Job Discussion Forums

[SueH]

I've just landed my first work here in Italy teaching soldiers who are shortly due to leave the service. In true military fashion the 12 have been selected without regard to any existing ability, but it will be a beginners course. The best bit (!), again in true military fashion is that it's 7 hours a day, half day Friday, although fortunately I'll be sharing with a local teacher. Hopefully she'll be able to take classes when England are playing in the World Cup!

My question is: has anyone taught a similar group in similar circumstances - any experiences welcome. Any additional ideas as to how to introduce a bit of physicality into the classes would also be welcome; remember these are fit 22 -ish young men and possibly a few women. Seven hours in class will need a few such changes of pace. I'm not allowed to leave the barracks, nor is the internet available on their PCs.

Thanks.

[Will.]

Hello Sue,

I met the the military many years ago.
In your case the hours sem more in their favour not yours. namely all day.
First lesson therefore will invlove negotiation language and time. it is necessary for them to realise that YOU are not available, at their beck and call, all day all the time, but need a break.
7 hours a day, every day?
Negotiate the times they want to be free to use the internet at break or get to the dinner line in advance of the rush...
Negotiate the time you work. A 50 minute hour and 10 minutes for a break repeated four times then lunch one hour and then 3 more sessions. of 50 mins.
OR
2 x 100 minutes with a 20 min break then lunch and 2 X 75 min sessions in the pm.
Present this as problem solving activity for them. the mili love this, it allows them to demonstrate their leadership skills. Trhe payoff is that thwey are permitted to design their learning timetable. your payoff ois an easy lesson and a timetable that you all agree to.
I'll pm you some more onthis if i have time over the weekend

[SueH]

Thanks for that Will. It's ostensibly 8.30 to 12 and 1.30 to 4.30 and no specified breaks, so was going to do just that. At least I can negotiate that in Italian with the learners. As long as the CO doesn't think 4 hours are continuous, although Nato standard teaching hour is, I believe, 50 minutes.

I have very little experience of the army and in England tended to avoid the local pub where they drank due to excessive outbursts of testosterone.

[Pollux]

If I read your post correctly, they are about to get out of the military service. Although you might be in a military setting, your students will need some basic interviewing skills, as they are about to step into civilian jobs. General English might be a start since they are beginers. They need to be able to describe what the learned and what they would like to do. I hope you speak Italian.

[SueH]

Thanks Pollux - iinterviews are not something I'd considered, but until I find out exactly to what degree they are absolutely beginners, it's difficult to know what might be possible.

Yep, I speak Italian and can gabble away quite quickly, but as tonight's group meal showed, have a fair bit to learn in terms of more (ahem) basic vocabulary. There were some fairly risque ionversations going on tonight. As one of my teaching books said, good language learners take risks and guess succesfully. In view of the mistakes I make I've obviously been taking risks
(mostly inebriated ones tonight), so that#s Ok then!

[Freddie Miles]

I worked for two years in a military school in Turkey. It was, for the most part, an enjoyable experience. The students were very respectful and driven. In my school, the policy was very very strict and usually one or two of the students would go off his rocker before the 9 month course had finished.
We had to cover a 150-or so page book every seven days. (Brain transplantation might have proven easier) It was a race and the schedule always won out over the teaching. I made lots of complaints to the director that students were constantly force-fed grammar and vocabulary but given very little speaking time. ( I later realised that for almost all of my students listening was far more important to their superiors than responding) If a student failed more than two exams he was shipped out. The threat of that humiliation was really a motivatior!

Every year there were verbal and written exams open to all Turkish military personnel. I have never endured such torture in my life. Reading up to 75 essays a day for 10 or 11 days. Most of them were either total nonsense or ridiculous templated forms. "You have asked to write a few words about the subject of { insert subject}

The spoken exams were also rather mind numbing and often accidentally quite amusing. I recall one poor man with medals all over his chest coming into the classroom to be interviewed. And I asked him what I thought to be a very innocuous question. "Do you like your job?" I suppose he thought it was some kind of trick question and he fumbled and stumbled through an answer. It totally screwed up his head and when I asked him about his children and what their names were. He simply went blank. I kid you not, he couldn't remember his own daughter's name.

I suppose the only thing I can tell you from my own experience is this: The rules generally tend to be more important than the results in military schools. Do all you can to find a balance you can be comfortable with.

[coffeedrinker]

I taught a similar class - a few hours a week though, and to beginners who were military police stationed in the country I was working in. The age range was 30's and 40's, and as I was 25 at the time, I was a bit concerned about that...but everything was fine. I spoke a bit of their language, and though they wanted target-language only stuff, if there was ever a problem there were always at least a few people whose level was high enough to translate.

I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for in replies, but basically, I had a good experience and I think they learned a fair amount given the circumstances. I think most of them attended the classes because they were free and provided something a bit more interesting than sitting around the base all the time. I was a bit worried that because of their age and job they'd be a little put off by typical communicative beginner stuff...but no. Competitions and plenty of other stand-up activities were big hits. (And in your case, with that long to teach and at a beginner level, I agree that you will need something to get them out of their chairs)

Sometimes it was slow going because we were waiting for the true beginners. In our case, the management bought textbooks for them (Headway or New Headway) but didn't want them to write in them, so that sometimes slowed things down. It didn't prove to be a big issue, but I think they were aware of some people being at different ranks...I didn't pay much attention to it, but they certainly knew who was who...I'm not sure if this applies in your situation or not.

Anyway, good luck. My experience was good and I think yours will be too.

[M109A3]

As the nomenclature in my name suggests, I've been in the military (Desert Storm Vet.). Yep, the others have hit the nail square on the head. However, being a civy has certain perks. I had the honor of having two civy teachers when I went through Combat Camera Journalism school in Colorado. They we not above giving us breaks (namely from the film stop) whenever they got tired (or fumigated) and needed a break themselves. Although open doors does not mean open minds, it does allow you to deflect a certain ammount of responsibility upward and use the military mentality to your advantage:

"Hey, y'all, I'm trying to get the CO to lighten up for all of us but they are being a pain. Let's see how we can work together and make it easier for everybody! Divide and conquer! You, private, take pages 1 to 50 and tell us what you learned. PFC, take the next fifty. Sarge, you have the next. Remember, any of y'all make a mistake, we all are going down! Cover the guy to your left and right and they'll do the same and we all will win extra R&R time!"

That's how to motivate a military person - R&R!!!

Remember, Vini, Vidi, Vici!

Carry on!

The Van

BTW Freddie, I LOVE your avatar!

[Freddie Miles]

[SueH]

Thanks for the comments guys. I only did 57 hours of a 112 hour course, but it went OK. The students were fine, if mixed in level: typically army job lot in fact. Most were (very) short service volunteers from poorer regions of Italy looking to get out of town and find at least a reasonably paying job - so no different from the US or UK then! (Their pay was better than a language school teacher would get in Italy...)

Some were not exactly motivated, but nobody was disruptive. I didn't please my agency by letting them off early to watch Italy in the World Cup quarter-finals (ISTR), but I'd argue that bit helped classroom atmosphere etc - all the affective stuff.

They were all given a really boring Grammar practice book to use, so a lot of the materials I had to make myself, but at least if I get repeat contracts from the autumn I'll be starting from a better position. I've also been passed some really useful ideas for physical activities, which with 7 hours a day in the same lecture hall will really come in useful.

edit: still haven't been paid yet, but it is August, and in Italy......