The Four by Four Focus
Levels of Language Proficiency
and Language Component
Jill Kerper Mora, Ed.D.
San Diego State University
The following is a description of effective teaching and learning activities for English language development for each of four levels of language proficiency. The focus of instruction on listening, speaking, reading and writing will shift as the students' language proficiency grows.
Level 1
These students are in the pre-production stage of English in which their speaking and understanding is limited to a few words and phrases. The emphasis at this stage is on developing their listening skills.
Listening Speaking Reading Writing Contextual Cues Building Listening Vocabulary Simple Requests and Commands Following Simple Directions Commonly Used Vocabulary Sight Words Anticipating Information Simple Recounting High Frequency Words Modified Cloze Passage Discriminating Sounds and Words Patterned Responses Language Experience Stories Sentence Completion Level 2
These students speak and understand some English. They can construct sentences, but must be conscious of the process to do so. Their control of structure is limited and their vocabulary is restricted to the concrete, context-related and practical.
Listening Speaking Reading Writing Retelling Short Stories Understanding Main Ideas Paraphrasing Contextual Vocabulary Building Defining Vocabulary Through Synonyms, Antonyms, etc. Decoding
(Sight Words & Phonics)Sight Word Spelling Following Series of Directions Using Idiomatic Expressions Reading Simplified Text Sentence Transformation Discriminating Sounds (Minimal Pairs) Role Playing Guided and Shared Reading Structured Narratives Level 3
These students speak and/or understand enough English for communication but have difficulty performing ordinary class work in English. They can construct sentences to express their own ideas but cannot understand more abstract or academic language.
| Listening | Speaking | Reading | Writing |
| Decoding Using Phonics and Structural Analysis | |||
| Sharing Experiences | Reading for Comprehension | ||
| Listening for Meaning and Detail | Discussing and Explaining | Reading for Content | Encoding Using Phonics and Structural Analysis |
| Content Vocabulary Expansion | Creative Expression | Independent Reading | Basic Composition |
| Discriminating Phonemes for Spelling | Correcting Speech Patterns and Pronunciation | Building Study Skills | Utilitarian Writing (Letters, Forms, Messages) |
Level 4
These students have a high intermediate fluency in English that allows them to develop academic concepts and vocabulary in the content areas of social studies, science, mathematics and literary studies, but require specialized teaching strategies (SDAIE).
Listening Speaking Reading Writing Developing Content-Area Concepts Schematic Mapping and Concept Clusters Oral Presentations and Reports Identifying Characters, Setting and Plot in Literature Modelled Writing Note-taking and Outlining from Mini-lectures Contributing Ideas to Group Tasks Organizing and Outlining From Reading Assignments News Stories Defining Technical Vocabulary Defining and Explaining Concepts Applying Critical Thinking Skills Formatted Essays and Reports Discerning and Organizing Important Information Asking Questions to Gather Information Applying and Expanding on Background Experiences Basic Research and Library Projects
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This page was last updated on 11/10/01