Explores challenges that the design and realization of Web-based collaborative learning activities present for authors, tutors, and students, and suggests how quality can be assured. Describes a pilot study at a German vocational institution in a business English class that used a chat tool as computer mediated communication. (Author/LRW)

The curriculum developed by the Fairfax County (Virginia) Department of Manpower Services in Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) program is a response to the needs of Southeast Asian refugees for language and cross-cultural skills and to employers' needs for support services. The core curriculum, emphasizing fluency and listening…

The development of a course in English letter-writing for workers in the accounts-payable departments of Papua New Guinea businesses is described. The needs assessment involved extensive discussion with company staff and their supervisors, collection and analysis of letters recently produced by that staff, and development of a diagnostic test. It…

A 16-week, 600-hour Office Skills Training curriculum for limited English proficient (LEP) adults is presented. The course is divided equally between the vocational training component and the language component. It is recommended that students have an intermediate level of English language proficiency, but no experience in typing or filing is…

This document is intended to help service providers and state staff design, implement, and evaluate vocational English language training (VELT) programs for refugees who are not proficient in English. Section 1 is a user's guide that explains why VELT programs exist, states VELT assumptions, lists the benefits of VELT programs, and describes in…

Describes how evaluation strategies can be implemented to increase the effectiveness of English in the Work Place programs. Discusses the design and implementation of the strategy, how to analyze its results and produce a final report, and ways to get the results used. (SED)

Three specific classroom techniques for teaching vocational English as a Second Language to adults are discussed. They are three items on the SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) list of "easy things" to do to integrate workplace basics into the classroom, designed to encourage a student-focused classroom. They…

A workshop is described that trains teachers of vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) how to identify the language needs of and develop lessons for a particular job or job site. The workshop, one of a series of four designed to improve the skills of refugee service provider staff, was offered twice in 1982 and 1983. Activities included…

A computer-assisted reading program was implemented in the VESL (Vocational English as a Second Language) Center at Hacienda La Puente Adult Schools (California), which provides support services to adult special needs vocational students. The purpose of the program was to improve the technical reading skills of the vocational students. The basic…

This guidebook is designed as a workbook and resource for workshop participants at regional meetings on bilingual vocational training (BVT). Since the book was intended to be introduced as parts of lecture, discussions, or participatory exercises in the workshops, not all is necessarily self-explanatory. The book treats only selected topics in…

The three issues of the periodic newsletter contain professional news, program descriptions, and articles addressing issues in English language training for limited-English-proficient workers. Topics include educating refugees and immigrants for work, techniques for combining language development with career awareness, the design of a successful…

Any employment-related English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) program, whether conducted on the job or as pre-employment training, results from five steps: conducting a need analysis of the language and cultural awareness needed to perform successfully in the workplace; developing a curriculum, based on objectives, that identifies and prioritizes…

This document is the teacher's edition of a learning module designed to help nonnative English speakers develop basic workplace reading and writing skills. It was developed by educators from the Emily Griffith Opportunity School. The curriculum presented in the module is job specific and intended to serve as an example of how reading and writing…

This study investigated potential problems associated with one method of testing English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) skills in work settings in foreign countries. The method, used by the Australian government to assess speech skills of individuals in locations outside Australia, involves having native English-speakers carry out a series of oral…

The Orange County (Florida) Public Schools Workplace Literacy Project is described. The program, established to meet the training needs of the growing hotel and restaurant industry in central Florida, has served over 1,000 primarily limited-English-proficient, immigrant students during the 18-month period of October 1988 through March 1990.…