Job Discussion Forums

[gmjones]

Hello,

This is my second teaching post in Germany, but there have been 7 years in between and unfortunately any materials I got in my first teaching job have long since bitten the dust. (Ihave 9 years teaching experience in total).

I'm teaching in 2 universities where the students take technical courses, engineering, electronics, medical documentation etc etc. They aren't the most communicative people in the world, to say the least, and I wondered if anyone had any advice on materials/ resources/ areas which I could use to inspire them a little because I don't think I'm doing a great job a the moment....

We've worked on how to explain processes, passives, how to read out and record numbers and how to compare results (whereas, in contrast) etc. However it didn't quite seem to hit the spot. They might just be people who don't like communicating, but we've got 3 more months and an exam to get through...

Any ideas or help would be very grateful!!!

G

[Glenski]

What exactly is the prescribed goal of the course?
reading
writing
speaking
making presentations
content
TOEIC prep

If it's just generic "technical English", then you are going to have to come up with your own materials like most ESP/EST teachers.

Three months is practically zero time to do any long-term development on lesson plans.

How would you describe their level of English ability? Do you think they could handle reading or listening to authentic material?

Consider some listening work from the Voice of America site.
Look up a textbook by Michael Faudree (aviation and engineering English).

Also, you don't say how you conduct classes (standard lecture, pair work, group work, etc.), so it's hard to help further.

[alexcase]

Easy to obtain resources:

Tech Talk (OUP I think), Technical English textbooks with some fun stuff at least once or twice a unit

General English textbooks- search through for texts on computers, inventions (passives), numbers practice etc.

IELTS- lots of texts on dams, ecology, inventions etc

My Technical English worksheets:

http://www.tefl.net/alexcase/worksheets/technical-english/