LBOTE DEFINITION AND ESL LEARNER PHASE

Transcription

1 LBOTE DEFINITION AND ESL LEARNER PHASE LBOTE DEFINITION Students of Language Background Other Than English (LBOTE) are those in whose home a language other than English is spoken by parents, guardians, grandparents, siblings, other relatives and/or the students themselves. For example: Students who were born overseas in a non-english speaking country. Students who were born in Australia but speak a language other then English, in the home. Students who were born in Australia but whose parents speak a language other than English. (From Department of School Education Annual Census of Students) ALL PHASES: LANGUAGE BACKGROUNDS OTHER THAN ENGLISH INDICATORS INTERACTIVE LANGUAGE USE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE USE Students: have a capacity to learn and a range of abilities; may have been born in Australia or overseas; may be suffering from trauma due to displacement and migration. may have minimal or no experience of English language, customs, culture; may have a knowledge of their own culture and language; may take several weeks/months to verbalise in English (productive language) but will be developing an understanding of English (receptive language) from day one. may have been exposed to other print conventions e.g. left to right orientation, script/numerals, top to bottom orientation; may have limited experience of educational settings e.g. school routines; may or may not have had any previous schooling; may be literate in one or more languages other then English; may have expectations of teaching/ learning styles other than that of the NSW Education System.

2 ESL LEARNER PHASES First Phase First Phase learners are those LBOTE students whose understanding and production of spoken or written English is obviously limited in all social and educational situations. These learners are acquiring basic English language proficiency and demonstrate elementary functioning in an English speaking classroom. First Phase learners who are acquiring basic English proficiency and demonstrate elementary functioning in the classroom range from: complete beginners with minimal or no English; to students who can communicate in English with limited fluency about events, themes and topics related to their personal experiences. Some First Phase learners may have studied English in their country of origin and have developed reading and writing skills but have negligible oral skills in English. First Phase learners may also include students from language backgrounds other than English who were born in Australia and have had limited or no exposure to English prior to entering Kindergarten. Students at the end of First Phase will have acquired various levels of literacy in English depending on factors such as age on entry and literacy in their first language. As a general guide, and ESL student of average learning ability, social adjustment, with a complete educational background will have moved beyond the First Phase of learning after a period of 3 terms of instruction with ESL Support.

3 LANGUAGE BACKGROUNDS OTHER THAN ENGLISH FIRST PHASE INDICATORS BEGINNERS INTERACTIVE LANGUAGE USE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE USE Minimal participation in class activities without special support. Active participation in experiential activities using communicative approaches e.g. sport, visual arts. May take several weeks/months to produce oral English (silent period). May show confusion or delayed response to explicit instructions in English. Minimal oral skills in English. Extensive use of body language (gestures) to achieve communication. May have talents which are hindered by lack of English e.g. academic areas. Some areas are not inhibited by lack of English e.g. Visual and performing arts, physical skills. May have disabilities e.g. physical, emotional, academic, which may not be immediately apparent. May display frustration (including disruptive behaviour) due to lack of communicative skills in English. Units of both speech and writing unconnected. Meaning disjointed requiring audience to fill the gaps (coherence and cohesion). May have literacy skills (reading/writing) in first language. Writes down spoken language. May be able to write in first language. Writes in simple sentences. May have erratic use of English punctuation and grammar. No plural forms. Verb to be omitted. Confusion of tenses and word order. Uses mainly I Me pronouns. By the end of phase one, students will be at varying levels of literacy and oracy competence depending on factors such as age, stage of development, previous educational and social experiences, and the level of literacy in students first language. Students may be capable of communicating in English in a limited range of settings. R. Isherwood and L. Cummings 1991

4 ESL LEARNER PHASES Second Phase Second Phase learners are those LBOTE students whose understanding and production of spoken and written English is progressing, but is still limited to a range of familiar social and educational situations. These learners have transitional English language proficiency and demonstrate partial and variable functioning across the school curriculum. Second Phase learners who are developing transitional English proficiency and demonstrate partial and variable functioning across the curriculum range from: students who have acquired a basic communicative repertoire in English which enables them to participate in and respond to the language and literacy demands of some class activities; to students who can communicate with some degree of confidence/coherence/appropriateness about subject matter appropriate to their age group but remote from their immediate personal experiences. Students at the end of Second Phase will have made significant progress in their oral English language skills and will have been applying their English language and literacy skills to both formal and informal situations. As a general guide, an ESL student of average learning ability, social adjustment and with a complete educational background will have moved beyond the Second Phase of ESL learning after a total period of three years instruction with ESL support.

5 LANGUAGE BACKGROUNDS OTHER THAN ENGLISH SECOND PHASE INDICATORS INTERMEDIATE INTERACTIVE LANGUAGE USE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE USE Active participation in most class activities but still requiring special support to complete more difficult tasks. May show leadership skills in experiential activities e.g. sport, visual arts. Responding to and comprehending directions and questions without repetition. Can sustain a conversation. Increasing competency in oral skills in English. Has confidence to seek clarification. Talents and disabilities in all areas more apparent. Increases interaction and willingness to collaborate with English speaking peers - including improved social interaction. Can read a sentence and questions reflecting comprehension of the main idea. Can read and comprehend a short paragraph of narrative genre and answer simple questions in both oral and written mode. Can innovate on text, write a simple recount, letter, report or piece of procedural writing providing good modeling input has been provided. Written texts are more organised longer sentences using conjunctions; beginning use of paragraphs; more consistent use of punctuation; shows some awareness of plurals; use of third person and adverbs; may know differences in tenses but not always correct usage. Continues to require visual support and first language clarification to maximise comprehension. May experience difficulties with expository genres and formal registers. By the end of phase two, students will be able to communicate orally in a range of settings on a variety of familiar topics but may have difficulty participating effectively in group discussion as they may miss points of detail, idioms and nuances of meaning. Literacy skills becoming more competent but requiring constant modeling in various games. R. Isherwood and L. Cummings 1991

6 ESL LEARNER PHASES Third Phase Third Phase learners are those LBOTE students who generally function fluently and competently in English, but who occasionally need assistance in meeting the particular language and literacy demands of English in specific social and educational situations. These learners are developing broad English language proficiency which parallels that of their English speaking peers and demonstrate apparent functioning throughout the school curriculum. Third Phase learners who are developing broad English proficiency and demonstrate apparent functioning range from: students who have developed a transitional communicative repertoire in English which enables them to access and apply the English required in most language and literacy activities; to students who can communicate in English with confidence/clarity/flexibility about subject matter unrelated to their direct personal experience. Third Phase learners include students from language backgrounds other than English who were born in Australia or completed the greater part of their education in Australian schools. These learners may exhibit effective oral English communication skills but continue to experience difficulties in successfully completing literacy tasks. Students at the end of Third Phase will normally have extended their English language and literacy skills in both formal as well as informal situations and be able to learn and participate effectively in the mainstream curriculum. As a general guide, an ESL student of average learning ability, social adjustment and with a complete educational background will have moved beyond the Third Phase of ESL learning after a total of seven years instruction with ESL assistance.

7 LANGUAGE BACKGROUNDS OTHER THAN ENGLISH THIRD PHASE INDICATORS ADVANCED INTERACTIVE LANGUAGE USE ACADEMIC LANGUAGE USE Can participate readily in mainstream class activities. Oral fluency approximating native English speaker in most situations. Willing to take risks in oral language. Oral use of subject specific language becoming more developed but may have difficulties in controlling subject specific registers e.g. technical language in science. Control over a range of expression in a widening range of communicative functions. May have difficulties with the nuance of English language and need continued support for vocabulary extension. More willing and able to join in and take a leadership role in cooperative teaching/ learning situations. Can competently talk and write for specific purposes and audiences. Can perform more complex literacy tasks. Still developing ways and means of connecting sentences and paragraphs and linking ideas within the text (cohesive ties). Developing lexical density in their writing. R Isherwood and L.Cummings 1991

8 INDICATORS OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD PHASE LEARNERS First Phase Learners Second Phase Learners Third Phase Learners Control of English Summary of English Skills Transition Time Comments