PROFICIENCY SCALE MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 1 Upon completion, students will be able to use basic vocabulary; give information about simple routines; express preferences and order of events; ask for and give information; and ask/respond to basic yes/no questions in the present tense. MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 2 Upon completion, students will be able ask for information about simple routines and everyday activities such as work and school; express obligation, ability, and preference; express frequency of actions; and ask about/give information about quantities. MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 3 Upon completion, students will be able to maintain conversations using simple present, past and future; express intentions; describe present and past daily routines; ask for and give information about obligations, necessity, and possibilities; ask for and make comparisons; express quantities; and ask for/give simple advice. MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 4 Upon completion students will be able to ask for and give information about life experiences; make effective use of comparisons and superlatives in conversation and writing; express possibility, preference, past habits, abilities, and obligations; read more advanced text and report on text; and write more complex sentences. MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 5 Upon completion students will be able to apply linguistic, socio-cultural and other background knowledge and strategies to show summarizing; use common expressions effectively; report content of conversations and refer back to points made earlier both orally and in writing; and link ideas to express a contrast, reason, purpose or alternative both orally and in writing. MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 6 Upon completion students will be able to maintain more sophisticated conversations on a variety of topics; communicate accurately using an acceptable standard of pronunciation, fluency and 1
grammar; demonstrate an extended knowledge and use of vocabulary in both oral tasks and written assignments; and analyze readings in oral and written form. MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 7 Upon completion students will be able to give opinions on a wide range of topics; accurately report on what they have read, heard, or seen; use content-based vocabulary and idioms; and apply correct grammar tenses in both written and spoken English with confidence and fluency. MASTER SPEAKING LEVEL 8 Upon completion students will be able to read more advanced texts; make inferences; examine problems and give solutions; correctly use degrees of certainties; consider counter-arguments; and debate on various topics. MASTER WRITING LEVEL A (PRE-BEGINNING) Upon completion students will be able to basic sentences on daily simple activities; fill out a form with student information; write emails with requests; write a postcard; write a simple letter; and address an envelope. MASTER WRITING LEVEL 1 (BEGINNING) Upon completion students will be able to understand the parts of a sentence; use the simple present tense, simple past tense, and the simple future tense; use adjectives correctly; and use comma and capitalization rules when writing sentences. MASTER WRITING LEVEL 2 (INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will be able to write topic sentences; build supporting sentences; write and organize concluding sentences; organize a paragraph; and write different types of paragraphs. MASTER WRITING LEVEL 3 (ADVANCED) Upon completion students will be able to use the Seven Steps of the Writing Process ; develop ideas for writing an essay; write an introduction, body and conclusion to an essay; use modals for assertion and for acknowledging opposite view; cite sources to avoid plagiarism; and use strategies to edit/publish an essay. 2
AMERICAN LITERATURE LEVEL A (PRE-BEGINNING) Upon completion students will be able to comprehend a basic story by listening and reading it. AMERICAN LITERATURE LEVEL 1 (LOW INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will be able to share knowledge and experiences related to the topic being discussed; identify organizational devices in stories using new vocabulary; and make inferences. AMERICAN LITERATURE LEVEL 2 (INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will be able to make predictions; understand and use idioms and expressions; to guess meaning from context; to discuss the story using prior knowledge; and write about the story by using critical thinking. AMERICAN LITERATURE LEVEL 3 (ADVANCED) Upon completion students will be able to discuss the topic before they read; discuss the story using prior knowledge and own experiences; make inferences; and write about the story using critical thinking. COMMUNICATION - LEVEL A (PRE-BEGINNING) Upon completion, students will be able to name classroom objects, rooms in a home, cities, countries, and places around town; list everyday activities and describe people and things; discuss days of the week, the weather, and work schedules; describe feelings and emotions; talk about occupations, ability, and looking for a job; describe future plans, intentions, past actions and activities; and give reasons and excuses. COMMUNICATION - LEVEL 1 (BEGINNING) Upon completion students will be able to discuss themes; points of view; use conversation starters; use collocations to create dialogue; express feelings; make plans; and tell stories using chronological sequence. 3
COMMUNICATION - LEVEL 2 (INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will be able to use strategies to ask questions; show surprise; give opinions; get acquainted and talk about places; manage a discussion and give instructions; talk about the news; persuade and respond to objections; and hypothesize and predict. COMMUNICATION - LEVEL 3 (ADVANCED) Upon completion students will be able to express a point of view; start and end conversations; give advice and provide information; agree and disagree and explain why; raise a discussion and manage the discussion topic; and express decisions on different situations. BUSINESS LEVEL 1 (INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will be able to communicate effectively using appropriate business vocabulary; socialize in the work place; use different communication styles when conducting business; and use appropriate grammar when writing business documents. BUSINESS LEVEL 2 (ADVANCED) Upon completion students will be able to use higher order business vocabulary in conversation; conduct international meetings; use different communication styles; and use appropriate grammar and vocabulary. PRONUNCIATION LEVEL A (BEGINNING) Upon completion students will be able to use 14 vowel sounds in English; join words together; use voice and voiceless consonants; pronounce word endings; and speak basic English more naturally and fluently. PRONUNCIATION LEVEL 1 (LOW INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will be able to pronounce vowels at the beginning, middle and ending of words; place stress in words and syllables; use parts of speech such as suffixes; use rhythm and intonation when pronouncing words and phrases; and use rising and falling intonation when completing phrases. 4
PRONUNCIATION LEVEL 2 (INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will be able to use rhythm and intonation when pronouncing words and completing phrases; pronounce final consonant sounds and consonant clusters; pronounce past tense verbs, and pronounce plurals, third-person verbs, possessives and contractions. PRONUNCIATION LEVEL 3 (ADVANCED) Upon completion students will be able to pronounce vowels, to include reduction of unstressed vowels; pronounce ed and s endings and the th sounds; use two-word verbs; use rising intonation on questions words; and use expressive intonation. CURRENT EVENTS LEVEL 1 (BEGINNING) Upon completion students will have basic reading, listening, and communication skills on current local, national and global events. CURRENT EVENTS LEVEL 2 (INTERMEDIATE) Upon completion students will have higher reading, listening, and communications skills on current local, national and global events. CURRENT EVENTS LEVEL 3 (ADVANCED) Upon completion students will have advance reading, listening, and communications skills on current local, national, and global events. PRE-TOEFL Upon successful completion students will be able to understand vocabulary from context; analyze a text and use critical thinking skills; use complex grammar structures and academic vocabulary; summarize formal and informal conversations; determine relationships, functions, and infer speaker s intent; take effective notes to organize, develop and support a spoken argument; and, to write a multi-paragraph essay giving reasons, examples and details. 5
TOEFL Upon successful completion students will be able to scan for details; use context clues to understand the meaning of vocabulary; draw inferences; analyze and categorize information in order to complete summaries and charts; identify the speaker s purpose, method, and attitude; write a simple outline to help guide you as you speak; clearly state your opinion or preference; support ideas with examples, reasons, and details; summarize the material and synthesize; write a clear, well-organized, coherent response to questions; use correct written grammar; and edit responses for content, grammar and mechanics. Rev. 05/25/2016 6