English as a Second Language - Middle School
Upon entering UNIS, students who speak a language other than English at home and who are not fluent in English are assessed by the ESL teachers. Evaluation results place a student in beginning, intermediate, or advanced ESL classes, or in a full mainstream program at the appropriate grade level.
Middle One and Middle Two
The aim of the beginning level ESL is the acquisition of basic English communicative and functional language skills, and beginning academic language proficiency. Students learn to communicate about themselves, family, feelings, and special interests. They acquire vocabulary to function in the immediate school environment and in New York City. The students learn simple English sentence structures in the affirmative, negative and question forms. They learn to read and comprehend fiction and non-fiction materials for the ESL beginning reader. Students work with simplified materials to become familiar with the Humanities content taught at their grade level. Vocabulary and some support of Mathematics and Science content is also part of the ESL curriculum.
The focus of the intermediate level ESL is on broadening the students’ vocabulary, as well as helping them developing the ability to listen critically and to express a point of view in class discussions. Strong emphasis is placed on reading and writing to facilitate participation in mainstream classes. Students move from simplified to original material, working on comprehension, inference and prediction. Writing is both personal and in response to reading, with use of the word processor as often as possible. The focus is on the process of writing, including drafts, proofreading and editing. Grammar is taught both formally and informally as problems occur in students’ writing. Intermediate students attend mainstream Humanities classes and are given help with more difficult texts and assignments. Students continue to receive support as needed in science.
The aim of advanced level ESL is to bring the students’ communicative, functional, and academic proficiency to the level of their Middle School peers. Students at the advanced ESL level attend mainstream Humanities and English classes. Therefore, much emphasis is placed on editing and revising assignments for those classes as well as on improving their independent reading and writing skills. This includes: formal written and oral expression, developing confidence in the use of more complex verb tenses and expanding English sentence combinations. There is a strong focus on paragraphing and logical sequence; note-taking and fact-finding/research skills are further developed, and practice is given in report writing and/or essay writing.
Middle Three and Middle Four
The aim of beginning level ESL is the acquisition of basic English communicative and functional language skills and beginning academic language proficiency. Students learn to communicate about themselves, family, feelings and special interests. They acquire vocabulary to function in the immediate school environment and in New York City. The students learn simple English sentence structures in the affirmative, negative and question forms. They learn to read and comprehend fiction and non-fiction materials for the ESL beginning reader. Students work with simplified materials to become familiar with the Humanities content taught at their grade level. Some support of all content area subjects, particularly with Mathematics and Science vocabulary, is also part of the ESL curriculum.
The focus of intermediate level ESL is on broadening the students’ vocabulary, as well as helping them develop the ability to listen critically and to express a point of view in class discussions. Strong emphasis is placed on reading and writing to facilitate participation in mainstream classes. Students move from simplified to original material, working on comprehension, inference and prediction. Writing is both personal and in response to reading, with use of the word processor as often as possible. The focus is on the process of writing, including drafts, proofreading and editing. Grammar is taught both formally and informally as problems occur in students’ writing. Intermediate students attend mainstream Humanities classes and are given help with more difficult texts and assignments. Students continue to receive support as needed in Science.
The aim of advanced level ESL is to bring the students’ communicative, functional and academic proficiency very close to the level of their Middle School peers. Students at the advanced ESL level attend mainstream Humanities and English classes. Therefore, much emphasis is placed on editing and revising assignments for those classes as well as on improving their independent reading and writing skills. This includes: formal written and oral expression, developing confidence in the use of more complex verb tenses and expanding English sentence combinations. There is a strong focus on paragraphing and logical sequence; note-taking and fact-finding/research skills are further developed, and practice is given in report and/or essay writing.