This program is funded in part by a Workforce Innovation in Regional
Economic Development (WIRED) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor
“This workforce solution was funded by a grant awarded under Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development
(WIRED) as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The solution was
created by the grantee and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The
Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such
information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its
completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This solution is copyrighted by the
institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial
purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.”
Bilingual Financial Workforce Certificate Program
Syllabus
A Partnership between Kings College, Lackawanna College and Luzerne
County Community College
Program Director –
Isabel Balsamo
McGowan Hispanic Outreach Program, King’s College
McGowan School of Business Office 206
(570) 208-5900 ext. 5466 – Fax: (570) 208-5989
Program Coordinator -
Ivette Trent, M.Ed.
Coordinator of the Multicultural Learning Center,
Luzerne County Community College, Hazleton Center
(570) 453-3140
- Fax: (570) 453-3144
Site Coordinator -
Ann Marie Stelma, Ph.D.
Vice President for Continuing Education
Lackawanna College
(570) 961-7813
- Fax: (570) 504-7978
Instructors -
LCCC Hazleton Site: Alejandro Gallardo (570) 455-1536
King’s Wilkes-Barre Site: Elizabeth Schaffer (570) 242- 3766
Lackawanna Scranton Site: Michele Mascia (570) 646-6260
Industry Partners -
Guard Insurance
KNBT
Prudential
Certificate Program Description
A. Description: This non-credit certificate program is based on an ESL delivery format
specifically targeted to adult Latino English Language Learners at an advanced level
(CASAS – 236+) who are seeking a career path in the financial services sector. The
students will broaden their knowledge of the financial services industry by gaining
enhanced vocabulary and comprehension of important terminology and concepts
specific to the areas of customer service, basic computer applications, banking,
insurance/claims, marketing, small business administration, the stock market, and
translation techniques. Experts from these industries will present real life experiences to
the students and they will work with the ESL instructors to offer suggestions on
important topics that must be covered in order for students to be successful in these
various industries. The industry experts will also collaborate with the instructors on
creating assessment tools. When possible internship opportunities will be offered in the
areas of interest to the students.
B. Rationale: This certificate program is designed to educate bilingual adults in
Northeastern Pennsylvania about various aspects of the financial services industry.
Wall Street West hopes to increase employment potential for emerging Latino
professionals and to improve employment opportunities for adult Latino English
language learners. This will in turn build a stronger financial services sector in
Northeaster Pennsylvania through a qualified bilingual workforce that is much needed
in a region where the Latino/Hispanic population has been growing and is expected to
continue growing in the coming years. Furthermore, the use of industry experts will
work as both a role modeling to the students as we hope to have successful bilingual
professionals from each industry, when possible, presenting information and also as a
collaborative effort with the ESL instructors to advise on important topics, vocabulary
and terminology to be covered and assessed in each module.
Certificate Program Objectives and Learning Outcomes
Students will:
A. Define important concepts and vocabulary words specific to customer service, basic
computer applications, banking, insurance/claims, marketing, small business
administration, and the stock market/global economy in both English and Spanish.
B. Describe major topics and procedures essential to the industries of customer service,
basic computer applications, banking, insurance/claims, marketing, small business
administration, the stock market and translation techniques in both English and
Spanish.
C. Calculate important computations and formulas necessary in industries such as banking,
insurance/claims, marketing, small business administration and the stock market/global
economy.
D. Illustrate the proper use of computer applications such as Word, Excel, Access and
PowerPoint and the proper use of translation techniques.
E. Receive, interpret correctly, and respond accurately to basic verbal messages and other
cues that are commonly heard in the financial services industries.
F. Speak with some accuracy and with an understandable accent when using the basic
English language functions needed to communicate effectively in the financial services
sectors.
G. Demonstrate appropriate social behaviors and knowledge of cross-cultural differences
in working with other people in the financial services industries.
H. Use a range of learning strategies to acquire and apply new knowledge of the language
to increase skills in understanding and using spoken English.
Program Requirements
Classes will begin in early February 2009 and will end in late September 2009. Students
will take courses which will be offered in three-week increments. Each three week
module will consist of six hours of classroom instruction per week for a total of 18
classroom hours per each financial services sector. Successful completion of the entire
program will require 144 hours of study and successful completion of the assessments.
Attendance Policy
Students are allowed 3 excused absences, however, when possible it is suggested that
students who miss a class should attend another site to make up for that missed class.
Students who have excessive absences will be dismissed from the program and will not
receive their certificate.
Required Textbooks:
American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters/Insurance Institute of
America. Introduction to Property and Liability Insurance (2nd Ed.). Malvern, Pa.
Brown, D. & Bentley, K. (2002). All About Stock Market Strategies: The Easy Way to
Get Started. McGraw-Hill Companies
Evenson, R. (2005). Customer Service Training 101: Quick and Easy Techniques that
Get Great Results. AMACOM Books.
Green, J. (2009). Starting Your Own Business
Lites, E. & Thorpe, K. (2001) English for Global Business. The University of Michigan.
Stolins, R., Fehl, A., Hakola, T., Murphy, J.& Toliver, P. (2008) Microsoft Office 2007:
Brief Editon.. El Sobrante, CA.: Labrynth Learning.
Webster’s Business Spanish/English Dictionary
Websites
http://www.kutztownsbdc.org/eLearningCourses/sba-marketing.asp
http://nativeaccent.carnegiespeech.com
http://www.keytrain.com
Program Calendar 2009
Week
Feb. 2nd – Feb. 7th
Topic
No Classes
Feb. 9th – Feb. 14th
Feb. 16th – Feb. 21th
Customer Service
Feb. 23rd – Feb. 28th
Customer Service
March 2nd – March 7th
Customer Service
March 9th – March 14th
No Classes
March 16th – March 21st
March 23rd – March 28th
Translation
Basic Computer
Applications
March 30th – April 4th
Basic Computer
Applications
Activities
Student orientations
Instructors meet with
Industry experts in
Customer Service sector
Introduce vocabulary and
important topics using the
Customer Service 101
Textbook
Customer Service
Industry experts
presentations
Review vocabulary,
pronunciation, issues and
topics discussed
Final assessment
Instructors meet with
Industry experts in
Computer Applications
Translation techniques
Introduce vocabulary and
basic computer skills
using Microsoft 2007
Textbook
KeyTrain Assessments
Computer Industry
experts presentations and
instruction on Word,
April
6th
– April
11th
April 13th – April 18th
No Classes
Basic Computer
Applications
Excel, Access, PowerPoint
No Activities
Review vocabulary,
pronunciation and
applications
Final assessment
April 20th – April 25th
Banking
April 27th – May 2nd
Banking
May 4th – May 9th
Banking
Instructors meet with
industry experts on
Banking
Introduce Vocabulary,
terminology and
important topics in
Banking using the
Consumer Math textbook
chapters on Banking
Banking Industry experts
presentations
Review vocabulary,
pronunciation, issues and
topics discussed
Final assessment
May 11th – May 16th
No Classes
Instructors meet with
Insurance industry
experts
No Activities
May 18th – May 23rd
Translation
Translation Techniques
May 25th – May 30th
Insurance/claims
June 1st – June 6th
No Classes
Introduce Vocabulary
and terminology and
important topics using
Introduction to Property
and Liability Insurance
Textbook
No Activities
June 8th – June 13th
Insurance/claims
June 15th – June 20th
Insurance/claims
Insurance/Claims
industry experts
presentations and tours
Review Vocabulary,
pronunciation and special
topics
Final Assessment
June 22nd – June 27th
June 29th – July 3rd
Translation
Marketing
July 7th – July 11th
No Classes
July 13th – July 18th
Marketing
July 20th – July 25th
Marketing
Instructors meet with
Marketing Industry
Experts
Translation Techniques
Online mini-course
elearning courses/sbamarketing
No Activities
Marketing industry
experts presentations
Review Vocabulary,
pronunciation and special
topics
Final Assessment
July 27th – August 1st
No Classes
Instructors meet with
Small Business
Administration industry
experts
No Activities
August 3rd – August 8th
August 10th – August 15th
No Classes
Translation
No Activities
Translation Techniques
August 17th – August 22nd
Small Business
Administration
August 24th – August 29th
Small Business
Introduce vocabulary,
terminology,
pronunciation, issues and
topics
Small Business
Administration
August
31st
– Sept.
5th
Small Business
Administration
Administration industry
experts presentations
Native Accent Assessment
Review Vocabulary,
pronunciation and special
topics
Final Assessment
Sept. 7th – Sept. 12th
Sept. 14th – Sept. 19th
No Classes
Translation
Sept. 21st – Sept. 26th
Stock Market/
Global Economy
Sept. 28th – Oct. 3rd
Stock Market/
Global Economy
Instructors meet with
Stock Market/Global
Economy industry experts
No Activities
Translation Techniques
Work on Native Accent
Program
Introduce vocabulary,
terminology,
pronunciation, issues and
topics using All About
Stockmarket Strategies
Textbook
Stock Market/Global
Economy industry experts
presentations
Work on Native Accent
Program
Oct. 5th - Oct. 10th
Stock Market/
Global Economy
Review Vocabulary,
pronunciation and special
topics
Final Assessment
Oct. 12th- Oct. 17th
Translation
Translation Techniques
Assessment
Work on Native Accent
Program
Oct. 19th – Oct. 24th
October 25, 2009
Resume Workshop &
Interview Strategies
Workshop
Bilingual Financial
Workforce Certificate
Resume writing
Skills to successfully
interview for jobs in the
financial services sector
($50 fee for workshops
due at registration for
program)
Work on Native Accent
Program
GRADUATION
CEREMONY
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
for
Bilingual Financial Workforce Certificate Program
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this
course, students will have the skills
to:
I. Define important concepts and
vocabulary words specific to
customer service, basic computer
applications, banking,
insurance/claims, marketing,
small business administration,
and the stock market/global
economy in both English and
Spanish.
J. Describe major topics and
Expected
Success
Rate
80 %
80 %
Evaluation of Student Learning
Outcomes
To evaluate the students ability in
each of the above learning
outcomes, the students will
complete:
Written assessments with
matching exercises, fill in the
blank exercises, multiple choice
and short essays
Active participation in classroom
procedures essential to the
industries of customer service,
80 %
basic computer applications,
banking, insurance/claims,
marketing, small business
administration, the stock market
and translation techniques in both
English and Spanish.
discussions with instructor and
industry experts
K. Calculate important computations 80 %
and formulas necessary in
industries such as banking,
insurance/claims, marketing,
small business administration and
the stock market/global economy.
Written scenarios in which
student will have to determine
which formulas are to be used
and make correct calculations.
L. Illustrate the proper use of
computer applications such as
Word, Excel, Access and
PowerPoint and the proper use of
translation techniques.
Create documents using Word,
Excel, Access and PowerPoint
that would be useful in the
financial services sector
80 %
Receive, interpret correctly, and
respond accurately to basic verbal
messages and other cues that are
commonly heard in the financial
services industries
80%
Speak with some accuracy and
with an understandable accent
when using the basic English
language functions needed to
communicate effectively in the
financial services sectors.
80%
Role play translation techniques
using vocabulary and
terminology from the financial
services industry
Answer written and oral
questions after listening to an
audiotape or presentation
pertaining to the financial
services sector
Actively participate in
discussions in English regarding
various aspects of the financial
services industries.
Role playing activities
Work on Native Accent program
Demonstrate appropriate social
behaviors and knowledge of crosscultural differences in working
with other people in the financial
services industries
Use a range of learning strategies to
a acquire and apply new knowledge
f of the language to increase skills in
Understanding and using spoken
English
80%
Role playing activities
80 %
Written short essays
Role playing
Active participation in
discussions
Written assignments
Use Business English/Spanish
Dictionary
Complete Keytrain Assessment
on Reading and Writing and work
on program for a minimum of 30
hours
Complete Native Accent
assessment and work on program
for a minimum of 20 hours.