ELL

Instructors
C. Anderson christian.anderson@burnabyschools.ca
G. DeJong grayson.dejong@burnabyschools.ca
S. Dhaliwal sonia.dhaliwal@burnabyschools.ca
G. Nevgodovskyy george.Nevgodovskyy@burnabyschools.ca
K. Parbhakar – ELL Coordinator kamal.parbhakar@burnabyschools.ca
M. Proctor michael.proctor@burnabyschools.ca

Program Overview

Our ELL program is designed to help students improve their English listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. They improve their English through the study of the content they will encounter in the mainstream classes.

Mission Statement

As the students’ English improves, they take fewer ELL classes and more mainstream classes. The ELL teachers recommend ELL classes appropriate for each student. Some of the factors the teachers consider are the student’s age, educational background, interests and career plans. The most important consideration is the student’s English language ability and reading level. The recommendations should provide the students with challenging courses in which they can achieve success.

Interesting Research Information

1. It takes 5-8 years to become proficient in a language.
2. There are two forms of language learning. Learning language for social situations takes 1-2 years. Learning the language required for academic success takes up to 8 years.
3. Maintaining the native language is important to the student’s emotional, social, and academic development.