Stage 2: Determine Focus

Determining your program's focus is an important second stage in the curriculum development process.  It is based on an understanding of ESL literacy, the environment in which your program operates and the needs of your learners and the wider community, outlined in Stage 1: Understand Needs.

As you determine your program's focus, you will need to articulate your program's purpose, goals and approach.  This will guide your decision-making in the remaining stages of curriculum development: Stage 3: Set Learning Outcomes, Stage 4: Integrate Assessment and Stage 5: Demonstrate Accountability.

As a resource to guide you in determining your program's focus, the curriculum framework provides information on four general areas of ESL literacy programming, each with a different program focus.  These four program contexts are:

• Community orientation and participation ESL literacy

• Family ESL literacy

• Employment ESL literacy

• Educational preparation ESL literacy

Use the information provided in these program contexts to guide you in determining the focus for your program.  Balance your understanding of your program context with the information gathered in the needs assessment process to determine your program's purpose, goals and approach.