| (iv) make errors that interfere somewhat with communication when using complex grammar structures, long sentences, and less familiar words and expressions; and (v) may mispronounce words, but use pronunciation that can usually be understood by people not accustomed to interacting with ELLs. (D) Advanced high. Advanced high ELLs have the ability to speak using grade-appropriate English, with minimal second language acquisition support, in academic and social settings. These students: (i) are able to participate in extended discussions on a variety of social and grade-appropriate academic topics with only occasional disruptions, hesitations, or pauses; (ii) communicate effectively using abstract and content-based vocabulary during classroom instructional tasks, with some exceptions when low-frequency or academically demanding vocabulary is needed; use many of the same idioms and colloquialisms as their native English-speaking peers; (iii) can use English grammar structures and complex sentences to narrate and describe at a level nearly comparable to native English-speaking peers; (iv) make few second language acquisition errors that interfere with overall communication; and (v) may mispronounce words, but rarely use pronunciation that interferes with overall communication. (3) Reading, Kindergarten-Grade 1. ELLs in Kindergarten and Grade 1 may be at the beginning, intermediate, advanced, or advanced high stage of English language acquisition in reading. The following proficiency level descriptors for reading are sufficient to describe the overall English language proficiency levels of ELLs in this language domain in order to linguistically accommodate their instruction and should take into account developmental stages of emergent readers. (A) Beginning. Beginning ELLs have little or no ability to use the English language to build foundational reading skills. These students: (i) derive little or no meaning from grade-appropriate stories read aloud in English, unless the stories are: (I) read in short "chunks;" (II) controlled to include the little English they know such as language that is high frequency, concrete, and recently practiced; and (III) accompanied by ample visual supports such as illustrations, gestures, pantomime, and objects and by linguistic supports such as careful enunciation and slower speech; (ii) begin to recognize and understand environmental print in English such as signs, labeled items, names of peers, and logos; and (iii) have difficulty decoding most grade-appropriate English text because they: (I) understand the meaning of very few words in English; and (II) struggle significantly with sounds in spoken English words and with sound-symbol relationships due to differences between their primary language and English. (B) Intermediate. Intermediate ELLs have a limited ability to use the English language to build foundational reading skills. These students: (i) demonstrate limited comprehension (key words and general meaning) of grade-appropriate stories read aloud in English, unless the stories include: (I) predictable story lines; (II) highly familiar topics; (III) primarily high-frequency, concrete vocabulary; (IV) short, simple sentences; and (V) visual and linguistic supports; (ii) regularly recognize and understand common environmental print in English such as signs, labeled items, names of peers, logos; and (iii) have difficulty decoding grade-appropriate English text because they: (I) understand the meaning of only those English words they hear frequently; and (II) struggle with some sounds in English words and some sound-symbol relationships due to differences between their primary language and English. (C) Advanced. Advanced ELLs have the ability to use the English language, with second language acquisition support, to build foundational reading skills. These students: (i) demonstrate comprehension of most main points and most supporting ideas in grade-appropriate stories read aloud in English, although they may still depend on visual and linguistic supports to gain or confirm meaning; (ii) recognize some basic English vocabulary and high-frequency words in isolated print; and (iii) with second language acquisition support, are able to decode most grade-appropriate English text because they: (I) understand the meaning of most grade-appropriate English words; and (II) have little difficulty with English sounds and sound-symbol relationships that result from differences between their primary language and English. (D) Advanced high. Advanced high ELLs have the ability to use the English language, with minimal second language acquisition support, to build foundational reading skills. These students: (i) demonstrate, with minimal second language acquisition support and at a level nearly comparable to native English-speaking peers, comprehension of main points and supporting ideas (explicit and implicit) in grade-appropriate stories read aloud in English; (ii) with some exceptions, recognize sight vocabulary and high-frequency words to a degree nearly comparable to that of native English-speaking peers; and (iii) with minimal second language acquisition support, have an ability to decode and understand grade-appropriate English text at a level nearly comparable to native English-speaking peers. (4) Reading, Grades 2-12. ELLs in Grades 2-12 may be at the beginning, intermediate, advanced, or advanced high stage of English language acquisition in reading. The following proficiency level descriptors for reading are sufficient to describe the overall English language proficiency levels of ELLs in this language domain in order to linguistically accommodate their instruction. (A) Beginning. Beginning ELLs have little or no ability to read and understand English used in academic and social contexts. These students: (i) read and understand the very limited recently practiced, memorized, or highly familiar English they have learned; vocabulary predominantly includes: (I) environmental print; (II) some very high-frequency words; and (III) concrete words that can be represented by pictures; (ii) read slowly, word by word; (iii) have a very limited sense of English language structures; (iv) comprehend predominantly isolated familiar words and phrases; comprehend some sentences in highly routine contexts or recently practiced, highly familiar text; (v) are highly dependent on visuals and prior knowledge to derive meaning from text in English; and (vi) are able to apply reading comprehension skills in English only when reading texts written for this level. (B) Intermediate. Intermediate ELLs have the ability to read and understand simple, high-frequency English used in routine academic and social contexts. These students: (i) read and understand English vocabulary on a somewhat wider range of topics and with increased depth; vocabulary predominantly includes: (I) everyday oral language; (II) literal meanings of common words; (III) routine academic language and terms; and (IV) commonly used abstract language such as terms used to describe basic feelings; (ii) often read slowly and in short phrases; may re-read to clarify meaning; (iii) have a growing understanding of basic, routinely used English language structures; (iv) understand simple sentences in short, connected texts, but are dependent on visual cues, topic familiarity, prior knowledge, pretaught topic-related vocabulary, story predictability, and teacher/peer assistance to sustain comprehension; (v) struggle to independently read and understand grade-level texts; and (vi) are able to apply basic and some higher-order comprehension skills when reading texts that are linguistically accommodated and/or simplified for this level. (C) Advanced. Advanced ELLs have the ability to read and understand, with second language acquisition support, grade-appropriate English used in academic and social contexts. These students: (i) read and understand, with second language acquisition support, a variety of grade-appropriate English vocabulary used in social and academic contexts: (I) with second language acquisition support, read and understand grade-appropriate concrete and abstract vocabulary, but have difficulty with less commonly encountered words; Cont'd... |
