MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College will be among 10 schools participating in a pilot program to help people learning English improve their language skills and work skills at the same time.

Big Bend was chosen to participate in the I-Dea program, paid for by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The college will receive $154,635 over three years, its share of the $3.5 million grant.

The new program will offer classes in English at the same time participants are training for careers. It will target students in the lowest three levels of ESL instruction.

College officials are building on the I-Best program, which provides commercial driver license certification, early childhood education, certified medical assistant and welding training in conjunction with ESL classes.

The college received a Governor's Best Practices award for its language-CDL program in 2011.

The expanded program will have two instructors working as a team, one teaching English, math and reading skills, while the other teaches job skills. Once students graduate from the I-Dea program, they will be ready to enter I-Best or other post-secondary training.

About half the content will be available online. Part of the program's goal is to find ways to maximize the use of technology-based instruction, with the goal of helping more students with fewer classroom hours.

The curriculum and teaching techniques developed through the I-Dea program will be available to colleges around the nation and the world, according to a press release from BBCC.