I am absolutely fascinated by this blog written by Lauren Piovesan, the founder of ESL Reads. Despite spending two decades simplifying texts - a task that I enjoy and sometimes find a challenge - I've never really analysed what I'm doing.
Although written for EAL (English as an Additional Language) teachers this is a useful guide for both experienced and new teachers of ESOL, adult literacy (Functional Skills English) and indeed vocational subjects.
Since the demise of the Excellence Gateway (EG) on September 30 2023, there is no official Government backed website where the old Skills for Life core curricula are available. The EG has (partially) migrated to the Education & Training Foundation (ETF) at https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/ but there is no sign of these classic documents.
Checklist designed to support delivery of Gateway's EDSQ (Essential Digital Skills Qualification) E3 and L1. This list allows learners, and staff, to rate their confidence with each element of the qualification at each unit (1-5).
Editor's notes
An essential piece of kit for those embarking on EDS teaching. Love the 4 tier "traffic light" system. Written for Gateway but useful for all awarding bodies.
I made this resource for my ESOL Functional Skills Level 1&2 class. Learners have to find where articles are missing and type them in (a/an/the). Uses three increasingly complex/lengthy texts: a charity letter, an OU magazine article and some recipe instructions.
Slides designed to support delivery of Gateway's EDSQ (Essential Digital Skills Qualification), Unit 3, at Entry Level and Level 1, with embedded Functional Skills English activities at L1 and L2. This set of slides covers skills from section 3 of the standards (Communication) which covers email, video-calling, etc. The main focus of the slides is communicating via email. Also includes many useful links to Wordwall quizzes and other online learning applications.
Editor's notes
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE L1.3 Respond effectively to detailed questions
FS Eng L1.4 Communicate information / ideas / opinions clearly & accurately on range of topics
FE L1.6 Follow / understand discussions & make contributions relevant to situation & subject
FS Eng L2.5 Communicate information/ideas/opinions clearly/effectively with further detail/development if required
FE L1.16 Recognise vocabulary typically associated with specific types and purposes of texts (e.g. formal, informal, instructional, descriptive, explanatory and persuasive)
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L2.19 Identify different styles of writing & writer’s voice
FE L1.19 Use a range of punctuation correctly (e.g. full stops, question marks, exclamation marks, commas, possessive apostrophes)
FE L2.20 Punctuate writing correctly using a wide range of punctuation markers e.g. colons, commas, inverted commas, apostrophes, quotation marks
Slides designed to support delivery of Gateway's EDSQ (Essential Digital Skills Qualification), Unit 2, at Entry Level and Level 1, with embedded Functional Skills English activities at L1 and L2. This set of slides covers skills from section 2 of the standards (Creating and Editing) with the focus being on creating and editing accessible documents (Entry and L1). Includes link to a Wordwall quiz.
Editor's notes
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE L1.6 Follow / understand discussions & make contributions relevant to situation & subject
FS Eng L1.4 Communicate information / ideas / opinions clearly & accurately on range of topics
FS Eng L2.5 Communicate information/ideas/opinions clearly/effectively with further detail/development if required
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE L1.14 Understand organisational / structural features use to locate relevant information
FE L2.16 Understand organisational features & use to locate relevant information in a range of sources
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
Slides designed to support delivery of Gateway's EDSQ (Essential Digital Skills Qualification), unit 1, at Entry Level and Level 1, with embedded Functional Skills English activities at L1 and L2. This set of slides covers section 1 of the standards (Using Devices and Handling Information) and includes: using devices, finding & evaluating information, managing and storing information, and identifying and solving technical problems
Editor's notes
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE L1.1 Identify relevant information & lines of argument in explanations & presentations
FE L2.1 Identify relevant information from extended explanations or presentations
FS Eng L1.4 Communicate information / ideas / opinions clearly & accurately on range of topics
FS Eng L2.5 Communicate information/ideas/opinions clearly/effectively with further detail/development if required
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE L1.17 Read & understand a range of specialist words in context
FE L2.11 Identify when main points are sufficient & when specific details are important
FE L2.15 Use a range of reference materials & resources (e.g. glossaries, legends/keys) for different purposes
An interactive onscreen exercise, created in Wordwall, to celebrate the successes of the GB curling teams in the Beijing Winter Olympics. Based on the Queen's congratulatory message of Feb 20, 2022. 12 multiple choice questions cover purpose, style, main points and detail, punctuation and vocabulary. Also makes a great discussion prompt. Written for Level 1 and beyond but many questions will be accessible to Entry Level 3.
Level
Entry Level 3
Level 1
Level 2
English
FE E3.9 Identify, understand & extract main points & ideas in/from texts
FE L1.9 Identify & understand the main points, ideas & details
FE E3.11 Use strategies to find meaning of words e.g. dictionary, context, word types
FE L1.13 Use reference materials & appropriate strategies for a range of purposes, inc. to find word meanings
FE E3.10 Identify different purposes of straightforward texts
FE L1.12 Recognise that language & other textual features can be varied to suit different audiences & purposes
FE L1.18 Use knowledge of punctuation to aid understanding of texts
FE L2.19 Identify different styles of writing & writer’s voice
FE E2.14 Form regular plurals
FE E3.17 Spell correctly words designated for Entry Level 3
A huge collection of links to resources that can be used to support and feedback on English learning in Further Education (Functional Skills and GCSE)
Categorised by Level (FS E2, E3, L1, L2, GCSE) along with other categories such as R&D. You are invited to add what you can. Compiled and created by Nicola Milton with other contributors.
A reading and spelling add-on quiz for our popular Barry New Sports Centre E2 Functional English mock assessment (Sharon Kitching, Nov 2021) . Select the correct answer(s) for each question. Covers purpose, form, organisational features - plus 5 questions on regular and irregular plurals. Can be used independently of the original resource.
Level
Entry Level 2
Entry Level 3
English
FE E3.10 Identify different purposes of straightforward texts
FE E3.12 Understand organisational features & use them to locate relevant information
