Non-English language learners

[Lisa Wittenberg]

My community college is starting a 6-month training for legal immigrants to become CNC Operators. I am the English as a Second Language instructor.

I am reading over the set up and operation manuals for
Bridgeport 412
Femco FV-30L
Femco Durga 25E
Emco TM-02

My first request is if anyone has a glossary of basic operator "need to know" vocabulary. ("slides" are not playground items--so what are they? "magazine housing" is not an apartment complex for low-income magazines--whatever those might be--so, again, what is a magazine housing.) See my problem?

My second request is if anyone has had experience with English language learners if there are words of wisdom that might give me a heads up on what to plan for.

I know of Stafford's book from 2000 by Prentice Hall and really that's about the only resource I've been able to find.

I've been working in a similar program for welders. And the immediate difference I see in the curriculum is that CNC machinists/operators need to have a fairly high level of speaking/listening (in my world oral/aural) skills.

Has anyone developed anything to aid students with this level of communication?

I'm working on federal dollars so I can make any of my lessons available to anyone who may be interested.

[Switcher]

Does your community college have a cnc class in English?

Maybe you could work with that instructor, & just translate what they already have?


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[Lisa Wittenberg]

Yeah, my first title bombed.

We teach in English--that would be the problem. The students are high intermediate learners/speakers of English.

I'm looking through three texts for CNC, and none of them have a definition in their glossaries for a "slide". Grrr!

I guess I could list the gloss I build and ask for feedback.

[ToyMaker]

I have found this site http://www.jjjtrain.com/vms/ to be a good source of information.
They have a glossary but it does not have the specific terms (slide, magazine) you are looking for.
I have had some experience teaching middle eastern ESL students. In their native lands they tend to learn by rote memorization, so if by some mischance they learn something wrong un-teaching them can be a non-trivial exercise.

robotic regards,

Tom
= = = = =
"To my daughter on her birthday: Remember, twenty-one is the drinking age, not the age of drinking."
- - Jim Breffeilh

www.wallaceoperation.com