Focus: According to the Ministry of Education's (2007) English as a Second Language (ESL) Ontario Secondary School Curriculum (OSSC) documents, there are two streams of credit courses that learners can take to prepare for regular stream English courses. First, English as a Second Language (ESL) programs “are intended for students whose first language is a language other than English or is a variety of English significantly different from that used for instruction in Ontario schools” and do not require literacy support (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.12). English Literacy Development (ELD) programs are also intended for students “whose first language is a language other than English or is a variety of English significantly different from that used for instruction in Ontario schools”; however, literacy support is also required as learner situation did not allow for the development of fundamental literacy skills in their mother tongue (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 12). Both streams are offered at five levels, and the content in each ESL and ELD course is organized into four broad areas of learning: Listening and Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Socio-cultural Competence and Media Literacy. Finally, placement into ESL and ELD classes is based on previous experience with English, as well as service delivery site English language assessment requirements (Ministry of Education, 2007).

Eligibility: 18 or older (depending on service delivery site eligibility may be 21 and older; see links below)

Levels: Levels differ from CLB levels. ESL/ELD levels are for description of transition into English credit for the purpose of achieving an OSSD. English credits taken by a learner are based on goal and prepare learners for further transitions to either college (code: ENG_P/C), university (code: ENG_D/U), or employment (code: ENG_E).

Course Codes:
ELD credit course codes – Level 1 (ELD1O); Level 2 (ELD2O); Level 3 (ELD3O); Level 4 (ELD4O); Level 5 (ELD5O).
ESL credit course codes- Level 1 (ESLAO); Level 2 (ESLBO); Level 3 (ESLCO); Level 4 (ESLDO); Level 5 (ESLEO).

• Locally Developed English (ENGLDCC)
• Grade 11/12 Workplace English (ENG3E/4E) – employment pathway
• Grade 9/10 Applied English (ENG1P/2P) – college pathway
• ESL Level 4 (ESLDO)