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Many LEPs entering career/technical education programs may be literate in their home language, completed their education and may have held professional positions in their home countries. Others may have worked in unskilled positions, barely went to school and have low native language proficiency. Whatever the case may be, the ability to understand and be understood is critical to obtaining productive employment in the U.S. Additionally, immigrants may be unfamiliar with the expectations, behavior, and procedures in the American workplace which may differ significantly from their own experiences. Therefore, career/technical education classrooms must integrate language, literacy and cultural skills with employability content.

Immigrants continue to come to the United States from all over the world and for the same reasons they have always come: escaping war, tyranny and economic hardships. Immigrants come to adult schools because they want to learn English to obtain employment, to get promoted, to help their children in school and to become full participants in their communities. We are able to learn a great deal from U.S. Census data. According to the 1990 Census (United States Bureau of the Census) approximately 32 million people (13.8 of the population) spoke a language other than English. Of these 32 million, close to 2 million people speak no English at all. Preliminary data from the 2000 U.S. Census indicates that households with languages other than English increased by 55%. Preliminary data also indicates that Spanish-speaking households represents the largest percentage. Florida ranks as the fourth largest state in Hispanic population with an increase of 70%. Florida Hispanics account for 2.7 million people or 16.8% of the State's population.

This program was developed by the State of Florida Adult Secondary/GED/VPI Committee of the Practitioners' Task Force, through an Adult Education State Leadership Grant from the Florida Department of Education, Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Education.

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this web-based training component, it is not an official publication of the Florida Department of Education.