EAL

Autumn Term: Year 1

Skills

• Completing an application form
• Reading job adverts and jobs related texts
• Planning and writing an application letter (E3 – L2)
• Writing a note about a dream job (E1-E2)
• Describing jobs and responsibilities – verbally and in a written form;
• Correcting sentence structure, punctuation and capitalisation mistakes
• Presentation and speaking skills – ‘Me and My Multiple Identities’, ‘ My Favourite Festival’

Knowledge

Vocabulary

• application forms – variety of expected questions, synonymous phrases/vocabulary
• the world of work – jobs, skills, responsibilities
• multiple identities and family – family members, relatives, relations
• festivals celebrated in the UK and British values

Grammar

• adjectives and adverbs
• comparatives/superlatives
• present simple – to be and third person singular exceptions
• irregular nouns
• future simple
• punctuation
• capitalisation, lower and upper case

Rationale

ESOL has been introduced to support learners whose first language is not English, helping them gain the communication skills needed to progress in mainstream subjects and everyday life. This SOW meets the linguistic needs of EAL learners starting the course at different levels of English and different times of academic year. Consequently, our newly arrived learners, as well as, more advanced learners are appropriately challenged throughout the year due to scaffolding and EAL Pedagogy continuously implemented in ESOL lessons by our specialist teachers.

The aim of reading activities in this part of the SOW is to give learners the skills to read and understand short texts such as public signs, public notices, maps, lists, forms, letters, emails, adverts, posters, simple appointment and greetings cards, to enable them to undertake essential everyday tasks in the workplace and in their everyday life.

The aim of speaking activities in this part of the SOW is to give learners the knowledge, understanding and skills they need to engage in conversations for different purposes and in different contexts such as in everyday life, in the workplace, and in their place of study. Every topic mentioned above provided opportunities for learners to speak, express their thoughts and talk about experiences. Carefully planned scaffolding and resources enable learners to talk about themselves and their families, their dream careers, different professions and aspirations.

The aim of writing activities of this part of SOW is to give learners opportunities to produce simple sentences to record and present information and ideas. Pre-Entry-E2 learners will be able to use correct punctuation for the end of sentences and they will use capitalisation for the beginning of sentences, names and places and for the personal pronoun ‘I’. Learners working at higher levels (E3-L2) will be introduced to key aspects and structures of notes and formal letters.

Preparing and delivering presentations on multiple identities and favourite festivals are aimed at making learners feel included, encouraging them to talk about their experiences and are closely linked to the British Values. Learners in the audience are to develop listening skills, tolerance and understand diversity. Learners presenting are to develop pronunciation, confidence and ability to discuss personal characteristics.

Spring Term: Year 1

Skills

• College/job interview skills
• Writing and evaluating a curriculum vitae
• Reading various signs and symbols with understanding
• Ordering food in a restaurant, reading a menu, justifying choices (persuasive language)
• Writing an informal letter
• Describing an experience (visiting a restaurant) with the use of adjectives
• Skimming, scanning, verifying information, identifying facts

Knowledge

Vocabulary

• college and job interviews
• work experience
• curriculum vitae
• public, health and safety, road, etc. signs and symbols
• restaurant – food and service related key vocabulary
• informal letter structure – key terms

Grammar

• adjectives and adverbs
• discourse markers
• past simple - sentence structure and verb forms
• difference between conjunctions, pronouns, prepositions, nouns, verbs, adjectives

Rationale

This part of the ESOL SOW continues to prepare learners new to English for teenage and young adult life in the United Kingdom.

The content and choice of topics for this part of the SOW are very closely linked to work experience, which every Year 10 should be prepared for, and complete by the end of Year 10. Learners prepare for and participate in mock job interviews. The job interview and restaurant based dialogues will enable them to speak clearly to communicate, using key vocabulary, grammatical formats, clear pronunciation with appropriate stress and intonation.

As far as developing writing skills is concerned, learners are introduced to creating two different pieces of writing, Curriculum Vitae and an informal letter. The latter includes teaching conventions of composing an informal letters, including correct structure, appropriate greeting and ending, inclusion of addresses, paragraphs relevant vocabulary, and more, needed in teenage and adult life, in many different contexts.

As it is almost impossible nowadays to get a job, or a work experience placement, without submitting an effective Curriculum Vitae, this section of the SOW enables the learners to learn the difference between an effective and ineffective CV. By the end of this unit learners will be aware of CV dos and don’ts, correct CV structure, key terms, powerful vocabulary and correct sentence structure that can be used when writing a CV.

Understanding the meaning of various signs and symbols is not only needed to pass ESOL E1 and E2 examinations but it is also an essential part of everyday life. Learners have been coming across signs and signage at school, train stations, GPs, shops, on the roads and many other places. Making learners aware of the existence different types of signs and their meaning is aimed at promoting, identifying and  providing information, as well as, giving directions or raising safety awareness.

SOW Overview: Summer Term – Year 1

Skills

• Reading property advertisements with understanding
• Online property search
• Writing an article
• Using language of comparison
• Reading exam questions with understanding
• Listening and speaking to convey information, feelings and opinions

Knowledge

Vocabulary

• houses, accommodation, parts of a house
• property advertisements
• public transport, types of transport
• word connotations
• work collocations – examples and activities

Grammar

• prepositions
• parts of speech
• present Continuous
• past
• ‘there is’ and ‘there are’
• relative pronouns
• adverbs of frequency

Rationale

This part of the ESOL SOW is made of three separate units, Housing and Accommodation, Public Transport, Sports, Hobbies and Leisure Time, Exams Dos and Don’ts. Every unit introduces new vocabulary, grammatical and cultural knowledge and skills needed to pass ESOL examinations and in real life situations.

The Housing and Accommodation unit teaches vocabulary, grammar and skills necessary to talk, read and write about different types of houses, describing rooms in a house or a scene in a picture, using specific phrases and Present Continuous. In addition, learners get familiar with key terms essential to understanding property/room for rent advertisements and tenancy vocabulary and rules. Learners also learn the language and skills necessary to search for a property according to certain instructions.

The Public Transport unit gets learners to learn and practice the use of language of comparison when discussing and writing about advantages and disadvantages of public transport. Key vocabulary glossaries, pictures and writing frames provide scaffolding for writing an article about pros and cons of public transport. Separate lessons on article structure, focusing on the correct use of headings, subheadings, paragraphs, and appropriate language are aimed at getting learners to write an effective article, which is a cross-curricular skill needed in studying many other subjects.

Another unit introduced in this part of the SOW, Sports, Hobbies and Leisure Time’ provides opportunities for learners to listen to other learners and speak to convey information, feelings and opinions on favourite sports and spending free time, including when in discussion with others. More challenging tasks give opportunities to speak to respond using appropriate formality for the situation, including when making points and responding to others in discussions. Scaffolding activities, speaking frames, bilingual resources and a variety of visual resources are included in the lessons to enable the learners to meet the learning objectives.

Exams Dos and Don’ts unit is knowledge based. The knowledge acquired and revised in this unit can be transferred to GCSE English Language lessons and examinations, and some real life situations when reading short texts or instructions with understanding is essential to providing correct answers. In this unit learners revise the difference between different parts of speech, sentence structure in different tenses, types of exam questions and their meaning, and more.