ESL
The ESL program at Narrabundah College offers students, whose first language is not English fully accredited courses to improve their English language skills and to develop the skills required for further academic study in Australia.
The program offers a Tertiary course, which can be included in a student's University Admission Index, an ‘A’ course, which focuses on whole language development, and Registered half units which cover language work, across curriculum study assistance, and language study for students working towards IELTS.
The Students
Students in the ESL Program come from over thirty different countries and from an equal number of language backgrounds. The student population includes full fee paying international private students, the children of diplomatic staff stationed in Canberra, the children of overseas parents pursuing further study and refugees as well as students from overseas with a permanent residence status.
The ESL Tertiary course
The ESL Tertiary accredited course is called ESL for Academic Purposes or EAP. Students seeking university entrance are generally required to study six units over two years of full time study. 10 units of EAP are offered (EAP 1 to EAP 10). Students enter the course at a point appropriate to their language level which may be EAP 1, EAP 4, or EAP 7. Students who enter at the higher EAP 7 level will complete their tertiary course by including 1 unit of English. Because students enter EAP at a point appropriate to their language level, all scores and grades in different combinations of EAP English rank equally in the calculation of course scores to ensure no student at Narrabundah College is at any disadvantage because of their level of English.
The large number of students choosing to study ESL at Narrabundah College means students of EAP are offered a choice of which line to study units of EAP English. This allows students a wider choice of other subjects to study at College.
The ESL “A” Course
This course offers students not planning to go to university an opportunity to study English without the pressure of the scaling of marks conducted to produce the UAI. IT allows students to develop their English using a whole language approach to reading, writing and speaking. Further, many students beginning EAP at the EAP1 level find that ESL(A) offers an opportunity to improve and practise their English. This is useful to their studies as their better English enables them to do better in other subjects.
The Teachers
ESL staff come from a variety of backgrounds and have wide experience teaching students whose first language is not English. A number of teachers themselves come from a non English speaking background while a number also teach languages other than English.
ESL staff work closely with the LOTE (Languages other than English) Department. Languages taught at Narrabundah are Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, French, German, Italian and Spanish. A Tertiary accredited translating and interpreting course called Translating and Interpreting Skills is also available and is a subject that many ESL students choose because they speak a language other than English and this subject allows them to capitalize on that knowledge.
The academic year comprises three sessions of study. At Narrabundah College the Autumn Session is the first unit of study, the Winter Session is the second unit of study and the Spring Session is the third unit of study. In the Autumn Session, EAP 1, 4, 7 and 10 are taught as well as Accredited ESL and the Registered support and study units, in the Winter Session, EAP 2, 5, and 8 are taught as well as Accredited ESL and the Registered support and study units, and in the Spring Session, EAP 3, 6, and 9 are taught as well as Accredited ESL and Registered support and study units.
