Hello colleagues, On July 3rd, The New York Times published a feature article by Tom Friedman about my city, Lancaster, PA. Friedman's piece focuses on the civic coalitions in our community that are making things work well. I mention this because adult education providers are at the table closely collaborating with the Chamber of Commerce, Workforce Investment Board, city government, and various other profit and nonprofit agencies to promote the well being of our community.
As a result, many of the employers in our area are beginning to learn that immigrants and refugees make amazing employees. Businesses have many jobs to fill, and they are discovering that immigrants' work ethic is phenomenal.
While our adult education program supports adults in learning English, we also want to work toward helping the employers in our community to see these immigrants' language ability as assets.
A recent American Achieves resource, "Getting Real About Career Readiness: A Focus on Cross-Sector Competencies," targeting K12 educators includes a section on the value of multilingualism.
"Another important competency area, especially in a global economy, that is often overlooked in the dominant frameworks, is multilingualism. ...'Zhao, among many others, likewise argues that proficiency in another language is essential to cross-cultural and global competency, as increasingly required for career success and global citizenship."
What challenges and successes have you had opening up career options for adult English learners in your community? Have you been able to promote adults' language skills as potential assets in the workplace?
Let us know about your experiences!
Cheers, Susan Finn Miller
Moderator, English Language Acquisition CoP
Comments
Hi, Susan,
Thanks for sharing this article. While many of us here know from experience the benefits of a multilingual worker, it’s important to make these explicit, for employers and job candidates alike. Often times, I’ve had to encourage non-native English speakers to see their multilingualism as a skill that should be highlighted in a resume, or on a job interview. I think we need to help our job seekers be the best examples of what a multilingual employee can mean for a business. I’ve seen teachers who’ve gone beyond just encouraging learners to see their language skills as an asset, to helping them develop micro-lessons to ‘teach’ on an interview. These lessons can be as simple as teaching a word or two, identifying some common cognates, or words that are easily misunderstood. Having learners who can model how their multilingualism helps them connect with others, prevent miscommunication, or solve problems is probably the best way to convince employers who haven’t worked with this population before.
Best,
Mike Cruse
Career Pathways Moderator
Michaelcruse74@gmail.com