Standards are changing. We’ve got your back.
Changes to the NRS Standards for Adult Education
In January, the U.S. Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) released the long-awaited updates to the National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS), including the new Educational Functioning Level (EFL) descriptors for ESL. These updates are of critical importance to programs that receive funding under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The details of the revision are provided in the document titled “Technical Assistance Guide for Performance Accountability under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,” which can be accessed here.
Below is a summary of what you need to know about the new NRS EFL descriptors for your English language learners. Please note that these descriptors are still evolving, and it is not clear when the changes will come into effect. We will update you when there is additional information published by OCTAE.
- The NRS descriptors for English language learners cover six educational functioning levels (EFLs).
1 – Beginning ESL Literacy
2 – Low Beginning ESL
3 – High Beginning ESL
4 – Low Intermediate ESL
5 – High Intermediate ESL
6 – Advanced ESL
- These six levels focus on three main modalities:
- Interpretive: Receptive skills to understand, process, and interpret written and oral language delivered at an appropriate level and presented in a variety of contexts and genres.
- Productive: Productive skills that allow learners to produce spoken and written language that transmits meaning in a variety of contexts, both in everyday and academic interactions.
- Interactive: Skills that allow learners to process and produce meaningful interactions in spoken and written forms in a variety of contexts and settings.
The three modalities cover four language skills:
- Reading
- Writing
- Speaking
- Listening
- The revised NRS EFL descriptors for English language learners draw content from the recently published English Language Proficiency Standards for Adult Education (ELPS). The ELPS are designed to identify skills most important and most relevant for adult English language learners as they pursue their educational, career, and life-improvement goals. The ELPS integrate with the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS), providing a foundation for academic rigor.
- The revision of the NRS EFL descriptors calls for an increase in text complexity and progression of topics (progressive complexity) from familiar to academic in both instruction and assessment. Materials need to present level-appropriate text complexity that includes demanding language structures, academic vocabulary, and concepts as well as tasks that develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
- The new version of the NRS EFL descriptors puts a significant emphasis on the development of college and career readiness skills and the integration of academic rigor in the English language learning process at all levels, including the use of level-appropriate academic language in a variety of academic content areas, and including informational text in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- The new NRS EFL descriptors promote the integration of technology in instruction, including the application of digital tool and resources, and the development of learners’ digital literacy.
- Although these new NRS EFL descriptors present the most important concepts and skills that should be taught at each level, they also leave room for state and local instructional frameworks and standards to guide lesson planning and curriculum development.
In this new WIOA landscape, programs need to not only help learners develop competence in reading, writing, speaking, and listening, but also develop the skills to problem-solve, evaluate complex texts, analyze information, and think critically so that they are prepared to achieve their educational, career, and personal goals.
Pearson ELT is committed to adult education and to the instructors who work to help learners achieve success. We are committed to keeping up with the changing landscape of adult education and to ensuring that our materials and tools are in alignment with the most recent standards. Comprehensive correlations of our materials to current standards are at your fingertips and can be accessed here.
The chart below outlines the correspondence of the NRS EFL descriptors to CCRS, ELPS, and CASAS and shows how Pearson materials are positioned within each level.
Click on the chart to enlarge the image.
Using Movies in the ESL Classroom
Joe McVeigh
With Academy Award season upon us, ESL teachers may wish to think about how they can use movies in the classroom. Movies provide a wonderful source of language input for students. They can provide valuable exposure to language and also to culture, as well as being an excellent source of new vocabulary along with slang and idioms. They can be used to help students work on many language skills including listening, reading, speaking, and pronunciation.
Film selection criteria
Some teachers choose to use short excerpts from movies. If you have a class in which you meet with students for several hours a week, you may be able to use entire films with them. There are several criteria to consider when selecting films for use with students. First off, consider the level of interest and relevance for your students. A group of 18-year-old students in an intensive English program may have different interests in movie than a group of fifth graders or a class of adult immigrants and refugees. Be sure that the actors in the film speak relatively clearly, and that the storyline is not too difficult to follow. Analyze the language to ensure that it isn’t too difficult. Consider the content of the film to make sure that it’s appropriate for your students in terms of the language and themes involved. If you wish to use an entire film, check on the availability of a written script, which can be extremely helpful.
Practical considerations
Carefully preview the film in advance, so that you are aware of potentially difficult language or challenging themes for your students. Also check your equipment to make sure that everyone in the room can see the screen clearly and that the sound quality is adequate. If you want to find a particular section in the film, note the time on a counter so that you can access the right spot easily.
Classroom activities
Most films these days are available with closed captions that you can turn on or off. You can choose whether or not to turn on the captions. After viewing the film or an excerpt from the film, you can select comprehension questions or discussion questions to use with your students. You may also wish to pull out various bits of vocabulary, slang, idioms, or new expressions.
If you obtain a complete script of the movie for your students, you can assign them to read it either for homework or in class. You can ask them to act out scenes from the movie, or give them writing assignments based on the film.
For speaking practice, choose a scene from the film that contains a lot of activity. Put students in pairs with one facing the screen and the other with their back to the screen. Turn down the sound, then play the excerpt. Ask the student facing the screen to describe what’s happening to the student who can’t see. Then have the two partners change positions.
To really give your students a reading workout. Choose a film in a language other than English that has English subtitles!
General Discussion Questions about Movies
Here are some questions you can use with your students for a general discussion about movies.
- Generally speaking, what kind of films do you like? Comedy? Drama? Romance? Other?
- Often, at the end of the year, American film critics like to put together a “top ten list” of the ten best films of the year. If you were going to put together a top ten list for yourself, what movies would be on that list? Give reasons for your selections.
- Who is your favorite actor? Why do you like him or her?
- What qualities should a good actor have?
- Many people believe that the American (Hollywood) film industry has too much influence on the way that people think about the United States, about men and women, and about fantasy and reality. Do you feel that Hollywood has a distorted image of the U.S.?
- Some people think that studying film is not very helpful for learning English, it is only entertainment. What is your opinion? Has studying film been helpful for your English ability? How could it be more helpful?
Sample Post-Viewing Discussion Questions for a Movie
- What is the meaning of the title of the film?
- How would you describe the mood, feeling, and story of this film to someone who was not familiar with it and who had never seen it before?
- What was your favorite moment in the film?
- What was your least favorite moment in the film?
- Who is your favorite character in the film?
- What part did you think was the funniest?
- What part did you think was the most special for you?
- List three new vocabulary words or expressions that you learned from this movie.
Instructions for Students to Practice Acting out a Scene from a Movie
- With 1-3 other students, choose a scene from one of the films that we have watched to act out in front of the class.
- The scene that you select should be an important one in the movie (not something trivial).
- The scene, when enacted, should last about two minutes (or less), so choose your scene carefully.
- It is not necessary to memorize your lines or to bring or use props or costumes, though you may do this if you wish.
- Do not improvise new dialog for the scene. Use only the written dialog from the film.
- When acting out the scene, use the same actions as the characters in the movies. Do not read directly from the script. Remember, you are supposed to be speaking, not reading.
- Try to use the correct pronunciation. Be as fluent and as accurate as you can.
- Speak loudly and clearly so as to be heard by everyone.
Movie Vocabulary Homework Assignment
- For the next class meeting make a list of vocabulary words which are new to you from our film script. Your assignment is to find words and expressions from p. ______ to p. ________Your list should include at least ___________ words and expressions.
- Using a dictionary and consulting others, find an accurate definition or meaning of the word or expression.
- On your list include:
- the page number in the script where it is found
- the word or expression
- whether the word or expression is commonly used or not
- whether the word or expression is polite to use or not
- the meaning
Example:
| Page | Expression | Common? | Polite? | Meaning |
| 17 | Put his foot in his mouth | somewhat | OK | Say something embarrassing or foolish |
- You may work together with others who are working on the same pages.
- Make enough copies of your worksheet to class for everyone in the class.
Sample Vocabulary from the film When Harry Met Sally
Here are some vocabulary terms and expressions from When Harry Met Sally that you could assign students to learn:
time to kill; to fix someone up with someone; there is no point (in doing something); to come down with something ; affront; to hit it off with someone; to bump into someone; I couldn’t agree more
Successful Films
A couple of films that I have used successfully in the classroom with students in an intensive English program include The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally. What are some films that you have used successfully in the classroom? What activities did you use with them?
Joe McVeigh is a teacher, teacher trainer, and independent educational consultant based in Middlebury, Vermont. He has worked in a variety of countries and has taught at Cal State LA, Caltech, USC, Middlebury College, the Bread Loaf School of English, and Saint Michael’s College. He is an active member of the TESOL International Association and has worked as an English language specialist for the U.S. Department of State. He is co-author of Tips for Teaching Culture from Pearson along with other books for students of English. In addition to talks and workshops at professional conferences, Joe contributes to the field through his website, which contains videos, resources, and presentation slides and handouts at www.joemcveigh.org.
Academic Writing 101 – Part 2 – “What should I write about?”
Professor John Caine
SUNY, Suffolk Community College
Academic Writing 101 Part 2
One question I can guarantee every writing teacher has been asked is,
“What should I write about?”
This question often means students are having a hard time with focus and clarity not just subject material. Students ask the question, but what they often mean is, “How do I start?” Indeed, this has been the key question for the most well-known writers. Lewis Carroll offers us the obvious answer in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, “Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?” he asked. “Begin at the beginning,” the King said gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”
How many English teachers have been tempted to quote these lines?
Academic writing is all about focus and clarity, so the question demands an answer, and the answer is a major component of well-written papers. The answer is, “May I see your outline, please?” This one question often brings students to the realization that academic writing is like making a nice dinner not a quick (text) snack.
If we’ve gotten to the writing section of the course, then we have already taught students various outline techniques, whether clustering, free-writing, or some other method. We teach them the process of creating an outline and then assume they will just naturally use the process, but do they? Academic writing can be a frightful procedure for many students. They view the procedure as if they were walking through a minefield filled with corrections (Bang), edits (Boom), and rewrites (Ouch).
Here is where so many instructors shine and inspire. Instead of land mines, they turn the landscape into a garden. Corrections become pleasant additions, rewrites become new ways to express and retell. Each edit brings rewards and satisfaction in learning to master a new language. And there is mutual joy in sharing this growth.
Most students are naturally anxious to do well, but they are unaware how this arduous process will affect their lives in the long term for employment applications, résumés, employment interviews, and much more. Asking students for an outline helps them to slow down and begin to focus. Now they must go back to their notes and choose a method to create an outline, knowing you will ask again. Does it matter if they use a formal or informal outline? For me it depends on the subject and depth of the subject. Some essays may require a formal outline simply because of the complexity of the subject, but most essays need only an informal one. But they must have an outline.
Here is where the academic process starts for students. “What should I write about?” becomes a mantra of focus and clarity. They will produce an outline using one of the methods they’ve been taught. As the outline forms, their focus sets and their clarity becomes sharp. Focus and clarity lets them answer their own question, “What should I write about?” They now have a topic, and with a topic they can develop a topic sentence, and that will lead them to a coherent paragraph. I’ve got goose bumps!
About the Author
John Caine is the author of several books, (Waldo and the Wackos, The Story of Pig and Giraffe, La Historia de Cerdo y Jirafa, My Name Sir?, In the Time of Big Trains, 4:56) short stories and poetry. He teaches English where he currently lives on Long Island, NY with his family
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