3.6
| Author and contact | McHugh, M. and Challinor, A.E. mmchugh@migrationpolicy.org |
Title | Improving Immigrants' Employment Prospects through. Work-Focused Language Instruction |
Language | English |
| Date | 2011 |
| Description | Immigrants’ employment prospects depend on their underlying levels of education and technical skills as well as their ability to communicate as needed in the host-country language. Since basic language courses do not impart the host-country language skills necessary for success in the workplace, many governments on both sides of the Atlantic are eager to expand work-focused language training. Yet implementing effective employment-focused language systems is difficult, as policymakers must find ways to design cost-effective programs that are sufficiently tailored to the needs of a wide range of occupations and that take account of immigrants’ underlying literacy skills and their financial and family circumstances. |
Key words | Work-focused education, language training, immigrant, employment, communication |
Full reference (publication/web link) | McHugh, M. and Challinor, A.E (2011). Improving Immigrants' Employment Prospects through. Work-Focused Language Instruction. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/workfocusedlanguageinstruction.pdf |
Other interesting information | This report describes the range of policies available to improve immigrants’ economic integration through language acquisition, especially those focused on getting immigrants into jobs or moving into higher-paying jobs. It assesses promising models and practices from Europe and North America, and provides recommendations for policymakers designing accessible, cost-effective, and tailored language programs. These recommendations include: expand language instruction contextualized for workplace use; combine language and skills training; encourage partnerships and work with employers; encourage workplace-based instruction; take into account the needs of nontraditional students; evaluate programs; and share and support effective practices. |
Interest for the project | 4/5 |
| Contributor´s name + email | Stéphanie Barillé - stephanie@unak.is |