I taught Business English at a continuing ed. program but it didn't run too well due to lack of advertising and needs.
I have been constantly asked to teach another course but I come up with blanks. The most popular courses are "Idioms," "Conversation," "Grammar," etc...
I was thinking of introducing newcomers (to the US) to "American culture in the workplace." Or how about "Writing 101?" Not Freshman Comp but something like it...cover letters, resumes, writing sentences, paragraphs, etc.?
I know that everyone here has taught a broad range of courses so I am looking for some ideas.
A little background: I am an ESL Teacher and I teach basic skills to adults. I have also taught Business English. I prefer teaching content-based courses because I feel more challenged to teach them. I have a background of writing so I probably lean more towards it in my advanced courses. These courses are designed for adult learners with advanced English skills.
I would appreciate any pointers.
I want to teach a new course, but...
Moderators: Dimitris, maneki neko2, Lorikeet, Enrico Palazzo, superpeach, cecil2, Mr. Kalgukshi2
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Norm Ryder
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 9:10 pm
- Location: Canberra, Australia
Advanced English Learners
Ann
You're teaching in a 'continuing education' context: but are they day or night classes (with a different 'demographic': I never thought I'd use that word!) What kind of people come to the other courses? Is your 'market' likely to be in the same range? You say they are over 30; but will they be under 40, 50 or 60? It will make a difference.
Is your ESL population mostly employed or are they looking for English to gain reasonable employment? In what range of skills? Are there a number of women, mothers or grandmothers, wanting most of all to improve their communication skills with their children, or their children's friends and families? Are there specific issues for your particular ESL population: health; access and equity; inter-generational stresses etc?
If it's 'all of the above' then you have problems. But maybe some serious market research will not only narrow things down, but actually set you on the way to developing your course in the process.
Good luck.
Norm
You're teaching in a 'continuing education' context: but are they day or night classes (with a different 'demographic': I never thought I'd use that word!) What kind of people come to the other courses? Is your 'market' likely to be in the same range? You say they are over 30; but will they be under 40, 50 or 60? It will make a difference.
Is your ESL population mostly employed or are they looking for English to gain reasonable employment? In what range of skills? Are there a number of women, mothers or grandmothers, wanting most of all to improve their communication skills with their children, or their children's friends and families? Are there specific issues for your particular ESL population: health; access and equity; inter-generational stresses etc?
If it's 'all of the above' then you have problems. But maybe some serious market research will not only narrow things down, but actually set you on the way to developing your course in the process.
Good luck.
Norm
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Norm Ryder
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 9:10 pm
- Location: Canberra, Australia
Advanced english learners
Ann
I didn't mean to close off the discussion for you
Sorry about that. But what did you come up with in the end? Hope you've found a group with the sort of requirements you're able to satisfy?
All the best.
Norm
I didn't mean to close off the discussion for you
Sorry about that. But what did you come up with in the end? Hope you've found a group with the sort of requirements you're able to satisfy?All the best.
Norm
Norm and Roger,
I apologize for leaving the discussion so abruptly. I was caught up in other duties which prevented me from posting here.
Anyhow, I've been asked to teach an Advanced Communication Skills course. I am assuming that this is largely an oral communication course with some writing thrown in. What do you think?
The problem with teaching adult ed. courses is that no one gives you very much structure which can be a good thing and a bad thing. In this case, I have no idea where to start. I am overwhelmed by information.
My students will range from all backgrounds and may span across several age groups. Usually, I see more females attending class in the evenings but that isn't always the case.
I hope you'll (all) come to my rescue this time around.
Once again, sorry for abandoning my own discussion.
Ann
I apologize for leaving the discussion so abruptly. I was caught up in other duties which prevented me from posting here.
Anyhow, I've been asked to teach an Advanced Communication Skills course. I am assuming that this is largely an oral communication course with some writing thrown in. What do you think?
The problem with teaching adult ed. courses is that no one gives you very much structure which can be a good thing and a bad thing. In this case, I have no idea where to start. I am overwhelmed by information.
My students will range from all backgrounds and may span across several age groups. Usually, I see more females attending class in the evenings but that isn't always the case.
I hope you'll (all) come to my rescue this time around.
Once again, sorry for abandoning my own discussion.
Ann
Well, Ann,
the question still is: who are your students? What cultural background do they have? EFL or ESL?
Anyway, in one of my previous posts, I hinted that you can make some assessment of their abilities based on what they have acquired so far.
FOr example, my experience is almost exclusively with mainland-China students in their own country. Here, I can't teach them anything too sophisticated. I have to drive home basic things such as how to write a decent essay, how to paginate it, even that they have to use capital initials for proper names and countries...
I would do a kind of test to see what needs fixing, and what can be expanded.
the question still is: who are your students? What cultural background do they have? EFL or ESL?
Anyway, in one of my previous posts, I hinted that you can make some assessment of their abilities based on what they have acquired so far.
FOr example, my experience is almost exclusively with mainland-China students in their own country. Here, I can't teach them anything too sophisticated. I have to drive home basic things such as how to write a decent essay, how to paginate it, even that they have to use capital initials for proper names and countries...
I would do a kind of test to see what needs fixing, and what can be expanded.
Roger,
My students are from various cultural backgrounds. Some are learning English as a FL and some as a SL. So, I can't be more specific about this. As for needs-assessment, I do understand the importance of it and shall do it. But I can't wait to assess my students (on the first day of class) and wait to formulate my entire program from that. I have to have some idea myself as to what needs to be taught in an Advanced Comm. Skills course. And this is where I was looking for help.
I teach in the United States so I am sure my students are quite sophisticated by the time they reach the Advanced level courses. I am thinking of doing conversation, cultural knowledge (in a debate sort of way), readings, and essay or letter writing. I have to add that I need structure for this course. Last time, I taught a course on Business Eng. and some of my German students complained that we didn't learn anything in class but did a lot of conversation. I don't think they realized that conversation was part of the learning process.
I hope this helps you to give me some feedback.
Thanks again!
My students are from various cultural backgrounds. Some are learning English as a FL and some as a SL. So, I can't be more specific about this. As for needs-assessment, I do understand the importance of it and shall do it. But I can't wait to assess my students (on the first day of class) and wait to formulate my entire program from that. I have to have some idea myself as to what needs to be taught in an Advanced Comm. Skills course. And this is where I was looking for help.
I teach in the United States so I am sure my students are quite sophisticated by the time they reach the Advanced level courses. I am thinking of doing conversation, cultural knowledge (in a debate sort of way), readings, and essay or letter writing. I have to add that I need structure for this course. Last time, I taught a course on Business Eng. and some of my German students complained that we didn't learn anything in class but did a lot of conversation. I don't think they realized that conversation was part of the learning process.
I hope this helps you to give me some feedback.
Thanks again!
I'm not quite sure if your Advanced Communication Skills course is supposed to be geared to a business environment or not, but this is what we did when we gave a course for a private company. We did several different modules, but I am going to mix them together just to throw out some ideas. We planned the courses by taking the number of weeks they were to be given and dividing the time into types of activities, and then adding the content. Some of what we did that may or may not fit into an "Advanced Communication Skills" course included:
Using groups to brainstorm the answers to topics on butcher paper, then having the group as a whole eliminate duplicates, reword, etc., and then having the smaller groups prioritize the remaining answers (if appropriate). The kinds of things we included were:Situations where communication could be a problem; what questions to ask someone you've just met; four topics that can be used for "small talk" in your country and four things that are not appropriate (are they the same as in the U.S.); What things surprised you in your first few months here; What behavior is helpful/harmful for working in groups; a list of strategies for working with constructive criticism.
Focusing on the kinds of language strategies used to: ask permission, ask for clarifying/restating when you don't understand; starting and ending a conversation; giving and accepting compliments; asking for and giving advice; in meetings/group discussions--taking and keeping the floor/ encouraging someone to speak/when and how to interrupt; agreeing, disagreeing, giving in; making negative comments politely and telling someone he/she is wrong; giving and accepting apologies; asking for help/ asking for a favor/ agreeing to help/ refusing to help; ways to give suggestions--strong and weak suggestions
Well, that's just a piece of it, but maybe it will give you some ideas. Then again, maybe it will be useless
. Anyway, I find that although my students may have the vocabulary and structure to be able to be understood when they speak, they often don't know how to say things in a softer way, or how to show they are upset or angry politely, etc., or how to understand when a native speaker is doing those things.
Using groups to brainstorm the answers to topics on butcher paper, then having the group as a whole eliminate duplicates, reword, etc., and then having the smaller groups prioritize the remaining answers (if appropriate). The kinds of things we included were:Situations where communication could be a problem; what questions to ask someone you've just met; four topics that can be used for "small talk" in your country and four things that are not appropriate (are they the same as in the U.S.); What things surprised you in your first few months here; What behavior is helpful/harmful for working in groups; a list of strategies for working with constructive criticism.
Focusing on the kinds of language strategies used to: ask permission, ask for clarifying/restating when you don't understand; starting and ending a conversation; giving and accepting compliments; asking for and giving advice; in meetings/group discussions--taking and keeping the floor/ encouraging someone to speak/when and how to interrupt; agreeing, disagreeing, giving in; making negative comments politely and telling someone he/she is wrong; giving and accepting apologies; asking for help/ asking for a favor/ agreeing to help/ refusing to help; ways to give suggestions--strong and weak suggestions
Well, that's just a piece of it, but maybe it will give you some ideas. Then again, maybe it will be useless
. Anyway, I find that although my students may have the vocabulary and structure to be able to be understood when they speak, they often don't know how to say things in a softer way, or how to show they are upset or angry politely, etc., or how to understand when a native speaker is doing those things.Thank you
Lorikeet,
Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I did a disappearing act once more because I'm steeped in exam prep. Sorry!
I have printed out your post so I can keep it for future reference. The course starts next year. The students aren't going to be in a business envrionment but your scenarios might be helpful in general areas as well.
Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I did a disappearing act once more because I'm steeped in exam prep. Sorry!
I have printed out your post so I can keep it for future reference. The course starts next year. The students aren't going to be in a business envrionment but your scenarios might be helpful in general areas as well.
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Norm Ryder
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2003 9:10 pm
- Location: Canberra, Australia
Advanced Communication Skills
I've just returned to the forum, also, Ann, and I'm pleased to see that Roger and Lorikeet have got the ball back into play for you.
Picking up on Lorikeet's comprehensive list, could I just suggest a session or two on telephone skills as a subset of "cultural knowledge". (Some years ago somebody here wrote a PhD dissertation on the different cultural styles of simply answering the phone
)
As you said, we always need a structure along the lines of what Lorikeet suggested - especially in order to convince your managers that we know where we're going; but as you've also said, if our students are 'advanced' it doesn't take them long to make known their specific needs, and we then need to use our judgment in balancing what we (from our cultural experience) think they really need against what they say they want. The great tension of every educator, no?
Hoping you feel you've got off to a good start.
Norm.
Picking up on Lorikeet's comprehensive list, could I just suggest a session or two on telephone skills as a subset of "cultural knowledge". (Some years ago somebody here wrote a PhD dissertation on the different cultural styles of simply answering the phone
) As you said, we always need a structure along the lines of what Lorikeet suggested - especially in order to convince your managers that we know where we're going; but as you've also said, if our students are 'advanced' it doesn't take them long to make known their specific needs, and we then need to use our judgment in balancing what we (from our cultural experience) think they really need against what they say they want. The great tension of every educator, no?
Hoping you feel you've got off to a good start.
Norm.