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The curriculum frameworks are the minimum student performance
standards that were developed to assist teachers with consistency
in the delivery of program instruction. These frameworks
have been updated regularly to reflect current national
and state policy in curriculum and instruction of Adult
ESOL/English Literacy. General descriptions of each of the
ESOL courses, placement of students into these courses,
implications for instruction and evaluation of progress
follow.
The Adult English Literacy/Adult ESOL curriculum standards were designed to enhance the ability of our students to communicate completely in English at various levels of instruction. To assist Florida's English Literacy/Adult ESOL instructors in the classroom, current Progress Reports and Standardized Syllabi contain curriculum standards and their attendant competencies as guidelines for classroom instruction. Instructors who follow the Progress Reports or Standardized Syllabi will ensure that students receive the instruction necessary to communicate in English, find and maintain employment and become productive, engaged members of the local community.
Printable Progress Reports are available
at the links embedded within the following course descriptions
which follow for Literacy for Adult ESOL Learners, Academic
Skills, Citizenship, as well as the Workplace Education Accountability Report (in lieu of the
Progress Report). These Progress or Accountability Reports
can be used for these specific courses to attain LCPs.
For English Literacy/Adult ESOL courses, Standardized Syllabi have been developed and should be used
to guide instruction at all levels Foundations through Advanced.
Each instructional level focuses on Workforce Development,
Life, and Academic skills. It is not intended that students
will progress through the performance standards sequentially.
The instructor may present topic-centered lessons that integrate
skills from several areas.
Finally, links to User Guides, two-page
printable information sheets are provided within each of
the pertinent course description which follow. Adult ESOL
educators and administrators are encouraged to print these
handy guides for quick reference information on target population,
placement and progress testing guidelines for each course
taught in Adult ESOL Programs throughout Florida.
Adult ESOL Literacy is a non-credit course that is designed to prepare students
to communicate effectively, especially in the areas of basic
literacy in English, through the introduction of skills
useful in the workplace, general community and at school
by integrating the teaching of basic literacy skills into
reading, writing, speaking and listening formats. Literacy
for Adult ESOL Learners is divided into three Literacy Completion
Points (LCPs), Literacy A, B and C.
Students entering the Literacy for Adult ESOL Learners course sponsored by a Community College, School District or other approved agency are required to complete an orientation, admission and assessment process. During the initial assessment process it is determined that the student has little or no literacy/education in any language. The following will be used to make that determination:
- CASAS Oral Screening Questions drawn from CASAS Appraisal
Manual are administered.
- If the student obtains 5 points or less, administer
the 5 Practice Items from CASAS Literacy Form 27.
- Students who complete the 5 Practice Items from CASAS
Literacy Form 27 with some difficulty are then administered
the Native
Language Literacy Screening. The Directions that accompany the Screening
for scoring and administration should be followed. (If
the student struggles to provide coherent written responses,
place the student in the Literacy for Adult ESOL Learners
course # 9900300 (Level A, B or C).
Note: If the student obtains 5 points
or fewer on the CASAS Oral Screening, but completes the
5 Practice Items with little or no difficulty, administer
one of the following standardized tests: CASAS Reading Level
A Form 31/32 or 81/82 or the BEST Literacy Skills or the
BEST Plus test. The Reading test score is not used for placement
since the Listening score of record is 0 (based on the results
of the Oral Screening). Student placement will be in the
core Adult ESOL course, Foundations Level.
Progress
Reports objectives should be used to guide
course content. Curriculum materials chosen for this course
must be adult oriented and at the appropriate language and
literacy proficiency levels for literacy learners and culturally
sensitive. Classroom activities and materials that reflect
the real life needs of the students incorporate the previous
knowledge and experience of the learners and which appeal
to a variety of learning styles are strongly recommended.
Any student who is non-literate or reads and writes at a very basic level (below 4th grade level) will have difficulty learning to read and write in a language that he or she does not speak or understand. Therefore, if possible, the use of the native language to teach literacy concepts is also recommended and is based on the research premise that a student learns to read and write only once in his or her lifetime and learns the basic mechanics of literacy best in a language s/he already comprehends. If native language literacy strategies are used, the student will then be able to transfer these literacy skills to the use of the English language.
If finding bilingual instructors to use native language literacy strategies isn't possible, the use of volunteer tutors or paraprofessionals who speak the home languages of students and who can provide basic literacy support can function very effectively.
The completed Literacy
for Adult ESOL Learners Progress Reports must be maintained
by the local district or community college as documentation
of the LCP attainment for audit purposes Agencies may institute
a local procedure to provide supplemental documentation
in addition to the completed Progress Report. The Adult
ESOL Task Force has developed an Exit Test Item Bank of
questions for each ESOL Literacy Course level. A copy of
the Item Bank may be obtained with an email request to:
floridaadultesol@aol.com.
The Item Bank was developed as a resource to assist agencies
in the preparation of a local exit test. While a local exit
test may be used to provide back-up documentation it can
never be used in place of the Progress Report. One LCP is
awarded after the Progress Report is reported to the state.
The completed Literacy for Adult ESOL Learners Progress
Report will be maintained by the agency as documentation
of the LCP attainment for audit purposes.
Students who complete ESOL Literacy Level C will exit this course.
Students who choose to continue studying English will follow the enrollment procedure for the core Adult ESOL course.
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