2010 National Immigrant Integration Conference - Strategy Sessions

Expanding Adult ESOL:

Increasing the Quantity and
Quality of Adult ESOL Instruction
Sept. 30, 2010

Claudia Green, Executive Director, English for New Bostonians, discussed Career Advancement,
Best Practices Analyses. English for New Bostonians provides access to high quality ESOL through grants,
professional development, innovation and expanding resources. This can be done through 1) Grants:
there’s a wait list of 16,000 people in the state. It’s a fast growing immigrant population and these learners
are workers with families. The grants build capacity in different agencies, ESOL providers. 2) Capacity
development: it’s done through trainings and technical assistance to the ESOL methods used, learner
assessment, technology, transitions and visits to programs. 3) Innovation: ENB has innovated with its
distance learning model and the English at Work Capacity Building Initiative that provides training for
providers looking to partner with businesses. 4) Expanding resources: ENB works to increase state, federal
and private funding through the English Works Campaign, a coalition of business, labor, community and
civic leaders that calls for a high-quality, public-private ESOL system that serves immigrants, businesses,
and the Commonwealth. English Works promotes business investment in ESOL, policy advocacy, and
capacity development. The Campaign is supported by nearly 70 organizations, an 11-member Leadership
Circle, and a growing Mayor's Circle.

Connie Nelson, Director, Massachusetts Workers Education Roundtable spoke next. The MA
Workers Education Roundtable is a network of worker education programs dedicated to promoting
partnerships of employers, unions and educators that provide high quality education as well as training for
Massachusetts union members. Programs that develop partnerships with employers, unions, learners and
educators are programs that succeed.

The funding of workplace programs come either from private or public sources. The private
sources can be funds from joint labor-management partnerships. The state of Massachusetts last year
released the MA Learn at Work Program, a fund dedicated for workplace ESOL which serves as a great
public resource for workplace programs.
The MA Workers Education Roundtable also has a quality focus. These are some of the indicators of quality
for workplace programs: 1) Intensity of instruction: it’s hard to bargain with employers and there are
logistical issues. 2) Adequate and regular classroom space. 3) Collaborative team oversight: labor and
management need to oversee program, problem solve, and check attendance. 4) Learning needs analysis:
how will the learning program help the workplace? 5) Participation has to be voluntary. 6) Balance of
quality and quantity: funds sometimes focus more on quantity. 7) Teachers need to be prepared. There
needs to be capacity building for workplace environment and contextualized curriculum. 8) Predictable
funding. 9) Team governance, and, 10) Professional and curriculum development.

Betsy McKay, Director of Bilingual Leadership, McDonald's Corporation discussed that the
McDonald’s Corporation has a bilingual leadership development program in 22 sites in the US. It’s
beneficial for the corporation, for the restaurants and for the individuals. The program has 3 courses in
ESOL in a series with placement guide. It aligns with the manager program and is contextualized, focusing
Supported by the
 on what they need to run a shift, and can apply what they learn
immediately. The classes run for 5 hours a week and range from 8 to 22 weeks. They’re small classes and
provide a strong bond between student and

teachers.

McDonald’s blended approach address the real needs. There are also virtual classes that address
students individually. There has been a good retention rate of 87 percent, 46 instructors from local
community colleges and a steady increase in number of students.

Johan Uvin, Senior Advisor, Office of Vocational & Adult Education, US Department of Education,
Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) administers, coordinates programs that are related to
adult education and literacy, career and technical education, and community colleges. It provides adult
education funding to states and partners with other federal agencies to meet its goals.
What does OVAE know in regards to workplace education: 1) Employers pay for English proficiency. 2)
Integrated models produce better labor market results. 3) Bringing the outside in: using the context of
peoples’ lives makes greater returns. However, OVAE does not know much about the effectiveness of the
different approaches for the different populations.

President Obama’s strategic vision includes: (i) 8.2 percent more graduates from community colleges; (ii)
at least one year of higher education for every American, and (iii) accelerated achievement. OVAE’s
priorities are: (i) work towards president’s goal, (ii) effective teachers, (iii) college and career pathways,
and (iv) learning opportunities on demand – equitable access.

In order to achieve these goals, OVAE is focusing on promoting innovation and integration. OVAE
is also providing resources to develop ideas, test them and gather evidence.

Moderator: Lisa Soricone, Research & Evaluation Analyst, Commonwealth Corporation

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