Assessment

A Voice from the field:  Heide’s strategies in practice - Janet Isserlis, Adult Education Resource Centre, RI.  See Powerpoint. See background paper (not presented at Institute). 


Capturing what counts: Issues and options in meaningful assessment of language and literacy - Heide Spruck Wrigley, Literacy Work International, Fellow, U.S. National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy. See Powerpoint.

It is difficult to design appropriate responses to student needs without sound assessments that tell us what students can do with language and literacy, including literacy in the native language.  In this session, we will discuss assessment approaches that show promise for identifying learner needs as well as models for documenting learner progress.  We will present a video of a new model called the ESL Reading Demonstration, a one-on-one assessment that can be used with individual learners but can also be adapted for groups.  Ways of using the native language of the learners to gain a better sense of needs, goals, and proficiencies will also be explored.

Policy

How does policy drive practice?  Insights from an Ontario study of ESL Literacy - Sarah Bukhari, Director of Program and Business Development, Ontario Literacy Coalition; Lesley Brown, Executive Director, Ontario Literacy Coalition. See Powerpoint 

Integrating ESOL into a National Adult Literacy and Numeracy Framework: Achievements and challenges in Skills for Life (UK) - Helen Casey, Executive Director, National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC), Institute of Education, University of London, UK. 

Practitioner Training

ESL in rural Alberta communities – What do practitioners need?  Results from a provincial survey – Berniece Gowan, Candice Jackson, Dawn Seabrook de Vargas (Literacy Alberta, NorQuest College). See Powerpoint. 

NorQuest College in Edmonton, Alberta, contracted Literacy Alberta to conduct a survey designed to gather the views of rural ESL practitioners on the value of formalized ESL training. An online survey questionnaire was posted on the Literacy Alberta and Community Adult Learning network electronic conferencing sites. Respondents were asked to indicate how highly they placed formalized training, and to identify the ideal conditions that would encourage them to enroll in such training. The presentation will focus on what rural providers said they need to meet the demands of growing numbers of ESL learners living and working in rural Alberta.

Programs

Bridging from LINC to Basic Education and Literacy as academic preparation: A college model – Dan Danforth, Program Head, ESL and Literacy, Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) See Powerpoint.

Foreign-trained professionals: Fast-tracking ESL and Essential Skills Learning - Laurel Madro, Corporate Readiness Training Program, Bow Valley College. See Powerpoint.

The Corporate Readiness Training Program operating for a decade at Bow Valley College in Calgary prepares foreign-trained professionals such as engineers, accountants, and geologists to enter the corporate workplace. The curriculum has evolved from its roots in ESL language training to more of an Essential Skills/literacy focus. Despite their credentials, some of the learners score at the lower levels on the TOWES (Test of Workplace Essential Skills). Nevertheless, their level of prior education and the workplace focus of the Essential Skills and the assessment have helped learners better understand the demands of the office environment and make rapid progress. Over 90% are working in their fields six months after the end of the training. This session will discuss what has worked, what we are still implementing and what did not meet the standard the learners needed to compete in the corporate community. Feedback from learners who are now working has been the basis for program change over the years.

Reflections from a Community-Based Instructor - Paula Mannington, Abbotsford Community Services.  See Powerpoint. 

How do we move beyond the IALSS data and into the daily lives, experiences and needs of adult ESL language, literacy, and numeracy learners? The presenter will share her experiences and the insights she has gained from working with learners at the lowest levels of literacy, including those with mother-tongue literacy barriers, in a community-based, government-funded settlement language program. She will focus on some of the many challenges this demographic faces both within and outside the classroom, including family literacy needs that transcend traditional 0-6 programs; instructional issues related to scarce resources and rare professional development opportunities; outreach and retention issues; and problems encountered with assessment, referral, and service options.

Targeting children, teaching parents: Two program models - Elizabeth Walcot, LD consultant, Montreal. See Powerpoint.

Violence

Violence and learning:  Hidden issues for ESL learners - Janet Isserlis, Adult Education Resource Centre, RI. See Powerpoint

Workplace

Workplace ESL issues in the UK: Industry and sector models - Helen Casey, Executive Director, National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy (NRDC), Institute of Education, University of London, UK.

         

Summer Institute