Charting a Course: Responding to the Industry-Related
Adult Basic Education Needs of the Texas Workforce
Handbook Two: Workplace Savy for Workforce-related Instruction
Modules # 5 & 6

Module Six: Delivering Instruction Responsive to Identified Needs

Instructional Scenarios: It’s That Duck Again…

Where does workforce-related ESL instruction occur? Location does not necessarily determine the nature of instruction. The focus of instruction is on the language and literacy skills needed to get a job, survive on the job, and thrive on the job. Of course, when an employer requests (and sometimes pays for) educational services on site, the requested instruction can be very focused.

Activity: The scenarios included here represent a variety of opportunities to incorporate work-related topics into your instruction. Many of these learners are already in your classrooms. Select one scenario and complete the activities that accompany it, focusing on application within your adult education classroom. Use the lesson planning template following these scenarios.

  1. You have a group of learners in your class who work in customer service. They are responsible for filling orders taken by the call center. They need to improve their reading and writing skills, since they need to interpret orders and also keep accurate records of orders filled. They need help with simple record-keeping duties, such as filling in accurate customer information and product ordering information. Create a lesson that could turn this into a valuable learning activity.
  2. You have a group of beginning level learners who are employed as assembly workers, manufacturing small parts for electronic devices. Their listening and speaking skills are fairly good, but they have difficulty understanding written instructions for their jobs. As new products are introduced to the assembly line, signage on the line changes. This often results in significant increases in waste and slows production. Develop a learning activity that can help learners improve the skills needed for their work.
  3. The learners in your class who are employed often complain about company correspondence and other documents written in jargon or obscure language at a level that even native speakers might not fully comprehend. This makes it especially difficult for the non-native speakers to comply with written instructions and company policy. What solutions can you offer in terms of a learning activity?
  4. You are offering an employment-focused ESOL class at a plant that manufactures electronic parts. The assembly line workers in your class have fairly good reading skills (they must read schematics to perform their jobs), but their listening and speaking skills are relatively low. They seem to have particular difficulty understanding instructions in group settings / team meetings where new procedures are being introduced. Outline how you would address their needs.
  5. You are working with a group of learners who are fairly advanced. They are, in fact, engineers and technicians working in a high tech environment. Their problem, they claim, is their accents, and they are very reluctant to participate in team meetings and presentations. The learners feel that the native speakers just do not understand them or will make fun of them. What are the identifiable needs? How do you design a learning activity to address some of their needs?
  6. The learners in your class are having 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. Develop a learning activity to begin addressing these issues.
  7. You are teaching an intermediate ESOL class at a hospital, with learners who work directly with patients, doctors, and nurses (the learners are aides and nursing assistants). You have been working with them on critical communication skills in the classroom, including clarifying, confirming, and asking questions. Create a learning activity that provides for real-life application of these skills.
  8. Create your own scenario:

 

 

 

Texas Adult Education Standards Lesson Plan Template

Texas Adult Education Standards
Lesson Plan

Before you begin

Title:

Setting:

NRS Level(s):

Open entry/exit:

Context:

Standard(s):

Benchmark(s):

Objective:

Materials:

Estimated time needed to prepare for this lesson plan:

Estimated time needed to complete this lesson plan:

The Lesson Plan

Introduce the lesson: Review previously learned content and create an environment for learning. Remember to not start teaching the lesson just yet, but create interest.

Teach the lesson: Teach the new information or skill.

Practice the lesson: Have the students apply the information from the lesson by practicing a new skill. Remember that the best lessons have more practice than presentation.

Assess the lesson: Assess the students to see if they can perform the skill they just practiced. You may use a variety of assessments, such as a check list, a quiz, or a report-back session.

Apply the lesson to the real world: Create an activity where the students have to apply the new information or skill to life outside the classroom.

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