Progression Of Learning - English As A Second Language .

Uses expressions of time frequentlyencountered in class (e.g. five minutes,in September, next summer)Question wordsResponds to question words used incontext (e.g. who, what, how)Uses question words in context1The Cycle One student constructs new knowledge by gradually becoming aware of new language, strategies,language conventions, text components and cultural elements.9

English as a Second LanguageCategory 2 - StrategiesLanguage learning strategies are steps taken by students to enhance their own learning.Rebecca OxfordIn the Cycle One program, strategies refer to compensatory (i.e. communication) and learning strategies. Studentsreproduce actions modelled by the teacher to discover how strategies can help them become successful learners.Compensatory strategies and learning strategies contribute to developing the competency To communicate orally inEnglish. Learning strategies also help develop the competency To act on understanding of texts.In the Cycles Two and Three program, the same strategies, compensatory (i.e. communication) and learning, help developthe ESL competencies. As the cycles unfold, students broaden their repertoire. They can name the strategies, select andapply those appropriate for tasks, and reflect on their effectiveness. Compensatory and learning strategies contribute todeveloping the competency To interact orally in English. Learning strategies also help develop the competencies Toreinvest understanding of oral and written texts and To write texts.Learning context is a feature found in the ESL Progression of Learning chart that describes the conditions under whichstudents progressively construct knowledge throughout the cycles. It highlights the differences in the learningenvironments as defined in the Cycle One and the Cycles Two and Three programs.Elementary Cycle One Learning ContextElementary Cycles Two and Three Learning ContextNatural emergence of strategies mostly through imitationof specific actions while engaged in tasksDevelopment of a repertoire of strategies through teachermodeling, guided student practice and independent use ofthese strategies by the studentStudent constructs knowledge with teacher guidance.Student applies knowledge by the end of the school year.Student reinvests A—COMPENSATORY STRATEGIES46A—COMPENSATORY STRATEGIESDelay speakingBuys time to think out a responseAsking for helpRequests assistanceAsking for help1Asking for clarificationRequests speaker to repeatAsking for clarification1GestureUses physical motion to compensate fora lack of languageB—LEARNING STRATEGIESRequests assistanceRequests speaker to repeat or explainCircumlocution1Makes up for the lack of a precise wordor expression by substituting knownwords or expressionsB—LEARNING STRATEGIES10

Physical responseActs out a response to showunderstanding and facilitate learning1Self-monitoringSelf-monitoringQuestions the pronunciation of newwords read or heardSelects and uses the appropriatestrategiesChecks and adjusts ongoingperformance1Self-evaluationJudges how well he/she has learned andperformed so farChecks and adjusts on-goingperformanceSelf-evaluation1Reflects on what has been learned andhowPlanningAsks oneself: What am I supposed todo? In what order? What resources do Ineed? What should I listen to or read?What should I say or write? How will Isay it or write it?Directed attentionDecides to pay attention to a task and toignore distractorsAttention1Decides to concentrate on the rightthingsMaintains attention during tasksUse of prior knowledgeDraws on own background knowledgeas a source of informationUse of prior knowledge1PredictingForetells based on prior knowledge, taskat hand, topic, picturesPredicting1InferencingMakes intelligent guesses based on allavailable cues such as context,cognates, known words andexpressions, visual clues, visual support,intonation, recurrent passagesForetells based on prior knowledge,topic, task at hand, title, pictures,glancing through a textInferencing1PracticeRepeats, rehearses, regroups, integratesand assimilates words and expressionsDraws on own background knowledgeas a source of informationMakes intelligent guesses based on allavailable cues such as context,cognates, known words andexpressions, visual clues, contextualcues, intonation, patternsPractice1Repeats and rehearses, regroups,integrates and assimilates frequently11

(e.g. Joins in to sing songs and to sayrhymes and recurrent passages ofstories)used functional languageUsing resourcesMakes use of human resources (e.g.teacher and peers)Makes use of material resourcestargeted for the task (e.g. posters,flashcards)Resourcing1Makes use of human resources (e.g.teacher and peers)1Makes use of material resources (e.g.word and expression banks, graphicorganizers, posters, checklists, quickreferences, books, thematic and visualdictionaries, information technology)Note-takingWrites down relevant information in anorganized way (e.g. T-chart, Venndiagram, story web)SkimmingGlances through a text quickly to get ageneral impression and overview of thecontentScanningLooks for specific information in a textCooperationWorks and learns with group and helpsothersCooperation1Risk-takingWorks and learns with others; helpsothersRisk-takingUses words, strings of words andexpressions to communicate only inEnglish1Dares to use functional languagefrequently used in class to speak onlyEnglish, in spite of making errorsExperiments with known language1Experiments with known languageAttempts to integrate new language1Attempts to integrate new languageAccepting not being able to understand everything listenedto or readPerseveres despite not understandingeverything listened to or read, withoutgetting overly anxious1The Cycle One student constructs new knowledge by gradually becoming aware of new language, strategies,language conventions, text components and cultural elements.12

English as a Second LanguageCategory 3 - Language Conventions. . . grammar is closely tied into meaning and use of language,and is inter-connected with vocabulary.Lynne CameronLearning language conventions using a communicative approach involves activities that focus attention on form in contextin order to facilitate the understanding and the expression of accurate and meaningful oral and written messages.In the Cycle One program, although there is no Language Conventions category, students discover the phonology, the1music or rhythmicality of the language, and develop an ear for English through listening to a variety of songs, rhymes,stories and authentic audio-models.In the Cycles Two and Three program, language conventions refer to grammar, phonology, punctuation and spelling.Grammar contributes to developing all three competencies. Phonology supports the development of the competency Tointeract orally in English. Punctuation helps develop the competencies To reinvest understanding of oral and written textsand To write texts, and spelling pertains exclusively to the competency To write texts.Learning context is a feature found in the ESL Progression of Learning chart that describes the conditions under whichstudents progressively construct knowledge throughout the cycles. It highlights the differences in the learningenvironments as defined in the Cycle One and the Cycles Two and Three programs.Elementary Cycle One Learning ContextElementary Cycles Two and Three Learning ContextNo direct links can be made between the EssentialKnowledge sections of Cycle One and Cycles Two andThree as there is no Language Conventions category inthe Cycle One programThe student's attention is directed to targeted forms incontext, their function and their contribution to the meaningof messagesStudent constructs knowledge with teacher guidance.Student applies knowledge by the end of the school year.Student reinvests 46LANGUAGE CONVENTIONSA—GrammarWord orderUses knowledge of word order in simplesentences to construct meaningForms simple sentences (e.g. I likeapples. Emily can sing and dance. Bringyour book.)Places adjectives before nouns (e.g. redcar, beautiful day)Plurals13

Uses knowledge of regular and commonirregular plurals to construct meaningWrites an “s” at the end of nouns forregular plurals (e.g. kayaks, oranges,toys)Uses irregular plurals frequentlyencountered in class (e.g. people,children, feet)ArticlesPlaces articles before nouns(e.g. The bag is heavy. It’s a computer.She’s an athlete.)Verb tensesUses knowledge of verb tenses toconstruct meaning (e.g. imperative, past,future)Uses verb tenses targeted for tasksB—PhonologyIntonation and pronunciation for the functional languagefrequently used in classUses intonation and pronunciation thatcan be understood by an English speakerC—PunctuationUses knowledge of capital letters,periods, questions marks, and commasbetween items in an enumeration toconstruct meaning of textsWrites a sentence with a capital letter atthe beginning and a period or questionmark at the endWrites commas between items in anenumerationD—SpellingSpells words as found in explicit modelsand resources targeted for carrying outtasksSpells words as found in open-endedmodels and available resources targetedfor carrying out tasks1 The term rhythmicality is used in the Elementary Cycle One program. It appears in the article " Poetry and Song as14

Effective Language-learning Activities" by Alan Maley (Rivers, Wilga M. Interactive Language Teaching. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1994, p.93.)15

English as a Second LanguageCategory 4 - Text ComponentsAll texts provide cues to help the reader understand what the author wants to communicate.Literacy for LearningIn the Cycle One program, text components are found under “Language related to songs, rhymes and stories” of theContextual Language category. Text components consist of key elements and main events in texts that are worked onorally with the support of the group. Key elements and events help develop the competency To act on understanding oftexts. There are no expectations in Cycle One for students to read texts on their own.In the Cycles Two and Three program, text components refer to connecting words, contextual cues, overall meaning andkey elements. Prior to listening to or reading texts, students use contextual cues to anticipate the content of texts. Whilethey are listening to and reading texts, students use connecting words, key elements and overall meaning to furtherconstruct meaning. Text components contribute to developing the competency To reinvest understanding of oral andwritten texts.Learning context is a feature found in the ESL Progression of Learning chart that describes the conditions under whichstudents progressively construct knowledge throughout the cycles. It highlights the differences in the learningenvironments as defined in the Cycle One and the Cycles Two and Three programs.Elementary Cycle OneElementary Cycles Two and ThreeLearning ContextDiscovery of text components through the use of authenticsongs, rhymes and stories with the support of the groupCycle Two Learning ContextUse of text components to understand texts mostlypertaining to familiar topics (e.g. hobbies, pets, imaginarycreatures)Cycle Three Learning ContextUse of text components to understand texts oftenpertaining to topics of a broader scope (e.g. friendship,heroes, ecology)Student constructs knowledge with teacher guidance.Student applies knowledge by the end of the school year.Student reinvests ONTEXTUAL LANGUAGELanguage related to songs, rhymes and stories246TEXT COMPONENTSConnecting words (e.g. once upon a time, next, finally)Uses knowledge of connecting words toconstruct meaningContextual cues: titles, subtitles, synopsis, key sentences,illustrations, table of contentsUses contextual cues to recognize avariety of text formats (e.g. newspaperarticle, graphic novel, advertisement) andto predict contentUses contextual cues to constructmeaning16

Overall meaningIdentifies general ideas stated explicitly(i.e. literal meaning)Finds implied ideas(i.e. underlying meaning)Key elementsOrally identifies characters, actions,objects and placesKey elements1Identifies and briefly describes characters,people, animals, objects, place andsettingIdentifies factsBriefly describes story line, plotEventsKey elementsOrally identifies main events11Sequences eventsThe Cycle One student constructs new knowledge by gradually becoming aware of new language, strategies,language conventions, text components and cultural elements.17

English as a Second LanguageCategory 5 - Cultural Elements and Cultural ProductsStudying culture gives students a reason to study the target languageas well as rendering the study of L2 meaningful.StainerThe Cultural Elements category is at the heart of the Cycle One program and, makes learning meaningful for younglanguage learners. This category consists of authentic audio-models as well as songs, rhymes and stories selected from arepertoire of authentic texts created for English-speaking children. This category enhances the development of theprogram’s two competencies.In the Cycles Two and Three program, the Cultural Products category consists of texts, media, games, famous people,origin of names, landmarks, traditions and idiomatic expressions from various English-language cultures. Cultural productsenhance the development of the three competencies by making English come alive in the ESL classroom.Learning context is a feature found in the ESL Progression of Learning chart that describes the conditions under whichstudents progressively construct knowledge throughout the cycles. It highlights the differences in the learningenvironments as defined in the Cycle One and the Cycles Two and Three programs.Elementary Cycle One Learning ContextElementary Cycles Two and Three Learning ContextEnglish-language cultures, brought to life through songs,rhymes and stories, as a backdrop to enjoyable firstencounters with the target languageExposure to English-language cultures through a variety ofcultural products that inform and entertainStudent constructs knowledge with teacher guidance.Student applies knowledge by the end of the school year.Student reinvests Discovers CULTURAL ELEMENTS through:46Explores CULTURAL PRODUCTS through:Songs and rhymesNursery rhymesChoosing rhymesJump rope rhymesAction songsCircle rhymesBall bouncing rhymesClapping rhymesSing-alongs1Texts, media, games (e.g. films,magazines, Web sites)Stories (e.g. Mouse’s First Halloween, Red IsBest, The Very Hungry Caterpillar)Authentic audio-modelsAudio productions: DVDs and CDsResource people (e.g. teacher, guestspeakers)Famous people (e.g. athletes, astronauts,artists)Origin of names (e.g. family names,businesses)18

Landmarks (e.g. buildings, statues, streets)Traditions related to celebrations andspecial events (e.g. birthdays, Christmas,Earth Day)Idiomatic expressions (e.g. Break a leg.That rings a bell. Cat got her tongue.)1The Cycle One student constructs new knowledge by gradually becoming aware of new language, strategies,language conventions, text components and cultural elements.19

English as a Second Language Category 1 - Contextual Language and Functional Language. Children are focused on what this new language can actually be used for here and now. H. Douglas Brown. In the Cycle One program, contextual language refers to stude nts' personal language repertoire of words, strings of words