ESL-English as a Second Language

This document is one of a series of tools developed by the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) for use by human resources professionals who are helping immigrants find employment.

The series Work Ready Tools was developed by the Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) for use by human resources professionals working with immigrants seeking employment.

This document presents case studies of three immigrants who faced challenges in finding appropriate employment in Canada.

The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) standard offers a descriptive scale of ability in English as a Second Language (ESL). Its French counterpart is Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens.

The CLB standard is set out as 12 benchmarks or reference points progressing from basic to advanced, reflecting the growth of the knowledge and skills that underlie basic, intermediate, and advanced ability among adult ESL learners.

In this brief document, a young woman who came to Canada from Africa explains how an adult learning program is helping her improve her English and develop the skills she needs to find work. She emphasizes the importance of education for her whole family, and explains that she hopes to continue her education in nursing.

This e-book is one in a series called Best of the Reader, which consists of stories from The Westcoast Reader, a newspaper for adults trying to improve their English reading skills. It is made up of stories from the other e-books in the series.

While most of the e-books in this series offer material at three reading levels, all the stories in this book are at the lowest reading level.

The Bank of Canada, the country’s central bank, uses information and communications technologies for a range of initiatives, including its online Second Language Café.

This presentation offers an introduction to the Rural Routes initiative, developed by Alberta’s NorQuest College.

This report outlines the second phase of a project designed to build the coordination capacity of Ontario’s regional literacy networks, and to further develop partnerships among service delivery agencies that provide literacy and language programming.

Skills for Change (SfC), a non-profit organization operating out of Toronto, has been a pioneer in developing and delivering sector-specific employment preparation programs to meet the growing unemployment and underemployment problem among Canada’s skilled new immigrants.

Designed for both students and teachers, this directory offers a compilation of more than 150 sites for those who are learning English or who are using English for academic purposes.