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The Grade 11 English programme enables students to advance their level of English through a variety of media and texts. Emphasis is be placed on student-centred activities and exploration of the ways in which English is employed for a variety of purposes. The aim is for the students to strive to:
speak
• using appropriate pace, volume and pitch,
• demonstrating an awareness of current events in class discussion including a familiarity with relevant vocabulary,
• spontaneously in a variety of contexts,
• using correct intonation and stress patterns to convey meaning,
• clearly,
• using effective and persuasive language including the incorporation of a variety of vocabulary;
write
• using appropriate tone and language for specific genres,
• clear thesis statement or statement of intent,
• using evidence to support or prove a point,
• generating ideas through pre-writing activities such as brainstorming, mapping and discussion,
• recognizing bias in a writer's work (including their work and the work of their peers);
read
• for the main idea, supporting details and figurative language devices,
• recognizing opinions, attitudes and bias and find supporting evidence,
• evaluating the text and showing a clear understanding of organization, style, register and tone,
• showing an understanding of different perspectives from different cultures;
and listen
• for main ideas, tone, register and bias;
• for specific information;
• understanding a variety of speakers' use of grammar, vocabulary and idiom in a variety of contexts (narrative, interview, dialogue, poem, maintaining a dialogue with a native speaker of English or with their peers on a variety of topics including cultural issues;
• showing an understanding of different perspectives from different cultures;
• expressing opinions and feelings on the subjects presented;
• respectfully and respond appropriately to peers.
There is ongoing assessment (both formal and informal) and it takes some or all of the following forms:
• class discussion and participation,
• oral presentations (group and individual),
• written essays,
• creative writing,
• journal writing,
• reading from a variety of sources,
• listening in a variety of contexts.
Each student is given three oral grades and three written grades each term.
In line with the chosen theme for the first term--"Coming of Age"-the novel, Catcher in the Rye , was the impetus for learning and assessment in the first term of Academic Year 2004-2005. The second term was built around the themes 'Language of Control' and 'Alienation from Society'. The main texts for these were 'The Crucible' and 'The Monsters are Due on Maple Street ' but students were also be exposed to texts from a variety of other media and sources.
Dear parents,
We wish a successful academic year to our students. We want to share the details of Grade 11 English program with you.
Our aim is to develop the language skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) of our students as well as their study skills. The content of the program, our expectations from the students and the evaluation details are as follows:
AIM:
We aim to prepare our students for the TOEFL exam. TOEFL is essential for the students who want to study abroad, but it has become very important for the students preparing to study at universities in Turkey . Students who have been placed in Turkish universities are subject to Language Placement Exams, regardless of state or private universities. If they fail the exam this adds a prep year to their 4-year program. Majority of Turkish universities consider the TOEFL scores (i.e. achieving a certain score) as proof of the student's level of English, which enables the students to skip the prep year. The students who will continue their education abroad must reach a good TOEFL score. We want to prepare our students for the TOEFL exam of which score is valid for two years.
BOOKS TO READ:
Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test- Next Generation iBT by Deborah Phillips
- In the Middle of the Night by Robert Cormier (summer reading- novel)
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (novel)
- The Crucible by Arthur Miller (play)
STUDY SKILLS:
We hope, as a result of the program, our students will be good and responsible learners who study regularly. For this reason, they must keep a file/portfolio in which they will put their worksheet, research essays, and their corrected compositions neatly and appropriately, writing the date of each work, they will arrange their own reference files to be used in presentations and exam preparations. This file/portfolio will form part of the last oral grade of each term. Our students will also keep a notebook and refer to the English- English dictionaries that they have used since grade 9.
LANGUAGE SKILLS
READING
Our students will develop their reading comprehension and textual analysis skills through the original texts studied in the course. They will look for specific information, find the main and supporting ideas, and examine the organization in the academic and formal texts in our TOEFL course book. TOELF reading question types will be individually examined (vocabulary and reference, sentences, inference, details, reading to learn).
WRITING
The TOEFL Writing test consists of two parts: Integrated task dependent on the Reading or Listening texts, and Independent tasks in which the students will defend their ideas. We will teach our students the strategies to apply, note taking skills, and creative writing for this purpose. We will extend their essay writing. Since grammar will be tested in this part of the exam, we will provide them with worksheets.
LISTENING
We will enable our students to develop their listening skills by showing strategies and through authentic listening texts. This part of the TOEFL consists of questions on main idea and details, the purpose and function of the speaker, organization of ideas and inference.
SPEAKING
Speaking is a new section of the TOEFL exam. There are altogether 6 tasks in this section, two of them are independent, and four of them are integrated into the other sections of the exam. We will enable our students develop strategies for the speaking test which aims to assess the use of different skills meaningfully together. We will ask our students to do oral presentations on different tasks and on their research in order to help them achieve fluency. The total grade they get in their presentations will constitute one of their oral grades.
GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY
Our students will improve their grammar and vocabulary through the work done in class, library research, computer studies and studying at home. It is compulsory for them to use an advanced English-English dictionary.
RESEARCH SKILLS
The students will have opportunities to do research in the library and on the Net. The aim is to develop their note taking skills and academic writing skills with referencing as well as to learn how to reach information.
IT
Our students will use computer for their research projects and for some of their oral presentations. In addition, TOEFL Listening and trial tests will require working with computers and CD_Roms.
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
• Written tasks and homework
• Common exams
• Oral presentation
• For the TOEFL
• revision,
• diagnostic tests,
• post unit tests,
• mini tests
• TOEFL mock exams
• File/portfolio
• In-class participation and performance
• Doing homework regularly and bringing materials to class
Students will get three written and three oral exam grades each term.
Grade 11 Teachers
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