ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY BUILDER TO PREPARE LEP ADULTS FOR BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION CRAFT TRAINING

MANY OCCUPATIONS, AMONG THEM THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES, OFFER ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINED AND QUALIFIED PEOPLE. HOWEVER, ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AS WELL AS KNOWLEDGE OF THE ESSENTIAL TERMS AND CONCEPTS ARE PREREQUISITES FOR MOST APPRENTICESHIP AND JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS. NEUWIRTH ASSOCIATES PROPOSES TO DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA PACKAGE THAT WOULD HELP PREPARE BEGINNING AND INTERMEDIATE VOCATIONAL ESL STUDENTS TO LEARN THE BASIC CONCEPTS AND VOCABULARY NEEDED TO ENTER JOB TRAINING. WORKING WITH ASSOCIATED BUILDERS AND CONTRACTORS AND THE CENTER FOR WORKFORCE EDUCATION, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP VOCABULARY TRAINING IN FIFTEEN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION CRAFTS, INCLUDING WELDING, PAINTING, AND PIPEFITTING. THE PROGRAM WILL INTEGRATE CD8ROM IMAGES, AUDIO, AND TEXT TO CREATE A RICH LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. LEARNERS WILL LEARN TO UNDERSTAND, PRONOUNCE, SPELL AND USE THE CORE VOCABULARY OF EACH CRAFT IN MEANINGFUL WAYS. TWO COMPONENTS WILL BE CREATED UPON COMPLETION OF PHASE II. THE FIRST IS A CUSTOMIZABLE SOFTWARE SHELL TO RUN THE PROGRAM. THIS SHELL WILL ENABLE TEACHERS TO ADD NEW VOCABULARY ITEMS, PROVIDE LOCAL DIALECT VARIATIONS, PROVIDE TRANSLATIONS, AND CREATE NEW VOCABULARY LESSONS FOR VIRTUALLY ANY OCCUPATION. THE SECOND IS THE APPLICATION PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO TEACH THE CORE CONCEPTS AND VOCABULARY OF BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION TRADES.