Westtown School benefits tremendously from having students in our community with many different viewpoints and world-wide backgrounds. The more we can do to increase their English skills, the more we are able to hear, understand, and learn from this valuable resource.
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The courses offered non-native speakers of English have the following outcomes as their goals:
- to support students with high intermediate or advanced proficiency in English so that they become bilingual before graduating from Westtown
- to provide a rich immersion in the reading of English. This skill is the one ESOL students identify as being the most difficult of the four basic language skills (speaking, listening, writing and reading)
- to provide a safe place for discussing cultural differences so that ESOL students are able to feel confident as they navigate the complicated waters of a boarding school
- to support students with no background in American history or social studies providing a comprehensive introduction to these disciplines
The English for Speakers of Other Languages curriculum is flexible; it varies depending on the strengths, weaknesses, and ability levels of each year's students. The texts include anthologies of short stories by well known American authors, murder mysteries, abridged versions of best selling novels, and, occasionally, a film version of a novel for comparison. All ESOL students write weekly, refining their grammar skills and working on vocabulary acquisition.
In addition to three courses designated ESOL within the English Department, the History Department offers two courses. In the first year (usually 9th grade) students take Introduction to American Cultures and in the second year (usually 10th grade) students take US History for International Students. (See the history department course descriptions for specific details of these courses.)