Advanced Level Reading & Vocabulary
Curricular Aims
Students interact with longer, more academic text extensively and intensively with a focus on connecting ideas across texts, understanding explicit and implicit meaning and applying information. Students also acquire vocabulary and vocabulary decoding strategies that help them interact in an academic environment.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the level, students will be able to:
- read texts of 750+ words on academic topics with a focus on understanding main ideas, inferring meaning, connecting ideas across texts and using information to complete an academic task.
- analyze, understand and use information from complex non-linear texts and diagrams to complete a task.
- use, spell, and say select words from the Academic Wordlist focusing on building academic English lexis.
Advanced Level Writing & Grammar
Curricular Aims
Students will move from writing five-paragraph essays to producing longer research papers of 700+ words with a focus on conducting appropriate academic research, incorporating sources, and appropriate citation. Students will also study more advanced grammar structures that will enable them to produce longer, more academic writing.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the level, students will be able to:
- understand the form, meaning, and function of passive voice, past perfect, conditionals, gerunds and infinitives, and adjective clauses.
- produce a research paper of 700+ words on a topic studied in class which incorporates information from independent research.
- connect sentences, paragraphs, and sections using appropriate cohesive devices.
- avoid plagiarism by using appropriate citation and reference lists.
Advanced Level Listening & Speaking
Curricular Aims
Students interact with their classmates and instructor in academic class discussions and debates with fluency and confidence. Students also extend their note-taking skills by listening to/watching simulated academic lectures and applying the information to complete a task. At this level, students apply research skills to prepare an academic oral presentation complete with visual aids and references.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the level, students will be able to:
- listen to / watch semi-authentic academic lectures of 13+ minutes to understand main idea, specific details, speaker’s opinion, infer meaning, and apply information to an academic task.
- participate in class discussions and debates using information from class recordings and readings to support opinions and ideas with limited prompting.
- research, prepare, and present an individual and/or group oral presentation of 10-15 minutes on a topic covered in class or related to the student’s area of study.
