TY - JOUR
T1 - Competency-based assessment, employment and immigrant background
T2 - An exploratory investigation of adult language learners in Australia
AU - Ehrich, John Fitzgerald
AU - Kim, Sun Hee Ok
AU - Ficorilli, Laura
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Prior research investigating the relationships between immigrants' linguistic abilities in the target language of the host country and their settlement experiences has done so largely from the perspective of language proficiency. Instead of language proficiency per se, we investigated this relationship from the perspective of a competency-based measure. The Certificate in Spoken and Written English (CSWE) is one such competencybased measure currently used in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) in Australia. We conducted an investigation to explore the strength of the relationships between CSWE level, employment and immigrant background (as socio-biographical information). Data were collected from 46 newly arrived adult immigrants enrolled in the AMEP over a 16-month period. The findings indicated that the use of a competencybased curriculum facilitated immigrants' attainment of employment but only when they first arrived in Australia. Over time the outcomes of a competencybased curriculum became less relevant to immigrant employability. At the later stages of residency, socio-biographical factors, such as immigrants' home country and educational experience, became strongly related to their ability to attain a job with little or no effect of competency-based curriculum.
AB - Prior research investigating the relationships between immigrants' linguistic abilities in the target language of the host country and their settlement experiences has done so largely from the perspective of language proficiency. Instead of language proficiency per se, we investigated this relationship from the perspective of a competency-based measure. The Certificate in Spoken and Written English (CSWE) is one such competencybased measure currently used in the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) in Australia. We conducted an investigation to explore the strength of the relationships between CSWE level, employment and immigrant background (as socio-biographical information). Data were collected from 46 newly arrived adult immigrants enrolled in the AMEP over a 16-month period. The findings indicated that the use of a competencybased curriculum facilitated immigrants' attainment of employment but only when they first arrived in Australia. Over time the outcomes of a competencybased curriculum became less relevant to immigrant employability. At the later stages of residency, socio-biographical factors, such as immigrants' home country and educational experience, became strongly related to their ability to attain a job with little or no effect of competency-based curriculum.
KW - Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP)
KW - Certificate in Spoken and Written English (CSWE) level
KW - Competency-based assessment
KW - Employment
KW - Immigration
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77958556952&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09500782.2010.499173
DO - 10.1080/09500782.2010.499173
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77958556952
SN - 0950-0782
VL - 24
SP - 485
EP - 494
JO - Language and Education
JF - Language and Education
IS - 6
ER -