ESL COURSE GETS BOOST
Class time to double
The Catholic school board plans to intensify its English as a second language training to help students integrate quicker and offer them more educational opportunities faster.
The new program will be launched in September. It will see the amount of daily instruction doubled to 150 minutes.
“Currently students get 110 hours of instruction a semester and they can earn one credit per semester,” said Dan Fister, superintendent of education for innovation and experiential learning.
“Now they can get two credits per semester (and 220 hours of instruction). That allows them to get moving toward their pathway towards post-secondary education faster.
“Students want to be immersed more fully in English.”
The program is aimed at secondary school students and will be run out of Catholic Central Secondary School.
Between newly arrived immigrants and the recruitment of international students, the WindsorEssex Catholic District School Board has 404 secondary students in the ESL program.
Elementary students won’t see any changes to their program and will still get ESL support in their home schools.
For newcomers and international students, acquiring Englishlanguage skills is vital to starting a new life in Canada.
“This change is very important because it will help us graduate earlier,” said Grade 10 student Mina Polus, who arrived from Baghdad, Iraq, a year ago.
“We’ll learn much more in one semester. I’m excited to learn.
“It’s what I wanted, what I’ve waited for. It will help me do my dream of studying (engineering) at university.”
Polus, 18, said that as her language skills have improved, she has felt more comfortable at school and her social network has grown.
“I’m proud of myself learning more than one language and being able to make new friends,” Polus said. “It was hard at first, but it’s becoming easier.”
Runze Meng, a Grade 11 international student who arrived four months ago from his hometown just outside Beijing, has made remarkable progress in a short time.
“I couldn’t understand much English when I arrived,” said Meng, who is now capable of engaging in an interview with minimal assistance.
“At about four months, I’ve had a breakthrough in English. Now I can communicate and feel comfortable.”
Fister said ESL is divided into five levels of language proficiency ranging from the entry level at A to E. Students are assessed and then placed at the level of their proficiency.
The aim is to get students to successfully complete Level C as quickly as possible.
“Once they prove proficiency at that level, that’s the point we’ve found where students can make the transition to mainstream courses,” said Natalia Uros, who oversees the ESL program at Catholic Central.
“With the board’s open boundaries vision, once the student is proficient enough to join the mainstream programs they can choose where they want to go to school. Each school is unique with some wonderful programs being offered.”
The board has found internationals students in particular want those options to choose a county high school not just an urban one.
“Students want the full Canadian cultural experience,” Fister said. “They like having choices.”
One of the most important benefits of having 150 minutes of instruction is it allows teachers to get ESL students out of the classroom and into the community to engage in the type of conversations they ’ll experience everyday.
“It lets us have a line into our new life and helps us understand the culture,” Meng said of venturing outside the classroom.
“Speaking the language is the best practise.”