Back to NC Curriculum Guide Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7 Level 8 Literacy A Literacy B

Beginning-Low 2
Legend:
Italics
taken directly from the Model Standards
{item or items}
specific vocabulary to be taught
N
objective to be introduced
C
objective to be continued
R
objective to be reviewed
(receptive only)
teacher uses structure/vocabulary without grammatical explanation and does not expect students to produce



Student Profile at Entry

Students enter the Beginning Low level with little or no ability to read or write English. They are unable to function unassisted in a situation requiring spoken English.

Approach

Emphasis is on developing students' ability to listen and understand. There is little emphasis on grammatical accuracy. Nonverbal behavior and cross-cultural communication are taught implicitly through demonstration and interaction.

The development of listening comprehension is the critical task of the teacher at this level. Techniques, such as TPR (Total Physical Response) and the Natural Approach monitor a student's listening comprehension without oral response. Drill, dialogues and simple roleplays can be used for oral practice. Realia, including pictures, clocks, calendars, Flashcards, and objects, provide a necessary visual context for the language. Students will learn grammar patterns inductively through activities such as cloze, simple dictation, word games, and scrambled words and sentences. At the beginning low level, extensive vocabulary building is incorporated into the ongoing review process.

At this level, students begin to apply strategies that enable them to solve problems, make decisions and conceptualize new ideas. Students need to be shown how to work in pairs and in groups. Risk-taking needs to be encouraged. Formal concepts of grammar are introduced gradually. Whenever possible, students will be given the opportunity to practice general language learning on the computer.

Classroom atmosphere should foster an understanding and acceptance of human differences and beliefs.

Course Content

Topics

Course content is relevant to the lives of the students. It integrates language functions and language forms with informational sources, skills, and topics. Topics are chosen in accordance with students' goals: general and vocational. Informational sources, skills, and topics at this level include:

Information Sources

Skills
General Topics
Vocational Topics
Lists
Scanning
Personal identification
Job Titles
Signs
Categorizing
Weather
Following Simple instructions
Schedules
Test-taking
Money

Calendars

Time

Ads

Family

Personal Forms

Food



Shopping



Clothes



Body Parts



Health



Housing



Transportation



Holidays



Multi-cultural awareness

Additional topics based on students' needs should be added. All of these topics may be taught at higher levels of instruction.

Culture

Cultural aspects such as nonverbal behavior (gestures, eye contact, body language) and cross-cultural communication (awareness of differences, respect, tolerance) are taught implicitly in context through demonstration and interaction.

Language Functions

On exit, students will be able to use English for:

* Factual information: command, agree/disagree, tell

* Social and interpersonal relations: introduce, take leave, express satisfaction/dissatisfaction

* Suasion: request

Language Skills

Listening: On exit, students will be able to:

C

Demonstrate comprehension of simple words in context of common, everyday situations.
C
Demonstrate comprehension of basic commands through physical action.
C
Demonstrate understanding of simple face-to-face conversations using previously learned material.
C
Demonstrate strategies to check for understanding--clarifying by attempting to reproduce what has been heard, for example.
C
Respond appropriately to short emergency warnings:
Stop; Get back; Slow down.
C
Demonstrate comprehension of basic personal questions with one word or short response:
T: Are you married? S: No. And, T: What's your name? S: Maria Chen.
C
Respond physically to common, one-step classroom directions, requests, and commands:
T: Come in. (The student comes in.) Sit down. (The student sits down.)
C
Distinguish singular from plural in regular and common irregular nouns.
C
Use simple contextual clues such as time reference words to determine meaning.
C
Distinguish Wh-question words through appropriate responses.
C
Distinguish between Wh-questions and Yes/No questions through appropriate responses.
C
Recognize that stress and pitch carry meaning (question intonation.)
C
Demonstrate understanding of simple, explicit information by appropriate responses.

Speaking: On exit, students will be able to:

C

Make statements related to basic needs using previously learned words and phrases.
C
Answer simple questions with "yes", "no", one-word or short-phrase responses.
C
Ask simple questions.
C
Spell a word for clarification.
C
Repeat a number or word(s) for confirmation or clarification.
C
Repeat/generate phrases and sentences similar to a model with some degree of accuracy. Teacher: My First name is Helen. Student: My First name is Yoki.
C
State lack of understanding: I don't understand; I don't speak English; I don't know English; I don't know.
C
Use elision: I opened it. [I open dit]

Reading: On exit, students will be able to:

C

Relate phonological sounds to letters and clusters of letters (sound/symbol correspondence).
C
Recognize basic sight words.
C
Interpret sentences using vocabulary and structures previously learned orally.
C
Recognize alphabetical sequence.
C
Find the page number.
C
Recognize various formats of personal information forms.
C
Recognize graphic format of sentences and dialogues.
N
Recognize graphic format of personal letters.
C
Recognize basic abbreviations: Mr., Dr., St.

Writing: On exit, students will be able to:

C

Print the letters of the alphabet legibly.
C
Write numerals.
N
Write a list (a shopping list or an invitation list, for example) from material read or heard.
C
Copy or transcribe familiar words, phrases, and high-frequency expressions from learned materials.
C
Fill out simple forms which require biographical/personal information.
C
Write simple sentences based on previously learned vocabulary and structures.
N
Write structures and vocabulary taught at this level with proper spelling, punctuation and capitalization.
C
Write words and sentences from dictation, using previously learned vocabulary and structures.
C
Use lined paper correctly.

Language Forms

On exit, students will be able to use the following structures:

Sentence Types

C

Simple statements, affirmative and negative
C
*with {be}: It's a pen. It's not a pen.
C
*with action verbs: He speaks English. He doesn't speak English.
N
*with {there + be}: There's a calendar on the wall. There are 40 students on the list.
C
{Yes/No}, {or}, and {wh-}questions and answers
C
{Yes/No} questions:
C
* with be, long and short answers:
Is it a pen? Yes, it's a pen. Yes, it is. No, it isn't a pen. No, it isn't.
C
* with action verbs, long and short answers:
Does he speak English? Yes, he speaks English. Yes, he does. No, he doesn't speak English. No, he doesn't.
C
* with {or} (choice): Do you want coffee or tea?
N
*with {there + be}, long and short answers: Are there 40 students on the list? Yes, there are 40 students on the list. Yes, there are. No, there aren't 40 students on the list. No, there aren't.
C
Wh-questions: {who, what, when, where, why}
C
*{How are you?} {How much is it?}
C
* {whose}, {how much} with noncount noun, {how many} with count noun
N
Compound sentences with {and} and {but}
C
Imperatives with {please}: Please open the door.

Verbs

C

Simple Present: He studies every day. She is tired.
C
Common two-word verbs: get up, put on
C
Common verbs followed by infinitives (receptive only): like to, want to, forget to
C
Subject-verb agreement: He walks to school.
C
Contractions, affirmative and negative: isn't, aren't, I'm not
C
Simple Past: He studied yesterday.
C
* with be: It was foggy yesterday.
C
* with common regular verbs: I walked to school.
C
* with common irregular verbs: do, see, have, go, come

C

Present Continuous: He is studying now.
N
Future with going to: He's going to study tomorrow.
C
Modals:
C
* can: He can study this evening. Can you ____?
C
* {May I help you?} and {Let's --} (receptive only)

Nouns

C

Regular, singular and plural
C
Common irregular plurals: child/children, woman/women
C
Proper nouns: Bob, Mr. Lee
N
Possessive nouns: Bob's, the Martins', the boy's book
C
Noncountable: food, tea

Pronouns

C

Subject: {I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they}
C
Object: {me, you, him, her, it, us , you, them}
C
Demonstrative: {this, that, these, those} This is my book.
N
Possessive: {mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs} This is mine.
C
{It} as subject with weather and time: It is Tuesday.
C
Indefinite as subject and object: {one, some, any, everyone, someone, anyone, no one}
N
Indefinite as subject and object (receptive only): {none, everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody, everything, something, anything, nothing}

Adjectives

C

Articles: {a, an, the}
C
Adjective-before-noun word order: a red dress
C
Possessive: {my, your, his, her, its, our, their}
C
Demonstrative: {this, that, these, those} This book is mine.
C
Quantifiers: {some/any; much/many; a lot of/a little/a few}

Adverbs and Adverbials

C

Time: {now, yesterday, today, tomorrow, every day}
C
Chronological order: {next month, last month, in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at noon, at night, before class, after class}
C
Place: {here, there}
C
Frequency: {always, sometimes, never, often, usually,}
C
{not}
C
Intensifiers: {very}
N
Means: {by bus, by car, by plane, on foot}

Prepositions

C

{to, in, on, at, under, above, next to, from, between}
N
{before, after, by, with, behind, in front of}

Conjunctions

C

Connecting words {and, or} with short phrases: She has a pen and a book. Use a pen or a pencil.
N
{and, but} in compound sentences

Evaluation

Please see web pages under Assessment.