INTERLINK Curriculum Guide
Course Details - CS1
The primary goal of this level is to develop students' basic communication skills so they can function adequately in an English language environment. Because students at this level typically have little confidence in their ability to deal with real-life situations and may be withdrawn and shy about using English, much of the emphasis in this class is on nurturing them through their linguistic and cultural apprehensions, supplying opportunities for extensive input, and providing tools for generating simple sentences. Although their speech may be hesitant initially and pronunciation may affect comprehensibility, students develop skills for expressing themselves with their current knowledge, bolster their vocabulary significantly, and learn idioms and stock phrases to facilitate verbal interaction. Conversation management strategies to let interlocutors know when and what they are not understanding help students converse effectively. Students learn to respond to questions and classroom instructions (though repetition may initially be needed) in simple but coherent and increasingly accurate sentences instead of monosyllabic replies or strings of grammatically unconnected words, developing confidence in speaking briefly on familiar topics to their class.
Benchmarks for Completion of Level 1:
Demonstrate ability
to:
a. understand simple language
and follow simple instructions
b.
answer simple questions and describe events in a comprehensible way
Core Projects for CS 1
CS 1 Team Project: Shopping Spree
Project Summary: This project is designed to enhance beginning students' survival skills, increase their confidence and competence in casual linguistic interactions, foster linguistic and cultural development, and accustom them to learning cooperatively, independently and experientially. Since students at this level can benefit greatly from opportunities to interact socially even though their communication skills are minimal, the somewhat passive experience of real or simulated shopping can be very helpful. This project allows students to work together, become more familiar and comfortable with the style of shopping and the merchandise available at local stores and on the Internet, and share useful information with one another. Students' actual experiences in purchasing items ranging from groceries to automobiles provide relevant subject matter for the class. Students can also use advertisements to plan real or simulated shopping expeditions and develop marketplace knowledge and savvy for making small and large purchases.
Activity Ideas: Class and small-group discussions about shopping; comparison shopping, exploring information on product labels; examining newspaper advertisements, role plays involving shoppers, field trips to stores to learn about merchandise and prices; guest speaker(s) talking about such things as where and how often , by whom purchases are made; surveys created by students with results presented in graph or chart form; presentations about aspects of shopping are all activities that fit well into this project.
Language Use: Reading (and scanning) advertisements, store signs and labels and taking notes and making shopping lists help improve reading and writing skills. There are many speaking and listening opportunities in and outside of class as students discuss their experiences with one another, ask questions of merchants and salespeople and casually listen to conversation snippets around them in stores they visit.
Cultural Elements: Discussions of cultural similarities and differences related to conventions of shopping and the roles of different family members in shopping for different merchandise can be entertaining and productive. Comparisons of merchandise, shopping styles and patterns of consumption in different countries provide a good basis for developing cross-cultural awareness.
Academic Elements: Even at this
level, students are engaged in activities that develop academic skills. Shopping
involves research to find out about products and prices. If students conduct interviews
or surveys, they learn how to collect, organize and present information. Collaboration
with teammates for planning shopping activities or presenting information about
a store or product is good practice for later, more complex peer cooperation.
CS 1 Presentation Project: Show and Tell
Project Summary: Making
formal presentations to an audience is one of the academic skills that students
learn to master while at INTERLINK. From the earliest level, it is important for
students to begin to get used to addressing an audience and develop their presentation
techniques. Show and Tell is a relatively low-maintenance activity that allows
students to share with their classmates some object of special importance and
to begin to get used to public speaking. It affords the audience an opportunity
to practice their listening and to learn to take notes. It is also an excellent
vehicle for developing cross-cultural awareness and sensitivity, as students display
items and talk about things from their own countries. Presentations can be made
to the full class or in small groups and each student should present at least
one time per week. While Show and Tell is an activity well known to almost everyone
who attended school in the US, it is almost unheard of among international students
and therefore needs be explained and modeled. . The length of the presentations
may start at just one or two minutes and increase from week to week. Students
should explain what the object is, where it is from, and why it is important to
them. Students should use the opportunity to express to their classmates something
about their lives, personalities and cultures. The Show and Tell presentation
is an informal one and should allow students as much freedom as possible so that
they feel comfortable about and enjoy the experience. Little or no rehearsal is
needed but the students should give some thought to choosing the object and thinking
about what they will say. Presentations may be videotaped and used for review
and correction. Students in the audience learn appropriate audience behavior,
listen carefully, and take rudimentary notes. The notes may consist of nothing
more than keywords but should help students answer quiz questions about the presentations.
The teacher uses the presentations to monitor students' language use and progress.
After each presentation, the audience may ask questions. Students should learn
not to interrupt the speaker with questions (except for repetition or clarification)
during the presentation. Short quizzes on the presentations may stimulate the
audience to listen carefully and keep notes. Discussions of any aspect of the
presentations should be encouraged, especially those which may relate to cultural
differences.
CS 1 Independent Listening Project
The specific activities and materials for this project are determined by teacher and students, but the description of the parameters and goals of the project should be carefully reviewed.