ADVANCED ESL COMPETENCY OUTLINE CASAS Range: 221-235
By the end of this level, learners will have worked on and attained competency in the following areas:
Communication Paraphrase words or ideas in conversations. Paraphrase orally
Understand use of formal versus informal vocabulary and basic idiomatic expressions. Use formal and informal vocabulary in appropriate situations—i.e. hi vs. how are you Use common idioms in appropriate situations; understand common idioms
Consumer Economics Understand banking systems and terms. Loans home loan, home equity loan, mortgage car loans college loans interest rates, annual percentage rate, principal, term
Investments savings accounts stocks, stock market IRA, retirement accounts CD, Money Market checking accounts interest rates, reconciling, term, cashing in, maturity, dividends
Identify budget planning strategies. Expenses, revenue, income, net loss, net income, gross, net Budget categories—housing, food, utilities, clothing, education, transportation, entertainment, medical, vacation, savings, charitable contributions Concept of percents, adjusting a budget to meet changes in income or expenses
Discuss US driving responsibilities. Driver’s license—applying for where, how, when, why
Traffic regulations road signs—mph, speed limit, minimum, maximum, no U turn, no left turn, no turn on red, one way, no passing zone, stop sign, stop light, merge, yield, caution, men at work, work zone, pedestrian crossing, rail road crossing, school zone, hospital zone, hospital, children at play road markings—solid white line, solid yellow line, dashed white line, dashed yellow line, pedestrian crossing, stop line, bike lane, HOV lane
Know driving safety regulations and procedures. Seat belts, child safety restraints, air bags, how to drive in icy, wet, snowy, or foggy weather What to do flat tire accident run out of gas can’t see (snow or rain)
Describe information regarding rental agreements/contracts. Lease, tenant, lessee, lessor, roommate, sublet, clauses, no pets, renewal, landlord, building manager, handyman, rental, renters, rent
Describe tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities. Tenant rights—safety, cleanliness of common areas, timely repair, no unannounced visits responsibilities—pay rent on time, keep noise at a minimum, follow building rules for laundry/parking/play and pool areas
Landlord rights—rent paid on time, tenants follow rules, tenants report problems, tenants available for repairs to be made, tenants make apartment available for potential renters when leaving responsibilities—keep common areas clean, keep safety measures operational, make repairs, announce visits
Where to file complaints
Compare/contrast various types of insurances. Health, homeowners, renters, life, dental, auto Premiums, term, beneficiary
Community Resources Give and request information clearly by telephone. Take phone messages in work and home environments relay message verbally and in writing note caller, phone number, reason for calling
Respond to requests for information over the phone telemarketing name—say and spell—address, phone number
Request information over the phone request a job application order a pizza registration requirements for a class, training program or child’s school call for when business hours
Locate and use a variety of resources in telephone directories. Differences between regular white pages and business white pages (gray margin) Differences between white pages and yellow pages Blue pages—government offices Resources at the beginning of the phone book how to get phone service how to report phone problems maps zip code information area code information
Describe recycling regulations. Glass, aluminum, plastic, cardboard, office paper, newspaper, bundle Where and when to set out What is collected How to personally collect recyclable materials Recyclable sign
Health Complete medical forms and accident reports. Medical history form immunization, operations, major illnesses, medications, complaint, vocabulary for medical conditions (hypertension, thyroid, high blood pressure, nausea, dizzy spells, abdominal, headaches, gastro-intestinal, etc.), emergency contact, next of kin
Accident report write narrative description of an accident (car or work) car vocabulary—fender, dent, ding, scrape, windshield, break, shatter, flat tire, rear ended, spin out, slid, lost control, turned 360, turned 180, skid
describe actions taken (work) fill out a car accident form with name of insurance company, policy number, personal information use drawings to describe a car accident on the drawing indicate speed, direction traveling, where other vehicles were, where car was damaged, what other streets, roads, highways, off ramps were located
Employment Use a variety of resources to search for job opportunities. Want ads abbreviations—EOE, exp, ft, pt, req, nec, educ, ed, hs, dip, 4yr, ref vocabulary—experience necessary, experience required, apply in person, college degree, high school diploma, GED, fax resume, email resume, resume, call for an application, mail resume, references, full time, part time, first shift, second shift, third shift, swing shift locate instructions to apply for a position fax, mail, email, in person, by phone application, cover letter, resume, phone call
Internet common job search sites (Minnesota Job Bank) maneuver through screens to locate a job vacancy locate application instructions
Workforce Centers Employment agencies Personal contacts professional people teachers religious leaders counselors friends
Cold calls phone calls drop in asking if any openings asking for an application
Know about different types of training. Training types—4 year college, community college, technical college, for-profit technical schools, on-the-job training Entrance or placement tests, TOEFL Financial aid, grants, loans, work-study, scholarships
Complete a job application, resume, cover letter. Independently complete a job application using correct spelling, grammar, punctuation, and abbreviations where appropriate Create a resume; should be word processed Write a cover letter following a standard format using correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation; letter should be word processed purpose of a cover letter what should be included in a cover letter job applying for summary of skills and qualifications explanation of how individual fits job requirements request for an interview
Ask and answer questions during a job interview. Interpersonal skills hand shake nodding eye contact posture dress and grooming
Formulate and practice answering questions from an interviewer (appropriate and inappropriate questions) Tell me about yourself What skills do you have What jobs have you held in the past Describe your experiences Why should we hire you Why do you want this job Why are you the best candidate for this job Are you married Do you plan to get pregnant Have you ever been fired from a job Why did you leave your last job
Formulate and practice asking questions of an interviewer What are the benefits What is the pay range/pay scale Do you provide for on-the-job training What training opportunities do you provide Will I be expected to work overtime
Follow up thank you written thank you note who to write it to what to include when to send
thank you phone call who to call what to say when to call
Understand performance evaluations and their impact. Read a job description Performance evaluation, raises, merit pay Being fired, being laid off, being let go unemployment rights Unemployment Compensation What is it How do you get it Where do you get more information
Understand job benefits. Vocabulary—health insurance, medical insurance, dental insurance, vacation pay, sick pay, personal leave, funeral leave, bereavement leave, long term disability, short term disability, life insurance, dependents Filling out various forms to enroll in benefit programs vocabulary—beneficiary, enrollee, enrollment, dependent, spouse
Fill out employment forms. Filling out W-4 and I-9
Demonstrate understanding of US work ethic. Appropriate work attire Small talk Punctuality Calling in sick Taking breaks Attitude toward coworkers, toward supervisor Team work
Demonstrate understanding of workers’ rights. Minimum wage Double time, over time 40 hour work week, 8 hour work day Paid and unpaid breaks Unionization Right to work OSHA
Government and Law Describe problem to and request service from public safety personnel. How to respond when stopped Verbal and physical responses
Request assistance with a problem, describe a problem Request directions
Identify and report types of crime as victim or witness. 911 Giving details of what and where orally and clearly on phone and in person Types of crime—burglary, robbery, homicide, rape, assault, vandalism, gang, graffiti, fight, domestic abuse, break in, murder, shooting, speeding, hit and run
Demonstrate understanding of elements of US court of law. Judge, jury, trial by jury, rights, Miranda warning, lawyers, bail, innocent, guilty
Computation Perform computations with whole numbers and basic operations. Commutative, associative, distributive properties Factors up to 100 Greatest common factors Express remainders as decimals and fractions Prime numbers to 100
Perform operations involving fractions. Equivalent fractions Simplify fractions Convert improper fractions and mixed numbers Add and subtract fractions with different denominators Multiply and divide fractions with mixed numbers Fractions as decimals
Perform operations involving decimals. Express decimals as fractions Round decimals to a certain place Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals Powers of 10 Currency conversion tables
Calculate percent. Calculate for part, whole, and percent to two decimals places Percents larger than 100% and smaller than 1% Percent increase, decrease Calculate sales tax Calculate tip
Solve problems using ratio and proportion. Express information as a ratio Set up and solve proportions
Solve narrative problems. Problem solving method Rounding Estimating Mental math Using different methods to solve a problem Relating how to solve a simple problem into how to solve a more complex one
Use a calculator. Basic calculations Multiple operations Fractions Percents
Recognize and solve numerical patterns. Counting patterns Mathematical operation patterns Create an equation to show solution Create a pattern
Apply concepts of pre-algebra. Order of operations Notation conventions parentheses <>
Exponents evaluate expressions using exponents re-write numbers with exponents interpret simple scientific notation
Solve algebraic equations. One step with one unknown Substitution Combining like terms Rewrite expressions using commutative and associate properties Write and equation to represent a situation Cost formula Distance formula
Perform calculations using signed numbers. Read, write, order, compare positive and negative numbers Add, subtract, multiply, divide Place on a number line Use absolute value
Use the Cartesian coordinate system. Plot points Identify axes, quadrants Identify a point by its coordinates Draw a figure using only the points Determine slope of a line
Identify and describe two and three dimensional shapes. Circle Cylinder Sphere Square Cube Triangle Prism Rectangle Rectangular solid Hexagon Pentagon Octagon Parallelogram Trapezoid
Find the perimeter, area, and volume of two and three dimensional shapes. Use formulas From words From a picture
Apply characteristics of angles. Vertical angles Transverse angles Acute, obtuse, right
Convert and calculate measurements using U.S. and metric units. Time Distance Speed Rate Capacity Temperature Weight
Measure using various measurement tools. Dials Scales Rulers Gauges
Analyze and represent data. Line, bar, circle graphs, charts, tables Identify and extract data to make comparisons and computations Mean, media, mode Create different graphs and charts collect and group data represent data in appropriate format
Draw mathematical conclusions from data Predict trends
Apply concepts of probability. Permutations Simple events Chance events Compound events
Learning to Learn (Reading) Apply concepts of alphabetics. Vowel digraphs Vowel diphthongs Prefixes Suffixes Roots Syllabication and syllable types CVC VCe Vr CV Cle VV
Interpret a variety of vocabularies. Functional Social Academic Identify unfamiliar words through context Idiomatic Colloquial Connotation vs. denotation Figurative language simile metaphor
Analogies
Read and comprehend a variety of texts. Newspaper and magazine articles Technical materials Fiction Poetry Detailed instructions Consumer materials Maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, tables Complex forms medical insurance tax employment financial
Apply conventions of written English to make meaning. Grammatical structures relative clauses perfect tenses compound/complex sentences
Signal words transitions conjunctions subordinating conjunctions
Utilize reference materials. Dictionary Glossary Index Table of contents Encyclopedia
Apply reading strategies. Pre-viewing Predicting Skimming Scanning Questioning Summarizing Graphic organizers Fluency Paraphrasing
Practice reading skills. Main idea Supporting details Text formats compare/contrast narrative descriptive cause/effect persuasive problem/solution
Inferences Conclusions Stated and unstated assumptions Fact/opinion Point of view Author’s purpose, audience
Grammar and Writing Write paragraphs and multi-paragraph essays on personal topics. Narrative Transitions Consistent point of view Consistent verb tense Clearly stated main idea Effective development Concrete, relevant, supporting details Appropriate word choice Almost no errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics Variety of sentence structures
Use verbs. Past continuous Future progressive Past perfect Modals Conditionals Gerunds Participles Infinitives
Identify parts of speech and use in sentences. Common, proper, plural, and possessive nouns Pronouns—subject, object, indefinite, possessive, and reflexive Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Verbs
Use sentence structure. Compound Complex Clauses Phrases Active and passive voice Direct and indirect speech
Listening Discriminate sounds and meanings in English. Stress in multi-syllable words as related to meaning Pronunciations and stress patterns relating the mood, emotions, or attitudes of the speaker
Comprehend a variety of vocabulary words used in a variety of contexts. Homonyms in context Prefixes and suffixes as related to meaning Use context clues to identify unfamiliar vocabulary Synonyms, i.e. doctor/physician Precise vocabulary, i.e. home/duplex Phrasal verbs and idioms, i.e. to be late/running behind Academic vocabulary
Utilize grammatical structures to construct meaning. Signal words Organization phrases first then however it’s important that well anyway that being said
Comparative adverbs Complex tenses Conditionals Passive voice Reported speech Compound/complex sentences Question types embedded tag
Respond and participate in a variety of conversations. Variety of contexts Extended Fillers and place holders, i.e. um, you now, like Polite disagreement Support assertions Humor, jokes, irony
Comprehend and respond to non-face-to-face conversations. TV news Weather Movies TV shows Phone calls Messages Announcements
Follow instructions and directions. Multi-step Range of contexts Tentative Indirect
Comprehend information given orally. Main idea Simple and complex details Predictions Hypothetical Request clarification Inferences Fact vs. opinion Direct or indirect purpose advertisements arguments political speeches
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Advanced ESL