ESL instruction includes both language and cultural instruction. This is true in the career technical classroom as well, where language and workplace culture are both important components of vocational education. To effectively include ELLs in career technical training, Job Corps career technical instructors need to adapt their instructional strategies to their students’ language proficiency levels, as these levels are related to relevant subject matter. A good place to start is by providing general vocational and trade-specific instructional materials that are accessible to ELLs at various levels of proficiency. Simplifications of work-related information are available in a variety of commercial pre-vocational and ESL/VESL materials. Click here for CT resources.

Beginners in English language development will need more work with basic vocabulary related to general work-related topics such as looking for a job, reading simple employment classified ads, or describing popular careers. Even at the most elementary level of English language proficiency, ELL students should learn workplace cultural information as they learn language. Workplace culture includes all the rules for appropriate behavior in the workplace, as well as the values and beliefs, which underlie overt behaviors. This information is especially important to individuals from other cultures, as work behaviors may include behaviors that are different in other countries, such as appropriate tone and eye contact during job-related exchanges, punctuality in the workplace, or making suggestions to a supervisor.

As they progress to the intermediate English stages, ELLs also begin to sharpen their cultural awareness in specific vocational areas:  e.g., identifying the dress code for careers of choice, networking on and off the job, or engaging in small-talk on appropriate subjects with co-workers. One of the best ways for ELLs at Job Corps to learn workplace cultural information is to participate in the culture of the career technical classroom.

It is also important for career technical instructors to recognize student success often. This helps ELLs maintain a high level of motivation despite the many challenges ahead of them. Keep in mind that in some cultures public praise of an individual is considered inappropriate and may cause embarrassment or confusion. Ask students how teachers usually show appreciation of student’s efforts in their country and modify your practice of student recognition accordingly. Sometimes a short personal note or a small token (a sticker or pencil) is the best way to show a student you recognize their accomplishments.

Career technical instructors can benefit the ELLs in their classes by integrating language, cultural, and career technical objectives into their daily lessons. Since the length of time that students are in the Job Corps program is limited, English language instruction within the career technical classroom should focus on building those English skills required to succeed in career technical training or on the job.

ESL and career technical instructors in Job Corps programs need to collaborate and visit each other’s classrooms to collect ideas on how to work together toward common objectives. Explicitly teaching the language required for a training task in the career technical classroom will help ELLs learn training concepts. At the same time, encouraging ELLs to apply new vocabulary and grammar structures to a career technical training concept, in an applied context, will promote English language acquisition.

The Job Corps career technical instructor can reach out to the ESL instructor by making donations of charts, diagrams, posters, trade magazines, pictures, catalogs, and even tools or instruments that the ESL instructor can use to enhance the process of learning trade-specific English in the ESL classroom. Career technical instructors can ask ESL instructors for suggestions on how to adapt lessons to support the language learning goals of the ELLs in their classrooms. They can collaborate with ESL instructors and specialists to create bulletin boards and training activities that are not only relevant to specific career technical training goals, but are also a resource for ELLs in their English language development. They can visit the ESL classrooms on center or in the community. They can also invite former ESL students who are now working in the field to speak to their current students about the communication challenges they have encountered in career technical training and on the job.

Teaching ELLS in the Career Technical Classroom

Everyone at a Job Corps center is a language model and language teacher to ELL students at the center. As career technical instructors teach their respective subject areas, they are teaching English and the culture related to a specific vocation as well. ESL instructors are limited in the vocation-specific language they can cover in their classes. While career technical instructors are better suited to explain and use the technical English used in specific vocational areas, they can also prepare a vocabulary list for ESL instructors to use to tailor their lessons to support the vocational training goals of the students.

No one is better qualified to teach the language and culture of a given vocation that the career technical instructor in charge of that area. All students need to know the “do’s” and “don’ts” of a given career. Career technical instructors observe student behaviors as they interact in the classroom and address any negative behaviors that need to be modified if a learner wishes to succeed in the world of work. Students who dress inappropriately, for example, need to be told the consequences of such behavior in the culture of the workplace. Such situations are also excellent contexts for language learning. Career technical instructors need to make special efforts to provide multi-sensory support. The instructor should use visual aids, demonstrations, role plays, etc. so that the learning process involves more than one of the five senses. This applies to learning not only the behavior expectation concept but also the language associated with that concept.

Career technical classrooms are “acquisition-rich environments” that can enhance and speed up the language learning process. In the ideal case, students gain understanding of content by working in pairs or small groups to complete trade-related authentic tasks (which have a relevant purpose to the learner) in a non-threatening environment. ELLs have the opportunity to use English for authentic communication, using context to clarify meaning, thus making valuable connections between classroom language learning and trade-related experience. A useful teacher’s manual for instruction in the career technical classroom is The Vocational Classroom: A Great Place to Learn English. This text explains the methodology of teaching English language learners in a vocational setting; promotes collaboration between the career technical instructors and the language instructors; provides authentic examples of teaching students; and can be a good supplemental aid in lesson planning.

Career technical instructors can become discouraged or frustrated by ELLs who resist speaking English for several months. For safety reasons, these learners may be very limited in terms of activities in the career technical classroom. However, career technical instructors can take advantage of the learner’s receptive skills by emphasizing activities that require responses that indicate comprehension (as opposed to language production). Sheltering Strategies (MS Word file, click to download MS Word Viewer) are a teaching strategy for working with beginning level ELLs. By following short commands related to trade-specific competencies, the ELL student indicates understanding of what is being said.

For example, the career technical instructor, using authentic trade-specific items, can say:

“Point to the _____________.”

“Hand me the ______________.”

“Put on the ______________.”

“Measure this ______________.”

“Show me the next step in ________________.”

The student responds with the appropriate action, which can be a much more accurate predictor of comprehension than his or her ability to express the correct answer verbally. Developing receptive knowledge is an important stage in building student confidence to actually speak English. At the same time, correct response through action demonstrates understanding, and observation of physical responses can be documented to show student progress. Sharing reports of progress with the student can, in turn, build confidence and thereby encourage language production. Similarly, listening activities requiring hands-on responses or marking an answer sheet with vocationally appropriate information can be used to build a learner’s receptive knowledge of English.

It is important to remember that second language acquisition is a long process. In that process, comprehension precedes production. Research done with children indicates that it may take five to seven years to master the academic forms of language like those found in textbooks, manuals, and standardized tests. Depending on the educational background of the ELL student, this level of mastery may take even longer to achieve. 

Job Corps students should comprehend the English language in order to access the available career technical training, which will enable them to obtain employment. By accurately assessing the stage of English language acquisition for each ELL in the career technical classroom and providing comprehensible input (see Key SLA Concepts) and appropriate learning activities, Job Corps centers can promote the vocational success of ELL students, even while they are still in the process of acquiring English skills.

Adapting Oral Instruction for ELL Students

The oral language of the typical native speaker of English seems like rapid fire to the ELL student. After a sensory overload of this type of input, ELLs often give up and tune out speech they find incomprehensible. Career technical instructors can adapt their oral presentations to enhance ELL student understanding of what is spoken in class. The following are suggestions for adapting oral instruction for ELLs:

• Simplify the language using more common terms or phrases. Always define, explain, or paraphrase specialized terms or phrases.
• Slow down when speaking or explaining information to ELLs.
• Use the student’s native language to explain difficult concepts. Allow peers to translate if the instructor does not speak the student’s language.
• Short words are not always the easiest. Sometimes a long word is not hard because it is similar to a word used in the student’s language (or similar to other English words the student is familiar with).
• Idiomatic expressions (e.g. ‘on the other hand,’ ‘blind as a bat,’ ‘short end of the stick,’ ‘use your head’) are culturally specific and often confusing to ELL students. Limit your use of such expressions, and explain the meaning of those expressions you tend to use frequently.
• Prepositions (so essential to directions given in career technical training) can be very confusing to ELL students. Words like in, on, and at, have variable meanings depending on context and can be mystifying for some ELLs.
• Use diagrams, hands-on items, demonstrations and other visual aids that illustrate directions whenever possible.
• Chart key terms and steps in the process you are teaching.
• Allow ELLs ample time to process information, use bilingual dictionaries, formulate and ask questions before moving on.
• Talking loudly does not clarify meaning for ELLs. It may even send the wrong signal (suggesting you are angry). Instead of raising your voice, get in the habit of repeating, rephrasing, and checking comprehension regularly.
• Speak naturally and clearly. Speaking in telegraphic speech or broken English can be demeaning to ELLs.
• Position ELLs in seats or locations closest to your principal area of instruction so you can see their faces when they are puzzled by information you have provided. You can then rephrase what you have said using physical referents.

Adapting Materials

Most vocational textbooks are written at a language level (from 8th grade to 12th grade) well beyond the reading ability of many ELLs. However, with some creativity, an instructor can adapt materials to enhance ELL comprehension of vocational coursework. The creative career technical instructor, collaborating with the ESL instructor, can modify and adapt materials in a number of ways that will enhance the content learning of all students.

Materials adaptation includes posting artwork, charts, graphs, and other visuals that illustrate the career technical skills concepts. For instance, creative instructors in nursing classes have had ELLs label anatomical charts using both the English and native language terms for the body parts illustrated. Leaving such student work posted provides a welcome sign as well as a learning resource to new students from the same primary language group.

Selecting Texts

Books with visual support (diagrams, charts, drawings, or photos) help the low-level reader understand the content. When purchasing new materials, keep the needs of ELLs in mind.

However, when commercially prepared career technical texts are unavailable, instructors have the following options:

• Identify key vocabulary and carefully pre-teach and review meanings.
• Use a highlighter to mark the most important information in one or two copies of the text. ELLs may study these highlighted texts with the assistance of a bilingual dictionary.
• Explicitly teach effective reading strategies using authentic materials.
• Eliminate immaterial details from instruction.
• Create your own exercises that target the comprehension needs of the ELL student.
• Break down long sentences into components of meaning.
• Use lists and numbered steps whenever practical to present information.
• Present new information in the most logical order possible.
• Connect new information to prior learning experiences.
• Use physical or visual references such as gestures to demonstrate or pictures to illustrate meaning.
• Provide any background information that could support comprehension.
• Create charts (or have the students create), graphs, or illustrations to summarize information in the text.

Modifying Materials in English

Career technical instructors may find it useful to modify written information by using the following techniques:

• Isolate and explain key vocabulary.
• Turn a narrative into a list.
• Replace pronouns with nouns.
• Use the most logical order possible.
• Underline key points.
• Break down long sentences into shorter sentences.
• Take out unnecessary details.
• Add supplementary drawings.
• Add important cultural information or background knowledge that was assumed.
• Add additional exercises that check comprehension.

Writing Your Own Exercises

It helps to collaborate with the ESL instructor or ESL specialist when developing additional or modified exercises for ELLs. The ESL instructor or ESL specialist may have useful resources and can keep a file of instructor-created exercises to use as templates for other vocational areas.

Keep the following ideas in mind:

• Identify the key words and phrases for the lesson.
• Repeat simplified grammar forms.
• Use illustrations and diagrams.
• Allow bilingual coaching from peers.
• Be as direct as possible.
• Avoid open-ended and true/false questions.
• Create a series of multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank questions (with a word bank).

Exercises which use matching, labeling (with a word bank), or fill-in-the-blank can cover the same content while being less linguistically challenging than true/false or essay items. Remember, your goal is to remove the language barrier to the content. Your adapted exercises can be a way to prepare all students for the type of test items you use on your tests. A good test is one using the same format with which students are already familiar. Better yet, devise ways for students to apply what they have learned and assess the product of that application.

Tips for Career Technical Instructors

• Resist the urge to correct ELL student pronunciation. Correction can raise the ELL’s Affective Filter causing him or her to fall silent and stop trying.
• Correct errors in spoken language that affect meaning (wrong word), not form (pronunciation). Better yet, ask a clarification question so that the student has an opportunity to rephrase.
• Speak in a clear and concise manner.
• Address workplace cultural behaviors, which may enhance/undermine student success in the workplace.
• Welcome diverse cultural practices in the classroom by learning about your student’s customs.
• Use gestures as you speak to refer to equipment or topics being discussed. This gives the ELL student opportunities to use more than one learning style.
• Post visuals, charts, and graphs that support classroom explanations.
• Incorporate overheads and videos to support instruction.
• Show patience and a desire to understand students’ ideas.
• Avoid angry, demeaning, or impatient actions.
• Use other students as a resource to mentor ELL students.
• Identify basic and troublesome words related to the career technical area. Develop a file of vocabulary lists and exercises.
• Write key terms and concepts on a whiteboard, chart, or overhead as you teach. Use good penmanship and leave the words posted for future reference.
• Display highly visual safety posters.
• Display multilingual safety posters.
• Promote informal conversations among students to build ELL confidence in using English with peers.
• Allow classmates to translate key information whenever necessary.
• Use audio recorders for listening and pronunciation activities.
• Label items in your area, including tools, work stations, and equipment.
• Encourage students to use bilingual dictionaries and maintain vocabulary lists.
• Learn at least a few key social greetings and safety terms in the students’ native languages. Learn as much as possible of the most common minority language at your center.
• Teach the language and culture of the vocational area as you teach content.