Hi everybody,
We are looking for an English language trainer for the following job:
location: Jena, Germany
period: Monday, February 28 through to March 11, 2011
time: from 8 am to 4 pm, (8 units 45 minutes each), Monday through Friday
target group: graduates of Jena university
purpose: to prepare them for their first jobs
The group consists of about 10 university graduates with various backgrounds such as sociology, linguistics, biology, IT, history, pschycology. They want gain more self-confidence in giving presentations, conducting job interviews and using English in the workplace.
Please make sure you also read the reports and ideas of the previous courses:
Jena Graduates, January 2011
Jena University Graduates
If you are interested, please contact us here on the forum.
Many thanks,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: A swimmer[YSaerTTEW443543]
Dear Torsten!
If possible, I would like to do this course, or at least, part of it (share it with another trainer). Both previous courses were great and I really enjoy working with these highly-motivated young graduates.
Many thanks,
Georgeta
All,
Started the class in Jena today. All went really well. Seems like another good group of students.
Here is a real quick run down on the things we covered today.
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Gave them an overview of the two weeks, and generally what they can expect (Georgeta, it is basically the overview from the lesson plan). Didn’t go into too many specifics, but rather told them that Georgeta would fill them in on details tomorrow.
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Went through and did introductions of everybody.
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From this point to the end of the class was the same as day 4 of the last round. Essentially, Georgeta and I had agreed before hand to reverse the order of these two days so that the lessons would more closely fall into what we had done the last time around. Introduced CV’s and Resumes. I gave rather detailed information on what is on each document, and their similarities and differences. I prepped them for Georgeta to introduce the Europass CV and also cover letters.
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Went over what skill sets employers are looking for and what kinds of words to use in a CV/Resume/Cover letter.
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Discussed the types of employment that are available…from full-time hourly, to day labor. Had a pretty good discussion here, and was interested to hear the students thoughts on the matter…Interesting side-note, this group’s response was very different than the lasts.
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5 went straight into the discussion on work/life balance. After a good discussion I had the students write about 100 words in an essay on their expectations. Proof read these during the break and handed them back before class was over. Generally, them seem to have a pretty solid grasp of the basics. A couple (1 or 2) are much less advanced than the others.
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Did Life Long Learning. Had students read, then we talked about it. There are some reading comprehension issues caused by a lack of focus. They seem to concentrate on pronunciation, which is good, but lose comprehension due to this. Maybe something to work on.
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Went over prepositions. Did quite a few, mainly location and time related, not movement related. We then did most of the exercises in the IBS reader related to prepositions. They did very well here.
Did not have the chance to discuss the MBA beyond a cursory review after I introduced myself. However, I think the lesson today went well and we were able to cover more relevant information without it, so I am not upset.
Oh…attendance was rather poor. Out of sixteen that were supposed to be there, I think only 8 to 10 showed up.
Hope this helps. Have a successful week Georgeta.
Also, Torsten, I am out of town until late Thursday evening. I have left the keys and the folder for the Thursday night Leipzig group with my wife. Call me if you need to pick them up and I’ll coordinate with her.
Thanks,
Jon
Hi Jon and Torsten,
Many thanks for the update and for helping me with the password issue. I will post again tonight.
Wishing everyone a great day.
Best regards,
Georgeta
Hi again!
Attendance wasn’t any better today: in the morning only 7 students, later 9.
Here is briefly what we managed to cover today:
I introduced myself and then the students introduced their pairs. (education, desired employment, hobbies,etc.)
- we discussed the importance of learning a foreign language
- each student had to mention a personal reason for trying to improve his/her language skills
-differences and similarities between the two languages (German and English)
-what is your weak point when it comes to using English?
-we created a list of homonyms then used the words in sentences
-TOEIC test for about 2 hours ( a few complaints about the listening part);
-I used a test from ‘Teste dein Englisch mit Diktaten’ ( A Little Language Makes a Difference) and we analyzed how learning a foreign language is viewed by the English;
-Europass CV ( It was great that Jon familiarized them with resumes and we could compare them)
-Each student spoke about his/her application process and interview experiences (some seem very frustrated and I think we need to work a lot on encouraging them)
-We couldn’t use the IT room today because ,after the lunch break, another group needed it. I spoke with Herr Walter and he promised to give us 4 laptops tomorrow so we can finish the PP presentations.
We should discuss how to finalize the evaluation IBS asks for at the end of the week.
Jon, did you save the essays they wrote yesterday? Tomorrow I can use the peer evaluation sheet to which I could add my own. I don’t know how to solve the 'speaking 'part. Please share some good ideas.
I wish you both a good day tomorrow.
Many thanks,
Georgeta
Hi Georgeta and Jon,
We have until the end of next week to complete the skill evaluations so there is no rush. As for the speaking part, I suggest we base our assessment on the overall performance of each individual participant throughout the course.
More on this soon.
Many thanks,
Torsten[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: An old fashion kitchen[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi Torsten and Jon!
Today there were only 6 students in the morning.
The main topic for today was the application process.
We worked on the PP presentations (The company I’d like to work for). Self-assesment, peer evaluation and feedback from me.
-the students filled out the Europass CV and familiarized themselves with the language passport
-we took a look at the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED)
-dictation: cover letter (discussed layout, greeting,etc)
-how to write our own cover letter and what information should we include
-job interviews ( research, attitude, difficult questions)
-started on cold calls and we will continue tomorrow working on telephoning
A nice day to both of you tomorrow.
Many thanks,
Georgeta
Hi Torsten and Jon!
Only 8 students today.
In the morning job interview role play and short revision.
Business letters.
Telephoning.
Meetings (exercises and useful phrases)
Making decisions: role play - a German comany adopting English as the corporate language (less successful than with the other groups although most of the students were very active during the activity).
Analyzed and discussed different approaches on elevator speech.
Created individual elevator speeches and timed them in pair activity.
Why are EU civil servants so passionate about their jobs? (The possibility of an EU career, researched several website in an attemp to get a better undersanding on employment opportunities beyond the German borders).
Grammar: Past Tense v.s. Present Perfect, some / any, solved exercises in English Reader
A nice day and a relaxing weekend ahead. Jon, enjoy the day in Jena.
Many thanks,
Georgeta
Monday, March 7.
Hi Torsten and Jon!
The attendance for today: 6-7-6 in the afternoon. Many students are ill.
Today’s main topic was ‘success’.
Describing people: due to the level of the group I focused more on describing personality. We solved exercises, enriched vocabulary with quite a few adjectives, found equivalents and contextualized them.
We discussed the personal qualities required by different types of employment
Filling in an application form and we created a list of the expressions (and their explanation) found on these forms.
Self -esteem (answered questions on worksheets, group discussion)
Keys to success: A positive mental attitude (listened to Napoleon Hill, students had to present a situation that reflects the person’s positive mental attitude)
A successful businessman: Levi Strauss. Watched the video; in groups, the students had to do research on assigned topics, using the company’s annual business report.
We watched the movie, discussed the interview situations and tomorrow the groups will have to write a short film review.
Good night and a grand day tomorrow to both of you.
Best wishes,
Georgeta
Hi Torsten and Jon!
Here is briefly what we managed to cover today:
-Students (4 of them who were there early in the morning) wrote a movie review.
-Supply and demand on the labour market.
-Discussed the possibility of becoming a young entrepreneur.
-‘No Jobs? Young Graduates Make Their Own’ (read the article in The New York Times)
-‘Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs’ - research and read a success story
-The qualities of a good sales manager
-The teams ( there were 9 students after the lunch break) worked on designing their own companies. The presentations were quite good, the audience asked interesting questions and made useful suggestions.
-What would you do if you had 1 mil Euros? (reviewed conditionals and solved exercises in English Reader.)
Best wishes,
Georgeta
Jon, have a pleasant day in Jena tomorrow.