English as a Second Language (ESL) is a general language program that teaches students who speak languages other than English how to listen, read, write, and speak in English. In the past, ESL at Job Corps has included such basic life skills as reading class schedules, using the banking system, or reporting an emergency by calling 911. Often very broadly based, Job Corps’ ESL programs previously addressed general language concepts and cultural needs for living in the United States.

However, in an effort to better integrate ELLs into the career technical and academic training programs, the Job Corps ESL/VESL program will now emphasize English in its language training program in a way more directly related to academic and career technical courses.  

The ESL/VESL program is designed to stress both language and culture, as they relate to career awareness and employability, and to provide a solid foundation in English literacy. Job Corps ESL/VESL begins the process of transitioning ELLs into the world of work and post-secondary education. The ESL/VESL program includes general survival English for living in the United States, English for specific jobs, as well as English required for success in a high school diploma or GED program.

Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) focuses on the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills required to learn effectively in specific vocational areas. For example, VESL can address the vocabulary related to a specific vocation, such as the language a nursing student must use to work with a patient or work in a health care setting, the writing skills a business education learner must possess, or the conversational English an auto mechanic will need to explain a repair.  Many of the VESL competencies are best addressed within the career technical classroom.

Competency-based ESL/VESL education requires the students to combine listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills into effective, functional, culturally-appropriate, context-specific communication. VESL competencies may be worded: “Interprets classified ads related to employment” or “Asks and answers questions about restaurant work shifts.” The most appropriate way to measure a learner’s mastery of these competencies is through authentic tasks (e.g., have the learner actually interpret a work-related classified ad from the newspaper) or role-plays such as mock interviews. In competency-based ESL/VESL, learners must demonstrate through activities their mastery of the targeted competencies.