Hello Workplace and ELL discussion list members,

Today begins the cross list discussion where we serve as our own experts
to each other by considering and discussing issues of concern to both
lists.  Lynda Terrill (moderator of the English Language list) and I
(Donna Brian, moderator of the Workplace list) will facilitate by cross
posting messages that pertain to the discussion to the opposite list.
That means, if you are subscribed to both lists, you will get the
messages twice, but both messages will have the same subject line so
that you can easily discard one of the duplicates.  It also means, of
course, that if you are subscribed to only one of the lists, you will be
sure to get the messages pertaining to the discussion so that you will
stay "in the loop."

That brings up another small point about what you can do to facilitate
the discussion.  When you send an original message about this
discussion, choose a subject line that describes the subject carefully;
and if you are replying to that post, keep the same subject line.  That
way, if there are more threads than one to this discussion, everyone
will be better able to follow each topic.

I'm repeating some of the original message announcing the discussion
below.  Here are the proposed questions as starters to the discussion
and the suggested resources to inform the discussion (and I've added a
resource that has already been suggested by one of our list members):

Questions
Some important questions we hope may be addressed in the discussion are:


What are effective ways of planning, implementing, and evaluating (adult
ESL) workplace classes? 

What types of workplace classes have proven most effective and why? 

How can teachers and administrators develop curricula and materials that
meet the needs and goals of the learners in class as well as the needs
and expectations of employers? 

What are effective and appropriate approaches for teaching issues
related to culture, civil rights, and responsibilities on the job? 
  

Background Reading and Resources
Below is a small sample of available materials. We hope subscribers will
suggest others that have been useful to them: 

Issues in Improving Immigrant Workers' English Language Skills (Burt,
M., 2003, Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics)
http://www.cal.org/caela/esl_resources/digests/Workplaceissues.html. 

ESOL in the Workplace: A Training Manual for ESOL Supervisors and
Instructors. (Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Office of Adult Education and University of Tennessee Center for
Literacy Studies, 2003). 
http://www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/esol_workplace/Tenn_ESOL_in_the_Workplace.pdf


Getting to Work: A Report on How Workers with Limited English Skills Can
Prepare for New Jobs (Working for America Institute)
http://www.workingforamerica.org/documents/PDF/GTW50704.pdf

Steps to Employment in Ontario. 
http://209.121.217.200/main.html

Learner-Centered Worker Education Program
<http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2/content_storage_01/00000
00b/80/2a/14/f4.pdf>


Please note that, if you have trouble linking to any of these resources,
the e-mail format may break the URL into two lines and you might have to
cut and paste the URL back together again in your browser to get to the
right place.

So it's time to make use of each other's expertise!  Please feel free to
submit additional questions and also to share your experiences and
thoughts about the questions posed above.  Let the discussion begin!

Donna and Lynda