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[Guest]

[Ralf]

Hi Ray,

Do you have any sources on this? You have elaborated this issue precisely in relation to what I usually call the "psychotic female state" I encounter in my everyday domestic life Honestly mate, formulating the basic theoretical constructs for a psychoanalytic science of human behaviour while at the same time stimulating eidetic imagery is everything but an easy task. I'd be intrigued to get my hands on something quotable in black and white
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TOEFL Preparation & TOEFL Vocabulary
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[Torsten]

[Ralf]

My time in Grimma was designed to do some cultural studies about Ireland. We were fortunate enough to get the IT room for 2 days so students could get access to all kinds of information (through wikipedia) on Irish history, culture, sports, wildlife, politics etc. At the end of both days I had them do presentations about their findings.

We also delved into lyrics, history, and social and historical dimensions of traditional music. Next time, I'll hopefully be able to get the room again so that I can do a web quest with them.
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[nomisyar]

Hello,
I hope that this message finds everyone well and in good spirits. I have been absent for a while, but I will try to give a brief update on my most recent assignments.
B Systems –
I worked with the usual group, a large group of approximately 11-15 people, depending on the day. Although they are enthusiastic about learning English, due to scheduling and failure to practice English outside of class, the improvement has been very slow. Lessons include mostly the same exercises from week to week, focusing on spelling, and listening. Also, creating conversation scenarios set in a restaurant has proven popular. The participants have fun with it, and occasionally throw in a bit of humor.
I also was able to work with a small group, about 5 people, all fairly advanced. They showed interest in learning how to learn and practice English outside of class, especially once the program is over. This, of course, is music to any English instructor’s ears. We had a very good class, with plenty of conversation, some dictation and also detailed interviews including wishes for the future.
Jena-
Ralf, I apologize for the delay in my response to your email. I have several excuses, but I will merely say that your rapier wit punctured my ego, and I needed some rest and preparation to have a proper response ready for you.
The class really enjoyed our exercise in Negotiations and Mediations. While at college I took a couple seminars on the subjects, and the basic premise underneath both arts is finding the source of the conflict. Many times people are so entrenched in their positions, that they lose the ability to actually achieve a goal that may be optimal for everyone. Although, due to an interruption, I was unable to really delve into this concept, I plan to do so in earnest when I am with the group again tomorrow. To sum up the idea, “Everything’s a situation”, there is always a back story, and when dealing with anyone, it is always helpful to try and understand just what that story may be.
Last class, we spent a lot of time talking, there are a couple of people who have spent a significant time living in the U.S. This gives them a great perspective of the culture to share with the rest of the class, and a high level of confidence in their speaking, but they do tend to dominate the conversations. The entire class is able to understand and keep up, but they are not always able to squeeze in a word… I find it challenging to do so myself. We watched an episode of the TV show “ The King of Queens”, to further a discussion on the differences of life between Germany and the U.S, the former GDR and the U.S, and the Former GDR and Former Western Germany. At the end of class, I was asked that next meeting we do more mock interviews, and role playing activities.
S group-
This group has been a small group, about 9-11 people. The group is most concerned with English vocabulary that is practical and directly related to their work on building Rotor Blades. We went through an extensive list of very particular terms as related to constructing and building, as well as listening and simple sentence building exercises.
With all my groups I have taken to playing the name game. It is simple and fair. Participants merely go around the room naming English words they know. Usually I start with a couple rounds of words that begin with the first letter of the participant’s first name. After this, I will switch it up and have people name a word that begins with the last letter of the word said previously. (Yesterday, yawn, near, race, end, dance, evening, grass, sound….) I then sometimes have people spell the words they say, or make simple sentences. This game, hangman, and twenty questions, serve as entertainment throughout the day.
OK, that is the synopsis of my activities. Again, I will promise to be more frequent and brief with my entries, I may even follow through one day.

Ciao

[Torsten]

[Hans_Ulrich]

hi Ray and Torsten,
yesterday I worked with the S group. We continued as Ray has started with some tools for the processing of the carbon fabric, reading some blueprints of the rotor blades, repetition of some grammar issues (plural, simple past, present continuous ...) , telephoning, spelling.
The group members give their best regards to you.
Have a relaxing weekend.
Best regards, Uli

[Daniel]

With the various groups I'm teaching at BZ Leipzig I've gone through some basics like the pronouns, present tenses and telleng the time. Some of these were covered at their school as well, yet quite many of them still have problems with that.
With the groups consisting of future shop-assistants I practised some selling and buying conversation including telling the position of a particular product in a shop. It's not always easy to get it suited for everybody because the groups are made up of students working in different industries.
I've only worked with the groups consisting of warehouse and logistics workers twice and in addition to a first review of basics we practised naming, distinguishing and explaining Incoterms at their request.
To sum things up: Working with them is rather hard, lack of concentration and commitment are common and progress has been little in my opinion.

[Hans_Ulrich]

Hi Torsten,

In groups like these warehouse and logistics workers may be we are more or less in a rather complicated position of "infotainers".

That means in my understanding we have to invite our students to learn, to participate, to communicate cooperatively etc. pp. which is not so very easy because they are not accustomed to it and too many other factors are influencing their learning habits.

What is the task of a good teacher in this regard?
Best regards,

Uli

[Torsten]

Hi Daniel and Uli,

Thanks a lot for your current update and bringing up the question how to deal with unmotivated groups. I think as long as those courses are paid for by the government, the motivation of the learners will always vary especially if the group consists of young people who don't see any relation between the English language and their current situation. We have to accept that sometimes our influence on their attitudes and behaviour is rather limited. However, with groups like these you can always use some tools to leverage your impact on them. For example, give them a short test at every session. At first they of course will not like having to answer test questions but in the back of their minds, they do want to achieve a good score -- after all they don't want to look stupid, do they? If they ask why they need to take a test at every lesson, tell them that this is the best way of monitoring their learning progress and that the tests will help them keep on track. Second, split the group into small teams of two or three and give every team an assignment. Have them create a word list covering a certain topic or translate an article. Try to keep them occupied every single minute of the lesson. Reduce the time for "open discussions".

Daniel, you did a very good job having them create and act out dialogs. Next time you can have the group practice a dialog and then perform it in front of the group. Tell the group to evaluate each team's performance.

Let me know what you think.

Regards,
Torsten
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[Hans_Ulrich]

Hi Torsten and Daniel,
many thanks for your good advice how to motivate these groups.
I think it is a very constructive suggestion to divide these groups in several smaller teams for stimulating the competition.
You are quite rigth to use the great world of tests are a rather fine proposal for integrating them into a creative learning atmosphere.
Have a good evening
best regards
Uli

[Daniel]

Hi everybody,

I finally got back from Paris last night and could get all my work done over there. Unfortunately I couldn't post an update (didn't have my password) regarding the group of warehouse workers at BZ Leipzig I would need a substitute for on 3 April.
As for grammar we've reviewed the present tenses including present continuous as a means to express to talk about the future and a few examples of the use of some basic prepositions. With regard to their required job skills we practised recognising and explaining Incoterms and did some reading about the techniques of combined transport.
I had planned to start reviewing the past tense on Thursday relating this in some way to their work experience. Since it's only 2 hours of class I don't know how far we would have got.
The group usually consist of 4 students who are all rather interested though Maikel sometimes needs some extra motivation. Christian and especially Dirk have quite a good level of English compared to most other students there and Daniel often asks for more detailed explanations.
All of them are nice guys and comparatively calm.
The course is from 9:30 to 11 at BZ Leipzig, Torgauer Platz and it would be great if one of you could take over this group even though I'm somewhat late requesting it.

Kind regards,
Daniel

[Torsten]

Hi Daniel,

Many thanks for your update -- either Uli or I will do your class on Thursday. I hope you enjoyed your stay in Paris?
Talk to you soon,
Torsten
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[Daniel]

I hope I'll get a chance to help you out one day. By the way, Josef Hader is incredibly recomendable even though he's got nothing to do with English whatsover.
My days at the Aloha Hostel were fun. Ihad a few great evenings with some Canadians who are studying in Europe. Besides it's by far the cheapest place to stay.

See you,
Daniel

[Torsten]

Hi Daniel,

Who is Joseph Hader, an artist? How did you find out about the Aloha Hostel and what kind of rooms are they offering? As for the training tomorrow, Uli is going to do that and he'll send you an update soon.

Thanks,
Torsten
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary