International Academy of Beijing provides an English as a Second Language (ESL) program to address the language and academic needs of students who speak a language other than English as their primary language and who have limited proficiency in the English language. The ESOL Program develops English language proficiency and academic skills to help students to participate successfully in the mainstream class.

 

ESL class: students are instructed in the four language areas of the English language and supported in areas of difficulty (instruction is adapted to their English language proficiency level).

 

Pullout class: some students are taken from their mainstream class to receive focused instruction and subject support from the ESL teacher. The ESL program focuses on English language acquisition and the development of academic skills. The ESL department also provides support to the classroom teacher.

 

Language learners move through a series of predictable stages as they acquire a new language. The ESL program aims at assisting students to learn to read with fluency at their grade level, ranging from early levels of letter and sound recognition to more advanced levels of accurately comprehending various types and lengths of level appropriate written materials.

 

All incoming and current students are assessed periodically (on placement, within the quarter, and on exit) in the language areas of listening, reading, speaking and grammar.

 

Informal assessments are carried out mostly through teacher observations of students and student assignments. Formal testing tools are found in the ESL course curriculum texts, which indicate mastery of the material covered and determine if the students require review. The reading, writing, listening, speaking, and vocabulary sections measure students' existing knowledge and development of vocabulary, emerging knowledge and full ability to produce the language. The grammar section measures students' existing knowledge and progress in both grammatical and speech ability.

 

Exiting Criteria:

A number of factors help in determining a students' exit from the ESL program. These include language proficiency test scores, standardized test scores in reading and content areas, informal reading inventory, writing proficiency (grammar, syntax, spelling, and composition), length of time in ESL program, grades, classroom teacher recommendation, ESL Teacher recommendation, and parental notification (The student's parent will be notified of the student's reclassification as English proficient and his or her exit from the ESL program).

 

Although the rate of language acquisition varies for each individual student, it is expected that students exit the ESL program within two to three years.