ESOL

Kotou reo, kotouku reo
Kote reo toukuahurei
Kote reo teoora

Language is my identity
Language is my uniqueness
Language is life

The overall policy of the ESOL Department is to increase the English language proficiency of students from an NESB (Non-English Speaking Background)English across the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing –up to the level required for independent study in mainstream classes and in the community.

The ESOL Department provides support to new learners of English, both in specialist ESOL classes and across mainstream subjects.  Underlying this role is the acknowledgment of those learners’ particular lacks, wants and needs, which include in many cases coming to terms with a new and often radically different culture from what the student is used to.

ESOL classes at St Catherine’s College offer:

  • Multi-level teaching
  • Small class size
  • Computer assisted learning with support from the IT Department
  • Individual or small group tutorials with a teacher or teacher aide
  • The chance to gain NCEA ESOL credits at Level1,  2, or 3 (starting from Year 10)
  • A focus on writing and vocabulary learning
  • Support for mainstream subjects including English for Literacy and University Entranc
  • Student reflection and Individual Education Plans on Moodle for fun.
  • International Club-Thursday lunchtimes in the ESOL room run by the International Captain
  • International Week in Term 3 in conjunction with Library Week including the famous Miss World Saint Catherines’ Pageant
  • ESOL class Trip in Term One
  • End of year party-International Night in November to farewell leavers

St Catherine’s Students from an NESB include:

  • Migrants
  • Refugees
  • FFP’s  (Foreign Fee Payers)
  • New Zealand Born (of migrant parents)

In 2012, 19 of these students receive additional funding from the Ministry of Education for ESOL lessons.

24 students who identified as coming from a refugee Background also received career advice through the refugee Pathways Programme.

In 2012, 45 Students in took ESOL classes from the following countries

  • The Pacific Islands – Samoa
  • The Middle East – Assyrian , Iraq, Syria, Palestine
  • Asia – Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Burma (Myanmar)
  • Africa – Ethiopia, Botswana
  • Jamaica

Languages spoken by students at SCC from an NESB (2010 data used)