Charting a Course: Responding to the Industry-Related
Adult Basic Education Needs of the Texas Workforce
Handbook One: Planning and Implementation Tips
for Program Planners and Administrators

Module Two: Marketing Adult Education Services as Workforce Solutions

Workforce-Related Scenarios…

The following scenarios are based on authentic workforce-related situations in which local adult education providers may find themselves. They can be used for staff development as well as with partners as an icebreaker for meetings and discussion.

1. An employer calls a local adult education program director and asks to have classes at the company warehouse. Brainstorm ways you can respond. What services can be offered? Can adult education charge for services? If so, how much can be charged and what happens to the money? Can the hours be reported in TEAMS? How does local policy affect your responses?
2. Several of the adult learners in your program’s ESL classes work at a local hospital in food services and maintenance. Their work requires that they interact with patients and their families as well as nursing and other hospital staff. They would like to have some of their work-related language needs addressed in the classroom. Where would you start? Who can assist you with this? Could you write a short script (1 to 2 paragraphs) of what you would say in an initial phone call or visit to the hospital administrator in charge of employee training?
3. You receive a call from a local business interested in referring some of its employees to your local adult education classes. These employees - both native and non-native speakers of English - work in shipping and handling and are responsible for filling orders taken by the call center. Since they need to interpret orders and also keep accurate records of orders filled, they must improve their basic reading and writing skills. They need help with simple record-keeping duties, such as filling in accurate customer information and product ordering information. How do you respond to this call? What are the limitations to serving these employees in already established community classes? What additional information do you need? Are there other options?
4. A local high tech company calls for your assistance with a group of employees. These employees are engineers and technicians working in a high tech environment. They learned English in their respective native countries, know the grammar, and understand ninety-five percent of the spoken English used in the workplace. The learners feel that native speakers do not understand them, and they are reluctant to participate in team meetings and presentations. The company has training dollars to pay for instruction. The employer explains that quarterly production deadlines often interfere with training classes longer than twelve weeks in duration. Can you design a cycle of instruction to address identified needs? How do you project fees for services? What concerns, if any, do you have regarding charging fees for services? How would you deal with the time restrictions imposed by the employer?
5. You have been asked to offer an employment-focused ESOL class at a plant that manufactures electronic parts. The assembly line workers – all English language learners - have fairly good reading skills (they must read schematics to perform their jobs), but initial assessment, along with input from the company, indicates that their listening and speaking skills are relatively low. They seem to have particular difficulty understanding instructions in group settings where new procedures are being introduced. They are also at a loss when it comes to reporting assembly line problems to their front line supervisors. List what needs to happen to plan instruction before classes can begin. Note: classes can not exceed 12 weeks, and instruction will have to be limited to 1.5 hours twice a week.
6. The training director of a local business has contacted you. Recently, following a company-wide training session, it became obvious that a number of employees did not understand much of the training. The training director realizes that the employees are struggling with company correspondence and other documents written in jargon and obscure language. This makes it especially difficult for the non-native speakers to comply with written instructions and company policy, and the training director suspects that many documents are written at a level that even native speakers do not fully comprehend. This scenario may require services you have never offered before. What solutions can you offer to this company in terms of services? Identify the steps / activities you and your staff will have to carry out.
7. A number of adult learners in your program’s ESL classes are having recurring problems when it comes to oral communication at work. As a result, they keep to themselves in the lunch room and at the company’s social functions and miss out on opportunities to learn and practice English. They feel they don’t fit in because of their lack of social language skills. How can these learners’ needs be addressed in the traditional ESL classroom? What are some instructional strategies that would address these needs?
8. Recently employers in the hospitality industry (hotels and restaurants) have reported that a growing number of the workers they hire for entry level positions speak little or no English. Limited English proficiency means limited employment opportunities. The restaurant industry is searching amongst its entry-level employees for individuals with management potential, but limited English proficiency is an obstacle to career ladder opportunities. In the hotel industry, those unable to communicate with guests face employment restrictions as well, often finding themselves confined to “the back of the house” (maintenance, housekeeping, laundry, or kitchen). How would you approach employers in the hospitality industry? What would be your selling points for ESL instruction at the workplace? What kinds of obstacles to successful implementation can you foresee?