Providing English to Speakers of Other Languages Goes Beyond Language

woman deep in thought on a laptop Most people would agree that learning a new language is an invaluable skillset. At Language Testing International (LTI), we know that learning a new language may be done at a leisurely pace for personal pleasure or career advancement, however, there are many individuals who must learn a new language to survive when they migrate to the U.S. In those instances, learning a new language is not a luxury but rather a necessity, and the challenge of learning a new language is usually not the only obstacle English language learners are facing or struggling to overcome.

On a recent episode of LTI’s “Language Is Your Superpower” podcast, special guest Casie Arellano discussed the importance of understanding the needs of and providing the resources to meet the needs of the ESOL student population in her community.

Casie Arellano has been working in education since 2009 and began working with Adult Education programs in August 2017. She currently oversees all English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs at Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County, Florida, where for the past several years she has been working on building outreach centers to help adult learners develop a pathway to achieving their dreams using language as a stepping-stone. Their ESOL program is one of the most successful programs they implement, assisting students who are integrating into life and the culture of the United States. Courses cover improving language skills, learning about U.S. culture, and preparing to become a U.S. citizen.

In describing the constituents of her Florida community, Casie explained that “a lot of the [ESOL] population that comes to us, they already have education from their countries, and they are looking to start their lives here in Florida. We help them to get into the workforce.” Casie explained that one of the ways they are able to accomplish this is through a “partnership with CareerSource Brevard, who helps these students of ours get into the workforce. So, we’ll teach [the students] English and then we offer the classes at their centers, and they work with a career counselor and the career counselor will help put them into jobs.”

Casie also mentioned that they realized the benefits of online learning through the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have an online program that is phenomenal in helping them with the language,” she said. The program offers career-specific terminology, so students are learning the English language in a way that is prioritized for their intended job placement. Casie went on to explain that another “great thing about all of the e-learning is that a lot of our English as a Second Language population, they have a lot of different barriers, such as childcare or they don’t have a ride to classes, so it’s great that we can do online classes that help them in helping themselves.”

Casie’s work to intentionally integrate language learning with job placement resources is exactly what helps the new arrivals in their community experience hope. She explained how the partnership with CareerSource Brevard “would bring in career counselors and these career counselors would help our students write resumes. And then we also have a career coach here and she would work with the students once a week and they’d go and use something called Employ Florida” to look at job postings and submit resumes to open jobs. Among many other supporting services for ESOL students who are undocumented or on visas, the program also helps with visas and U.S. naturalization applications.

In addition, many of the student tuition and teacher salaries are covered through the partnership with CareerSource Brevard as well as other grant opportunities. By providing these supporting services and interventions as part of their journey to learn English, many immigrants are able to assimilate to U.S. culture and contribute to their communities and to the economy much faster than they would have if their language learning was conducted without these supporting resources.

To learn more about the program at Brevard, tune into our podcast.

Meeting People Where They Are while Coaching for Language Competency

three women having a discussion in an office

In a recent episode of the “Language is Your Superpower” podcast, guest Casie Arellano shares insights about supporting the attainment of language proficiency for a diverse workforce and provides tips for coaching adults learning English. When teaching a new language and particularly when coaching ESOL learners to enhance their language competencies within diverse workplaces, you might want to apply these three tips that will help not only the individual but their families and communities:

1. Speak the target language as much as possible

In this case, the target language is the language that is being learned, not necessarily the dominant language within the workforce or workplace. Therefore, if Spanish is the native language, then English is the target language that is being learned. Podcast host Lisa March shares, “LTI does quite a bit of education in K-12 and one of the things we always tell teachers is always speak in the target language. Even if it is American students learning Spanish, that you only speak in Spanish, and it should be 95% of the time.” This not only applies to K-12 but also to adult learners that are seeking to command a second language for employment purposes.

At Brevard Adult and Community Education, Casie Arellano shared that most of their teachers with Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (MA TESOL) bring complementary language skills, but primarily command English. They found that when adult learners are forced to speak English, they are challenged to “muscle through” the language barriers and seek ways to acquire the vocabulary and comprehension to ensure that they are understood. So, the saying, “Practice! Practice! Practice!” truly applies when acquiring new language skills in a target language.

2. Train for language competency in high-demand jobs

Language used in conversation differs from vocabulary used in occupational settings. Therefore, it’s not only important to acquire the language skills to communicate in a second or third language, but it is also critical to learn the terminology needed to navigate a particular industry or professional role. There is a demand by employers for qualified talent to recruit and the programs at Brevard Adult and Community Education work to meet that need.

As reported in “Making Language Our Business: Addressing Foreign language Demand Among Employers”,  85% of U.S. employers stated that they not only sought after but relied on Spanish-speaking employees, and 42% were experiencing a shortage of people who commanded Spanish. Therefore, training for language competency in high demand jobs is an effective strategy to address the talent needs of employers. In the podcast, Casie shared that “having two languages in our area [Brevard County, Florida] is a plus. We focus on careers that have a high interaction with bilingual populations, such as call centers.” Therefore, coaching ESOL learners to navigate these employment opportunities with the help of career counselors is an effective workforce development strategy. Learners are supported through an online platform called Employ Florida, where they search for job postings, submit resumes, and have access to interviews for these jobs. One-on-one support is provided by career counselors and coaches to help as many adult language learners as possible secure employment in high demand jobs while completing the ESOL program.

3. Be creative in engaging ESOL learners

Go where the ESOL learner can be found. After Hurricane María there was an influx of Spanish speaking students from Puerto Rico that enrolled in Florida schools. To address the sudden need for language support, Brevard Adult and Community Education established a program in the schools for the parents to learn Spanish while their children were in class. By meeting parents in spaces where they would inevitably go in their daily lives, the program offered a convenient way for them to access English classes. It also gave Spanish-speaking parents an opportunity to learn about career options in Florida and learn about potential employers as well as helped bridge the communication gap between parents and school administration.  Brevard Adult and Community Education’s creative approach in engaging with adult ESOL learners, had a meaningful impact to not only students of all ages, but their families and the community.

Coaching for language competency involves understanding the needs of the ESOL learner considering their context and culture, where they are currently and where they want to go as far as life goals. Taking time to explore and assess their language everyday needs offers an opportunity to develop effective engagement strategies, create space where they can acquire training for high-demand jobs, and ultimately, become proficient in the target language.

Tune into the podcast with Casie Arellano here.

 

Sources:

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1135835.pdf

Removing the Training Wheels from Language Learning

woman teaching a class

The decision to learn a second language is no easy undertaking. It is in our human nature to want to rely on what is most comfortable to us as we embark on a task that seems daunting. However, studies show that humans learn new skills much faster when we remove all the comforts of the familiar.

While it may sound counterintuitive to have a teacher who is not able to communicate with a student in both their native and target languages, when it comes to language learning, it is recommended that 95%+ of the process of learning a new language be conducted in the target language. In other words, if you’re a student and you are having difficulty finding the correct words to communicate in the target language, you’re likely to rely on your native language to ask questions or circumvent those words altogether. In contrast, if the teacher doesn’t understand the learner’s first language, the learner will be unable to circumvent words in the target language and have no other choice but to find a way to communicate. As it turns out, this potentially uncomfortable and frustrating method of learning affords students a more effective way to gain knowledge and begin mastering a new language faster.

On a recent episode of LTI’s “Language Is Your Superpower” podcast, special guest Casie Arellano, explained how this method of language learning serves the English language learners she works with every day at Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County, FL. Casie has been working in education since 2009 and began working with Adult Education programs in August 2017. She currently oversees all English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs with Brevard Adult and Community Education in Brevard County, Florida, where for the past few years she has been working on building outreach centers to help adult learners develop pathways to achieving their dreams using language as a stepping-stone. Their ESOL program is one of the most successful programs they run, assisting adult students who are integrating into life and culture of the United States. Courses cover improving language skills, learning about U.S. culture, and preparing to become a U.S. citizen.

Casie explained that the teachers she works with “found that it holds students back a little bit knowing that their teacher can communicate to them in their own language. So, forcing them to speak English and not letting them lean on that crutch, […] will push the students further.” She mentions that she has “a handful of teachers who speak Spanish. But, for the most part, they are all English speakers.”

Going beyond the classroom, Casie elaborates on how the workplace can provide this same kind of intensive education out of the necessity to meet the responsibilities and demands of a job. “Our classes that we offer at Career Source [Brevard], [students] work one-on-one with a career counselor and their career counselor helps them gain employment. And a lot of the times, we lose students even before they finish our program because they got a job. But the great thing is, a lot of the jobs are in sales, so they must use the English language in sales, which forces them to learn it a little bit faster. [They may] not use it necessarily correctly, but then they can come back to us in our evening classes, or our morning classes and they can fine-tune all of those English skills.”

Removing the training wheels from language learning can sound intimidating to students. However, just like learning how to ride a bicycle, it’s necessary to command the skill quickly. The decision to take the training wheels off will provide language students the opportunity to be courageous as they figure out how to correctly “balance” themselves while learning how to “ride” their target language without falling.

Making the brave decision to take off the training wheels from the language journey of adult ESOL students – even if it means them wobbling or falling a few times before getting the hang of it – is the day they will accelerate their mastery of a second language!

Tune into the podcast with Casie Arellano.

Language Testing International Announces New CEO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Helen Hamlyn retires; Tiziana Aime appointed new CEO

Tarrytown, NY. January 31, 2022.

 

Photo credit: michaelblack | BLACK SUN

Language Testing International® (LTI), the exclusive licensee of ACTFL, announced today that Tiziana Aime was appointed the new CEO, effective February 1, 2022. An experienced business leader, Aime succeeds Helen Hamlyn, who retired on January 31, 2022.

“Tiziana has successfully led LTI business strategy for the last five years. With her world language learning background, keen business acumen, inclusive leadership style, and strong track record of building successful digital language solutions, Tiziana is the best choice to lead LTI through its next phase of innovation and growth,” said Hamlyn.

Aime joined LTI in 2017 as Vice President of Sales and Marketing and has recently served as Chief Revenue Officer, leading global sales, marketing, customer success, and R&D. As an executive at LTI, Aime has built a strong team and delivered excellent results. She has driven revenue growth, pursued strategic opportunities, and maintained LTI’s position as the leader in the world language assessment space, distributing ACTFL proficiency assessments. Prior to joining LTI, Aime served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at LingroLearning, as Senior Acquisitions Editor for the World Languages e-learning portfolio at Pearson, and as marketing manager and market specialist for World Languages at Wiley where her team received the 2009 Pacesetter Award for most successful new product launch and largest year-over-year percentage revenue growth.

“LTI’s founders, Helen Hamlyn and Bob Katz, have built a forward-thinking language assessment company that, over the last 30 years, has been instrumental in bringing visibility to the bilingual and bicultural communities that LTI serves. As CEO, I am thrilled to build upon this solid foundation and lead this great organization as we continue to expand our technological footprint in the language assessment and learning space,” said Aime.

Hamlyn co-founded LTI in 1992 with Bob Katz and has served as its CEO since 2016. A language proficiency expert and dedicated advocate for world language education, Hamlyn leaves a legacy of excellence and innovation in delivering the internationally recognized ACTFL language assessments. “At LTI we are committed to delivering language assessments and credentials that support the learning and career goals of individuals, and the importance of multilingualism in the 21st century. Over the last 30 years, I have been very fortunate to have worked with so many dedicated and visionary world language learning and assessment advocates and professionals who have been part of the ACTFL proficiency movement,” said Hamlyn.

“On behalf of the LTI executive team and all employees, I want to thank Helen for her leadership and dedication. For 30 years, LTI has been led by a purpose—to provide individuals with credentials that recognize their language ability so they can meet their education and career goals. LTI’s success is in huge part due to Helen’s vision and ceaseless commitment to supporting world language learning,” said Jin Kim, LTI’s CFO.