Empowering ELLs through Acceleration Options

New Jersey ESL SummitMay 1, 2015

Leo Kazan

Kathleen Kelly

Robert Salvato

Passaic County Community College

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Passaic County Community CollegeFall 2014

Total PCCC students: 8,968

ESL students: 1,127

12.5% of total student

body

Part-time ESL students: 75.5%

Hispanic ESL students: 73.3%

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Restructured PCCC ELS Program 2012

High Advanced/College Level

· Writing – 3 credits· Reading/Paired College

Courses· 3 + 3 credits (mandatory)

Advanced

· Writing Skills – 7 credits· Reading/Paired College

Courses· 3.5 + 3 credits (Optional)

Intermediate

· Writing Skills – 7 credits· Reading – 3.5 credits· Listening/Speaking (optional) –

3.5 credits· College Experience for ELS

Students – 1 Credits

Low Intermediate

· Writing Skills – 7 credits· Reading/Listening/Speaking –

7 Credits

ELS Bridge Classes(To enter certificate

program)

Certificate ProgramsWith Paired ELS Reading

Courses

(CDA)

Certificate ProgramsWith Paired ELS Courses

For Advanced/High Advanced

Levels

(HS/CJ/CIS areas)

ADULT EDUCATION· PREP· BASIC ESL

College Level Programs

CAREER TRACK

ACADEMIC TRACK

Empower students because one size does not fit all.

Not all English Language Learners…

• have the same goals: language, education, career• learn at the same pace• can commit equally

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Opportunities for acceleration at three points:

Progression

Entry

Transition

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Empower Beginning Students at Entry

Two levels of non-credit Adult

Education ESL courses: Basic + PREP

Basic PREP 020

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Basic ESL Course (non-credit)

• Low-beginning students• 12-week sessions, 60 hours of instruction• Integrated reading, writing, listening,

speaking skills lessons• Preparation for entry into the high-

beginning PREP course

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•

ELS PREP Course (non-credit)

• High-beginning students• Preparation for credit ELS academic program• 4-week sessions: 3 hours per day - Monday to Thursday

• Integrated reading, writing, listening and speaking

skills lessons

• Offered before and during each semester

• Individual and small group tutoring support

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ELS PREPPassing Rates

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

60%67%

81%76% 78% 79% 78%

Average = 74%

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ELS PREPPerformance Tracking

Spring 2013 – Fall 2014

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

70%60%

PREP PREP

Level 020 Reading

Level 020 Writing

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Advantages of Non-credit Beginning ESL Program

• 12-week and 4-week sessions accelerate transition to academic credit program • Saves financial aid• Intensive classes = greater immersion• Proactive advisement & registration procedures

= higher retention rates

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Empower Student Progression

Challenge Tests:

high-performing students

Second-Chance Writing Workshops: borderline students

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• High-performing students – instructor recommendation

• Students take the department exam for the subsequent level

• Students passing the exam skip a level

ELS Challenge Tests

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Second-Chance Writing Workshops (non-credit)

• Borderline writing students with a non-passing grade – instructor

recommendation

• Intensive 2-week workshop before each semester

• Successful completion = advancement to the next writing level

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Second-Chance Intensive Workshop Results

8/19 - 8/30/13

1/6 - 1/14/14

5/16 - 5/27/14

7/23 - 7/31/14

1/5/ - 1/15/15

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

71% 73%65%

70% 71%

Average = 70%

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Second-Chance Workshops Performance Tracking

INT Workshops 2013 & 2014

Next Level13/FA, 14/SP &

14/FA

Passing Rate

ENW-020 ENW-030 46%

ENW-030 ENW-040 82%

ENW-040 ENW-107 63%

ENW-107 EN-101 81%

Average = 68%

Empower Students

Students may opt to pursue a pathway to a

Child Development Certificate

Career choices: Progression & Transition

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ENR 020 Bridge & ENR 030 PairedOverview

ENR 020 Bridge Course• Vocabulary building and reading all related to Early Childhood

Development• Students learn more about CDA program and decide whether it is right

for them

ENR 030 Paired Course• Vocabulary, reading, writing and speaking all support ECE 110 course• Use same textbook as ECE 110 class• Lab: volunteer in child care center

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ELS Pathways to Short-term Child Development Certificate Program

35 credits towards

AASEarly Childhood

Education (61 credits)

ELS PATHWAY TOEARLY CHILDHOOD

Placement Test

ENR 020 Bridge

ECE 111 ECE 210

National Credential Test

ChildDevelopment Associate

Certificate(11 credits)

ENR 030 paired with ECE

110

14 credits towards

Early Childhood Education

Career Certificate(35 credits)

ENW 020

ENW 030

ENR 040 paired with CIS

101

ENR 107paired with PS

101

ENW 040

ENW 107

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Empower Students: Transition to College Courses

Paired courses allow students to earn college-level credits while

still in ELS

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Paired courses offered

ELS Course College-level course

ENR 030 Child Development Associate I

ENR 040 Intro. to Computer Information Systems

ENR 040 Intro. to Sociology

ENR 107 Intro. to Psychology

ENW 107 Composition I*

*Based on the Community College of Baltimore’s ALPESOL program

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ELS Student Performance in Paired Courses

Passing Rate of ELS Students

In College Course

Passing Rate of non-ELS Students in College Course

ECE-110 90%(9)

90.9%(30)

CIS-101 88.2%(45)

75.7%(2980)

SO-101 86.7%(65)

81.8%(2687)

PS-101 90.8%(167)

74.3%(5104)

EN-101 91.9%(34)

77.5%(1563)

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Advanced ELS WritingPaired with

Composition I• Professor recommendation + portfolio review

• Selected ELS students enroll in special sections of both

courses

• ELS = 10-12 students

• Composition I = 25 students with ½ ELS

• Two models

What happens in the ELS class?

Is it a class or a lab?

• A little bit of both

• Skills taught support Composition I assignments

• Extension of Composition I class with lab-like

activities

• Flexible approach required24

Empowerment

Psychological

Acceleration

Immersion

Reality check (Native speakers have writing challenges, too!)

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Advanced ELS WritingPaired with Composition I

Semesters Total # of Students EN-101 Passing Rate

Fall ‘13 /Spring ‘14 /Fall ‘14 65 92% (60)

22 students Fall ’13 – Spring ‘14 (100%)

passed Composition II

Questions?

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Thank you for attending today’s presentation!

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Leo Kazan Kathleen Kelly

Robert Salvato

lkazan@pccc.edu kkelly@pccc.edu rsalvato@pccc.edu

973-684-4828 973-684-5229 973-684-3872

Passaic County Community College

Paterson, NJ

PCCC is an Achieving the Dream Leader College