The purpose of the Structured English Immersion (SEI) program is to increase English language proficiency and the academic achievement of English Language Learner (ELL) students. Students are offered the opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to be become self-confident, responsible, productive and contributing members of society.

The foreign and Native language standards state what students need to know about languages and cultures, including their own; what students need to be able to do; and how this knowledge and these abilities relate to the subject matter of other core areas. The standards are stated clearly and in measurable terms:

• what students need to know in order to function successfully as they enter a new millennium that promises major changes in communications and contacts with other languages and cultures;

• what students need to be able to do. Knowing about a language and its culture(s), while essential, is not sufficient; students will develop skills for functioning effectively in varied contexts; and the integration of foreign languages into the rest of the curriculum so that the connections are clear and so that learning in all areas is facilitated, including the development of a deeper understanding of one’s own language and culture.

The five strands under which the standards are organized–Communication, Culture, Connections, Comparisons and Communities–are meant to be interwoven among themselves as well, rather than taught as separate entities. Meeting the standards for each one will contribute to reaching the standards of the others.

Descriptions of Language Abilities for Each Level

Readiness

Students use basic vocabulary. They express themselves in phrases, short sentences and memorized material. Students are able to comprehend simple descriptions, narratives, and authentic materials. Pronunciation and fluency are such that students often might not be understood by native speakers. They are able to write accurately what they can say.

Foundations

Students speak and write extemporaneously using short sentences and sentence strings in present tense on topics within their experience with the language. They can describe, ask and answer questions; engage in simple conversations; and carry out simple realistic functions such as ordering a meal, buying something, or introducing themselves or others to a group. Since their knowledge of the forms and structures of the language has grown rapidly but their practice has been limited, their speech is likely to contain numerous linguistic errors. Students are comprehensible to sympathetic listeners who have experience with non-native speakers of their language. Their written language still mirrors their oral language, although they may be able to express more ideas more accurately in writing, given time to reflect, review and revise.

Essentials

Students speak with somewhat longer utterances and begin to display an ability to connect phrases and sentences to show relations between ideas expressed. Although patterns of errors are still common, students now speak and write extemporaneously in past, present and future time, using vocabulary related to their own lives and interests. Accent and intonation are generally accurate, although pauses and false starts may be common, as students give simple instructions and directions, make comparisons, solve problems together, and engage in conversations on a range of topics including leisure activities, professions and current events. In written work, students’ spelling and punctuation are mostly accurate; and they organize their ideas well.

Proficiency

Students use paragraph-length connected discourse to narrate, describe, and discuss ideas and opinions. On topics of interest to them and within their experience, they show few patterns of linguistic errors, they are generally comprehensible to native speakers of the language, and their vocabulary is sufficient to avoid awkward pauses. They are able to circumvent linguistic gaps or lapses by “finding another way to say it.” Given time to reflect and revise, they are able to express their ideas completely and interestingly in writing, with generally accurate grammar, vocabulary, spelling, accents and punctuation. They comprehend most authentic expository and fictional material produced for contemporary native speakers.

Distinction

Students show almost no patterns of linguistic errors and are able to carry out almost any task that they can execute in English, albeit with less fluency and control or breadth of vocabulary and grammar. They can argue a point effectively and extemporaneously, explaining their point of view in detail. In writing, their ideas are well organized and clearly, completely, and interestingly presented, with accurate use of the language’s writing system. They can comprehend any non-technical material produced for the general public of native speakers in the standard language.

Kyrene School District. Exceptional student services. Retrieved on April 15, 2015 from http://www.kyrene.org/Page/1031

Standards and Objectives of 2 ELL Programs