writing from Dictation
- Grammar
- Spelling
- Punctuation and Capitalization
- Editing
- Sentences and Paragraphs
Mathematics
Math content concepts are not required to be taught by ESL teachers but language supporting the math content is included in the ESL curriculum. For this reason, the math curriculum is identical across grade levels. ESL teachers are expected to assist ELLs based on the demands of their grade level placement.
Numbers and Operations
- Function Words (Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide)
- Numbers (i.e. Ordinal, Cardinal, Counting)
Algebra
Geometry
- Shapes
- Positions and Directions
Measurement
- Time
- Calendar
- Money
- Height and Weight
- Temperature
- Metric
Data Analysis
- Graphs
- Charts
- Parts of a Table
For inquiries, please contact Ms. Maricar Peralta (Summer School Director) at +63 (047) 252-6871 to 73
|
Summer School 
