Insights – What research has to tell us about ESOL

This is a review of NRDC research in ESOL from 2002 to 2006. It draws on the findings of 18 different research projects to provide insight into the ESOL provision, its learners and its teachers in that period. ESOL was part of Skills for Life from its launch in 2001 and benefited from equivalent investment and the development of curricula, assessment and professional practice, recognising ESOL, alongside numeracy and literacy, as a distinct area of teaching and learning. Consultation with ESOL practitioners identified a number of teaching and learning challenges: The extraordinary diversity of the backgrounds, previous education and current circumstances of learners in the same class. Learners’ strong motivation to learn English as a route to employment or further study. The fact that learners often have little access to interaction with English-speakers outside the classroom. There was an ESOL focus in NRDC research on workforce basic skills, embedded learning, rural provision, adult learners’ lives, and teacher education. There were two large studies: the ESOL effective practice project (EEPP) and a set of case studies. NRDC also commissioned two reviews, one on pedagogy, the other on applied linguistics. This review does not attempt to offer a total picture of ESOL in the period: for example NRDC did not carry out any large-scale surveys of ESOL learners. However, it does contribute to our understanding of ESOL provision, and its learners and teachers, in the first period of the Skills for Life Strategy

Literacy as supply and demand

This paper draws on three data sources – a national survey from Germany of adult literacy and numeracy skills (leo. – Level-One Study), the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC), and case studies of workplaces in England – to argue for a greater focus by policymakers and researchers on the literacy demand experienced by adults. We consider the heterogeneity of the population of adults deemed functionally illiterate by large-scale national and international surveys and question how such a large group of adults are indeed able to function in society. We draw on concepts of literacy practices and the literate environment to try to understand the demands on adults’ reading and writing and suggest that adults with poor literacy skills may be reluctant to engage in learning because they experience very low demand. Engagement in literate practices is an important mechanism through which literacy is improved and developed. If the demands on many adults’ literacy are so low, their skills may decline/fail to develop, leaving a large sub-class excluded from the literate environment and relying on others for interpretation and access to information. This vicious circle of underuse and consequent loss of skills should be a major concern for policy makers

Numeracy skills and the numerate environment: affordances and demands

In the 2012 PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills of 23 industrialised countries, the UK (England & NI) scored below average on adult numeracy. Several recommendations focus on the need for (some) individuals in the population to undergo training. Yet, even in “high-performing countries” like the Netherlands, many adults (1.5M) score at or below PIAAC Level 1 (sometimes designated as “functionally innumerate”). The question arises as to how all of these people manage in important domains of their lives. In this article we aim to consider the context of the exercise of numeracy by adults, drawing on earlier research in mathematics education. We examine a recent conception of an adult’s ‘literate environment’ (EU HLG on Literacy, 2012), and extend this to reflect on the idea of an adult’s ‘numerate environment’. We consider the range of practices that particular adults may engage in, and the demands that these may make on the adult, the affordances the practices may offer; the latter include the opportunities, and the supports and / or barriers produced within these practices, and in cultures more generally, that may foster or impede an adult’s ongoing numerate development. We give examples of each of these aspects of adults’ numerate practices, and consider implications for the teaching, learning and development of numeracy

Impact of poor English and maths skills on employers: literature review

This literature review synthesises evidence from qualitative and quantitative studies that shed light on the costs to employers of poor English and maths skills. It also addresses the benefits of, and the barriers to, workplace training, with a focus on employer perceptions of the need for and efficacy of workplace training in English and maths. The review also considers and summarises key theoretical and methodological issues

O quadro europeu de boas práticas de literacia

Neste artigo, introduzo um Quadro de Referência de Boas Práticas desenvolvido pela Rede Europeia de Políticas de Literacia (ELINET) financiada pela Comissão Europeia. O quadro aborda as políticas de literacia em todo o ciclo de vida, mas aqui concentro-me apenas em questões relevantes para a educação de adultos. O Quadro está organizado em três tópicos oriundos das recomendações feitas pelo Grupo de Alto Nível da União Europeia sobre literacia, em 2012: criar ambientes mais alfabetizados; melhorar a qualidade do ensino; e aumentar a participação e a inclusão

Designed-in and contingent scaffolding in the teaching practice groups model

The focus of this paper is the teacher learning of trainee teachers of English as a second, other or foreign language to adults, within a particular model of initial teacher training: Teaching Practice Groups. It draws on socio-constructive theories of teacher learning to explore the learning of trainees within the model. Teaching Practice Groups are highly social; trainees on courses using the model interact a great deal with each other, with their peers, with the learners in the teaching practice classroom, and also with the course documentation and activities. This paper suggests that these interactions, and the consequent development of trainees’ knowledge and understanding of teaching, are scaffolded in both ‘designed-in’ and ‘contingent’ ways (Hammond & Gibbons 2005: 12). Designed-in scaffolding can be seen in the way the course is structured, in the activities that learners are expected to engage with, and in the documents and processes through which these processes are managed. Contingent scaffolding on the other hand, the spontaneous actions and guidance of the trainer in response to the immediate learning needs of the trainee teacher, is unplanned. While the findings from this study are specific to the context of Teaching Practice Groups, this paper also offers a contribution to more general knowledge about initial teacher training for English language teachers

Executive Summary: Young people, education, employment and ESOL

The report, ‘Young people, education, employment and ESOL’ reviewed 47 studies1 to examine how current ESOL provision2 meets the needs of young people aged 16-25 years who use English as an Additional Language (EAL)3, and who need time and support to develop their English language skills in order to progress in education, training and employment