High School Block:
English as an Additional Language B1.1
English as an Additional Language (EAL) B1.1 is a course designed to further enhance social and academic English skills, with focus placed on developing a wide range of literacy and language skills through interacting (speaking/listening), reading, and writing for a variety of purposes and audiences. Learners are provided with opportunities to expand on writing skills, academic vocabulary, reading strategies, socio-cultural competencies, and strategies for academic success. Learners will further develop their abilities to participate in conversations about a variety of familiar topics that arise in daily life at school and in the community. They will use English to talk, read, and write about ideas, opinions, and information, reflect on past events, and share plans for the future.
An important objective across all courses in the English as an Additional Language course pathway is to support learners’ English proficiency development in order to communicate effectively in varied contexts and with members of a diverse Canadian society. Learners are afforded dedicated time to focus on speaking, listening, reading, and writing, as aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Language and by using an action-oriented approach.
By the end of this course, learners will be consistently demonstrating competencies in English at the B1.1 level of the CEFR. This means that learners will be able to understand straightforward factual information provided orally and in writing, express and justify opinions, and write with reasonable accuracy in familiar contexts. They can engage in conversations and exchange information on familiar subjects, expressing opinions and describing past events or future. Students can write simple connected texts and give reasons for their ideas with some support. They begin to discuss cultural practices and participate in multicultural contexts through various forms of communication. Students also apply basic strategies for academic and personal growth, such as organizing materials and reflecting on their strengths and challenges.
CONTEXTS AND CONCEPTS
Social and Everyday Interactions
- Engaging in conversations and discussions on social, personal and academic topics
- Asking for and giving opinions on simple matters
- Describing personal experiences, past events, and future plans
- Expressing likes, dislikes, and preferences with some reasoning
- Using appropriate social expressions for invitations, requests, and responses
- Beginning to discuss cultural differences and similarities with support
English Language and Literacy
- Understanding main ideas in clear, straightforward speech/text (e.g., news reports, class discussions)
- Using simple connectors to link ideas in writing (e.g., first, then, because)
- Summarizing familiar topics in written form, such as experiences or plans
- Reading and understanding factual information from simple texts (e.g., articles, emails)
- Writing short, connected texts (e.g., descriptions, past events, plans)
- Using basic grammar and vocabulary correctly, with some errors in complex structures
Skills for School and Life
- Organizing learning materials and keeping track of academic progress
- Participating in group work and discussions by expressing opinions
- Reflecting on personal strengths and challenges, with some guidance
- Setting simple goals and tracking progress with support
- Using simple strategies to comprehend new information (e.g., predicting, re-reading)
- Applying learning strategies and tools to support academic and personal success
- Discussing ways to express identity, culture and community in a variety of formats
GRADE 12
Strand: Oral Communication
Big Idea: Spoken Interaction
Skill Descriptor: Participate in social conversations on topics that are familiar, of personal interest, and pertinent to everyday life.
Global Competencies: CM, CL
Achievement Indicators:
- Initiate and participate in basic conversations on familiar, everyday topics
- Exchange factual information through asking and answering questions about personal or routine matters
- Ask and follow simple directions or instructions, requesting clarification when needed
- Sustain a conversation, responding appropriately to simple social exchanges, including suggestions, invitations, and apologies
- Express simple opinions on familiar topics and respond with polite agreement or disagreement
- Give reasons for choosing between simple alternatives
- Share a basic opinion about a book, movie, or song using simple language
- Ask and answer questions in past and future tense, with minimal errors
Big Idea: Spoken Production
Skill Descriptor: Express ideas on topics that are familiar, educational or of interest, by giving short, organized descriptions, and explaining ideas, experiences and opinions in clear and understandable ways.
Global Competencies: CM, CTPS, SASM
Achievement Indicators:
- Give straightforward descriptions to convey ideas, even when some vocabulary is missing
- Express opinions on subjects related to everyday life
- Give simple reasons to justify opinions on familiar topics
- Describe events, real or imagined, using a basic sequence of actions (e.g. first, then, after that)
- Deliver a short prepared presentation and respond to simple, clear questions
- Describe past experiences and express related feelings, offering basic reasons
- Use clear pronunciation with generally accurate stress and intonation patterns to support meaning
Strand: Reading and Viewing
Big Idea: Reading Skills and Strategies
Skill Descriptor: Select and use numerous reading strategies.
Global Competencies: CM, CTPS, SASM, CL
Achievement Indicators:
- Scan through straightforward factual texts and identify what they are about and if they contain useful information
- Make supported predictions related to fiction and non-fiction texts, before and during reading, using text features and factual clues
- Use key words, diagrams, graphs, and illustrations to support comprehension
- Make personal and text-based connections to support understanding of familiar and educational topics
- Distinguish facts from opinions in a straightforward text, using a graphic organizer when needed
- Use context to deduce the meaning of unknown words in texts on a familiar topic
- Read aloud with fluency, using phrasing and intonation to show understanding
Big Idea: Reading Comprehension
Skill Descriptor: Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts, on topics of interest.
Global Competencies: CM, CTPS, SASM, CL
Achievement Indicators:
- Identify the topic and purpose of a straightforward text and whether it contains useful information
- Identify key elements of a narrative text with high-frequency vocabulary and clear structure
- Find practical information in various sections of long information texts from a website or magazine
- Demonstrate understanding of simplified versions of fictional texts with a clear structure
- Demonstrate understanding of viewpoints in short opinion pieces on familiar topics
- Demonstrate understanding of simple technical instructions
- Identify the main idea in short informational or persuasive texts on familiar topics
Strand: Writing and Representing
Big Idea: Written Production
Skill Descriptor: Produce reasonably accurate connected text with a main idea, supported with some secondary ideas that relate to past events and/or expanding topics of personal interest.
Global Competencies: CM, SASM, ICE
Achievement Indicators:
- Use appropriate vocabulary to explain and describe common subjects
- Write short texts on familiar topics that express a personal point of view
- Summarize simple texts, focusing on main ideas
- Write descriptive paragraphs using appropriate organization and vocabulary
Big Idea: Written Interaction
Skill Descriptor: Compose short texts on a variety of familiar subjects through multiple modes of communication.
Global Competencies: CM, SASM, ICE
Achievement Indicators:
- Write basic messages or emails to request or give information of a factual nature
- Write a simple note to thank or apologize, with appropriate tone and conventions
- Respond to short written prompts, expressing agreement or disagreement with brief explanations
Strand: Intercultural Competence
Big Idea: Multicultural Canadian School Context
Skill Descriptor: Employ social and school-related norms within the multicultural Canadian context through multiple modes of representation, expression and action.
Global Competencies: CM, SGC, SASM, CTPS, ICE
Achievement Indicators:
- Identify concepts of culture and diversity within the Canadian school context
- Invite other people in a group to speak
- Describe rights as a member of various communities and give some examples
- Describe responsibilities as a member of various communities and give some examples
- React to cultural texts, connecting to personal experiences and those of others
- Communicate main idea from one language to another in both factual and fictional subjects
- Use a variety of common expressions and follow social norms in a variety of interactions
Strand: Strategies for Success
Big Idea: Agency
Skill Descriptor: Demonstrate effective use of strategies for academic and personal success.
Global Competencies: CM, SGC, SASM, CTPS, ICE
Achievement Indicators:
- Demonstrate effective use of variety of tools to help with personal English language learning journey
- Explain what plagiarism is
- Find information using suggested reference materials and resources
- Work collaboratively with peers
- Use a graphic organizer to take notes while listening
- Set learning goals, monitor progress, and adjust as needed
- Organize personal learning materials
- Complete a strengths, needs, and interests inventory and share a personal reflection on it
- Use discourse strategies to ensure comprehension when talking with another person
