 |
 |
Hello, I would completely agree with Julie. I moved from teaching ESOL to teaching Key Skills, which were then replaced by Functional Skills. Many of the criticisms of using the Adult Literacy qualification as part of the ESOL exams are equally relevant here too. E.g. functional skills exams test decoding reading skills assuming that the person reading the paper will know the word, as English is their first or main language. The contexts, vocabulary etc are those which should be familiar to most people born and educated in the UK, but are most unlikely to be familiar to ESOL students, particularly those fairly recently arrived here. Another issue is the difference in allocated Guided Learning Hours -although things may have changed, when I was teaching, students only got 2 hours a week for Key Skills/ FS, but their ESOL counterparts were receiving 13 hours a week tuition! As Julia says, ESOL learners will often need much longer to learn the skills required for FS English, and my main concern is that the teaching hours that will be allocated will be totally insufficient, leading to pressure on teachers and falling pass rates. Ros Wright From: ESOL-Research discussion forum and message board [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Julie Furnivall Sent: 18 May 2012 10:53 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Advice on distinctions between ESOL and functional skills Hello Dominic I have taught functional English at levels 1 and 2 as part of an apprenticeship programme, and all of my learners had the characteristics of ESOL learners. I have also taught ESOL for around 30 years, and I have been a consultant and trainer under the Functional Skills Support Programme and the Skills for LLN programme. The biggest issue (in this context) is that Functional English isn't an ESOL qualification. It is designed for native speakers, and this is very obvious as soon as you look at the sample assessment materials from any of the awarding organisations. My learners needed a long time to learn the skills required for Functional English - much longer than a native speaker would need. This is a very obvious statement to make, but for some reason it isn't obvious to policy makers and funders. Having said that, my learners enjoyed the challenges of the qualification, and gained a great deal from the speaking and listening aspects. Hope this helps, Dominic. All the best Julie On 18 May 2012 07:59, Dominic Clarke <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Hello everyone I am an ESOL teacher working for a provider in a community centre. I am seeking to discover the distinctions between ESOL and functional skills. I will have a look at Excellence Gateway and the C&G materials, but I wonder if anyone out there would like to share their experience of moving from ESOL to functional skills. Regards Dominic Clarke *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at: http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask] -- Julie Furnivall 47 Hart Hill Lane LUTON LU2 0BA Tel: 01582 721907 Mob: 07890 004521 E-mail: [log in to unmask] www.furnivallassociates.co.uk <http://www.furnivallassociates.co.uk/> *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at: http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTICE: This email transmission is privileged, confidential and intended solely for the person or organisation to whom it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or disseminate the information, or take any action in reliance of it. Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not represent those of City College, Birmingham. If you have received this message in error please notify City College immediately by email to [log in to unmask] All messages passing through this gateway are checked for viruses but we strongly recommend that you check for viruses using your own virus scanner as City College will not take responsibility for any damage caused as a result of virus infection. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Scanned by iCritical. *********************************** ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds. To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at: http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm To contact the list owner, send an email to [log in to unmask]