Academia Language School’s Achievement Scale

Academia Language School’s Achievement Scale

Programs of study and level divisions at Academia Language School have been determined with a considerable degree of reference to Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) standards of achievement.  Students placed in the Basic English Program are expected to reach ILR 1 (also known as “Elementary Proficiency,” i.e., able to participate in casual conversations about daily habits, work, family, and common, routine matters) upon exit from the program.  Students placed in the English for Communication Program are expected to reach ILR Level 2 (also known as “Limited Working Proficiency,” i.e., able to participate effectively in most conversations regarding practical, social, and professional concerns) upon exit from the program.  Finally, students placed in the English for Applied Purposes Program are expected to reach ILR 3 (also known as General Professional Proficiency,” i.e., able to speak with sufficient fluency, structural accuracy, and vocabulary to participate effectively in all conversations on practical, social, and professional topics) upon exit from the program.

The following are descriptions of observable and measurable achievement benchmarks in all Grammar and Conversation courses within each program of study at Academia Language School.

Basic English Program Grammar and Conversation Achievement Scale Descriptors

ILR Level 1 (Elementary Proficiency) is achieved by progressing through the following Beginning Grammar and Conversation courses in the Basic English Program:

Beginning Grammar I

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to ask and answer simple questions in the present tense, using and responding to sentences that are composed of single clauses.  Furthermore, they will demonstrate an accurate understanding of the appropriate usage of the simple present tense vs. the present progressive.  Finally, they will be able to spell commonly used nouns in their plural forms.

Beginning Grammar II

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to use regular and irregular single and plural nouns and pronouns in both their nominative and objective forms in combination with adjectives.  They will be able to distinguish between count and noncount nouns, using articles and partitives appropriately.  They will be able to express time in the past by using appropriate adverbs as well as the regular and irregular past forms of verbs.  Finally, students will be able to express time in the future by using “will.”

Beginning Grammar III

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to express time in the future by using “may” and “might,” time clauses, and clauses with “if,” and appropriately use the modal auxiliaries “can,” “know how to,” “could,” “be able to,” “should,” “have,” and “must.”  They will be able to ask polite questions using “may I,” “could I,” and “can I” and make suggestions using “let’s.”  They will be able to use common expressions of quantity.  Finally, they will be able to make comparisons using “the same as,” “similar to,” “different from,” “like,” “alike,” and the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs.

Achievement of ILR Level 1 in Grammar

Students who have successfully achieved the student learning outcomes at each level described above will have obtained ILR Level 1 (aka Elementary Proficiency) in grammar as expressed primarily in reading and writing (and to a lesser degree in listening and speaking*) through use of language learning materials that stress integrated skills.  Students reaching this level will have demonstrated mastery of the skills outlined above by responding within a high degree of accuracy (at least above 75%) to test questions that require mastery of the knowledge and skills described above for each level.  Tests which make possible clearly observable and measurable skill attainment from test banks that accompany the text series of well-established ESL publishing houses are used in making assessments of skill attainment.

*Successful completion of the Basic English Program (and, thus, attainment of ILR 1 proficiency) also requires concomitant mastery of ILR 1 skill attainment in listening and speaking, which is demonstrated by successful completion of Beginning Conversation I, II, and III as described below. 

Beginning Conversation I

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about getting acquainted with others, going out, discussing family issues, eating at restaurants, and using technology, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

Beginning Conversation II

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about staying in shape, taking vacations, shopping for clothes, taking transportation, and shopping for bargains, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

Beginning Conversation III

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about greeting people and making small talk, discussing movies and entertainment, staying in hotels, driving cars, and discussing personal care and appearance, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

*appropriate = a response that is reasonable; complete = a response that provides suitable detail with varied vocabulary; fluent = a response that flows smoothly and is not halting; intelligible = a response that is clear and can be readily understood by a native speaker; and accurate = a response that is grammatically correct and uses colloquial expressions appropriately. 

Achievement of ILR Level 1 in Conversation

Students who have successfully achieved the student learning outcomes at each level described above will have obtained ILR Level 1 (aka Elementary Proficiency) in conversation as expressed primarily in listening and speaking (and to a lesser degree in reading and writing*) through use of language learning materials that stress integrated skills.  Students reaching this level will have demonstrated mastery of the skills outlined above by responding within a high degree of accuracy (at least above 75%) to test questions that require mastery of the knowledge and skills described above for each level.  Tests which make possible clearly observable and measurable skill attainment from test banks that accompany the text series of well-established ESL publishing houses are used in making assessments of skill attainment.

*Successful completion of the Basic English Program (and, thus, attainment of ILR 1 proficiency) also requires concomitant mastery of ILR 1 skill attainment in reading and writing, which is demonstrated by successful completion of Beginning Grammar I, II, and III as described above. 

Attainment of ILR Level 1 (Elementary Proficiency)

Upon completion of the Beginning Grammar and Conversation courses described above, students will have attained ILR Level 1 (Elementary Proficiency)

The following characteristics describe the traits of a student at ILR Level 1 upon completion of the Basic English Program:

  • able to satisfy routine travel needs and minimum courtesy requirements
  • able to ask and answer questions on familiar topics within the scope of limited language experience
  • able to understand simple questions and statements, allowing for slowed speech, repetition or paraphrasing
  • in possession of a speaking vocabulary adequate to expressing elementary needs despite frequent errors in pronunciation and grammar
  • can be understood by a native speaker used to dealing with foreigners attempting to speak the language
  • able to inquire about meals, shelter or lodging; able to ask and give simple directions, make purchases, etc.

English for Communication Program Grammar and Conversation Achievement Scale Descriptors

ILR Level 2 (Limited Working Proficiency) is achieved by progressing through the following Intermediate Grammar and Conversation courses in the English for Communication Program:

Intermediate Grammar I

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to express present time by using the simple present and the present progressive as well as appropriate adverbs of frequency.  They will be able to maintain subject-verb agreement.  They will be able to ask and answer yes/no questions.  They will be able to express time in the past by using the simple past as well as the past progressive and time clauses.  They will be able to express past habits by using “used to”.  They will be able to express time in the future by using and appropriately distinguishing between “be going to” and “will.”  They will be able to express various degrees of certainty about the future.  They will be able to express future time by using time clauses and the if-clause.  They will be able to use the simple present and the present progressive to express future time.  They will be able to express the immediate future by using “be about to.”  They will be able to use the present perfect and distinguish between its use and the use to the simple past.  They will be able to use the present perfect progressive and distinguish between its use and the use of the non-progressive present perfect.  They will be able to use the past perfect.  Finally, they will be able to ask and answer information questions and tag questions.

Intermediate Grammar II

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to correctly use the singular and plural forms of nouns and maintain subject-verb agreement.  They will be able to use prepositions of time and choose correct word order when using prepositions to express matters concerning time and place.  They will be able to use nouns and adjectives to describe nouns.  They will be able to use personal nouns as both subjects and objects.  They will be able to use possessive nouns and pronouns and possessive adjectives.  They will be able to use reflexive pronouns.  They will be able use “other,” “another,” and “the other.”  They will be able to use modal auxiliaries to express a wide range of nuances of meaning.  They will be able to express preferences.  They will be able to connect ideas using conjunctions.  They will be able to use comparative expressions, including those which consist of repeating and double comparatives.  They will be able to use passive constructions.  Finally, they will be able to use past participles as adjectives.

Intermediate Grammar III

Upon successful completion of this course, students will know how to use definite and indefinite articles as well as how to make generalizations by using no article.  They will be able to use count and noncount nouns.  They will know when to capitalize nouns.  They will be able to use adjective clauses using the relative pronouns “who,” “whom,” “that,” and “whose.”  They will be able to use gerunds and infinitives and distinguish between their usage. They will be able to express purpose using “in order to” and “for.”  They will be able to use infinitives with “too” and “enough.”  They will be able to use noun clauses as subjects and objects.  They will be able to use noun clauses that begin with “if” and “whether.”  Finally, they will be able to distinguish between and properly use quoted and reported speech.

Achievement of ILR Level 2 in Grammar

Students who have successfully achieved the student learning outcomes at each level described above will have obtained ILR Level 2 (aka Limited Working Proficiency) in grammar as expressed primarily in reading and writing (and to a lesser degree in listening and speaking*) through use of language learning materials that stress integrated skills.  Students reaching this level will have demonstrated mastery of the skills outlined above by responding within a high degree of accuracy (at least above 75%) to test questions that require mastery of the knowledge and skills described above for each level.  Tests which make possible clearly observable and measurable skill attainment from test banks that accompany the text series of well-established ESL publishing houses are used in making assessments of skill attainment.

*Successful completion of the English for Communication Program (and, thus, attainment of ILR 2 proficiency) also requires concomitant mastery of ILR 2 skill attainment in listening and speaking, which is demonstrated by successful completion of Intermediate Conversation I, II, and III as described below. 

Intermediate Conversation I

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about eating well, describing peoples’ personalities; describing one’s views on the arts, living with computers, and expressing one’s views on ethics and values, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

Intermediate Conversation II

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about making small talk, discussing health matters, getting things done, reading for pleasure, and discussing natural disasters, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

Intermediate Conversation III

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about making life plans, enjoying holidays, discussing inventions and discoveries, discussing controversial issues, and observing beauty in the world, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

*appropriate = a response that is reasonable; complete = a response that provides suitable detail with varied vocabulary; fluent = a response that flows smoothly and is not halting; intelligible = a response that is clear and can be readily understood by a native speaker; and accurate = a response that is grammatically correct and uses colloquial expressions appropriately. 

Achievement of ILR Level 2 in Conversation

Students who have successfully achieved the student learning outcomes at each level described above will have obtained ILR Level 2 (aka Limited Working Proficiency) in conversation as expressed primarily in listening and speaking (and to a lesser degree in reading and writing*) through use of language learning materials that stress integrated skills.  Students reaching this level will have demonstrated mastery of the skills outlined above by responding within a high degree of accuracy (at least above 75%) to test questions that require mastery of the knowledge and skills described above for each level.  Tests which make possible clearly observable and measurable skill attainment from test banks that accompany the text series of well-established ESL publishing houses are used in making assessments of skill attainment.

*Successful completion of the English for Communication Program (and, thus, attainment of ILR 2 proficiency) also requires concomitant mastery of ILR 2 skill attainment in reading and writing, which is demonstrated by successful completion of Intermediate Grammar I, II, and III as described above. 

Attainment of ILR Level 2 (Limited Working Proficiency)

Upon completion of the Intermediate Grammar and Conversation courses described above, students will have attained ILR Level 2 (Limited Working Proficiency)

The following characteristics describe the traits of a student at ILR Level 2 upon completion of the English for Communication Program:

  • able to satisfy routine social demands
  • able to handle with confidence, but not with facility, most social situations including introductions and casual conversations about current events, as well as work, family, and autobiographical information
  • able to handle limited work requirements, but needs help in handling any complications or difficulties; able to get the gist of most conversations on non-technical subjects (i.e., topics which require no specialized knowledge); and in possession of a speaking vocabulary sufficient to conversing simply with some circumlocutions
  • having an accent which, though often quite faulty, is intelligible
  • usually able to handle elementary constructions quite accurately, but lacking thorough or confident control of grammar

English for Applied Purposes Program Grammar and Conversation Achievement Scale Descriptors

ILR Level 3 (General Professional Proficiency) is achieved by progressing through the following Advanced Grammar and Conversation courses in the English for Applied Purposes Program:

Advanced Grammar I

Upon successful completion of this course, students will demonstrate an accurate understanding of how to use the simple present, simple past, simple future, present progressive, past progressive, future progressive, present perfect, past perfect, future perfect, present perfect progressive, past perfect progressive, and future perfect progressive verb tenses.  They will be able to maintain subject-verb agreement.  They will be able to use count and noncount nouns correctly.  They will be able to use articles.  They will be able to use expressions of quantity with count and noncount nouns.  They will be able to use personal pronouns and maintain agreement between these and other nouns and pronouns.  They will be able to use reflexive pronouns.  They will be able to use impersonal pronouns.  Finally, they will be able to use the different forms of “other.” 

Advanced Grammar II

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to make polite requests.  They will be able to express necessity, lack of necessity, prohibition, advisability, obligation, and unfulfilled intentions using modal auxiliaries.  They will be able to make suggestions.  They will be able to express degrees of certainty in the present, past, and future.  They will be able to express ability.  They will be able to preferences.  They will be able to use passive expressions.  They will be able to use participial adjectives.  They will be able to use noun clauses.  They will be able to use quoted and reported speech appropriately.  They will be able to use adjective clauses and reduce them to adjective phrases.  They will be able to punctuate adjective clauses.  Finally, they will be able to use gerunds and infinitives in connection with the verbs they follow.

Advanced Grammar III

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to use gerunds and infinitives appropriately.  They will be able to use infinitives of purpose, infinitives followed by adjectives, and infinitives used with “too” and “enough.”  They will be able to use passive forms of infinitives and gerunds.  They will be able to use gerunds or passive infinitives following “need.”  They will be able to use simple and progressive verbs after verbs of perception.  They will be able to use causative verbs.  They will be able to maintain parallel structure when using coordinating conjunctions.  They will be able to use paired conjunctions.  They will be able to separate/connect independent clauses with periods/commas.  They will be able to use adverb clauses to show time relationships, cause and effect, and direct contrast.  They will be able to express conditions by using “if,” “whether,” “even if,” “in case,” “unless,” and “only if.”  They will be able to change time clauses to modifying adverbial phrases that express “during the same time” and cause and effect.  They will be able to use “upon” + -ing in modifying adverbial phrases.  They will be able to use and distinguish between prepositional phrases, conjunctions, transition words and phrases, and adverb clauses that express cause and effect, contrast, and condition in order to connect ideas.  Finally, they will be able to express wishes and conditions that are both true and contrary to fact by using “if,” “wish,” and “would” in the present, past, and future, as appropriate.

Achievement of ILR Level 3 in Grammar

Students who have successfully achieved the student learning outcomes at each level described above will have obtained ILR Level 3 (aka General Professional Proficiency) in grammar as expressed primarily in reading and writing (and to a lesser degree in listening and speaking*) through use of language learning materials that stress integrated skills.  Students reaching this level will have demonstrated mastery of the skills outlined above by responding within a high degree of accuracy (at least above 75%) to test questions that require mastery of the knowledge and skills described above for each level.  Tests which make possible clearly observable and measurable skill attainment from test banks that accompany the text series of well-established ESL publishing houses are used in making assessments of skill attainment.

*Successful completion of the English for Applied Purposes Program (and, thus, attainment of ILR 3 proficiency) also requires concomitant mastery of ILR 3 skill attainment in listening and speaking, which is demonstrated by successful completion of Advanced Conversation I, II, and III as described below. 

Advanced Conversation I

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about discovering new perspectives, expressing musical moods, discussing money matters, looking good, and expressing views on community, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

Advanced Conversation II

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about animals, advertising and consumers, family trends, history’s mysteries, and one’s free time, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

Advanced Conversation III

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to communicate appropriately, completely, fluently, intelligibly, and accurately* about discovering new perspectives, expressing musical moods, discussing money matters, looking good, expressing views on community, travel, human intelligence, humor, the shape of future society, and the nature of our interconnected world, while using appropriate grammar and vocabulary.

*appropriate = a response that is reasonable; complete = a response that provides suitable detail with varied vocabulary; fluent = a response that flows smoothly and is not halting; intelligible = a response that is clear and can be readily understood by a native speaker; and accurate = a response that is grammatically correct and uses colloquial expressions appropriately. 

Achievement of ILR Level 3 in Conversation

Students who have successfully achieved the student learning outcomes at each level described above will have obtained ILR Level 3 (aka General Professional Proficiency) in conversation as expressed primarily in listening and speaking (and to a lesser degree in reading and writing*) through use of language learning materials that stress integrated skills.  Students reaching this level will have demonstrated mastery of the skills outlined above by responding within a high degree of accuracy (at least above 75%) to test questions that require mastery of the knowledge and skills described above for each level.  Tests which make possible clearly observable and measurable skill attainment from test banks that accompany the text series of well-established ESL publishing houses are used in making assessments of skill attainment.

*Successful completion of the English for Applied Purposes Program (and, thus, attainment of ILR 3 proficiency) also requires concomitant mastery of ILR 3 skill attainment in reading and writing, which is demonstrated by successful completion of Advanced Grammar I, II, and III as described above. 

Attainment of ILR Level 3 (General Professional Proficiency)

Upon completion of the Advanced Grammar and Conversation courses described above, students will have attained ILR Level 3 (General Professional Proficiency)

The following characteristics describe the traits of a student at ILR Level 3 upon completion of the English for Applied Purposes Program:

  • able to speak with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, and professional topics
  • able to discuss particular interests and special fields of competence with reasonable ease
  • having comprehension which is quite complete for a normal rate of speech
  • having a general vocabulary which is broad enough that he or she rarely has to grope for a word
  • having an accent which may be obviously foreign but, nevertheless, easily understood
  • having good control of grammar; errors virtually never interfere with understanding and rarely disturb a native speaker