How to do well in Junior high/high school english (Alberta Board of education)

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>This is from a concerned mother.We have recently moved to AB, Canada and English is not our first language.My younger son who has always been an outstanding student in his home country , is struggling hard with his 8th grade English and was able to score only 70% in his final exam.</p>

<p>Kindly guide me how can he improve his English as I fear it will get harder and harder for him in the high School.Any junior High/High School teacher/student/parent from Alberta here …can guide me about the course outline ,examination,marking and scoring criteria and ways to get a good percent (around 80%) in English.</p>

<p>Really feeling very tensed ,plz do help me.</p>

<p>I would highly appreciate any help and suggestions provided.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Don’t worry. I bet it will get easier for him as time goes by. If you’ve just recently moved and he scored a 70%, I’d say he’s doing very well. Does he like to read? watch movies? Even spending time with English-speaking friends will help. I’m sure teachers at his school could give you some good suggestions. Even if they’re gone for the summer, I’m sure you could call the school and someone would call you back.</p>

3

<p>There should be resources for your family in his school district.
This might help.
[Alberta</a> Education - English as a Second Language (ESL)](<a href=“English as a Second Language (10–12)”>English as a Second Language (10–12))</p>

4

<p>70% is actually great, given he just moved to Alberta and English is not his first language! He will only get better with time. And his grade in English in grade 8 will have no impact on his life.</p>

<p>If I were in your shoes, I would meet with his teacher to discuss it. What does he or she thinks are areas that he could work on? How do kids tend to do after their first year of arrival - what kind of trend line can you expect? What is the grade distribution for the class (as an aside, grade 8 is highschool in Alberta, right? Alberta has a really strong education system and they grade so tough that universities throughout the country are adjusting the GPA of students coming from this province). </p>

<p>Have him read english novels all summer. Try to ensure he has opportunities to speak a lot of English inside and outside of school (if it is it easy to find others who speak your native language so you do not get as much practice in your second language). </p>

<p>Good luck! And don’t worry!</p>