Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), located in Charlotte, NC currently serves more than 2000 students a semester in its ESL literacy program. More than 35 courses are offered and the department employees 4 full time instructors, one coordinator and one developer. Despite these extensive offerings in the program, the college found it increasingly difficult to reach all in need of English instruction and had to turn away many potential students. In response to the growing immigrant population in the metropolitan area, CPCC researched options for alternative ESL instruction and in the fall of 2000 implemented a distance learning ESL model. A group of dedicated staff formed The LEAD (Learning English at a Distance) Team to study and maintain this project.

The goals of this program are to:

• Increase students language proficiency
• Increase the confidence of the learners in order to meet their personal goals
• Encourage civic participation in the community
• Develop independent, self-directed learners.

These ambitious goals can only be attained with the combined commitment of the student and the ESL staff. Teaching at a distance takes more time and effort in its preparation and delivery than a traditional class. Teamwork is therefore vital to the success of this type of program. One vital component to this team is the student. Transportation problems, childcare issues, and other factors that pull on student’s work schedule and time, keep students from attending traditional classes. This distance-learning model addresses the barriers often faced by this student group. With much of the learning completed independently at home with the support of family and friends, students find that they can work at their own pace and in any place. Depending on the delivery model, the student may attend a tutorial session, a class session with a qualified ESL instructor and an instructor’s aid or communicate through correspondence. To initiate it’s distance-learning program, CPCC began by collecting the necessary materials; primarily the videos, the photostories book, and the worktext book. The spines were cut off of the books in order to give students one chapter at a time. Experience has shown that this promotes good study habits and keeps students focused on one chapter. Student folders were then produced to collect paperwork and store assessments as they were completed. Recognizing the need to instill good study habits and promote self-directed learners, student notebooks were formed to aid students. These were created by using three ring binders with the pocket cover and by inserting the original book cover (that had been cut off the spine of the book) as the front cover of the notebook. The student and teacher now had the necessities to begin study.

CPCC produced an Instructional Video Component (IVC) (:: dial-up :: broadband ::) to complement this series. The intent of the IVC is to focus the student’s attention for viewing before the Crossroads Café episode. The IVC presents language-learning strategies for increasing students’ schema in pre- and post-viewing. As part of the IVC, there is a 3-5minute civics education information video. This video translates the learning in class, to a practical application outside of the classroom. These interviews present authentic, non-scripted dialogue with a knowledgeable community representative.

This learning at a distance model for ESL instruction is flexible. It can be used in a variety of settings. As on campus classes filled at CPCC, distance-learning sections were added in the language lab to provide opportunities for learning that required minimal space. At community based organizations and local businesses, distance learning solved the problem for employers who wanted to provide services for their employees but were not able to allow staff time “on the clock” for study. This model was also modified to fit needs in three other areas: CPCC’s family literacy program, a hybrid classroom setting on campus, and an exciting joint venture with the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC).