Teaching Work Readiness Skills in the ESOL Classroom

English for New Bostonians

IIB, Boston, MA

Friday, Nov. 18, 2011

Presenter: Martha Oesch

Learning Objectives

Describe & relate workplace competency standards to the classroom and workplace

Identify means for teaching these through instructional strategies and classroom management techniques

Identify and explain at least one active learning strategy

Develop a plan, based on the evaluation of your classroom, to improve your effectiveness in teaching job readiness skills

Student Quote

“Today in the class you said something important for me because I do it yesterday in my work. You’ll said is a good idea take notes when somebody explain something to you. And that’s what I did yesterday when my boss explained to me how to use the cash register. I telled her when I don’t understand I’m confused to explain me again and I repeat to her what I understand to know if it’s right or wrong. I asked her if sometimes can I see my notes to check if I’m doing it right. Her answer was yes because the notes can help you a lot in you work.

Logbook excerpt by a vocational ESOL student, San Diego Community College

Question

What do you think are the social forces influencing efforts to link

language instruction to work readiness skills?

Social Forces

Economic shifts

Welfare reform

Accountability requirements

Learner needs

Who are the Stakeholders?

Learners

Community

Employer

Policy makers

Funders

Identifying Work Readiness Competencies

Skills for the 21st Century Secretaries Commission on Achieving

Necessary Skills (SCANS) 1990 Equipped for the Future (EFF) 1994 National Reporting System for Adult

Education (NRS) 1998 MA DOE Work-Based Learning Plan

What is the goal for instructors?

To view learners the way that employers and post-secondary education instructors increasingly view successful workers and students as:

Active Creative Self-directed problem solvers Able to work effectively on their own and

with others

How does SCANS inform ABE/ESOL instruction?

Encourage active learning Design of instructional tasks and problems Simulate workplace situations Teach competencies within existing curricula Make explicit activities that teach job

readiness skills

What are the fundamentals for success in the workplace?

Individual responsibility

Integrity

Self-management

Classroom routines model and help learners practice:

Organizational skills

Self-management

Appropriate attitude

Personal responsibility

Why are routines important?

Establishing rules and routines

enables learners to be systematic

as they learn to operate within social, professional, and technological systems.

What is the purpose of classroom systems?

Set expectations for --– Personal organization– Preparedness– Responsibility

Provide opportunities for learners to document they are meeting those expectations.

Classroom systems cont.

Help all students adjust to US workplace

expectations.

Give teachers more time and energy to focus on facilitating learning.

Key to Success!

Involve learners in the

establishment of class rules and

the definition of procedures

What can effective team members do?

Define and support viewpoints and needs

Consider the views and needs of other

Negotiate agreement and resolve divergent interests

Guide or teach others

What does Team Work do?

Creates expectations for high performance

Develops sense of participating for their own

benefit and the team’s

Builds interpersonal skills

Replicates a work situation

Learners need to:

Have the skills they and other

stakeholders are seeking

Know they have the skills

Show they have the skills

Learners need opportunities to:

Reflect on their learning

Demonstrate their ability to apply what they

have learned

Evaluate their own progress