Wow. Susan! 
 
I'm sorry it took me a bit to respond (but I did post your note - which
somehow didn't show up on its own) 
 
Thanks so much for taking the time to lay things out and describe what's
going on in places other than the U.S. - and the links are invaluable.
I've already forwarded this page to a number of people beyond the list
who are dealing with workplace literacy, and perhaps it will get Paul
Jurmo energized as well. 
 
I very much appreciate your contribution and I'm sure others do as well 
 
Heide
 
 
 
________________________________

From: Susan Reid [mailto:sreid at workbase.org.nz] 
Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2007 6:40 PM
To: Wrigley, Heide; specialtopics at nifl.gov
Cc: ibailey at nala.ie; Jodi Crandall
Subject: RE: [SpecialTopics 297] Re: PD and employment related ESL 
 
Hi Heide 
 
At the end of your post you talk about PD options for those who want to
integrate literacy numeracy and language skill development into
vocational or workforce or other forms of training. 
 
Australia has a long history of intergrated literacy training ( started
in the mid 90s) and it has over the last few years been picked up in the
UK under the title 'embedded literacy' mainly as a method to increase
reach and scale. 
 
In New Zealand this has for some years been recognition that low levels
of literacy numeracy and language skills are not going to attended to
just by specialist literacy practitioners. So last year a new
qualification was developed for tutors ( in NZ this is not used just for
volunteers as it is in the US) who are delivering vocational courses or
industry training courses or workplace training programmes ( not
literacy but focussed on specific workplace skills). 
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/nqfdocs/quals/doc/1253.doc
The main part of the qualifcation is  what we call a unit standard (
competency standard) called 21204 . 
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/nqfdocs/units/doc/21204.doc
 
The critical aspect of integrated literacy is the concurrent development
of the two sets of skills together. The literacy skills that are to be
developed are defined by the context of the vocational course and are
therefore confined by that context. There needs to be sufficient
teaching time and acts of teaching so that literacy can be integrated
into the other course. 
 
There are a number of models for delivering integrated literacy - one is
team teaching where there are two tutors in the room - the literacy
teacher and the vocational teacher. This is a resource hungry model and
often depends on additional funding which may not be sustainable. 
 
Unit Standard 21204 is based on another model - that vocational teachers
themselves can be trained to develop their learners' literacy skills to
a certain level. Teachers are not expected to develop the skills of
someone who is at a very low level - people with low level skills need a
specialist literacy tutor but we believe that vocational tutors can make
a difference to learners' literacy skills.  
 
At Workbase we have started to deliver this National Certificate  this
year. I am currently working with a group of teachers who train students
who are acquiring skills and qualifications in dairy farming. The
literacy skills of the students of  these vocational teachers range from
those who can easily cope with the literacy demands of the job and their
vocational course to students who are really struggling. These
vocational teachers are finding that a lot of actiivities they are
currently using in their teaching can easily be used to teach and
develop literacy skills - in some cases it is just a question of making
it all explicit. 
 
In the UK they have tended to focus on the team teaching model. They
have also invested millions of pounds in developing really excellent
'embedded learning materials'  for awhole range of occupations see
 
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/readwriteplus/embeddedlearning/cfbtgeneralinfo.cf
m
 
You a re right too that NALA in Ireland has done some really good work
on integrated literacy - they developed a really useful guide about the
systems and processes needed to set up an integrated programme 
http://www.nala.ie/publications/listing/20020628161601.html
 
with NALA's permission we adapted their guidelines for the NZ context (
particularly the pre employment context) 
http://www.workbase.org.nz/Document.aspx?Doc=Integratingliteracyintoothe
rcourses.pdf
 
 
If people are interested we have what we believe is the largest
collection of international online resources about integrated/embedded
literacy on the New Zealand Literacy Portal 
www.nzliteracyportal.org.nz
just type integrated or embedded into the search function - otherwise
you can just type in 21204
 
if there is something else you know about that isn't on the portal
please let use know 
 
Kind regards Susan Reid 
Manager Learning and Development 
Workbase the New Zealand Centre for Workforce Lireracy Development 
www.workbase.org.nz
 
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
 
 
 
 
Hi, Barbara and others 
 
Good questions about PD and how to help teachers acquire the foundation
skills needed in teaching adult learners new to English. (I think
understanding how second language acquisition works and understanding
second language reading and literacy are good starting points). And
introducing teachers to tasks and texts that serve multiple purposes and
allow for deeper understanding of language and life seems a good way to
go ("less teaching and more learning" was the title that Susan Gaer gave
to one of her articles on project-based learning and was kind enough to
let me use for some of my work)
 
Unfortunately, I don't know what various states are doing in PD around
adult ESL though I very much like the model of the ongoing staff
development through Academies and Institutes that the Texas GREAT
Centers are adopting. The limitations of the conference model that
focuses on the one shot workshop has certainly been demonstrated through
research. 
 
Jodi Crandall (on the list but in Korea at the moment) is working on a
project that examines the various PD models that states in the U.S. use,
and she should have more information in a few months. 
 
In terms of PD that focuses on the development of language skills in the
context of work or on the integration of jobs skills on the one hand and
language and literacy skills on the other, I keep hearing renewed
interest in these models from foundations, government agencies, and
other institutions. Various new reports have been published or are under
development. To what extent this interest is translating into workshops
or seminars for teachers is difficult to say and too early to tell,
perhaps. 
 
But some of the rest of you might know more, and it would be great to
hear what is happening in other countries in that respect. Australia or
New Zealand, perhaps? Ireland? 
 
Heide
 
________________________________

From: specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:specialtopics-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Barbara Tondre
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 9:33 AM
To: specialtopics at nifl.gov
Subject: [SpecialTopics 297] Re: Authentic materials
 
Hello from Texas!  I have been following the discussion.  It's always
good to hear from Heide and Larry as well as fellow practitioners from
beyond...
 
Janet touched upon something that is so fundamental to this discussion,
and that is the basic preparation of ESL instructors.  Here in Texas, we
have been fortunate to have Heide work closely with us for a number of
years in an effort to build a foundation of knowledge among our very
part time AE instructors. 
 
Unfortunately, because of the overwhelming demand, AE often finds it
necessary to make ESL instruction assignments to those who are still
struggling to get a firm grasp on adult learning theory and the
principles of second language learning. In my work with Texas LEARNS and
its response to a legislative mandate that AE provide work-related ESL
instruction, I am constantly reminded that our efforts rest on a rather
shaky foundation.  
 
Preparing program administrators and instructional staff to respond to
the work-related needs of adult English language learners - and to
maintain a balance between language learning and workforce skills
development - is quite a challenge. So I have to ask:  are there efforts
out there that require (or strongly encourage) administrators to guide
their instructors through a series of PD activities that help them
incrementally develop expertise vs. merely fulfill the annual PD
requirement?  The Texas Teacher Credential project is a model for this
kind of professional development, but it seems we need a multi-faceted
tactical approach to move forward.  
 
Just wondering out loud...
 
Barbara Tondre-El Zorkani
Texas LEARNS
  
 
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