Level 3

1. On what basis are students in the Language and Culture Center (LCC) placed in their levels?
Students are given three placement tests when they enter the program. Placement is based on a weighted average of the scores on these three tests, with the Michigan English Placement Test score counting double.

2. How are students evaluated for promotion or for exit from the program?
Students are given two tests and a teacher evaluation score at the end of the term. The student's promotion score is the average of these three measurements.

The evaluation score ranges, on a 100-point proficiency scale, are listed below.

3. What are the learning outcomes for a student who successfully completes level 3 (59 weighted average or higher)?

READING OUTCOMES

• Read and understand simplified academic material.
• Read and understand simplified periodicals.
• Answer comprehension questions.
• Identify topic and main idea.
• Identify supporting details.
• Distinguish facts from opinions.
• Understand simple charts, graphs, and diagrams.
• Make inferences.
• Preview and predict content.
• Scan a passage for specific information.
• Skim a passage for the main idea.
• Reproduce text in a graphic organizer, timeline, or outline.
• Recognize word forms: noun, verb, adjective, and adverb.
• Identify synonyms and antonyms.
• Use structural analysis to identify root words, prefixes, and suffixes.
• Use context clues to guess meanings of words.
• Use a monolingual English dictionary.
• Follow simple written directions.

WRITING OUTCOMES

• Write a paragraph with: a topic sentence containing a controlling idea, supporting details, and a conclusion.
• Write an essay of 3 or more paragraphs, with an introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Use descriptive, narrative, comparison/contrast, and other rhetorical modes.
• Use transitions.
• Write simple, compound, and complex sentences.
• Proofread for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation (including comma splices, run-ons, fragments, and deletions), and capitalization.
• Avoid plagiarism.

 LISTENING OUTCOMES

• Identify the main idea of a listening passage.
• Follow instructions given at a normal rate of speed.
• Understand questions.
• Identify details of a listening passage.
• Listen and make an outline or graphic organizer of a short passage.
• Understand diverse number forms such as ordinal and cardinal.
• Understand reductions and stressed words.
• Differentiate between formal and informal English.
• Understand meaning through tone of voice.

 speaking outcomes

• Give information and express opinions.
• Ask relevant questions and give appropriate answers.
• Initiate and sustain a conversation on a given topic.
• Give a simple individual, pair or group presentation.
• Rephrase statements.
• Produce contractions, third person singular, and past tense endings.
• Use stress and intonation correctly.
• Speak using simple and compound sentences, some complex sentences, mostly accurate intermediate grammar structures and simple word forms.
• Talk about familiar topics.
• Demonstrate some familiarity with spoken academic vocabulary.

4. What grammar structures are taught in level 3?

GRAMMAR STRUCTURES

• regular and irregular verbs
• subject-verb agreement
• present tense: simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous
• past tense: simple and continuous
• future time verb forms
• simple modals
• gerunds/infinitives
• indicative, imperative mood
• sentence formation: subject-verb-object
• question formation: yes/no and wh- questions
• real conditionals
• clauses – adjective/adverb
• nouns – count and non-count
• pronouns
• adjectives
• comparisons: adjectives/adverbs
• adverbs
• articles
• prepositions
• coordinating conjunctions