ESL Support
All international students at Balboa School are given an English language assessment within the first two weeks of attendance, and Balboa School provides many layers of ESL support, depending on student English proficiency.
We offer three level of ESL courses:
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced (a-g approved to count toward 1 English credit)
With the help of ESL support, international students have been able to gain extra opportunities to receive more 1:1 help from the ESL Coordinator. The ESL Coordinator observes the common core classes, and pulls out students who might need extra help. Student’s grades are checked weekly and printed for the students. The ESL Coordinator communicates daily with other teachers, and implements useful ideas that may help in the classroom.
VOXY
All international students also have an opportunity to improve their English language skills using the VOXY program at home. This program consists of different units based on specific content such as video recordings, grammar, real-life situations, and many other interactive activities. Students are able to see how well they have improved by getting a progress report at the end of each unit. Every three months, students will take the VOXY Proficiency Assessment (VPA) to measure how much they have improved. Students can access VOXY on any computer or cell phone.
TOEFL
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Is a standardized test to measure the English language ability of non-native speakers who wish to enroll in English-speaking universities. In our TOEFL Prep course, students practice reading, writing, speaking, listening and vocabulary to help them prepare for the TOEFL exam. The teacher also gives them practice exams and testing techniques to help them improve their scores. In order for students to get into a two-year college, a standard test score for the TOEFL would be 60, and for a 4-year university the student’s score would need to be at least 80.
