Please note: This document is a more detailed representation of the information given to parents at the FIS Back to School Night that takes place at the start of every new school year.
The schedules for ESL students in the upper school depend on their grade level and their level of English proficiency. Older students have more choice in what they study than younger ones. Please ask your child to show you her schedule, and discuss with her homeroom teacher or ESL teacher if you have any concerns.
In general, ESL students follow the full mainstream program - which means that they spend most of the day in lessons attended by fluent and native-speakers of English. Depending on their grade and proficiency level, they may be removed from English mainstream, foreign language or humanities classes for special English support - i.e. ESL lessons.
Your child is placed in an ESL class according to his or her proficiency in the four language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. If your child is new to the school these skills are assessed at an entrance interview, otherwise they are subject to continuous assessment while your child remains in the ESL program. In June parents are notified of our recommended placement for their child for the next school year, and are invited to discuss the decision if they have any concerns or questions.
For more information about the ESL courses available for the different grade levels, click the linkbelow:
ESL homework takes many forms, including summary writing, note-taking, vocabulary development exercises and grammar practice. The purpose of much ESL homework is to prepare students for forthcoming assignments in their other subjects, or to give them extra practice in forms of language and vocabulary needed for those assignments.
However, ESL homework is not always given, particularly at ESL2 level, because we know that ESL students very often need much longer than their native-speaking peers to complete their other homework assignments satisfactorily. Nevertheless, students can ask for extra work to improve their English if they have enough time and energy to do so.
Individualized homework is sometimes given to students who show gaps in the knowledge of grammar or vocabulary.
How to help your child with his or her subject homework
How quickly your child learns English does not only depend on what happens in lessons. What happens outside the classroom and at home is very important, too.
Although we realize that most students like to mix with others of the same nationality, it is good if they can spend at least part of their day talking English in social situations. For this reason we encourage students to take part in our after-school sports or art and drama programs.
It is not necessary for you to speak English with your child at home, however. Indeed, it is most important that students do not neglect their first language, and have every opportunity of discussing the day's work in their mother tongue. (This is probably the single most important thing you can do to help your child at home.) Of course it is often very helpful if you can help with their homework, particularly students at ESL1 level. It is also very important that they take every opportunity to read, both in English and in their first language. We have an excellent library of books for all levels of English and all interest areas, and your child is strongly encouraged to make use of it.
Grammar forms the basis of every language but it is best learned and remembered in the context in which it is met, not isolated as sets of rules. For this reason we do not spend much time in class learning grammar rules in isolation. Some students enjoy learning grammar, however, which is why they are provided with a selstudy book to use at home if they wish. Nevertheless, it is better to use the time to read a book, or perhaps to watch an English film or listen to an English cassette - such items can be borrowed from the ESL department. And in many cases, an extra hour's sleep is to be preferred to an hour's extra study!
One final point: please ensure that your child owns a good bilingual dictionary and brings it to school every day.
More advice on how to help your child at home
The following table shows how your child’s progress is assessed in the four skill areas, plus grammar and vocabulary. The formal assessment is usually by means of tests at the end of the first and third terms; the informal assessment is based on the day-to-day observation by the ESL teacher of your child’s performance in ESL classwork and homework.
| FORMAL | INFORMAL | |
| Speaking | speeches, oral presentations | asking and responding to questions, participation in group or class discussions |
| Listening | showing evidence of understanding recorded material | understanding questions and instructions, showing ability to follow oral presentations |
| Reading | descriptive or expository writing | discussion of stories or other texts read in ESL, English or other subject lessons |
| Writing | showing evidence of | analysis of writing done in ESL and other subjects, particularly journal writing |
| Grammar | multiple-choice grammar tests; identifying grammar mistakes in a piece of writing | teacher observation of student grammar as exhibited in spoken and written language |
| Vocabulary | word tests | teacher observation of the student’s active/passive vocabulary as exhibited in the four skill areas |
The assessment of your child’s progress in English is not only carried out on the basis of work done in ESL lessons. An essential part of the profile that we build up on your child’s developing ability in the language is derived from his or her performance in the regular subject lessons. The assessment of this performance is mainly informal and is based on observations by the ESL teacher and/or the subject teacher in the areas listed in the right side of the table shown above. The child’s performance in subject tests, and the degree to which results have been achieved independent of extra ESL or parental support, is a further important part of this profile.
Your child’s self-evaluation of his or her strengths and weaknesses is the final part of our assessment process.