Page 14 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: English As a Second Language and English Literacy Development, 2007

THE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE AND ENGLISH LITERACY DEVELOPMENT
THEONTARIOCURRICULUM,GRADES9–12 | ESLandELD
OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM
English language learners in any grade may be placed in appropriate ESL or ELD courses. Since many ESL and ELD classes include students aged between fourteen and twenty, the topics and activities must be selected to appeal to a wide range of ages and maturity levels. There are five ESL courses and five ELD courses. The courses are designated according to levels of proficiency in English and literacy development, not by grade.
All ESL and ELD courses are open courses.
Students may substitute up to three ESL or ELD courses for compulsory English credit requirements. The remaining English credit shall be chosen from one of the compulsory English courses offered in Grade 12. Additional ESL or ELD credits may be counted as optional credits for diploma purposes.
English as a Second Language (ESL) Courses
These courses are designed for English language learners who have had opportunities to develop language and literacy skills in their own language appropriate to their age
or grade level. Most English language learners are in this group. These learners may be entering secondary school from elementary school alongside their English-speaking peers, or they may be entering secondary school in Ontario having recently arrived from other countries. They can read and write in their own language within the expected range for students of their age in their own country. They can build on their existing first-language skills when learning English in an ESL program.
The five ESL courses are based on levels of proficiency in English. Depending on learners’ previous experience with English, students may be placed in ESL Level 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. For example, a student who has been in full-time education in his or her country of origin but who has never studied English would be placed in ESL Level 1. A student who has been in full-time education in his or her own country and has studied some English might be placed in ESL Level 2 or 3 on the basis of the initial English language
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