Guidline for english.best Trainers
Target group:
Our team primarily works with education institutes that offer training courses for unemployed people. Those courses usually run 10 – 12 months full time (from 8 am to 3 pm, 5 days a week), the curriculum containing subjects like Accounting, Business Administration, MS-Office Applications, Business correspondence and Business English.
The Business English component is between 1 and 4 weeks.
Here are frequently asked questions regarding the English lessons we are covering within one of those training programmes:
1.) How many students are there in a group?
Answer:
The number of students ranges between 12 and 24 with an average of 18. This means you have to split them up into small teams of 4 in order to get a manageable classroom.
2.) What is the level of the class?
Answer:
In most classes you will have students with three different levels: Some have not had any English language training, some had English at school, some might have applied English in their former job.
3.) How old are the students?
Answer: The age of the students ranges from 20 to over 50.
4.) What is the motivation level of the students?
Answer:
In many cases students are not very motivated to learn English: They didn’t choose to take part in the training programme but had to take it because of their financial situation. (the participants are not paying for the course – it is funded by Arbeitsamt).
5.) What is the ratio of female/male students?
Answer:
There are usually more women than men in the group, oftentimes the class consists of only women.
6.) Do the students get any books or other materials from the institute?
Answer:
In most cases the institute does not provide any materials which means we use our own. (we’ve assembled a number of handouts you can use in the classroom. More details you will find here.)
Guidelines for teaching: (The following pointers should help you work Arbeitsamt funded courses.) Unlike in a private teaching environment where the student himself pays for the training, the purposes of Arbeitsamt English course are:
-
to give the students reasons and motivation why they should learn English
-
to give the students methods on HOW TO LEARN rather than teaching them
-
to raise awareness of the fact that learning a language is an ongoing process
-
to raise awareness of the fact that culture, mentality and the way of thinking is expressed in a language
-
Make sure the desks are arranged in U-shape so the participants can face each other. You won’t be able to establish communication within the group if your students are sitting in rows – the students in the rear staring at backs and necks and getting no feedback.
-
Introduce yourself in German
We are working with people who oftentimes don’t see the any benefits in learning English, right from the onset. Many students don’t understand any English so when you walk into the room speaking English you might upset them. (Strange as it might seem – I’ve had such experiences…)
Also, when you as an English native speaker are trying to communicate to your students in their mother tongue you can establish rapport sooner as the message you are sending out is: “Look, it’s not that easy for me to speak German but I’m trying to. I know how hard it is to learn a second lanuage…”
If you are not confident speaking German, especially in front of a large group of new people – you can put up a short introductory text on the whiteboard. This method also gives you and your students time to collect your/their thoughts to make the introduction more relaxed.
-
When introducing yourself please, mention that you are part of English-Online, an international team of English language and communication trainers. If someone asks you about the name – we are available via the web, offer a free email newsletter for people who want to improve their English and use the internet to find appropriate and up to date materials for our courses. We’re also planning to run an online audio diary.
-
Ask the group if it is OK to use first names rather than surnames in the classroom. Please, point out that this is common in an English speaking environment. So far we have always used first names when working with a class.
-
Make sure you get the name of every single student right, pronounce it several times if necessary. Write the names down along with any other information you can get on the person such as where there are from, their children’s our or spouse’s names, and their hobbies. Your students will appreciate it when you walk into the classroom the next morning asking: “Good morning Evelyn, how is Frank doing? Did you check his homework yesterday?”
-
Split the class into small teams of 4. Have each team create their own unique name (“The speedy thinkers”) + a logo and have it put on the desk in front of each team. This activity can last as long as you feel appropriate as it is vital for the students to develop a feeling of belonging to a team.
-
Have each team write down motives as to why they want to learn English, and as what exactly they want to achieve in the current course. This is important as the students have to be aware of why they are in this class, and the more information they give you the trainer, the better you can fit your activities to their needs. When the teams have come up with their motives you can put some of them on the whiteboard and add some more such as:
-
I want to help my children with their English school homwork.
-
I want to be able to communicate abroad (on holiday).
-
I want to have better chances to get a job. (more and more companies are operating on a European scale or even worldwide.)
-
I want to understand IT and computer terms. (The vast majority of computer programs have English names. New technologies are English language based.)
- When you start working with us you’ll get a folder with various exercises, articles and exercises. Among them you will find our own English-Online audio CD with short texts that come with a tap script. Please, incorporate them in your lessons and create grammar exercises on their basis.
The sound quality is far from perfect but it’s a first attempt to use our own materials. We are well aware of the fact that using purchased tapes or textbooks in a classroom is violation of the copyright law. Also, most materials are not always up to date and interesting.
We are always open for your comments and proposals as to how the CD can be changed and improved.
-
Many students will tell you at the beginning that they “never had any English in their lives” and that they don’t know any English words. You should show them that they DO know more English words than they think. Have each team come up with English words that are used in the German language. There are many words which don’t have a German equivalent such as “airbag”, “email”, “marketing”. For a list of English words used in the German language click here: <-> (here’ll be a link to the list when this text is online…)
-
Make sure you fill in the class journal (Klassenbuch). Every Arbeitsamt funded class has such a journal – if you can’t find it in the classroom you should ask the person in charge.
-
Please, post a short report on what you did in the classroom after 1 – 2 teaching days. It is important to share this information in case another teacher takes over from you.