The GRCC - ESOL Program - Online Instructor's Handbook

Description of ESOL Level 6
Submitted by John Avery

(The following statement is the official course description from the GRCC College Catalog)
This is the advanced level of English for Speakers of Other Languages course for permanent Washington state residents. Students will listen to native-speaker level of English for authentic purposes, participate in discussions, and give short presentations. They will read extended English passages and write basic essays on many topics. They will use vocabulary and grammar to speak and write effectively for complex purposes such as applying for a loan or a job. They will develop advanced English learning skills and strategies needed to, for example, be spokesperson for themselves or children in a school. 

Prerequisite: ESOL Level 5, placement test and instructor's permission.

Level 6 is the final level in the sequence of ESOL classes at GRCC. Students take this class for two purposes: to continue the development of their English language skills and to prepare for further study at GRCC or another institution. Consequently, there really are two Level 6 options in our program. The first and the one that is offered in the morning class, is to prepare students for transitions into further education. The second is what we call the Project Level 6. It's focus is primarily on the first goal: to continue skill development for students.

The information on this page and it's sub-pages, gives curricular direction for both of these strands. In many cases, there is an overlap and the skills developed for one class matches those needed in the other. Students come to Level 6 either directly as a result of having taken Level 5 or by placement from our assessment and placement process. Level 5 teachers and those assisting with the placement of new students need to determine which strand is appropriate for students  at Level 6. It may be that the student should exit ESOL at this point and take a different route. Please read the next section about placement into Level 6 to determine the appropriate placement.

The information here describes the curriculum. Follow the links in the navigation bar to the left to find curriculum materials for ESOL Level 6.

GRCC is an active part of the Washington State Adult Learning Standards Curriculum Development project. For more information, please visit the SBCTC site for Learning Standards.

Here is some additional information that may help place students in Level 6 or an alternative.

The appropriate placement for all students who have completed Level 4 is to go to Level 5. For the students who exit Level 5, however, the teacher has to work with the students to find out what fits their needs. Students leaving Level 5 don’t automatically fit into the morning Level 6 class. The morning Level 6 has been developed to be an “Academic Preparation Level 6.”

 The goals of Academic Level 6

The goal of the class is to prepare students for entry into ABE, Development Education, and college-level classes. The topics covered are closer to what is normally covered in an intensive program and the skill development is focused on more formal uses of language that are appropriate in a college classroom (classroom discussions, oral reports, listening to mini-lectures, reading parts of textbooks, and writing essays). Students also do a great amount of goal clarification and career exploration as part of the class. Some students don’t need this kind of curriculum because they don’t intend to extend their education beyond ESOL or because they want to go directly into a vocational or IBEST program.

Identifying students who appropriately place in Academic Level 6

The Level 5 teacher has to help each student discern the best pathway. The students who most likely fit into the Academic Level 6 tend to fit a profile. Knowing the elements of this profile can help teachers identify possible Academic Level 6 students. These students tend to have some of the following characteristics:

·         They usually have completed high school in their own country or in America, but still do not have the academic English skills needed to succeed.

·         They may have completed some college in their own country and want to continue or extend their education.

·         They are usually high performers in the Level 5 class.

·         It may have taken them some time, but they have worked hard at making progress. They tend to be better at attendance and are diligent in completing assignments.

·         They are generally serious about achieving their goals and know they want to have a education to achieve these goals.

·         They most likely have some space in their lives to go to school for an extended period of time. This usually means they don’t have to go to work right away. They may have support from parents, a  spouse, or other means and can plan on not having income for some time.

·         Many students in Academic Level 6 are working, but then they have to all the more diligent about their school responsibilities.

·         They usually like school and are enthusiastic about learning.

Options for placement after Level 5

Teachers can help students select the appropriate class after they finish Level 5. The options are as follows:

1. Academic Level 6 – Use the above criteria to assist students in determining if this is the correct placement.

2. A Project Level 6 - All the sections of Level 6 except for the morning Academic Level 6 are designated as Project Level 6. These classes usually operate in our evening program. While the English language learning objectives of this class are generally the same as the morning class, the context for developing these skills is not based in the academic classroom, but rather in the workplace or in everyday contexts. The course is called Project Level 6 as the goal of the class is to produce a class project such as a simulated work-place or a class newspaper wherein the students will utilize their English language skills to produce the project. 

    3. IBEST – All IBEST programs are open to students who exit Level 5, and in fact may be an alternative to not only Level 6, but also to Level 5. Each IBEST program has its own CASAS requirement and may have other entry requirements.  Cynthia Gaede is the person to check with regarding IBEST.

    4. A trades program – Students can take a trades program although they may also have to take some ABE to build reading skills as there are reading requirement programs for some trades classes.

• At Green River Community College, we have purchased and now use class sets of the College Reading texts published by Heinle - Cengage Learning for our instruction on academic reading. There are extensive instructor resources available at the Heinle site. Follow the link to the College Reading I or II texts that we use. Click on the tab for Companion Websites and then on the link for the Instructor site. To gain access, you can then enter the following information: Username: academic; Password: access.

• As part of the reading curriculum for Level 6, teachers are encouraged to have students read a whole book. There are a number of class sets of texts available in the college's Basic Skills Collection as part of the Holman Library. Materials for some of these texts will be posted to this site as they become available. Some the regular titles used for classes are as follows:

  Number the Stars

  Letters from Rifka

  Three Cups of Tea

  Snow Falling on Cedars

 

The main goals for the speaking component for Level 6 are for students to continue their development in their ability to express themselves in discussions and in oral presentations.

Students need to develop multiple strategies for self-expression in group work for a variety of settings from the workplace to the classroom. Consequently, they learn and practice higher-level and more free-ranging conversational techniques in Level 6.

Students also need to develop their abilities to make simple presentations, so they will work on making an informative speech and an oral presentation as part of this course.

The topics for these discussions as well as for the presentations will be centered on the topics studied in the rest of the course. The skills are content-based and thus utilize the same core of information and vocabulary they have studied for reading, listening, and writing purposes.

The overall advising goal for Level Six students is to give them adequate information and support so they can discern their individual goals for future education or occupational opportunities. The ESOL department works closely with the Advising and Placement Services at the college to offer opportunities for advising through classroom instruction, workshops, a transitions week and peer mentors. The Complete Student Advising Packet is available under the Curriculum Materials link for Level 6.