English As A Second Language (ESL)

SSIS provides an English as a Second Language (ESL) Program for non-native speakers whose English competency skills fall below grade level. The ESL program prepares students with the English language skills and competencies needed for content studies in the regular classroom setting. The program stresses oral and listening communication skills as well as reading and writing proficiency.

The ESL program includes a Sheltered Immersion model of instruction, which provides support while simultaneously immersing the student in the mainstream population. Based on their language level, ESL students are taught in a protected or sheltered environment for part of the school day. They are also immersed in regular classrooms, often with an ESL teacher co-teaching the instruction, or placed in regular classrooms which are taught by dually certified ESL/English teachers. As they develop their language skills, ESL students are mainstreamed into regular classes with an ESL teacher offering indirect assistance of materials development and curriculum construction.

Depending on their English proficiency level, High School ESL students may be enrolled in specially designed ESL classes where the focus is on improving skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. These courses include Intensive English, Grammar and Writing Improvement, Reading Development, and Advanced Composition and Research.

All non-native English speakers are evaluated by the ESL Department prior to their placement. Placement of students is determined by the ESL Department, Director of Admissions and consultation with the Principal. Students exit the ESL program based on the following 3 criteria: proficiency examination, classroom performance and ESL teacher recommendation.

ESL/Intensive English	Grades: 9/10 Length: 1 Year Credit: 1.0 Textbooks: Thomson’s Visions: Levels A,B, Grammar Sense I, Penguin Leveled Readers, Composition Practice A The Intensive English class offers intensive instruction in reading, writing, speaking and listening to non-native speakers in the high school. Students develop their reading skills through a sequenced leveled reading program. They write daily in journals, follow the writing process for longer essays and learn the necessary grammar and usage rules to help them improve their compositions. Daily class discussions, oral presentations and group work enable them to improve their listening and speaking skills.
Grammar and Writing Improvement	Grades 10/11 Length: 1 Semester Credit: 0.5 Textbooks: Grammar Sense II, Composition Practice B, Go for It. The Grammar and Writing Improvement class offers both ESL students and those recommended by their teachers the opportunity to improve their skills in expository writing. Students in this class review common errors in writing and the ways to correct them. Students write daily in journals on selected topics, many related to content area studies. They use the writing process for longer assignments, functioning as peer editors. This writer’s workshop emphasizes the importance of communicating using grammatically correct syntactical patterns.
Developmental Reading ESL	Grades: 10-11 Length: 1 Semester Credit: 0.5 The Developmental Reading class offers students an opportunity to discuss reading strategies for different types of texts and reading comprehension activities and practice these independently and in group work. The course uses a series of leveled readers, the SRA Reading Laboratory program, the Vocabulary Connections Workbooks and multiple reading activities to help students increase their comprehension, speed and approach to decoding a text. Students develop their skills in reading a variety of works in English.
Advanced Composition	Grades 11,12 Length: 1 Year Credit: 1.0 Textbooks: 13 Steps to Better Writing, How to Write a Research Paper, The Lively Art of Writing, Humorous American Stories, Issues for Debate Students in Advanced Composition focus on expository writing or analytical essays, the types of writings they will be expected to do in college. They read contemporary articles on current issues as well as selections from literary works to stimulate discussion and debate. They write frequently in their journals. Reviewing the skills of the writing process, and learning the steps to complete a complex researched study, students submit a well documented research paper which uses internet, print sources and non-print media. They then present their researched study in a multi-media presentation to the class. Group work, especially peer editing, whole and small group class discussions are integral parts of the class.