Purpose

The key purpose of the ESL Pathways Standard Certificate curriculum is to prepare students holistically for the academic, professional and social communities to which they aspire. In the ESL Pathways program, students learn language and communication skills to achieve their academic, workplace and community goals in Canadian society, through authentic real world tasks.  The curriculum uses a student-centred approach and aims to empower inquiry and exploration in a language-learning context. 

The program is designed to be flexible and adaptable. Each course focuses on language acquisition in two skill areas at the target CLB level and aligned with EAP levels in the BCCAT EAL Articulation, up to EAP IV, to enter post-secondary level academic, technology, career and vocational programs, including those requiring English 12 prerequisites. For further detail about how EAP levels are defined, please see the BC Transfer Guide. 

The minimum requirement for achievement of the certificate is the completion of the following:

• ESL Listening and Speaking 8
• ESL Reading and Writing 8
• ESL Experiential Learning 1

*Students who complete levels higher than ESL Listening and Speaking 8 or  ESL Reading and Writing 8 at VCC, can use these in place of Level 8 courses to complete this credential. However, a student cannot use the same ESL Pathways course for both the Advanced Certificate and the Standard Certificate.

Duration

Total number of contact hours for each ESL Pathways course is 120 hours.

The ESL Experiential Learning 1 course, to be completed near or at the end of the program as a requirement for Certification, is 48 hours.

Learning Outcomes

 Upon successful completion of this program, graduates will be able to:

1. Meet the Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing outcomes at CLB 8 in the "Profiles of Ability" columns of the competency outcomes and standards listed in the most recent Canadian Language Benchmarks.

2. Meet the Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing outcomes at the EAP IV level in the BC Transfer Guide.

3. Communicate effectively in multiple contexts including personal, academic and workplace contexts of moderate complexity.

4. Successfully engage in communicative interactions, using intercultural communication and soft skills to function effectively in community, study and work contexts of moderate complexity.

5. Utilize the following Skills for Success (thinking skills, working with others, computer use, and document use) for tasks of moderate complexity.

6. Differentiate and produce a variety of genre types used in personal, academic and workplace contexts.

7. Apply the Experiential Learning cycle to real world language tasks.

Admission Requirements

Knowledge of English demonstrated by one of the following:

• English language proficiency as demonstrated by the CLB level or equivalent for the language skills of each course

or

• Department approval

Note:

• Students can be enrolled in ESL Reading and Writing at a different level than ESL Speaking and Listening, depending on their assessment. The gap between the two courses may not exceed more than one Benchmark level.

Program Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
ELSK 0515	ESL Listening and Speaking 5	4
ELSK 0520	ESL Reading and Writing 5	4
ELSK 0615	ESL Listening and Speaking 6	4
ELSK 0620	ESL Reading and Writing 6	4
ELSK 0715	ESL Listening and Speaking 7	4
ELSK 0720	ESL Reading and Writing 7	4
ELSK 0815	ESL Listening and Speaking 8	4
ELSK 0820	ESL Reading and Writing 8	4
ELSK 0705	ESL Experiential Learning 1	1.5
Total Credits		33.5

This guide is intended as a general guideline only. The college reserves the right to make changes as appropriate.

Evaluation of Student Learning

ESL Pathways uses a Portfolio-Based Learning Assessment (PBLA) model, which encompasses needs assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. This model supports instructors in using their own expertise, skills and knowledge in determining student performance.

Assessment rubrics are used to assess all learning outcomes throughout a course and provide ongoing feedback on the student’s performance. The rubrics are inserted into the student’s portfolio for self-reflection and reference during one-on-one consultation periods throughout the course. This gives both the instructor and the student an opportunity to chart performance and to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses.

• The ESL Pathways assessment model emphasizes formative assessment, whereby: i) assessment is focused on providing feedback to both instructors and students to inform learning; and, thereby, ii) the instructor and student are active agents in assessment.
• Language and communication skills are assessed in the context of the performance of tasks, which are selected to assess the competencies that are to be demonstrated.
• The assessed tasks embed other outcomes (CLB Knowledge and Strategies, Skills for Success, intercultural skills, and genres) that are assessed implicitly in the performance of the task and explicitly in the formative assessment process.
• Students must demonstrate satisfactory proficiency in each CLB Competency Area (Interacting with Others, Comprehending or Giving Instructions, Getting Things Done, and Comprehending or Sharing Information) for each skill covered in order to move to the next course level.  EAP competencies, identified in the BCCAT EAL Articulation, are integrated and assessed within the CLB Competency Areas.
• The assessment model supports ongoing needs assessment throughout each course, and assessment directly links learning to identified student needs.
• A student has the opportunity to demonstrate the achievement of each competency at various stages or points in the learning cycle
• The student must retain all artifacts created in a course so that they are eligible for evaluation at course completion.
• Performance on tasks that are not identified for assessment, and on competencies not listed for assessment, can be used to inform the instructor’s (and student’s) evaluation of a student.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)

Prior learning assessment and recognition is not available for this program.

Transcript of Achievement

The evaluation of learning outcomes for each student is prepared by the instructor and reported to the Student Records Department at the completion of semesters.

The transcript typically shows a letter grade for each course. The grade point equivalent for a course is obtained from letter grades as follows:

Grading Standard

Transcript of Achievement

Grade	Percentage	Description	Grade Point Equivalency
A+	90-100		4.33
A	85-89		4.00
A-	80-84		3.67
B+	76-79		3.33
B	72-75		3.00
B-	68-71		2.67
C+	64-67		2.33
C	60-63		2.00
C-	55-59		1.67
D	50-54	Minimum Pass	1.00
F	0-49	Failing Grade	0.00
S	70 or greater	Satisfactory – student has met and mastered a clearly defined body of skills and performances to required standards	N/A
U		Unsatisfactory – student has not met and mastered a clearly defined body of skills and performances to required standards	N/A
I		Incomplete	N/A
IP		Course in Progress	N/A
W		Withdrawal	N/A
Course Standings
R		Audit. No Credits	N/A
EX		Exempt. Credit Granted	N/A
TC		Transfer Credit

Grade Point Average (GPA)

1. The course grade points shall be calculated as the product of the course credit value and the grade value.
2. The GPA shall be calculated by dividing the total number of achieved course grade points by the total number of assigned course credit values. This cumulative GPA shall be determined and stated on the Transcript at the end of each Program level or semester.
3. Grades shall be assigned to repeated courses in the same manner as courses taken only once. For the purpose of GPA calculation of grades for repeated courses, they will be included in the calculation of the cumulative GPA.