English Plus

English Plus

Introduction

AISB-Hope International provides an English language learner and literacy program to address the language and academic needs of students whose native language is not English and who have limited English language proficiency. The English Plus program develops English language proficiency and academic skills to help students to participate successfully in the mainstream class.

The ELL students at AISB-Hope International have a critical need to communicate with their peers and teachers in an all English- speaking environment. However, most learners’ basic interpersonal communication skills can take around 2-3 years to develop, and their academic language proficiency can take between 5-7 years. Dependent on their level of English these students need additional support to access content while developing their language skills.

The ELL students’ needs differ in their age, academic background, and expectations of schooling. All these factors have an impact on the academic achievement and influence the type of instruction they need to enhance their success in school. The stakes are higher for these students as our system expects all students to pass end of grade courses/tests before advancing to subsequent grade. For example, a student who enters high school with no English proficiency is expected to pass tests designed for native English speakers after only a semester. To meet the challenge of educating these students we first assess and then meet the needs.

English Plus Mission Statement

The mission of the English Plus program is to instruct, equip and empower English Language Learners to communicate effectively in English and become independent life-long learners.

Objectives of the English Plus Program:

· To support students in both achievement of grade level learning outcomes and promote English language acquisition.

· Students will develop a level of competency and confidence in using English that allows them to fully participate in social and school-based contexts.

· Students will learn to control the structures and grammatical features of English at grade level.

· Students will develop an ability to use strategies that facilitate the acquisition of English and other academic content.

· Students will develop an ability to use and understand English in a variety of contexts.

Program Structure

English Plus Classes

English Plus classes are built into the timetable and provide ongoing instructional support to students with greater language deficiency. An English Plus teacher may plan to pre-teach the vocabulary for an upcoming unit, review and practice a concept, or lead a guided reading group with a structured language focus. English Plus classes will provide the opportunity for English language learners to receive targeted instruction to address their specific literacy needs. These students also learn with their mainstream class for the rest of the day.

Push-In Support

An English Plus teacher will ‘push-in’ and support or expand on classroom instruction within the mainstream classroom when considered necessary by the collaborative teaching team i.e. the EP teacher, homeroom teacher and subject teachers in the secondary. Support materials and methods include language goals along with content objectives. The EP students are integrated into grade level classrooms with their peers; however, in the mainstream classroom the English Language learners with similar language proficiency levels and needs maybe grouped into smaller groups within their class to focus on specific subject or language outcomes. Smaller groups allow for more interaction, instructional and differentiated support. Suggested grouping models may be based on:

· ability

· reading levels

· language proficiency

WIDA

The WIDA MODEL (Measure of Developing English Language) is a series of English language proficiency assessments for Kindergarten through Grade 12. AISB Hope International uses it as an identification/placement tool for newly enrolled ELLs or as an interim progress monitoring assessment.

Features

MODEL test items are written from the model performance indicators of WIDA's five English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards:

· Social & Instructional Language

· Language of Language Arts

· Language of Mathematics

· Language of Science

· Language of Social Studies