Students of the 21st century will live in and contribute to an increasingly diverse society and an international community of interdependent nations. To realize their personal, social, and career goals, students must be able to communicate effectively with others. Palmer Trinity School seeks to prepare its students for life in this newly emerging world, including those learners who enter the school as speakers of a language other than English.
Palmer Trinity regards students who are bilingual and who have a good understanding of different cultures as invaluable assets to the school and the nation. Its international student body provides both an exciting educational challenge and the opportunity to maintain and enhance the school’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity. In addition, its bilingual graduates allow the nation to thrive in the global marketplace, maintain its security in a changing and volatile world, and come to a better understanding of the complex cultural heritages that define the human community.
The program recognizes that ESL learners must acquire an additional language and culture. They must be able to use English to accomplish their academic, personal and social goals with the same proficiency as native speakers of English. ESL students need to be able to use spoken and written English both to acquire academic content and to demonstrate what they have learned.
Palmer Trinity works to ensure that its quality educational experiences and services are made fully accessible to all ESL students. The school recognizes that language learning takes time, generally 5-7 years, and that subject matter learning cannot be deferred until students have demonstrated a mastery of English. In order to facilitate English language acquisition and continue academic growth across the curriculum, PTS offers a comprehensive ESL program that includes both English language arts and sheltered content courses.
The program provides its students with challenging curricula that use appropriate instructional practices and assessment measures; moreover, the school cherishes the inclusion of English language learners in all school activities and encourages their full participation in the life of the school. Accomplished and professional ESL teachers, in conjunction with other educational specialists and resources, ensure that students in the program receive the challenge, support, and guidance necessary to enjoy academic success and personal growth.
Middle School Offerings
ESL Basic English
This course is designed for middle school ESL students who have a low level of English proficiency. The language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are integrated into lessons where each skill complements the others. Writing and reading tasks focus on developing communicative competence. Pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar are taught in meaningful contexts, where effective communication is the desired outcome. Students read literary selections that are simplified in vocabulary and grammar.
ESL Intermediate English
This course is designed for middle school ESL students who have attained an intermediate level of English. The course has a literary focus and rotates on a three-year cycle encompassing World Literature, Latin American/Asian/African Literature, and American Literature. Various literary genres are covered, including fiction, non-fiction, short stories, biographies, and poetry. The reading material is carefully selected so that it is age-appropriate, linguistically accessible, and culturally relevant. Vocabulary and grammar are studied in the context of the reading selections.
ESL Humanities
This social studies course is offered for middle school ESL students who have a beginning to intermediate proficiency in English. The class explores history and geography and examines contemporary social, political and economic issues that affect the world. The content of the course rotates on a three-year cycle and covers the following topics: U.S. History and Geography; World History and Geography; and Latin American, Asian, and African Studies. The students also become familiar with the five themes of geography: location, place, human-environmental interactions, movement, and regions. Vocabulary is drawn from the subject matter.
ESL Writing
This course is designed to help beginning to intermediate level ESL students develop and improve their writing skills. Basic language skills are applied to the formation of grammatically correct sentences, paragraphs, and compositions. Students develop the ability to convey their ideas in clear, logical, organized and correct English sentences. Students also learn how to write for different purposes, including narrative, persuasive, and informative essays. They learn to write notes, letters, book reports, test essays, stories, and poems. In addition, students increase their English vocabulary through the writing process.
Upper School Offerings
ESL Advanced English (one credit)
This course is open to upper school ESL students who have a high-intermediate to advanced level of English. Students continue refining their skills in composition and increase their knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar. Students practice new vocabulary and grammatical structures in a variety of contexts that help them internalize and master these words and structures. The students encounter both controlled and communicative exercises so that they can bridge the gap between knowing grammatical structures and using them effectively. The course employs the four-step approach of contextualization, presentation, focused practice, and communication practice of all structures.
ESL American Literature (one credit)
The literature courses are intended for upper school ESL students who have an intermediate to advanced proficiency in English. They are designed to expose students to a wide variety of literary genres. Students focus on the formal study of literature through the reading and discussion of significant and representative literary selections. Various genres are covered, including fiction, non-fiction, short stories, biographies, and poetry. Vocabulary and grammar are studied in the context of the readings. Students are required to participate in group discussions and to write a web-based project that is presented orally in class. The literary selections vary according to student interest and ability. If necessary, reduced-language versions of the classics are used.
Course offered on a rotating basis.
ESL American History (one credit)
This course is open to upper school ESL students who have an intermediate to advanced proficiency in English. This course covers the history, geography, and contemporary socio-cultural, political and economic issues in the United States. Students develop critical thinking skills as they analyze the cause-and-effect relationships that shape our nation. In addition, students learn the vocabulary relevant to this subject matter.
Course offered on a rotating basis. |