Global Migration: Linguistics and Social Changes

The role of the adult learner within the Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) instructional dynamic is gaining significantly in importance as the mass human migration resulting from the ongoing globalization of our planet continues to gain momentum. Whether new immigrants are legally or illegally resident in a country, and regardless of the reasons for their ultimate arrival in their new country of residence, the receiving nation is faced with the reality of educating newcomers in the local language in order to allow them to either assimilate into their new culture, or to gain both temporary residence and employment as ‘guest workers’. This chapter will examine some of the ongoing linguistic training deliberations caused by this constantly developing trend in global migration as it applies to both adult learners, and curriculum design, in the vocational English as a second language environment.