Reference to the ESL Scales are found at the bottom of the old and the new English Syllabus...but what are the ESL Scales???
The average classroom teacher would have seen them listed at the bottom of the page in their English Syllabus, but without an actual copy of the ESL Scale the reference is really useless. What exactly does 'Oral Interaction level 6' mean?
If you have an ESL teacher at your school they would know what this means and they would even have a copy of the scales....but what good is that to the classroom teacher?
The ESL Scales are a very descriptive set of outcomes and pointers that an ESL student will work through in order to meet the English syllabus outcomes. The scales range from 'Beginning English', where the students learn BICS and basic literacy skills in oral fluency, reading and writing, through to more complex English skills in oral fluency, reading and writing.
The NSW English Syllabus tells you where the student would be placed on the ESL scales if they are meeting the outcomes for their stage. However, in many cases, most ESL students are on the 'learning pathway' to meeting that outcome.
In the example above it says that a student who meets that particular outcome would be on ESL scale Oral Interaction 6. If the student wasn't meeting that English outcome they would be somewhere on the 'learning pathway' on either ESL Scale 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 or 6.1.
But to know what the ESL scale says for each outcome you really need to look at the ESL scales document.
Ask your ESL teacher to have a look at the ESL scales document. Find out from the ESL teacher what scale your ESL student is on. You should be using the information from the ESL scales document to help you plan your English unit each term. Your ESL teacher is a fantastic resource and should be able to walk you through the document.
The ESL scales look like this:
(picture taken from: http://primaryeslteachersnetwork.wikispaces.com/USING+THE+ESL+SCALES)