New ESOL Skills for Life qualifications

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• New ESOL Skills for Life qualifications

Skills for Life English for Speakers of other
languages Conferences
Pam Frame
February 2005
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ESOL Skills for Life qualifications

• Overview of presentation
• Why are new ESOL qualifications needed?
• How are they structured?
• What do they assess?
• How do they relate to funding and targets?

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The need for new qualifications

• ESOL skills for Life qualifications
• Meet the needs of adult learners, living and
  working in England
• Ensure parity with other adult literacy
  qualifications
• Acknowledge different levels of prior attainment
• Recognise range of goals and assessment
  preferences
• Establish clear progression routes for learners
• Use the adult ESOL core curriculum

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QCA accreditation of ESOL Skills for Life
qualifications
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Structural principles whole qualifications
What can whole qualifications comprise?

• At Entry 1, 2 and 3

• At Levels 1 and 2

d developed p permitted
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Structural principles flexibility and titles

• Flexibility
• An all modes qualification taking all units
  at same level
• Or
• Taking different units at different levels
• Whole qualification then achieved at level of
  lowest unit
• Units achieved at higher level portable for 3
  years
• Further whole qualification achieved at higher
  level when remaining units achieved at that level

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Structural principles flexibility and titles

• Titles
• Unit achievement recognised by statement of
  results or unit certificate, stating level, mode
  and overall qualification
• Whole qualification recognised by qualification
  certificate, stating level and modes
• All modes qualification title Certificate in
  ESOL Skills for Life
• Less than all modes title Certificate in ESOL
  Skills for Life mode/s in brackets

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Assessing an integrated curriculum

• Qualifications
• Select and combine components of curriculum
• offer purposeful tasks not meaningless,
  repetitive exercises
• reflect word, sentence, text organisation of
  curriculum
• integrate speaking and listening
• provide mark schemes specific to mode, task and
  level
• allow for best fit judgements
• assess language plus content

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Assessing Speaking and Listening

• At all levels, three strands need to be taught
• listen and respond to range of types of
  talk/speakers
• speak to communicate ideas, feelings,
  information, in formal/informal situations
• engage in discussion constructively, taking
  account of listeners

• Assessment of meaningful communication involves
  both speaking and listening
• Mark scheme criteria describe effective
  communication

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Assessing Reading and Writing

• Read and understand different types of text
• Read and obtain information from range of sources
• Write to communicate information, ideas,
  feelings, adapt to audience
• and purpose
• Curriculum covers
• Text level overall meaning and purpose of text
• Sentence level grammar, sentence structure and
  punctuation
• Word level individual words, spelling and
  handwriting

• Assessment at each level and mode
• at least 2 whole texts at each level
• mark schemes reflect W, S, T
• best fit judgement of standard attained

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Asking questions about text, sentence and word
Word level Full names Formal abbreviation
Sentence level Long groups of nouns Complete
sentences Elliptical phrases Use of questions to
engage reader Exclamation mark conveys writers
attitude Discourse marker structures arguments,
together with rule of 3
First names Colloquial idioms
Whole text how does each writer use the
resources of vocabulary, sentence structure and
text organisation to convey their message
effectively?
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New target arrangements for ESOL from August 2004

• ESOL Skills for Life qualifications count towards
  national targets and replace proxy
  qualifications
• Modes and levels which count
• All modes at Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2
• Modes and levels which do NOT count
• Qualifications at Entry 1 or Entry 2
• Speaking and Listening only qualifications at
  Entry 3, Level 1 or 2
• Modes and levels which could count
• Qualifications in Reading plus Writing at Entry
  3, Level 1 and Level 2
• Qualifications in Reading plus Speaking and
  Listening at Levels 1 and 2

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Position of proxy qualifications after August
2004

• LSC funding for 'proxy' qualifications post
  December 04 under review
• Learners already on programme funded until end of
  course
• For all ESOL provision
• Learner need drives qualification choice
• LSC guidance published (http//www.lsc.gov.uk/N
  ational/Documents/SubjectListing/FundingLearning/B
  asicSkills/Deliveringskillsforlife.htm)

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Looking ahead

• For learners transparency, choice and
  progression
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• For centres accountability must ensure
  recruitment with integrity
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• All agencies monitor interaction of
  qualifications and curriculum
• Updates and more information
• www.openquals.org.uk

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ESOL Skills for Life qualifications accredited by
QCA (at 9 February 2005)