A student writing in a notebook by a sunlit classroom window

English

ENL1W

Live classes

Monday to Friday, 10:00–11:10 am Toronto time

English

This course enables students to continue to develop and consolidate the foundational knowledge and skills that they need for reading, writing, and oral and visual communication. Throughout the course, students will continue to enhance their media literacy and critical literacy skills, and to develop and apply transferable skills, including digital literacy. Students will also make connections to their lived experiences and to society and increase their understanding of the importance of language and literacy across the curriculum.

Price

$580

One Ontario credit. Online self-study, at your own pace.

Live classes included.How it works

Grade
9
Credit
1.0
Delivery
Online

Price

$580

No prerequisite. Open to all eligible students.

About this course

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This course enables students to continue to develop and consolidate the foundational knowledge and skills that they need for reading, writing, and oral and visual communication. Throughout the course, students will continue to enhance their media literacy and critical literacy skills, and to develop and apply transferable skills, including digital literacy. Students will also make connections to their lived experiences and to society and increase their understanding of the importance of language and literacy across the curriculum.

What you'll learn

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  1. Read a range of texts closely and respond to them, connecting what you read to your own life and to the wider world.

  2. Strengthen the foundations of language, including grammar, vocabulary, and how sentences work, so your writing carries meaning clearly.

  3. Write and create texts of your own in different forms, shaping ideas for real readers.

  4. Build the media and critical literacy to weigh how a text is made and what it asks you to believe.

Prerequisites & pathway

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No prerequisite. Open to all eligible students.

Curriculum expectations

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The overall expectations set by the Ontario curriculum, grouped by strand. Drawn from The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9–10: English (2023).

A. Literacy Connections and Applications

  • A1demonstrate an understanding of how the seven transferable skills (critical thinking and problem solving; innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship; self-directed learning; collaboration; communication; global citizenship and sustainability; and digital literacy) are used in various language and literacy contexts
  • A2demonstrate and apply the knowledge and skills needed to interact safely and responsibly in online environments, use digital and media tools to construct knowledge, and demonstrate learning as critical consumers and creators of media
  • A3apply language and literacy skills in cross-curricular and integrated learning, and demonstrate an understanding of, and make connections to, diverse voices, experiences, perspectives, histories, and contributions, including those of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals, communities, groups, and nations

B. Foundations of Language

  • B1apply listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills and strategies to understand and communicate meaning in formal and informal contexts and for various purposes and audiences
  • B2demonstrate an understanding of foundational language knowledge and skills, and apply this understanding when reading and writing
  • B3demonstrate an understanding of sentence structure, grammar, cohesive ties, and capitalization and punctuation, and apply this knowledge when reading and writing sentences, paragraphs, and a variety of texts

C. Comprehension: Understanding and Responding to Texts

  • C1apply foundational knowledge and skills to understand a variety of texts, including digital and media texts, by creators with diverse identities, perspectives, and experience, and demonstrate an understanding of the patterns, features, and elements of style associated with various text forms and genres
  • C2apply comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading, listening to, and viewing a variety of texts, including digital and media texts, by creators with diverse identities, perspectives, and experience, in order to understand and clarify the meaning of texts
  • C3apply critical thinking skills to deepen understanding of texts, and analyze how various perspectives and topics are communicated and addressed in a variety of texts, including digital, media, and cultural texts

D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts

  • D1plan, develop ideas, gather information, and organize content for creating texts of various forms, including digital and media texts, on a variety of topics
  • D2apply knowledge and understanding of various text forms and genres to create, revise, edit, and proofread their own texts, using a variety of media, tools, and strategies, and reflect critically on created texts
  • D3select suitable and effective media, techniques, and tools to publish and present final texts, and critically analyze how well the texts address various topics

How you'll study

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DeliveryOnline
Self-paced, fully online through Vaughan College's learning platform, with an Ontario-certified teacher who marks your work and answers your questions.
Live classesThis semester
Monday to Friday, 10:00–11:10 am Toronto time, until January 15, 2027. We're teaching this course on campus, and you can join the class live by video call, included in the price. How booking works
Fast-trackAvailable
Complete the credit in a condensed schedule. Useful for upgrading, course recovery, or summer acceleration.
Credit value1.0 OSSD credit
Counts toward the 30 credits required for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Assessment and evaluation

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Every Vaughan College course follows Ontario’s Growing Success policy. Assessment is continuous: teachers gather evidence of learning through observation, conversation, and student work, and give feedback that helps a student improve before the work is graded.

Evaluation — the judgement that produces a mark — measures achievement of the Ontario curriculum expectations across four categories: Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, Communication, and Application. A student’s grade reflects how well they have met the expectations, with greatest weight given to their most consistent and most recent work.

The final grade

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The final percentage grade is based on two parts. Seventy percent comes from work completed throughout the course, weighted toward more recent and more consistent achievement. The remaining thirty percent comes from a final evaluation near the end of the course — an examination, performance, essay, or other culminating task suited to the subject.

Grades are reported against the provincial standard, where Level 3 (70 to 79 percent) represents the standard expected of students at that grade. A grade of 50 percent or higher earns the credit.

The report card

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Achievement is reported on the Ontario Provincial Report Card, which records the percentage grade and the credit earned for each course. Grades for completed credits carry forward onto the Ontario Student Transcript, the official record used for graduation and post-secondary admission.

The report card also reports six learning skills and work habits, separately from the academic grade: responsibility, organisation, independent work, collaboration, initiative, and self-regulation. These describe how a student approaches their learning, and universities and colleges do read them.

Considerations for program planning

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The Ontario curriculum asks every course to account for a set of cross-curricular considerations — the ways a subject connects to students’ broader development and to the world beyond the classroom. They shape how each course is planned and taught.

Students with special education needs

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Teachers plan for the full range of learners. Where a student has an Individual Education Plan, the accommodations, modifications, or alternative expectations it sets out are built into how the course is taught and assessed, so the student can demonstrate learning in the way that works for them.

English language learners

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Students who are still developing their English receive scaffolding — adjusted materials, extra time, and language support — while working toward the same curriculum expectations. Assessment separates what a student knows and can do from their stage of English acquisition.

Environmental education

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Wherever the subject allows, coursework draws connections to the environment and sustainability, helping students understand how the topics they study relate to the natural world and their responsibilities within it.

Healthy relationships

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Every course contributes to a school culture built on respect. Students practise the communication and collaboration skills that underpin healthy, equitable relationships with peers and teachers.

Equity and inclusive education

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Materials and discussion reflect a range of experiences and perspectives so every student sees themselves in the work. An inclusive classroom holds high expectations for all learners and treats difference as a strength.

Financial literacy

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Where it fits the subject, students apply mathematical and analytical thinking to real financial questions — budgeting, credit, and informed decision-making — so the skills carry into life after graduation.

Literacy, mathematical literacy, and inquiry skills

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Reading, writing, oral communication, numeracy, and structured inquiry are developed in every subject, not only in English and mathematics. These are the cross-curricular skills that make learning in every other course possible.

Critical thinking and critical literacy

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Students learn to weigh evidence, question assumptions, and interpret what they read, watch, and hear — distinguishing fact from opinion and recognising point of view and bias.

The role of the school library

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Library and information resources support research and independent reading. Students learn to locate, evaluate, and use sources responsibly, building the research habits that post-secondary study assumes.

Information and communications technology

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Technology is used to support learning and to build the digital skills students need, alongside an understanding of how to work online safely, responsibly, and with attention to their own well-being.

Education and career/life planning

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Coursework helps students connect what they are learning to their goals beyond high school, so each credit is a step in a deliberate plan rather than an isolated requirement.

Cooperative education and experiential learning

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Where a subject supports it, hands-on and experiential learning connect classroom study to real settings, giving students a clearer sense of how the material is used in work and in the community.

Health and safety

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In any course involving activity, equipment, or materials, safe practice is taught and expected. Students learn the procedures that protect themselves and others.

Ethics

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Many subjects raise questions of right and wrong. Students learn to examine ethical issues thoughtfully, consider more than one position, and support a view with reasons — including academic honesty in their own work.

Teaching and learning at Vaughan College

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Courses are taught in small classes, which lets teachers adapt to how each student learns. A single lesson might combine direct instruction, discussion, independent practice, collaborative work, and hands-on or inquiry-based tasks, chosen to suit the material and the students in the room.

Students receive regular, specific feedback and can move at a pace that fits their goals, whether they are working ahead, recovering a credit, or balancing school with other commitments. The aim is that every student understands not just what they are learning, but why it matters and where it leads.

Live Classes This Semester

Join ENL1W live from our Woodbridge classroom.

We’re teaching ENL1W on campus this semester. Take the course online at your own pace, and join the class live by video call whenever it helps, with the teacher and the students in the room.

The class follows the campus timetable, so a lesson may be ahead of or behind where you are in your own course. Many students use it to preview a unit or go over one again.

When
Monday to Friday, 10:00–11:10 amToronto time
Dates
Until January 15, 2027No class on Thanksgiving (October 12), a PD day (November 20) and winter break (December 21 to January 1).
Cost
IncludedPart of the course price. Nothing to add at checkout.
To book
Email us 48 hours aheadWrite to admin@vaughancollege.ca with the date you’d like, and we’ll reply with a link to join by video call, through Google Classroom.

Next Step

Ready to add this credit?

Add the course to your cart for enrolment, or speak with our admissions team about pathway sequencing, prerequisites, and credit equivalency from a previous school.