Program purpose and description
Citizenship and Immigration Canada acknowledges that 70% of the Labor Force growth is due to immigration. Students require proficiency in technical reading, writing, listening and speaking, as well as, familiarity with Canadian workplace culture. Vancouver Central College supports its vocational programs with an intensive program to help students learn English as a second language. This program is based on the Canadian Language Benchmarks - 2000, provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and was developed in consultation with local experts in the field of English as a Second Language.
The CLB identifies 12 levels of competence with English, and provides descriptions of twelve communicative proficiency levels in four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing. Intermediate Proficiency (Stage II - CLB Levels 5-8) represents the range of abilities that enable a learner to participate more fully in social, educational, and work-related settings. These are enabling skills that assist people in functioning fully in the workplace.

Program content
This is an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program. Unlike a course in English in general, it aims to develop the specific competencies required for communication in workplaces in Canada. The program is also a Content-based Language Learning (CBLL) program. In other words, rather than attempting to teach English in isolation from subject matter, it teaches English in association with subject matter.
English is learned more efficiently if presented in an appropriate context. Vancouver Central College sets its ESL program within the general context of Canadian culture, and focuses more specifically on business, science, and technology. The Integrated-Skills-Based Approach strongly supports student competence in the social dynamics of the actual workplace. ESL courses routinely deal with content relevant to the courses students are taking at the time. ESL at Vancouver Central College is taught with a focus on speaking and listening, group projects, research, and the preparation, presentation and discussion of reports.

The PLUS Program (Optional)
Plus program activities are normally scheduled in the afternoon, evening, or on weekends. Students enroll in these activities separately, and additional fees apply. Actual activities will depend on instructor and event availability, and are subject to enrollment. Sessions may include activities such as:

• Workshops. Sessions on topics such as time management, library research, note taking, money management, volunteering, and discussions of special topics.
• Conversation club / Book Club. Meet with English-speaking volunteers to discuss books, movies, newspaper articles, fashion, thoughts of mutual interest, and topics of the day.
• Social events. Meet a group at an unusual restaurant, attend a pot-luck dinner or a picnic, visit a park, a museum, the planetarium, or another public site.
• Movies. Attend an English language movie and then participate in a discussion of the movie afterward.
• Activities. Go skiing, skating, bowling, dancing, jogging, tobogganing, or biking with a group.