Hi Kim,
You are using a “common sense†approach to your English class. Students always ask the “why†question and you are giving them the answer, "because you will be using this skill to help your future". Sometimes I think the students think the interviewers will overlook their inadequate use of English and poor expression skills. Not so! As you know no matter how skilled you are you have to get beyond the interview and get hired to show your abilities.
Do you use application strategies when you are teaching English, such as practicing responding to both written and oral interview questions? If so what are some of your techniques? Looking forward to your response.
Gary
As an English instructor, I sometimes have difficulty getting my students to see the applicability of learning the parts of speech, direct objects, etc. I try to focus them by explaining that although I know that no interviewer will ask them the parts of speech and such things, they will be speaking and need to know how to do it well. Therefore, the skills that I teach lead up to a bigger picture where they know how to speak and write correctly. They seem to respect this explanation.
Linda,
Any connection you develop between training and the “real world†is appreciated by students. Using former students really gives motivation and hope to your present students. Also the use of field trips and employers helps to give the students an idea of what they are going to be facing as they complete their training. I have found that these outside individuals can say certain things about behavior and social skills that even though I have said them before are heard more clearly when spoken by these folks. It is like kids not really hearing their parents say certain things, but listen when the same thing is said by someone outside of the family.
Gary
I find bringing in former students who are sucessfully working in the same career are great. They are asked to pop in during certain hours and we actually interupt lecture,introduce them and they tell a bit about their jobs/experiences. Students love this! And so do I.
Hi Laura,
Sounds like you have a great job. You get to teach as well as provide professional development for instructors. Keep up the good work.
The key to good instruction is creativity. I find that many new instructors coming from business/industry have a hard time with this. They are trying to find out just how they can function in a classroom or laboratory and they sometimes don't get to enjoy the positive aspects of teaching due to this pressure. Anything we can do to help them relax and understand that they have a wide range of options available to them in presenting their content field is greatly appreciated.
Gary
Games, group activities, convoluted problems that have humorous or interesting parts (Major and Minor Chord were married in Alabama, but...you get the picture). I try to include several of these kinds of teaching strategies in every class. As I said before, part of my job is teaching teachers. If you want me to provide materials, email me at lalfano@vc.edu.
Hi Joseph,
You are right about retention. The students have to remain engaged and connected throughout the learning phase.
In response to your question about techniques I use for motivation I use a variety of different approaches that are fun as well as informative. I spend a lot of time thinking about how I can present the material in a different way, being sure to focus on the different learning styles in the class. I use a number of different game show type activities to review the material. I have a Jeopardy game on Powerpoint. I load various questions onto it and then we use the various valued questions for review. Another I use is Family Feud where teams compete. I realize that we are talking about non-traditional adult learners in most cases, but I have found that this doesn't really matter. The students have fun with these types of activities while learning.
Another one I use is to present information that students may perceive as being boring or unnecessary and then I have a quest speaker come in an talk about how this information or skill is used in the workplace.
Hope these ideas help. If you have any further questions about this area let me know.
Gary
