Dear Paul
I'm afraid one of your colleagues did say that (otherwise why would I make it up???).
There was a discussion about it on SmartScreen on the C&G website in September 2010. I think it was on the old Foundation Learning forum, which is no longer available. I therefore don't have access to the whole thread, but I did save one response from the C&G representative on Smart Screen. I was told that "ESOL relates to the Adult Literacy Standards with some additional descriptors to give it its 'ESOLness'", and that therefore FS English was suitable for Literacy and Esol cohorts.
I'd be more than happy to discuss this further via email or phone - now I know how to get a swift response from City & Guilds!!
Adrian Salmond
Education Co-ordinator
John Howard Centre
London
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Sceeny [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 18 October 2011 14:40
Subject: Re: Functional Skills and ESOL
I need to correct the previous post and clarify that City & Guilds has never described Functional Skills as a 'catch all' qualification. Whilst the debate about why ESOL/literacy learners need different qualifications surfaces periodically, we certainly wouldn't support a view that literacy vs language pedagogy can be inter-changeable or that one suite of qualifications is necessarily suitable for all learners.
QCA's 2008 Review of ESOL Qualifications did consider in passing whether there was a case for subsuming ESOL qualifications into Functional Skills English, although that was subsequently ruled out . There long-term future of ESOL Skills for Life is still not formally resolved, although there does now appear to be a much clearer recognition from Government and others of need for discrete ESOL qualifications
That said, parity of standard between the qualifications taken by native and non-native speakers is important, and I wouldn't want to lose this in the future. It's one of the main arguments put forward for having a single suite of qualifications, although on balance I tend to think it should be possible to have parity of standard and outcome without having to force everyone through a uniform system of pedagogy and assessment.
I'd be interested in feedback from anyone who is using FS English with ESOL learners, and what the issues have been. We're already aware that of a significant number of ESOL learners accessing FS Mathematics and/or ICT; most of the difficulties here seem to have been about understanding source material (something we've sought to simplify as far as possible), though some of the wider issues around problem-solving apply equally strongly to native speakers
Paul Sceeny
Portfolio Manager - Literacy, Language, Numeracy and Employability
City & Guilds
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