Page 45 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 to 12: French as a Second Language – Core, Extended, and Immersion, 2014

Responsibility for students’ English-language development is shared by the classroom teacher, the ESL/ELD teacher (where available), and other school staff. Volunteers and peers may also be helpful in supporting English language learners in the classroom. Teachers must adapt the instructional program in order to facilitate the success of these students in their classrooms. Appropriate adaptations include:
• modification of some or all of the subject expectations so that they are challenging but attainable for the learner at his or her present level of English proficiency, given the necessary support from the teacher;
• use of a variety of instructional strategies (e.g., extensive use of visual cues, graphic organizers, and scaffolding; previewing of textbooks; pre-teaching of key vocabulary; peer tutoring; strategic use of students’ first languages);
• use of a variety of learning resources (e.g., visual material, simplified text, bilingual dictionaries, and materials that reflect cultural diversity);
• use of assessment accommodations (e.g., granting of extra time; use of oral interviews, demonstrations or visual representations, or tasks requiring completion of graphic organizers or cloze sentences instead of essay questions and other assessment tasks that depend heavily on proficiency in English).
Teachers need to adapt the program for English language learners as they acquire English proficiency. For students in the early stages of language acquisition, teachers need to modify the curriculum expectations in some or all curriculum areas. Most English language learners require accommodations for an extended period, long after they have achieved proficiency in everyday English.
When curriculum expectations are modified in order to meet the language-learning needs of English language learners, assessment and evaluation will be based on the documented modified expectations. Teachers will check the ESL/ELD box on the provincial report card only when modifications have been made to curriculum expectations to address the language needs of English language learners (the box should not be checked to indicate simply that they are participating in ESL/ELD programs or if they are only receiving accommodations). There is no requirement for a statement to be added to the “Comments” section of the report cards when the ESL/ELD box is checked.
Although the degree of program adaptation required will decrease over time, students who are no longer receiving ESL or ELD support may still need some program adaptations to be successful.
For further information on supporting English language learners, refer to the following documents:
• English Language Learners – ESL and ELD Programs and Services: Policies and Procedures for Ontario Elementary and Secondary Schools, Kindergarten to Grade 12, 2007
• Supporting English Language Learners with Limited Prior Schooling: A Practical Guide for Ontario Educators, Grades 3 to 12, 2008
• Many Roots, Many Voices: Supporting English Language Learners in Every Classroom, 2005
SOME CONSIDERATIONS FOR PROGRAM PLANNING IN FRENCH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
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