The ethnic and racial diversity of the residents of the United States of America is one of our country's unique strengths. However, Black, Latinx, Pacific Islander, Native, and certain Asian American workers face wide racial inequities in educational attainment, employment, and income. Immigrants and English learners, the majority of whom are…

This ethnographic study focuses on a community college VESL program in the Pacific Northwest that attempts to address the critical employment needs of a growing number of English language learners (ELLs). Immigrants are routinely barred from mainstream career and technical programs because content is linguistically inaccessible. This college VESL…

Carreras en Salud (Careers in Health) provides bilingual/bicultural individuals with a fully-supported customized career path for nursing and other allied health occupations bridging individuals from unemployment/underemployment to high-demand healthcare positions. Healthcare providers, elected officials, and community leaders have partnered with…

An exploratory study conducted at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada between 2007 and 2009 investigated language learning with mobile devices as an approach to augmenting ESP learning by taking learning outside the classroom into the real-world context. In common with findings at other community colleges, this study identified inadequate…

A tuition-free, vocational, English as a second language (ESL) program offered at a large community college suffers from high attrition as well as student dissatisfaction with curriculum. The purpose of this quasi-experimental, longitudinal study was to assess the effectiveness of a specific ESL curriculum supplement as an intervention to…

This paper discusses the impact of increasing immigration on English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course offerings, presents the results of the 1998 National Curriculum Study, and examines existing ESL curriculum course designs through an analysis of selected course catalogs. The 1998 National Curriculum Study revealed that ESL programs are a…

Recent trends in immigration and foreign student enrollments are placing a growing demand on community colleges for English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. A 1991 study of course sections at 164 two-year colleges nationwide revealed that ESL had grown from 30% of all foreign language courses offered in 1983 to 51% in 1991, and that the…

A workplace literacy program for garment workers is described and evaluated. The program, a partnership between El Paso Community College (Texas) and Levi Strauss & Company, consisted of a three-level, job-specific, video-based curriculum for limited-English-speaking employees implemented at seven plants in El Paso. The 18-month model…

This resource guide provides practical information to educators directly involved with vocational education for the limited-English-proficient (LEP) population. Part I describes the nine major features of promising vocational education programs for LEP students: program approach, program duration, institutional support, staff commitment,…

The Office Information Systems-International Program at Southwestern College, in California, was designed to provide Hispanic students with training for entry-level office employment. This model program guide stems from a project to improve curricula and delivery and focuses on changes in three intensive bilingual programs in general, medical, and…

Vocational educators need to build bridges for student's transition into and success through the vocational program of their reasoned choice by communicating and cooperating with developmental education instructors. The major focus of the role of the vocational instructor in working with the developmental educator concerns assessment of students…

A federally-funded cooperative program of in-plant English language instruction for industry workers is reported. Partners in the program were Northern Virginia Community College (Alexandria) and BOAT/U.S., a national business providing goods and services to the boating public. This 60-week workplace literacy program was divided into five 12-week…

Project BEST (Building Energy Systems Technology), a bilingual vocational training program, operated at Oakton Community College between March 1986 and September 1987. The purpose of the project was to provide 60 limited English proficient (LEP) Hispanic and Polish adults with sufficient vocational skills, English language skills, and appropriate…

This document is the result of two years of intensive, dedicated work by a remarkable team of nearly two dozen researchers. It takes the first steps on a long overdue journey to fully understanding the realities and promise of ESL program service in community colleges across the nation. The report offers an in-depth look into several community…

A description is provided of Project BEST (Building Energy Systems Technology), bilingual vocational training program offered to speakers of Spanish and Polish through Oakton College's adult continuing education program. Part I of the report provides a program overview, indicating that Project BEST teaches limited English proficient students the…