This book describes the policy initiatives and economic realities that influence the design of programs for adult English language learners, demonstrating how the agendas of each stakeholder can be reconciled in a way that renders them mutually supportive. It focuses on the commonalities among stakeholder goals. It equips instructors to provide…

This publication is an update of an earlier Ohio Literacy Resource Center workplace literacy bibliography and contains 20 resources from 1993 to the present. Items have been selected based on a number of criteria: they had to be of high quality, have practical use, and be readily available to a wide audience of workplace literacy practitioners.…

The evolution of the Workplace Education Service that operates in South Australia is chronicled. Begun as a single program designed to integrate workplace literacy, English as a Second Language, and literacy education for both native and non-native English-speakers in an automobile plant, the project grew into a network of programs and services in…

Ways that workplace literacy programs can be made to work and the circumstances or forces that promote or hinder them are discussed, based on experiences in Vancouver, British Columbia, where 26 percent of the population is minority and 20 percent of the 8,000 city employees speak English as a Second Language. The story documented in this report…

A description is provided of the Lower Merrimack Valley Workplace Education Project (WEP), an educational project that offers English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and job-specific education classes to hourly employees in the Semiconductor Division of Alpha Industries. The challenge of the project was to create a WEP that could accommodate the…

This professional development packet consists of two sessions, each requiring 6 hours. Session one is designed to teach participants to do the following: identify at least three unique characteristics of workplace English as a Second Language (ESL); describe the steps involved in developing a workplace ESL program; identify the basic steps of…

The Worker Education Program (WEP) provided workplace programs for 1,000 members of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UNITE) in Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. It was sponsored by a partnership among the Chicago Teachers' Center of Northeastern Illinois University, the Central States Joint Board of UNITE, and…

Changes in the U.S. economy are altering employment patterns, and these changes have implications for workers whose language is other than English. This digest summarizes the existing types of programs that prepare English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) adults for the workplace or help workers whose first language is other than English who are already…

The Massachusetts Workplace Education Initiative was established in 1986 to create 6 model workplace literacy education programs and later expanded, with state and federal funding, to more than 20 programs at over 40 worksites. The initiative was developed in response to the growing recognition of functional illiteracy in an increasingly complex…

An evaluation examined the efficacy of the program structure, implementation, and outcomes of the Worker Education Program (WEP), a partnership of Northeastern Illinois University; Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees; and 14 employers. WEP's greatest strengths were its conceptual design, program structures, relevant…

This two-part manual is designed to assist employers who desire to retain, promote, or retrain their limited-English-proficient (LEP) workforce to meet the challenge of training and adaptation to job restructuring. This document contains manuals for both English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program developers and business/industry decision makers.…

This guide describes the process used by the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell, and Altron, Inc., a local manufacturer, to design, establish, and operate a workplace literacy program. The first chapter outlines steps and considerations in setting up the program, including the establishment of a successful collaboration,…

This training manual is designed to help English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers and supervisors successfully develop a workplace ESOL class. Four modules include: (1) "Knowing and Presenting Your Adult Education Program to Business and Industry" (e.g., introduction to Tennessee's Workplace ESOL Initiative, the four-step…

The Prince George's County (Maryland) Public Schools and Prince George's Private Industry Council worked together to provide workplace literacy classes at worksites for employees of 10 different employers. Over 300 employees participated in classes in English as a second language or basic skills. Businesses in need of literacy and basic skills…

Provides an overview of the social context of workplace programs, the variety of program types and goals, the nature of the population served, and issues of program design and evaluation related to language instruction in the workplace. Contains annotated bibliography. (57 references) (LET)