Steps
The Ontario Ministry of Education (2001) emphasizes the importance for schools to have procedures in place to support and reassure students who are entering unfamiliar surroundings and to promote a smooth and successful integration. Procedures include assessment, the placement of students, and monitoring progress.
Initial Assessment
In order to provide appropriate programming, initial assessment is used to obtain further, more detailed information about each student’s educational background, experiences, and level of proficiency in English. This process includes a first-language assessment, an ESL assessment, and a mathematics assessment. Over several weeks, as students participate in reading and writing tasks, mathematics activities, interact with peers, and respond to new tasks and learning situations, information should be gathered informally through observation.
ESL students arrive with a variety of literacy experiences. Determining the student’s level of literacy in his or her first language will help clarify the level of support the student will require while learning English. Where services and resources are available, the assistance of interpreters or translators, and the use of dual-language materials may be helpful. The student’s proficiency in using the first language in initial writing tasks can provide information about his or her literacy skills.
Placement
Generally, elementary students should be placed in the grade that is appropriate for their age, rather than in a lower grade on the basis of their level of academic functioning. Students’ academic development and social development are enhanced in an environment where they are able to engage in the learning process with their peers. To identify what type of ESL program would be most appropriate for the students, information should be gathered from their student records, parents and through the initial assessment. Since rates of English-language acquisition vary from student to student, ongoing monitoring of student progress and a flexible approach are needed to ensure that students’ ESL programs continue to be appropriate for them.
When assessment and monitoring of a student’s progress indicates that he or she may be functioning several grades behind his or her peers, teachers should try to obtain more information about the student’s educational background. With focused literacy instruction, many students can make steady gains towards catching up with peers. Even so, some students may have learning difficulties that are not related to a lack of knowledge of English or to gaps in their schooling, and thus, measures should be taken to accommodate these students.
Monitoring
Classroom teachers and, where available, ESL teachers, should be carefully monitoring each student’s academic progress and social integration. While the initial assessment may provide sufficient information for tentative programming, it is important to assess each student’s progress on an ongoing basis. Teachers should regularly suggest and make changes to a student’s program and provide additional support as needed. Teachers should also keep track of the student’s academic and linguistic development and progress in second language acquisition. The student’s progress should continue to be monitored until he or she has demonstrated a level of proficiency in English skills similar to that of his or her English-speaking peers.
Assessment and Evaluation
Assessment and evaluation of ESL students should:
- Focus on improving student learning
- Be linked directly to the curriculum expectations
- Incorporate student self-assessment
- Actively involve students and parents
- Recognize linguistic and academic progress while taking into account realistic and varying rates of second language learning
Language learning is developmental and involves experiment and approximation, and thus, the educational strengths and needs of the ESL student can be identified most effectively through the use of a variety of assessment tools. Students should be given a wide range of opportunities to demonstrate what they know and what they can do.
In addition, teachers should adjust their expectations according to the length of time students have been in Canada, their previous educational and social experiences, and the amount of cultural adjustment required. Evaluation procedures should be clear and purposeful and should distinguish between ESL needs and program content needs.
Reporting to Parents of ESL Students
Throughout the school year, teachers should communicate with parents about their child’s progress. To keep parents informed, in addition to the report card, teachers can use parent-student-teacher conferences, interviews, phone calls, and informal reports. Where possible, it would also be helpful to use the services of an interpreter to ensure that all information is conveyed clearly and understood completely, and to enable parents to ask questions.
