This ethnography examines how teachers interpret and enact language-in-education policies in an adult ESL classroom in the United States, where students simultaneously received job training as Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). We draw on postmodern and interpretive lenses from the ethnography of communication, considering how workforce-oriented…

In this article, the authors evaluate a Swedish pilot scheme that targeted immigrants with weak Swedish-language skills registered as unemployed at public employment offices. By sandwiching work-oriented language teaching and practical workplace training, the project aimed at enhancing the employability of project participants but also at alerting…

The intensive curriculum in English as a second language (ESL) for adult refugees is designed for members of this group who are highly motivated to get a job, have had seven to nine years of previous education, have been settled in the area for at least three months, and have been evaluated as at least a "high beginning 1" on the…

This guide identifies four distinct approaches to employment-related training for limited-English proficient (LEP) adults. All of the approaches assume an intensive language instruction component, Vocational English as a Second Language. Following an introduction is a section that deals, in a general sense, with some key concerns shared by all…

The Canadian federal government will commit $25 million to an initiative aimed at assisting immigrant women. The initiative will support settlement orientation, and language and skills training to help immigrant women adapt to Canadian life and enhance their employment opportunities. Funding areas include the following: (1) delivery of basic…

Fifteen adult education programs being conducted in Ireland are described in the case studies in this packet. The courses range from adult basic education to university degree courses in management and industrial relations, from marriage preparation to inservice teacher education. The following programs are profiled: (1) certificate in farming…

Twenty adult education programs being conducted in the Netherlands are described in the case studies in this packet. The courses range from adult basic education to continuing education courses in languages, from basic nursing courses to advanced neurology. The following programs are profiled: (1) open school (Balde); (2) study house for adults…

Two facts have become clear since passage of the Workforce Investment Act in 1998. First, when low-skilled individuals increase their basic skills, these higher skills pay off in the labor market in the form of higher employment and earnings. Second, these earnings increases are typically modest and fall short of what people need to become…

Describes one educator's efforts to spread the word to Latino immigrants about free English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes at the local community college, which he considers key to helping them adjust to life in the United States and create a better quality of life. The program includes basic training in ESL, remedial education, job training,…

This study examines the state of foreign language training provided to industry by British colleges, offers guidelines on how colleges should respond to that market, and identifies created materials that will train college personnel. The study reports that the colleges have a good product to offer but that it is inaccessible to industry because of…

This digest describes cultural considerations and effective approaches for limited English proficient (LEP) individuals' workforce development, including the impact of recent training legislation. LEP persons often come from both a different language background and a very different cultural background; so English-language instruction must provide…

This document contains the text of 37 papers presented at the international forum and conference on information Technology for Training and Education (ITTE). The conference focused attention on the contribution that information technology can make to training, retraining and education. In particular, the forum concentrated on the following: (1)…

An 18-month demonstration program was conducted by the Northern Virginia Cooperative Vocational Education Department of the Fairfax County Public Schools, in partnership with the Virginia Merit Shop Foundation, to recruit and train apprentices for eight construction trades. Emphasis was placed on recruiting women, members of minority groups, and…

This publication on reauthorization recommendations for the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) comprises three documents. The first is a short summary of reauthorization recommendations for Title I and II. Title I recommendations are to eliminate sequential eligibility; promote greater access to training; improve adjustment of performance…

Discusses basic skills training for refugees and the use of a work setting laboratory (WSL). A WSL provides a situation that produces a need to use the English language and communication skills that have earlier been introduced in a classroom setting and a chance to experience cultural points in action. (SED)