17/03/2019
ELICOS versus ACCREDITTED
Types of student? Or types of programmes?
ELICOS students generally attend an RTO (Registered Training Organisation) for a set program which lasts a certain number of weeks. Course books used include such British texts as Speak Out. In my experience, the main reason why a student signs up for an ELICOS course is to be able to extend their time in this country. Occasionally, you will get an RTO whose teaching program for their international students is an accredited course. In those cases students will sign on to study from the EAL Framework at levels such as EAL 1, EAL 2, 3 or 4 or from the CSWE Curriculum – Certificate 1 in Spoken and Written English, or Certificate Two, Three or Four but this is becoming rarer. Generally ELICOS students use a British course book and have regular tests.
The other type of student is the migrant who is a person in the community who has, at least, PR, (Permanent Residency). This means they will have a Medicare Card, and often a Health Care Card. These sorts of students are usually heavily subsidised by the government when they study English, so it costs them very little to go to English class. A lot of RTOs who have a heavy migrant intake teach courses from the EAL Framework. But some still teach from the CSWE Curriculum, and I would agree that at least Units 1 to 7 in Cert 1 in Spoken and Written English book are excellent for low level speakers of English. Among other things, these units address pronunciation, which is something the EAL Framework is lagging behind in, although with the introduction of Course in Initial EAL and Course in EAL there is evidence to suggest that this is beginning to change..
