Page 36 - Year 10 Course Brochure 2023-2025

ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

YEAR 10

COURSE CONTENT The IGCSE English as a Second Language examination is aimed at students for
whom English is an additional language. The focus is on functional linguistic skills
that support their academic careers. This is the first year of the two-year IGCSE
course. We aim to develop students’ ability in reading, writing, listening and
speaking skills through extensive study and practice. This is an upper-intermediate
level English language course during which students will increase their range of
vocabulary and grammatical structures in different topic areas and in a variety of
contexts, developing confidence with their written and spoken English. Students will
be able to communicate in English for practical, everyday, and academic purposes.
The overall aim of the course is to build a foundation for students wishing to
progress to further study in English speaking environments. Topics included relate to
the interests of students using English as a second language for purposes of
communication, for example in study and leisure situations. Contexts and settings
given are also those that students are likely to encounter, for example school and
the media. Culturally sensitive and authentic reading and listening texts are used
throughout.
There is a dedicated focus on upper intermediate grammar items and vocabulary
sets, and the accurate use of tenses and specific language structures commonly
used in academic texts. Students will learn to write formal and informal letters and
emails, articles, opinion essays and they will also develop the skill of notetaking. As
well as preparing for the IGCSE examination, students may have the opportunity to
receive language support for their study of other GCSE subjects.
APPROACH TO TEACHING Classes are highly interactive, and students will work together on tasks in order to
AND LEARNING maximise their own learning and that of their classmates. This is achieved in a
supportive learning environment with reduced class sizes (typically between four
and eight students), where teacher guidance is always on hand. Students will be
pushed to develop their communication skills and academic English through a
variety of written and spoken tasks such as short projects and presentations. They
will also have plenty of exposure to exam style materials so that they can gauge
their own progress towards the target exam. Students will develop the skills of
listening for detail, reading longer texts for specific information (scanning) as well as
for gist (skimming), summary writing, writing for a range of transactional and
academic situations, and speaking on a range of different topics.
ASSESSMENT Progress is measured through continuous assessment, formal cohort tests and an
internal end-of-year examination. Students are also prepared for the externally
assessed Edexcel English as a Second Language IGCSE taken at the end of Year 11.

FURTHER INFORMATION Edexcel English as a Second Language IGCSE is for students who have an
upper-intermediate level of English, and thousands of colleges and universities
around the world, as well as employers, recognise it as proof of a good level of
spoken and written English for study, work and life. The Reading component tests
reading skills as well as knowledge and use of vocabulary and grammar. The Writing
component has three parts and possible tasks include writing an essay, an article, a
report and a letter or an email. The Listening component tests different real-life
listening skills, such as listening for information, opinion or detail, or listening for
the general meaning of the whole text. In the Speaking component, students are
assessed on different aspects of speaking, such as pronunciation, how well they use
grammar and vocabulary, how well ideas are organised and their fluency.

EXAM BOARD AND www.pearson.com
SPECIFICATION https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/International%20GCSE/
English%20(as%202nd%20language)/2017/specification-and-sample-
assessments/international-gcse-esl-2017-specification.pdf

CONTACT Mrs J White
Head of LSC, EAL & SENCo
white.j@millfieldschool.com

34 YEAR 10/11 COURSE GUIDE