Employers in both the public and private sectors are compensating bilingual employees for the added value their language fluency brings to the workplace. It is important that employers have a clearly defined compensation policy and procedure in place. SRJC Workforce Training’s assessment service supports employers with this task:

• Assisting employers to determine what level of proficiency merits compensation
• Designing a proficiency test for speaking and/or writing skills
• Administering the test(s)
• Providing employers with individual scores and certificates

Typically the oral test is interactive; the employee being tested uses the language in a simulated setting. The test measures the employee’s language skills in the areas of pronunciation, complexity of sentence structure, expressing abstract ideas, use of vocabulary, grammar, syntax, ability to describe events and sustain and bring complicated communications to closure.

BENEFITS OF SPANISH ASSESSMENT

• Increases employee motivation by rewarding those with bilingual ability
• Ensures criteria for increased pay levels is fair and equitable
• Increases employees’ interest in learning another language

Many employers experience an increase in productivity when they teach their English-as-a-Second Language employees English. Our services begin with an assessment of employees’ English skill levels. The assessment includes three components:

The Grammar assessment is multiple choice. Individuals are allowed 45 minutes to complete it. This is usually administered to a group of employees at the same time.

The Essay component is customized to the workplace. An example might be to write a paragraph describing what the individual does in his/her job. The individuals are given 30 minutes to complete this component.

The Oral component is also customized. Typically, each individual is asked three job-related questions. This takes approximately five minutes.

The instructors who evaluate the assessments have been trained to interpret them and place the individuals in the appropriate level of ESL for reading, comprehension, and conversation.

After the assessment, the company is given a summary report of the results. Based on the skill level of the employees, courses are designed to teach English in a way that incorporates workplace vocabulary and everyday scenarios.

BENEFITS OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT

• Increases employee motivation to learn English
• Targets the specific areas that need attention during the ESL training
• Increases the positive results of ESL training

BENEFITS OF BASIC SKILLS ASSESSMENT

• In supportive environment allows employees to identify gaps in their learning
• Identifies specific collective areas where employees can learn together
• Enhances the quality of the training program