Good Day, Workplace Literacy Discussion List Subscribers,

 

Next week will be a good opportunity to think about and discuss how to
go about designing a workplace literacy program, present the plan to a
workplace community, and monitor and evaluate the program.  The authors
of the resource Tennessee ESOL in the Workplace will be on call to
discuss these and other related issues that you may be thinking about.
You can access the resource online at
http://www.cls.utk.edu/pdf/esol_workplace/Tenn_ESOL_in_the_Workplace.pdf
.

 

 I thought you should know a little more about these authors, so their
biographies are below.  They will both introduce themselves to the list
a little later today.  You can be thinking about the issues and
questions you want to raise for list discussion and either submit them
starting Monday, or go ahead and submit them over the weekend.  Pat and
Barbara won't start responding to them until Monday, however.

 

Here are the bios.

 

Barbara Tondre-El Zorkani holds a Master's degree in Teaching English to
Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Texas in San Antonio.
She is also a developmental education specialist (Kellogg Institute,
Appalachian State University).  She got her start in workforce-related
ESL while teaching for the U.S. Department of Defense English Language
Institute in San Antonio, Texas and Amman, Jordan.  Later, her teaching
assignments at American University in Cairo involved preparing Egyptian
professionals for work with Americans and study abroad. Barbara has
lived and worked on four continents.

 

Barbara ventured into adult basic education and job training upon her
family's return to the states. Her role in welfare reform initiatives
included preparing adult educators to serve individuals whose basic
skill and language deficiencies presented barriers to employment and
self-sufficiency.  At the community college level, Barbara became
involved in developing customized solutions for businesses looking for
services for their employees with basic skills and English language
needs.  She was instrumental in establishing McDonald's first workplace
ESL pilot intiatives in New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Illinois, and
Tennessee.  Her work has included preparing educators to teach in the
workplace.  It was this work that brought Barbara to partner with the
Center for Literacy Studies at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Her experience and writing skills complemented the work already begun by
Patricia Sawyer, then director of ESL programs for Tennessee's
Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Adult Education Division.


 

Since co-authoring Tennessee's ESOL in the Workplace, Barbara has gone
on to author similar publications for Texas.  Charting a Course:
Responding to the Industry-Related Adult Basic Education Needs of the
Texas Workforce, includes research on adult education's response to
state legislation requiring the development of industry-related
curricula for the limited English proficient*, plus two handbooks for
program planners and instructors venturing into the delivery of
workforce related instructional services and solutions.   

 

As a contractor and consultant, Barbara continues to pursue her research
and interests in workforce literacy, ESL, and student transition for
Texas LEARNS, the state office of adult education.  Barbara also authors
SHOP TALK, a series that highlights promising practices as well as
issues, concerns, and questions related to meeting the adult education
needs of Texas' emerging, incumbent, and displaced workers.  In April
2008, she was instrumental in planning the first annual Workforce
Literacy Summit:  Workforce Literacy Models for a 21st Century Economy
hosted by the Alamo Community College District in San Antonio.  Barbara
lives in Austin, Texas.    

 

*Texas is distributing three copyrighted curricula to adult education
programs this summer.  The curricula address the industry-related
language and employability needs of those seeking employment in
healthcare, sales and service, and manufacturing.   

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Pat Sawyer holds a Master's Degree in Education from the University of
Illinois.  She has worked in the field of adult education since 1978 in
the states of Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee and Illinois.

 

Her role as an educator has included Professional Development Trainer
for Tennessee ESOL teachers and supervisors, publication coordinator for
ESOL curriculum, and the writing of training manuals for Tennessee state
programs.  Pat has also presented at several TESOL and COABE conferences
and has worked with teachers who are preparing to teach in the
workplace.

 

Since retiring from The Center for Literacy Studies at the University of
Tennessee, Pat has worked for the University of Illinois, Springfield
campus as a teacher and trainer for Japanese students who are preparing
for work as electrical engineers in the U.S., assisted in the
development of Illinois ABE/ASE Standards, and is presently teaching ESL
at Parkland Community College, Champaign, Illinois.  

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

I'm excited about this opportunity, and I hope we will all both enjoy
and benefit from it.  If this format of having authors participate in a
Talk Back works well, I hope to feature other resources and their
authors in future months.  Please jump right in without hesitation!

 

Donna

 

 

Donna Brian

Moderator, LINCS Workplace Literacy Discussion List

Off-list contact djgbrian at utk.edu

 

To post a message:

workplace at nifl.gov <mailto:workplace at nifl.gov> 

 

To subscribe/unsubscribe/change options/access archives:

http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/workplace
<http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/workplace> 

 

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