ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

 

Verde Valley School launches a full range of English Language Learning courses this semester.  Students at Verde Valley School represent a variety of national, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.  In order to best meet the academic and social needs of students at Verde Valley School who need assistance in getting their English language proficiency up to grade level, the English as a Second Language (ESL) program is pleased to announce a full range of courses available for the 2nd Semester of the 2010 – 2011 school year.

Basic ESL Language Arts is the first of two courses available to students designed to assist students in developing grade-level English proficiency.  In this course students will focus on reading, writing, and vocabulary skills as they improve their ability to navigate the English speaking world they are living in and prepare for grade-level course work in English, Science, and Social Studies. Students can expect to study and be assessed in reading comprehension, reading fluency, writing and vocabulary.  

A combined Intermediate/Advanced ESL Language Arts course is the second in a set of classes offered to assist students in developing English language proficiency at grade-level.  In this course students will focus on specific reading strategies used in academic contexts.  Students will learn to write in the specific styles and formats required by the IB in their 11th and 12th grade years.  Students will study and be assessed in reading comprehension, reading fluency, writing composition and style.  

The ESL Language Lab course focuses on listening and speaking skills.  Students can expect to improve their oral English proficiency through the creation of audio-journals in Garage Band and Moodle, daily work in English in a Flash, and focused pronunciation practice.  The goal of this class is to assist students in developing the listening and speaking skills needed to navigate their social and academic worlds in English successfully.  This course is taught by Sara Flynn - ELL Coordinator/Faculty.

ESL Science is a course offered to English Language Learners that focuses on the vocabulary and concepts specific to science.  Students will take this course concurrently with their grade-level science class.  They will be exposed to and become familiar with much of the vocabulary and general scientific concepts that will be present in their science classes.  The curriculum used for this course has been developed specifically for English Language Learners and is published by Thomson-Heinle.  Students will use audio materials, texts, and participate in hands-on projects throughout the course.