The English as a Second Language program, located within Learning Services (North), provides intensive English language teaching for students from language backgrounds other than English. Managed ESL staffing allocations assist schools in collaboratively building supportive, inclusive and equitable environments that enable ESL students to achieve optimal learning outcomes and participate in mainstream schooling.
Support Overview
General Principles
Graduating from ESL Program Support
Early Childhood / Middle Primary
Upper Primary
Secondary
College
ESL-New Arrival (ESL-NA) students may enter Tasmanian schools and colleges at any age and at any level of education. Students are enrolled at the local school in both rural/remote and urban areas. ESL provision, therefore, is arranged on a student by student basis. During the new arrival period ESL students at all levels develop an understanding of the Tasmanian schooling system, courses and subjects as well as appropriate and acceptable schooling behaviours. Language use is related to social and curriculum purposes, therefore learning focuses specifically on English acquisition and the literacy demands associated with learning English across the curriculum. Commonwealth ESL-NA per capita funding equates to approximately 80 hours ESL teacher support per student. ESL-NA funds are used solely for ESL staffing support, allocated at 2.5 hours per week.
Most ESL students require further support following the new arrival period to ensure appropriate language and learning techniques are being developed and students are able to access, participate and succeed in mainstream curriculum subjects. Ongoing student support beyond the ESL-NA funding period is allocated using Commonwealth Strategic Assistance for Increasing Student Outcomes (SAISO) General Support Element funding and is determined according to individual needs. Many ongoing students will require further support equivalent to the ESL-NA allocation which is then reduced to 1.25 hours per week, or in some cases to the provision of teacher aide time (1-2 hours per week), on a term-by-term basis.
Research suggests that early childhood and primary students move very quickly from intensive ESL support to mainstream provisions whereas secondary and senior secondary students may require longer periods of intensive support. Factors including age, culture and schooling background, together with the new schooling experience will determine the level and type of ongoing support required by individual students.
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ESL Program support is based on the following general principles:
· Early childhood students require support through their early literacy development, usually for four terms, but it can take longer for some students from a pre-literate cultural background.
· Most primary students can access the class curriculum with limited assistance after four terms. It can take longer for those with no literacy in their first language.
· Early childhood and primary students from preliterate cultural backgrounds need generous time allocation in the first 1-2 years, then exit the program to re-enter for limited support at key stages eg entry to high school, entry to college.
· Secondary students with literacy in their first language and continuous schooling prior to arrival require around 2 years of support to fully access the mainstream curriculum.
· Secondary students of refugee background generally require support into the third year [interrupted schooling, social/emotional development issues, trauma issues that impact on learning].
· Secondary students with no literacy in their first language may require support for 3-4 years.
· College students who are New Arrivals require a high level of support over 2 or 3 years if they are to succeed at and beyond college.
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Students graduate from the program once they reach levels on the ESL scales at which they are able to access the mainstream curriculum.
· Early childhood students need to achieve Oral Interaction, Level 2-3; Reading and Responding, Beginning Level 2 and Writing, Beginning Level 2.
· Primary students need to achieve Oral Interaction Level 4; Reading and Responding Level 3-4 and Writing Level 3-4.
· Secondary students need to achieve at a higher level if they are to access fully the secondary curriculum: Oral Interaction Level 6; Reading and Responding Level 5 and Writing Level 5.
Where students fail to achieve the ESL scales within the maximum expected length of time, and this is attributable to clearly established learning difficulties / special needs that impact on learning, more appropriate supports / pathways are established.
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In early childhood and middle primary classrooms the ESL teacher or Teacher Aide supports ESL students in classrooms, often providing learning support for small groups including the ESL student. Newly arrived students are not normally segregated from the mainstream classroom since this is the critical site for social and educational development and therefore language development. The ESL teacher may work with the whole class or introduce a concept and provide support for small groups of students completing set tasks. The ESL teacher, in collaboration with the classroom teacher, will model strategies and develop teaching and learning experiences which provide opportunities for ESL students to demonstrate understanding of concepts.
Specific ESL student needs can be addressed through targeted planning by the teaching team with instruction being delivered by the ESL teacher. Often this type of instruction may be linked to social skills / cultural understandings already demonstrated by other class members and may occur outside the normal classroom context.
Planning time is crucial to ensure the teaching team identifies specific outcomes for both ESL program time and ongoing mainstream teaching and learning experiences to jointly meet the needs of ESL students.
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In upper primary classrooms it is desirable that the ESL teacher supports ESL students in classrooms through the learning support model as described for early childhood and middle primary students, however this may not always be possible during the initial phase of intensive support due to factors such as the physical constraints of the classroom or the time of year the student arrives.
The decision to have newly arrived students withdrawn for periods of intensive English instruction is made by the teaching team in collaboration with senior staff. Often classroom teachers are able to identify 2 or 3 other students who would benefit from targeted program assistance, and appropriate groups are withdrawn by the ESL teacher to an identified space for this type of teaching and learning to occur.
Collaborative planning is crucial. The teaching team identifies specific outcomes for both ESL program time and ongoing mainstream teaching and learning experiences in order to jointly meet the needs of students. If a withdrawal model is used, the ESL teacher negotiates specific outcomes to support student participation and success in mainstream classroom experiences.
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Newly arrived students in the secondary school are enrolled as any other student and provided with a complete timetable for all classes prior to commencement of studies. Students may attend all classes for the first 2 – 3 weeks with the ESL teacher meeting regularly with the student and his / her teachers to monitor how and when English support is to be timetabled.
Intensive English support may be provided in-class where the ESL teacher accompanies students to specific classes, and on a withdrawal basis where students are withdrawn against specific subjects (not necessarily English) usually working in an identified ESL area in the school. Support models may be timetabled on a rotational basis e.g. weeks 1-6 science / SOSE, weeks 7-12 English/ maths, to ensure the support provided caters for individual needs across mainstream subjects which are difficult to access in the early stages. New arrival students are usually encouraged to enrol in subjects such as drama, computing, cooking, wood work and sport in their first year to minimise the need for intensive language support in these classes.
Many secondary schools provide a middle school program for grade 7 and 8 students where strong pastoral care support is provided. In these schools the ESL teacher provides additional support as appropriate, often in class, teaching small groups of students and focusing on specific assignments or topics being undertaken by the class. The reporting back / sharing component of the teaching and learning experience in the whole class context is maintained with the ESL teacher providing additional support in this process. If support is provided as withdrawal, the materials developed by the mainstream teacher may be used and/or adapted by the ESL teacher to ensure continuity of learning experiences for the students.
Secondary schools usually offer an established space for ESL students to come for ESL teacher support e.g. assignment, research, note taking skills etc. A regular time is negotiated with teachers and grade supervisors to ensure students have access to ESL teacher support for these skills when / as required.
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All newly arrived students requiring ESL program support are enrolled across a normal timetable (5 lines) ensuring 1 free line is maintained. English, Mathematics and Computing subjects are usually encouraged and options such as photography, health and recreation, visual arts, music and adventure education suggested. Enrolling / course counsellors assist students with enrolment forms and timetable organisation.
In colleges where there are larger numbers of students accessing ESL program support, ESL subjects are usually delivered by the college and ESL program support is used to support students in mainstream classes. Options classes may be designed specifically for newly arrived students. ESL program teachers target those lines where most students requiring support are placed, often coinciding support time with home group or group adviser times. Individual support occurs during free lines where students are able to access assistance from an ESL program teacher on an individual basis.
In colleges where there are only a small number of students requiring ESL program support and an ESL subject isn’t offered, the ESL teacher may run an ESL class on a timetabled line, support students in an appropriate mainstream English class or provide individual support on a timetabled basis. If student numbers increase a school-based ESL teaching position may be required to provide appropriate ESL instruction.
Guaranteeing Futures
Centre for Extended Learning (CELO)
Interpreters