These Standards identify core elements of second (and other) language learning that are important, yet general enough to relate to adult education contexts throughout the state of Arizona. Listening and Speaking, Writing, and Reading are the primary indicators because they are the skills that permeate all language learning contexts. Language functions, such as giving/following directions reflect general purposes for language use. Crucial to the functions is supporting grammar and mechanics. Though they appear in list form, the functions and supporting grammar are not meant to be sequential or representative of greater or lesser importance. They are also not meant to be exhaustive. It is entirely possible that the functions/grammar listed could be covered in a different level, should the learning opportunity present itself and the teacher seize the teachable moment.
The descriptions for the levels in these standards are prescribed by the US Department of Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy. However, classroom experience has shown that learners in Beginning English Literacy may fall into one of these categories:
Low speaking ability and low first language literacy
High speaking ability and low first language literacy
First language literacy, but a different alphabet or learned English by ear
These Standards are a revision of the Arizona Adult Education ESOL Standards first published in 1999. This revision was accomplished by a team of practitioners from Arizona Adult Education programs. The term ELAA (English Language Acquisition for Adults) is used in Arizona to identify the listening/speaking, reading, writing, functions, grammar and mechanics of the English language that are taught to adults who speak languages other than English. ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) refers to our learners. It is used to acknowledge that our learners may be multi-lingual and that English is an additional language that they have learned or are learning. In short, ELAA is “what”; ESOL is “who”.
Functions
Supporting Grammar and Mechanics
Applies knowledge of:
The learner employs the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this level with the following:
Content Indicators
LISTENING and SPEAKING |
READING |
WRITING |
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage comprehend simple statements and questions. They understand the general idea of basic messages and conversations that pertain to common, routine matters. Their interactions are short, face-to-face, informal, and with one person at a time or in small
groups. Learners’ speech is largely guided by questions and feedback from the instructor, although they can initiate and respond to basic statements. They
rely heavily on repetition, gestures, and other nonverbal cues to sustain conversations. Learners’ speech is slow. Communications that learners listen to and comprehend are short and include familiar, routine words. Context strongly supports their utterances.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency can comprehend the general message of basic reading passages dramatized or read to them. These reading passages contain simple language structures and syntax, high frequency vocabulary, and predictable grammatical patterns. Learners also use prior knowledge and their experiences in their first language to understand meanings in English. Learners often rely on visual cues and prior knowledge or experience with the topic so that the context is personally relevant and strongly supports the text.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency copy short sentences (three to seven words) and relate short messages, using vocabulary related to the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics for this level. Forms are simple in format and demand. |
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Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Present tense to be in affirmative/negative Vocabulary: family relationship words, e.g., mother, father, brother numbers (ages, addresses, phone, birth date) |
Speaking: Listening: |
Learners say ages of family members. Learners interview each other about their family members. |
Pronunciation: Difference between teens and multiples of 10, e.g., thirteen/thirty |
Writing: |
Classmates present family trees with pictures, labels, relationships and ages to other Learners. Classmates write corresponding numerical symbol, and family relationship vocabulary. |
Reading: |
Learners match numerical symbols with written names of family members, each of which are listed in columns. “Who is…? drill |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Present tense to be in affirmative/negative Third person singular Preposition from Vocabulary: Idioms: Nice to meet you. See you later Basic “wh”-questions Pronunciation: Contraction: I’m, he’s she’s Intonation of Wh- (who, what, when, where, why, how, how many, how much) and yes/no questions
Sentential stress: Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too. |
Speaking: |
Learners role-play introducing a friend at a party. Give friend’s name and country. Friend responds appropriately to the introduction. Learners take friendly leave of one another as new person is introduced to others at party. |
Writing: |
Teacher writes names and countries/cities of Learners in class. Learners copy names and countries/cities from board. Learners use capitalization appropriately. |
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Listening/ Reading: |
Teacher creates statements from the dialogue learners create. Learners listen and circle names of persons and countries/cities. Learners participate in listening chain – “I’m from_________. Where are you from?” |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Commands Prepositions |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners respond to directions for classroom procedure. “Stand up, write your name on the board.” Learners comprehend basic directions on the use of turning a computer on and off. Learners work in pairs and tell each other how to turn off the computer. Learners play “Simon Says” -learner led game of classroom procedures. |
Vocabulary: first, then, next, etc. |
Writing: |
Learners write the classroom verb after viewing a picture. |
Reading: |
Learners read imperatives from flash cards to another learner. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Verb “to be: |
Listening/ Speaking: |
With a partner, or in groups learners use flash cards and ask /respond to “What time is it?” Teacher shows picture of coins, learners name individual coins. |
Vocabulary: “Wh”- words AM/PM, noon Currency vocabulary (nickel, quarter, dime, etc.) |
Reading: |
Learners “set” clock from appointment notes. Hand out newspaper ads and play money Learners will show the amount that is in the ad |
Writing: |
Learners write time from listening activity. Teacher dictates time and learners fill in clock (face and digital.) Using coin pictures, learners identify amount in writing. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Functions
Supporting Grammar and Mechanics
Applies knowledge of:
The learner employs the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels with the following:
LISTENING and SPEAKING |
READING |
WRITING |
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency comprehend basic vocabulary and grammatical structures in face-to-face conversations with one person at a time or in a familiar supportive group. Topics are familiar and about common routine matters. Listening communications are short monologues and dialogues on familiar routine topics delivered at a slow-to-normal rate. Learners rely on repetition, gestures, and other nonverbal cues to sustain conversations. Learners’ speech is guided by specific questions when necessary. Learners use word order accurately in simple sentences, but make errors when using more complex patterns. They use the more common verb tense forms (present, past, and future) consistently, but sometimes make errors in tense formation and proper selection of verbs. Learners’ speech rate is slow to normal.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency can comprehend the general message of basic reading passages dramatized or read to
them. These reading passages contain simple language structures and syntax, high frequency vocabulary, and predictable grammatical patterns. Learners also use prior knowledge and their experiences in their first language to understand meanings in English. Learners often rely on visual cues and prior knowledge or experience with the topic so that the context is personally relevant and strongly supports the text. The learner uses the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this level.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency are able to write simple sentences on familiar and personally relevant topics using vocabulary related to the functions and supporting grammar and mechanics for this level and the preceding level. Basic vocabulary and structures in simple sentences and phrases are characteristic of Learner writing at this level. Errors in spelling and grammar are frequent and characteristic of language production at this stage.
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ELAA I Sample Activities *
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Present tense to be in affirmative/negative Questioning in affirmative/negative Numbers |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners role-play responding to questions about personal information at a social service agency. Teacher reads statements based on the grid about learners’ personal information. Learners listen while viewing the grid and mark true or false for each statement. |
Possessives Vocabulary: also, age, married, single, divorced Pronunciation: Contractions: isn’t, I’m, aren’t, what’s Intonation of Wh- and yes/no questions |
Writing/ Reading: |
Learners read and fill out forms with name, address, marital status, zip code, phone, date of birth, social security #, and similar information. Learners write personal information on a grid. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Present, present progressive and future tenses in affirmative/negative Demonstrative pronouns; possessive Prepositions of time Adverbs of time and frequency |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners circle a picture of a task that is described by the teacher or another learner. Learners describe daily routines. “I get up at 8:00 and I take a shower. I drink two cups of coffee before work. |
Writing/ Reading: |
Learners make a list of their daily routines Learners make a list of things they see in a room and add one or more descriptive words. Learners read the list(s) they have written. Learners sequence a scrambled strip story (using words and pictures) of a classmate’s daily routine. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Commands Demonstrative adjectives Prepositions |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners work in pairs and tell each other how to turn off the computer. |
Vocabulary: first, then, next, etc. |
Writing: |
Learners write a “pass down” (note) to the person on the next shift about how to turn off the computer. |
Reading: |
Learners read each other’s “pass downs” and turn off their computers by following the instructions. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Verbs in the interrogative, affirmative, and negative forms of present, present progressive |
Writing: |
In pairs, Learners create a brief phone message to be communicated to a co-worker. |
Prepositions Modals can, could, may, would Simple punctuation |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners pair up and simulate a phone conversation |
Reading: |
Learners pair up with new partner. Pairs exchange written phone messages and read for comprehension, asking clarification questions from partner/teacher. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Verbs in interrogative, affirmative and negative forms of present Modal can Questioning in affirmative/negative |
Writing: |
Learners develop and write a list of needs that could possibly be met by classmates. |
Adjectives: sad, happy, etc. |
Reading: |
Learners read their list of needs aloud. |
Vocabulary: feel, want to, have to, need to, prefer, like/dislike, because, can’t stand |
Speaking: |
Learners formulate questions to find out who can help them meet each need. |
Listening: |
Learners listen to questions from other learners to see if they can meet their needs. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Wh- and yes/no questions Conjunctions: but, and |
Speaking: |
Learners practice asking/answering about activities they can/cannot do. Question: Do you know how to ride a bike? Answer: Yes. Can you swim? |
Vocabulary: can, know how to in affirmative/negative |
Writing: |
Learners graph their abilities in form of table (can/cannot do) or Venn diagram. |
Listening: |
Teacher reads statements about learner’s abilities based on the graph in front of class. Learners respond with true/false answers. |
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Reading: |
Learners read sentences such as “ can drive a truck, but he doesn’t know how to play soccer.” Learners interview classmates to match the person with the written statement. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Questioning in affirmative/negative Present tense Future tense Prepositions of time and place. Modals may, can, would like in affirmative and negative |
Writing: |
Learners make a list of family rules they have. Learners write a family story about their parents’ rules when the learners were children. |
Reading: |
Learners read aloud each other’s family rules. |
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Listening: |
Learners have to decide who wrote the list that is being read. Teacher asks questions about what Learners can or cannot do. |
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Speaking: |
Learners practice dialogues between child and parent: A: Mom, can I stay over night at _____’s house? B: You know can’t on a school night. A: How about Saturday? B: I’ll think about it. Learners listen to teacher’s questions and respond according to the lists. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Commands Modals: can, may |
Speaking: |
Learners look at pictures of worksites and role-play making safety recommendations or work routines to new worker. . |
Adverbs of time and frequency (usually, always) Simple punctuation: exclamation point, comma |
Writing: |
Learners write safety warnings that will be read to other learners. |
Reading: |
Learners read warnings to one another and match them to pictures. |
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Vocabulary: be careful, don’t, watch out, make sure you… |
Listening: |
Learners listen to teacher reading warnings and match them to pictures. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Functions
Applies knowledge of:
The learner employs the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels with the following:
Content Indicators
LISTENING and SPEAKING |
READING |
WRITING |
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency comprehend short conversations and interactions that are face-to-face with one person at a time or in small groups. The context of the conversations is familiar or clear and predictable. Learners at this stage initiate and sustain conversations, although they often speak with hesitation and rely on known vocabulary. Extended communications typically consist of a series of short, familiar structures. They rely on repetition, gestures and other nonverbal cues to sustain conversations. Circumstances of oral communications range from informal to more formal occasions, and audiences consist of small, familiar groups. Listening communications consist of moderately short monologues and dialogues on familiar, routine topics that are face-to-face, or video-or audio-mediated at a slow-to-normal rate. Learner’s speech rate is slow to normal.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency can comprehend the content of different genres of short text. Language in text is predominantly factual and literal. Narratives that are biographical or descriptive are often related to personal experience. Linguistic and stylistic means of expression remain simple and straightforward. Samples of text include stories, poems, newspaper articles, encyclopedia entries, and reports. The learner uses the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels.
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Performance Conditions: Learner’s at this stage of proficiency are able to express basic personal needs and compose passages on familiar, personally relevant topics, using vocabulary related to the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics for this level and the preceding levels. At this level, personal narrative writing is a focus. Basic vocabulary and structures in simple sentences and phrases are characteristic of learner writing at this level. Errors in spelling and grammar are frequent and characteristic of language production at this stage.
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Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Modals can, could, would, must, ought to, had better in affirmative and negative Past tense |
Speaking/ Listening: |
Learner retells a story, including description of the emotions of the characters. Classmates show comprehension by summarizing the story and asking questions. |
Pronunciation: Intonation patterns appropriate to questions. |
Writing: |
Learner presenter writes questions for the group about the presentation prior to retelling story. |
Reading: |
Learners read the presenter’s questions and answer them in oral or written form. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Comparatives and superlatives (safe, safer, safest) or joined construction (more, less, most) Irregular adjectives: good, better, best/bad, worse, worst |
Speaking: |
Learners practice questions and answers about various aspects of life in the United States versus life in their native countries. “What do you like better about living in the United States than in your native country? What do you like better about living in your native country than in the United States?” |
Wh- questions: “…difference between…” “…like better…” |
Writing: |
Learners write sentences comparing their hometowns to the city they live in now. |
Reading: |
Learners read their sentences out loud to the group. |
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Listening: |
Learners listen to sentences and try to guess where a learner is from. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Past tense: I didn’t mean to. It was my fault. Future tense: I’ll never do it again. It won’t happen again. |
Speaking: |
Learners role-play apologizing to a family member. A: I'm sorry. I ate the rest of your cake. I thought it was for me. B: That’s okay, but please ask me first next time. |
Modal in past: could Vocabulary: sorry, mean to, fault |
Listening: |
Learners hear a series of apologies and excuses, e.g., Maria couldn’t go to work today because… which they match with the corresponding picture. |
Writing: |
Learners write a letter to family members apologizing and asking for forgiveness for a past offense. |
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Reading: |
Learners read each other’s letters and make corrections and suggestions. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Past and present perfect tense Adverbs of manner and sequence (quickly, finally) |
Speaking: |
Learners take turns complaining about working conditions. Q: What are some problems where you work? A: I only work 6 hours a week. B: I work 10 hours and don’t get overtime. C: I’ve been there 5 years and I trained a guy who’s been there only 2 years and he got promoted recently. |
Listening: |
Next, learners brainstorm as a large group a list of working conditions that need to be improved. Learners take turns going to the board to write down the complaints contributed by classmates. |
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Writing: |
Based on the concerns generated above, learners write a letter of complaint to a supervisor. |
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Reading: |
Learners read each other’s letters. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Present tense in affirmative/negative Yes/no questions |
Reading: |
Learners read a short passage about rules and responsibilities for workers, e.g., creating rules for the classroom. |
Vocabulary: think, because, either/neither, too, so |
Speaking: |
Learners discuss why they agree or disagree with the rules. |
Writing/ Listening: |
Learners in groups write their own classroom rules that they read aloud to classmates. Discussion continues until a final version of classroom rules is agreed upon. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Modals: should, would, could Want to/have to Questions in affirmative/negative
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Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners create a dialogue imagining two friends talking about a party. A: So, do you want to go to a party next weekend? B: Well, I should really get some work done around the house. A: Yes, or you could do that during the week, couldn’t you? Learners read aloud the dialogues they have created, using first common, then “slang” pronunciations where appropriate. |
Tag questions: You’re from Phoenix, aren’t you? Vocabulary: ever, never |
Reading: |
Learners make inferences about the level of familiarity or comfort between the speakers based on the dialogue they heard or read. Learners read each other’s dialogues. |
Pronunciation: Contractions: couldn’t, would’ve Slang – wanna, couldn’t ja |
Writing: |
Learners write sample small talk dialogues for a different situation, e.g., strangers on a bus, an acquaintance at the grocery store. Learners write in standard American English. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Past tense Past progressive |
Speaking: |
Learners verbally report an on-the-job accident to a supervisor. |
Yes/no questions Clarification questions |
Listening/ Writing: |
Learner listens to and writes up the accident report based on Learner’s verbal information. |
Pronunciation: /ed/, /t/, /d/ for past tense verbs |
Reading: |
Another learner reads the learner’s written report and then verbally reports to the class the situation. Accuracy is checked by comparing it to the contents of the original report. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Modals: must, have to Possessive pronouns |
Listening/ Speaking: |
In small groups, learners will brainstorm what is required to register a child in school. Spokesperson from each group will report to class. |
Writing: |
Learners will make lists of what is reported out. |
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Pronunciation: /ed/, /t/, /d/ for past tense verbs |
Reading: |
Learners will research what is required by going to their local school, and/or looking the information up on the Internet. Learners will report out and compare their new lists to the list they created in class. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace/Technology |
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Common 2-part phrasal verb (turn on/off; look at, etc. |
Speaking/ Listening: |
Learner describes a task, including multi-step directions, such as turning on, rebooting or shutting down computer. Classmates show comprehension by following directions. |
Prepositions of direction and motion into, out of, from, on, in, etc. |
Writing: |
Learners write multi-step directions for completing a task. |
Reading: |
Learners read and follow multi-step directions. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Functions
Applies knowledge of:
LISTENING and SPEAKING |
READING |
WRITING |
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency comprehend standard speech delivered in many settings, including various academic settings with some repetition and rewording. They are able to comprehend the main ideas and relevant details of extended discussions or presentations on a broad variety of general interest topics. They have mastered basic sentence structure and verb tenses but may have some difficulty with more complex structures. Learners’ rate of speech is at a slow-to-normal rate.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency can comprehend the content of many different genres of texts independently. They are able to detect the overall tone and intent of text. Language in text is predominantly factual and literal, with some abstract ideas. Most information is explicit; some is implicit so that some level of inference is required to comprehend the text. Narratives that are biographical or descriptive are often related to personal experience. Linguistic and stylistic means of expression in some texts can be complex. Samples of text include stories, poems, newspaper articles, encyclopedia entries, and reports. The learner uses the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels.
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Performance Conditions: Students at this stage of proficiency can write short texts using basic vocabulary and common language structures related to the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics for this level and the preceding levels. Personal experience narratives, expository writings and letters are a focus at this level. They can express ideas in the present, future, and past and present perfect tenses. Frequent errors are characteristic of this level especially when learners try to express thoughts that require more complex language structures. Circumstances range from informal to more formal occasions.
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Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Present conditional (If…will) Present perfect and present progressive |
Writing: |
Learners generate a list of problem scenarios encountered at work. |
Modal, could, would, should Clarification questions |
Speaking/ Reading: |
Learners read problems and pose possible solutions for each one. |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Class prioritizes solutions from most to least effective. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Yes/no and Wh- questions |
Speaking/ Listening: |
Learner sits in a circle with a small group of classmates and describes a problem in his/her family. At the end s/he asks, “What should I do?” (Suggestion circle) Classmates listen, ask clarification questions and then each takes a turn offering advice, for example, “I think you should stay at your mom’s house,” or “You might try…” |
Modals: would, should, could, must, might, ought to, had better in affirmative/negative |
Reading/ Writing: |
Classmates each write down a problem and swap with another learner. In pairs, learners read one another’s situations and provide written advice. Learners circulate the problem descriptions, read the advice already given and add something new or agree with one listed. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Community |
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Modals: might, could, should, would Future tense: will/going to |
Speaking/ Listening: |
Learners create a phone conversation about making plans for the weekend. Learners answer true and false questions about the phone conversation they had. |
If…then (will) Vocabulary: maybe, probably, more than likely |
Writing/ Reading: |
Learners read an unfinished story and make predictions about the ending in oral and written form. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Habitual past Reflexive pronouns Adverbs of time, before, after, now, when, then |
Speaking/ Listening: |
Class brainstorms 2 lists of technological devices used in the workplace in the past and those used today. Class identifies job “clusters” (related occupations such as, construction or office related jobs). Learners form groups according to job clusters and practice orally using adverbs of time and the habitual past. |
Writing/ Reading: |
Each group narrows down the list of devices/conveniences pertaining to its cluster. Groups, individuals or pairs compose a paragraph comparing how their work was done in the past Vs. how it is done now. Each group will read it orally to the class. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Family |
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Past, Present perfect and present perfect progressive |
Speaking: |
Parents are going away for the weekend. They give their teenage children instructions of chores and things that need to get done. Learners role-play this situation using grammar points; dialogue includes interruptions. |
Commands Modals Should’ve = should of or shoulda Would’ve = would of or woulda |
Writing: |
Learners write notes to their children/house sitter about what needs to be taken care of while they’re gone. |
Connectors
Expressions of conversation management: “Excuse me. I’m sorry, but…” |
Reading: |
Learners read brochures about house safety and house sitter employment guides. |
Listening: |
After speaking practice, learners “receive” a phone call from the homeowners who ask questions about the chores they wanted done. They answer using the supporting grammar and interrupters. Owner: Did you remember to water the plants? Sitter: No. I would’ve, but it rained. Owner: How about taking out the recycling? Sitter: Doesn’t that happen tomorrow? Owner: No! You should’ve done it yesterday. Show parts of video (Home Alone or Uncle Buck). After viewing, answer questions on a worksheet. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Functions
Applies knowledge of:
The learner employs the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels with the following:
LISTENING and SPEAKING |
READING |
WRITING |
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency comprehend standard speech delivered in most settings, including various academic groups -- small and large – with some repetition and rewording. They are able to comprehend the main ideas and relevant details of extended discussions or presentations on a broad variety of general interest topics and technical discourse, including those that require some level of inference. Learners can comprehend subtleties and detect affective undertones in spoken language. They draw on a wide range of language forms, vocabulary, and idioms, and they can engage in extended conversations on a broad range of topics. They have mastered basic sentence structure and verb tenses but may have some difficulty with more complex structures. Learners’ rate of speech is at a normal-to-fast rate.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency read and obtain meaning from a wide range of texts. They use the same reading strategies as their native English-speaking peers to derive meaning from text. They are able to read a variety of authentic texts including newspaper and magazine articles, novels, poems, reports, editorials and opinion essays. Language in text is at an appropriate level for the general public. Context of text is relevant, but not always familiar and predictable. Language in text is literal and abstract, and explicit and implicit. Inference may be required to identify the writer’s purpose or function of the text. The learner uses the functions and supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency can write narratives, expository writings, formal business letters and creative passages using vocabulary related to the functions and supporting grammar and mechanics for this level and the preceding levels. They show good control of English morphology and the most frequently used grammatical structures. Learners can express complex ideas and use a wide range of vocabulary, idioms and a full range of verb tenses. Circumstances range from informal to more formal occasions.
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Reported speech Embedded questions Past tense |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Half of the learners view a video clip of a crime and report to the rest of the class what happened and what was said. Or, show a video stopping before the end. Have learners guess who committed the crime and give their reasons. |
Questions in affirmative/negative Adjectives |
Writing/ Reading: |
Half of the learners write up a description of the video clip and present it to the rest of the class. The class reads it and watches the clip to verify accuracy. |
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Past, past perfect tenses Reported speech Embedded questions |
Reading: |
Learners read obituaries in the newspaper or on-line. |
Vocabulary: deceased, passed away, passed on, lost, survived by, preceded in death by |
Listening: |
Learners listen to obituaries of famous people and guess who they are. |
Speaking: |
Learners create a conversation between friends about the death of a friend, or famous person. Learners discuss the feelings they would have about the person. |
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Writing: |
Learners write a note to people who helped, attended or sent memorials. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
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Past perfect, future perfect in affirmative and negative Reported speech Embedded questions |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners watch TV news commentaries on the presidential elections and learn about the electoral college. They discuss the electoral college? Why was it created? How many times has the electoral college conflicted with the popular vote? Do you think the college is necessary? |
Expressions of certainty or doubt: I doubt that… I bet that… I’m almost positive that… |
Writing/ Reading: |
Learners read about the role of the electoral college in presidential elections on the Internet. They also read post-election commentary on current and past elections. Learners write an opinion essay about the electoral college. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
Workplace |
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Present unreal conditional tense (If…would) Future perfect and progressive tenses |
Reading: |
Give learners in small groups a “What would you do if” scenario related to a job they may be applying for. Learners read and comprehend the scenario, then brainstorm possible interview questions and responses and also questions that the job seeker would have.
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Tag/open-ended and negative questions Three-part phrasal verbs (look forward to) |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners role-play interview using questions and responses they generated from scenario. Learners develop a scoring system for responses. Learners listen to interview and discuss. Then learners predict whether interviewee will or will not get the job.
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Writing: |
Teacher assists learners in generating a list of interview questions and questions regarding the future (e.g., “Where do you see yourself in 5 years? What is your greatest weakness and how do you plan to overcome it? If you found, after you took this job, that it wasn’t the right one for you, how would you handle it?” Learners write scripts for interview. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
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Commands Present unreal conditional tense (If…would) Embedded questions Review multi-step directions (ELAA II) |
Listening/ Speaking: Writing: Reading: |
Class listens to one another mentioning things they know how to do or what to learn how to do (changing a tire, playing a DVD). Learners make presentations or give instructions. |
Learners write how-to instructions for tasks. (connecting or programming a VCR) |
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Other learners read the instructions and simulate following them as written. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
Applies knowledge of:
The learner employs the functions, supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels with the following:
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency understand most standard speech. They understand and identify the main ideas and relevant details of discussions or presentations on a wide range of topics including unfamiliar and technical ones. Listening communications come in the form of lectures, debates, discussions and critiques. Learners are able to comprehend nuanced meaning represented by speech variations in stress, intonation, pace and rhythm. They engage in most communications with minimal errors. Learners have a high degree of fluency and accuracy when speaking on topics that are abstract and not personal. Although learners may make errors with some language forms, the errors do not interfere with meaning.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency are able to read and draw meaning from a wide range of authentic texts, in all styles and forms, including literature and technical text. Language in text can be linguistically complex, but with clear underlying structures. Inference is often required to comprehend the text. Examples of text are expository and persuasive essays, policy and problem-solution papers, research papers, novels, plays and poetry. The learner uses the functions and supporting grammar and mechanics of this and all previous levels.
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Performance Conditions: Learners at this stage of proficiency write varied, multi-paragraph essays that may be of a specialized or technical nature to relate a sequence of events, tell a story, give “how-to” instructions or to describe a person, object, scene, procedure or routine. They use vocabulary related to the functions and supporting grammar and mechanics for this level and the preceding levels. They are approaching fluency in writing and begin to use the subtleties of written language, although they may make minor errors. Circumstances range from informal to more formal writing in all genres.
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Present perfect Present perfect progressive |
Writing: Speaking/ Reading: |
The learner writes a descriptive paragraph of a picture (one of four brought in by teacher) One learner reads aloud his description to the class. |
Yes/no questions Clarification questions |
Listening/ Speaking: |
The class listens to the description and chooses the correct picture. The learners tell what words helped them to choose the picture. |
Supporting Grammar/Vocabulary |
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Present and past real conditionals Past perfect tense |
Speaking/ Listening: |
Learners role-play a supervisor talking to a worker about his/her performance. The boss thinks the person is a good worker, but works too slowly. The worker has to respond. (Performance review) Learners in other groups listen to the role-play and give feedback. |
Modals in past |
Writing: |
Learners write feedback to worker as if they were a supervisor. |
Reading: |
In groups, learners read the feedback about their performance. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
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Negative questions (Why don’t you…) Past unreal conditional (If…would have….) Modals in past tense (should have done) |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Teacher reads part of a story about a controversy between neighbors, e.g., a barking dog problem, but does not read the ending. Each learner predicts his/her own ending to the story. Learners role-play mediation between the two neighbors around the issue of the barking dog. Afterwards, learners return to the predictions to compare them to the results of the role-play. |
Proverbial expressions: (Let sleeping dogs…) Gerund and participial adjectives |
Writing: |
Learners write a story about a conflict they had with another person, but omit how the conflict was resolved. |
Reading: |
Learners read or hear the stories written by their classmates and offer solutions to resolve the conflict. "Have you tried…?" "Why don’t you try talking to…?" After solutions are suggested, the author can tell the rest of the story about resolving this conflict. |
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Past perfect progressive Gerund and participial adjectives |
Reading: |
Learners view a picture and read about an accident or tragedy. |
Passive voice Modals in past tense |
Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners form questions and answers about the picture. What happened? How could it have been prevented? Learners role-play “testimony” from people involved in accident and witnesses. Classmates listen to testimony. |
Writing: |
Learners write about the accident from the point of view of the people involved and from the point of view of witnesses. |
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Gerund and participial adjectives Root words, prefixes and suffixes |
Reading: Listening/ Speaking: |
Learners read directions for using an ATM machine. Class is divided into three groups. One group gives oral directions on how to use the ATM. Second group simulates using the ATM following these directions. |
Writing: |
Third group writes down directions as they are given. |
*Sample activities incorporate the core competencies of communication, interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
adjective – a word that describes a noun; often answers the question “What kind of…?” (The big dog.)
adverb – a word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Some types of adverbs are:
affirmative verb forms - regular or positive forms (I eat pizza. He eats tacos.)
affix – a meaningful form that is attached to a word to make a more complex word (un + kind + ness); a word part that is added to a base word that changes the meaning or the part of speech; both prefixes and suffixes are affixes.
antonym - a word of opposite meaning; ex. “hot” and “cold” are antonyms
article – a function word that specifies whether a noun is definite (the) or indefinite (a,an)
authentic material - material (aural, oral, written, visual) that is actually used in a situation, usually the same as a native speaker would use (application forms, newspaper clippings and articles, radio programs, news broadcasts, . . . .)
autobiography – a biography of a person told or written by him/herself
auxiliary verb – a verb that accompanies another verb and is used to express person, number, mood, or tense (ex: is, were, can, do, doesn’t, should, have)
Auxiliary verbs or helping verbs such as will, shall, may, might, can, could, must, ought to, should, would, used to, need are used in conjunction with main verbs to express shades of time and mood.
basic features of a text - the different parts of a book: title page, contents page, glossary, index
basic personal information - name, address, city, state, zip, phone number, age, nationality, marital status, social security number . . . .
basic survival situations - situations that require the use of the language to communicate the wants, needs and desires of the student, such as talking to the landlord, child's teacher, people at the store, the boss, others at work, emergency services, doctors . . . .
biography – the story of a person’s life as told or written by someone else
characters - the actors in a story
circumlocution – the use of more words than is necessary to express an idea; finding another way to say something using known vocabulary; to talk around a subject
colloquial speech - used in familiar and/or informal conversation or writing
complex sentence – a sentence consisting of more than one clause, especially including a dependent clause The man who is walking down the street is my father.
compound sentence – two complete sentences joined with a conjunction Either you will learn it now or you will learn in a year from now.
conjunction - a word used to join thoughts: and, but, or, however
content or context clues - information found in the material that helps decide the meaning of a word or phrase
conditionals (if clauses) - forms used to state a cause and effect event or situation; state a situation that will cause a particular result
Present/future real or Conditional 1 is used when the action of the if-clause is probable. If + present, will + root form of the verb. If it rains, I will go home early.
Present/future unreal or Conditional 2 is used when the action of the if-clause is improbable or unlikely. If + past, would(could, should) + root form of the verb. If I had a million dollars, I would quit my job.
Past/unreal or Conditional 3 is used when the action of the if-clause is impossible. If + past perfect, would have + past participle of the verb. If I had grown to 10 feet, I would have had a lucrative NBA contract.
cultural allusion - implied reference to a specific culture; something that is generally known within a culture
decode - use various strategies (phonics, content or context clues, root word, . . .) to find a meaning or pronunciation for a word. The reader locates cues such as letter-sound correspondences in a word that reveal enough about it to help in pronunciation or attaching meaning to it.
degrees of comparison – used with adjectives and adverbs
positive or simple form of the modifier expresses no comparison
comparative - the “-er”or “more/less ” form of the word represents an increase or decrease of the positive form; it is used to make a specific comparison between two things. (He is bigger than she. She is more talkative than her friend. He drives more quickly than others.)
superlative – the “- est” or “most/least ” form of the word indicates the greatest (or least) degree among three or more things. (She is the most talkative student in the class. He drives the fastest of all the racers.)
demonstrative – a word that indicates a particular thing or things that are near or far; includes demonstrative adjectives (this girl, those apples) or demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those)
derivation - formation of a word from a related word base, or the identification of a word’s historic origin
descriptive passage - a brief written account describing something
dialogue - usually a formalized or directed conversation focusing on a specific language form using authentic situations
ELAA – English Language Acquisition for Adults The process by which the listening/speaking, reading, writing, functions, grammar and mechanics of the English language are taught to adults who speak languages other than English.
ESL/ESOL - English as a Second Language or English for Speakers of Other Languages ESOL identifies who our learners are.
L1- language one- the first language of the student, the one they speak at home, the heritage language
L2- language two- the second language of the student, the one they are learning, the target language
embedded questions - used when questions begin with, “Do you know . . . .” “Could you tell me….” Sentences containing embedded questions will change word order. (Do you know when the movie starts? Could you tell me where the bank is?)
expository – to explain or convey information, explanatory; tell how to; tell purpose
extemporaneous - not planned before, impromptu
false start - when a student begins to speak but stops and restarts using a more correct form
familiar - information the student has learned from previous lessons or knows from life
experience vs. unfamiliar- new subject or topic for student, no previous teaching or lessons
fluency - how fluid the language is; the natural flow of the language-effortless,
smooth and rapid; read and /or speak with ease, expression and automaticity in a manner that supports comprehension
functional text - written material with a special purpose
gerund - the –ing form of the verb that is used as a noun(sitting, eating, talking) Talking on the phone is a teenager’s main occupation.
group or pair work - when students work in pairs or small groups to practice skills, such as a dialogue, describing something, asking for information . . . .
habitual past - see TENSES
homographs – words that are spelled alike but are different in meaning and pronunciation (the noun conduct and the verb conduct; or the noun lead and the verb lead)
homonym - spelled and pronounced alike but different in meaning [pool (to combine), and pool (such as a swimming pool)]
homophones - pronounced alike but different in meaning and spelling (son/sun; ewe/you)
idiom or idiomatic expression - a sequence of words that is a single unit of meaning different from what the words actually say, usually understandable within a particular culture, language or group of people. (kick the bucket = die)
imperative - see TENSES
infer (inference) - guess, surmise, suggest, conclude or derive a conclusion
inflection - change in voice or pitch during speech; a change in the form of a word indicating grammatical features such as number, person or tense.
informational text - written material that gives information to the reader
interpret - gather the information correctly from the material; explain and understand the material
interrogative verb forms - question forms (Are you married? Do you eat pizza?)
intonation - the contrastive use of pitch in speech
irregular formation - forms that do not align with the rules
jargon - the technical language of a special field
language functions - the different ways the language can be used such as greeting, describing, giving directions, expressing emotions, clarifying, checking, making excuses
main ideas - the central topics or point
mechanics - punctuation, capitalization and other rules of writing, spelling, vocabulary use
modals – auxiliaries that describe mood or ability (can, could, may, might, should, will, would, must, ought). Modal verbs are used to express ideas such as possibility, intention, obligation and necessity.
monitor - to watch, check, guide, observe and assist
narrative passage - a brief recitation of details of a story or a series of events in either written or oral format
negative verb forms - forms that say "no" (I don't eat tacos. He didn't eat pizza.)
noun – a person, place, thing, idea or concept
numerals - numbers
paraphrase – to state the same idea in a different way or with different words; to reword
passage - a brief portion or section of a reading
passive voice - the form used when the action is more important than who did it or it is understood who did it (John built the house in 1955. (active) vs. This house was built in 1955.(passive) Mary can solve the problem vs. The problem can be solved.) Formed by using some form of the verb “to be” and the past participle of the main verb.
Phoneme – the smallest unit of sound within a word that distinguishes one word from another; ex. fat vs. bat [f] and [b] are phonemes.
Phonemic awareness – the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds in speech
phonetically decode - use information about the sound/symbol correspondence to understand and pronounce a new word while reading
phonics – the study of the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent
phonological cues - pronunciation patterns as well as stress and intonation patterns for words and sentences
phrasal verb - a verb consisting of content verb plus a preposition
pitch - the highness or lowness of a sound
plot - the main story line
possessive - a word that indicates ownership
prefix - an affix that is added to the beginning of a word to alter meaning (unhappy)
pre-reading activities - activities that help the student to comprehend the reading material by explaining the vocabulary, discussing the major point or ideas, going over grammar points, author's point of view, etc.
pre-teach - teacher teaches the vocabulary, grammar point or subject matter before actual activity takes place
prepositions – connecting word; a word that shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to some other word in the sentence.
prompt - to assist the student in starting to speak or write, or correcting their speech by indicating errors and/or by making suggestions
pronouns - word used to take the place of a noun
reported speech - used to report what someone has said. (She said that she watched TV every night.)
rhythm - the perceived regularity of prominent syllables during speech
role play - situation activity where each student is given a role to play, can be general role (student, salesperson, reporter, . . . .) or specific (Michael Jackson, John Wayne, Madonna, . . . .)
roots - the base form of a word (mean, meaning, meaningful, meaningfulness)
setting - the place where a story takes place, background, scenery
simplify – to make less complicated; to use easier, more familiar or shorter words
small talk - everyday conversations of minor importance, such as asking about health, work, school, family, the weather, sports
sound out - to use phonics to decode a word
stress - the degree of force with which a syllable is uttered. Syllables may be stressed or unstressed in varying degrees.
structural analysis - determine the different types of words (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) the parts of words (prefix, suffix, endings, root)
subject pronouns - see PRONOUNS
suffix - an affix that is added to the end of a word to alter meaning (blissful)
summarize - to state the main points or topics briefly
supporting details - the examples that reinforce the main idea
syllabication - the division of words into syllables; division of a word into small parts. Not dependent on meaning
synonym - word that has the same or similar meaning as the given word
tag question - a question added at the end of a sentence usually to make sure information is correct (He is from Mexico, isn't he?)
TENSE – the characteristic of a verb that indicates time
future tense - the tense that is used for future actions
future perfect tense - the tense that is used for actions that will continue up to a time in the future (I will have been in Phoenix for 35 years in May.)
future perfect progressive (continuous) tense - the tense that is used to state the duration of an action that will be in progress before another time in the future. (I will have been sleeping for 2 hours by the time he gets home.)
future progressive tense - the tense that is used for stating what will be happening at a certain time in the future (At 10:30 tomorrow he will be working.)
habitual past - the tense that is used for describing actions that were a regular occurrence in the past. Uses both used to and would. (I used to wake up late. I would wake up late every day.
imperative verb form - command (Sit down!)
past tense - the tense that is used for completed actions in the past (I ate the pizza yesterday. He went to the movies last night.)
past perfect tense - tense that is used for an action that happened before another past action (When I arrived, they had already eaten.)
past perfect progressive (continuous) tense - the tense that is used to say how long something had been happening before something else. (They had been playing for 30 minutes when the storm hit.)
past progressive (continuous) tense - the tense that is used for actions that were happening at a certain time (I was eating when you called. They were working at 2:30 yesterday afternoon.)
present tense - the tense that is used for every day, usual and habitual actions (I eat pizza on Friday. He often eats tacos.)
present perfect tense - the tense that is used for the unfinished past or the action that started in the past and continues till the present (I have lived in Phoenix since 1964. He has been in class for two months.)
present perfect progressive - the tense that is used to state the duration of an action that began in the past and continues to the present. (I have been sitting here since 7. I've been thinking of you all day.)
present progressive (continuous) tense - the tense that is used for at the moment or temporary actions (I am typing right now. I am reading a book about world languages.)
tone - the overall feeling or effect created by the pitch, rhythm, volume and/or choice of words
word/sentence boundaries - the spaces and punctuation that mark the beginning and ending of words and sentences in written format
vocabulary – the words of a given language; list of words for students to learn, group of words used in relation to a subject
voice –