Profile
of Target Learners
My target
learners are newcomers who do not have a lot of experience in a formal language
class and range from 18 and above. The
language levels would be anywhere from CBL 3 and above. Some have acquired graduate level schooling
or some vocational training while others have minimal schooling. The main goal of the learners is to gain
enough proficiency in English to be hired at a place of employment and be
successful within their career choice. Therefore,
most desire to be able to effectively communicate with their co-workers,
supervisors and managers, and understand work instructions or policies that
affect their work. Most, if not all, my
learners have high motivation since they are motivated to find work. They want to learn as many words and acquire
as much language skills as possible. My
learners do require workplace-specific vocabulary and skills, and much of their
interest revolves around hiring and workplace responsibilities. Since my learners have different backgrounds,
with a broad range of education and learning experience, technological
proficiency is also varied. Some
learners will have high proficiency in technology, and some will need a lot of
guidance when it comes to operating technological devices (such as
computers). Others may have more
experience in operating mobile phones rather than computers and could be more
comfortable viewing or doing something on the phone.
Learning
Objectives
·
Identify
the appropriate scenario based on a given verbal description
· Recognize
key words from an audio sample and fill in missing information
· Understand
information that is verbally given and answer questions
· Appropriately
fill out a given form based on information that is verbally given
· Use
words that they acquire through verbal instructions and conversations
· Apply vocabulary
outside the context of classroom learning (apply it in everyday life)
Description
of the Selected Resource and Explanation
For the
resource, I have selected a listening comprehension exercise from the website
ESL Printables (https://www.eslprintables.com/listening_worksheets/). There are a series of worksheets, ranging
from identification and colouring of letters that they hear to filling out
reports based on the information that they hear. For example, there is a worksheet wherein the
learner is asked to listen to a scenario and then choose the option that best
illustrates it. It has a selection of
pictures (choice A to D) and a text sheet.
The text sheet contains paragraphs or groups of sentences that will be
read out to the students, and they will then go through the pictures and choose
which one accurately represents the story or scenario that has been read to
them.
The reason
why the resource was selected is because there is a wide range of topics and
levels, and there are a lot of worksheets that are visual and makes use of
auditory materials. The resource also
utilizes a broad range of materials that test different aspects of listening
comprehension – from simple responses to more complicated skill of transcribing
dictated speech. Perhaps what appealed
to me the most is that there is a way to scaffold learning and there are many
ways that the user can apply their learning onto an environment outside of the
classroom while making them aware of a different culture. In this way, there are many resources that
can be used to make sure that it challenges the learners by personalizing their
training.
Description
of the Evaluation Criteria and Explanation of the Decision Making
For the evaluation of the
resource, I decided to use a criterion based on Tomlinson (2014) and includes
the following:
· Do the
materials help learners personalize their learning?
· Do the
materials engage the learners cognitively?
· Do the
materials provide an achievable challenge?
· Do the
materials help the learners to develop cultural awareness?
· Do the
materials help learners make use of the English environment outside the
classroom?
Due to the wide range of
skills and backgrounds that my learners possess, I wanted to really concentrate
on personalize learning and challenges, keeping in mind that they are newcomers
and would need to exercise these skills in an environment outside of the
classroom. Since the learners are
newcomers, they would also need to develop cultural awareness so that they can
adapt to the environment and the workforce.
By having this component, they can better cope with the expectations
that the employers have on them. In addition,
the materials must be able to engage the learners cognitively since they would
need to practice their thinking skills when they go for an interview or while
they are working.
Evaluation
of the Selected Resource Using Evaluation Criteria
Criteria
|
Comments
|
Help
personalize learning
|
I think
that the resource enables learners to personalize their learning to an extent,
since there is a limitation on what types of topics can be used. Learners with higher language skills may
not have enough resources to practice or improve their skills. As well, it is important to note that my
learners have specific needs and personalizing their learning may also mean
providing them with work-specific documents and tasks that they can readily
use for interviews or for work tasks.
The resource does have general materials that can be used for everyday
learning and can be used for general learning for a different program.
|
Engage
learners cognitively
|
The
resource does engage the learners cognitively, as it encourages them to use
their thinking skills to expand their listening skills. The materials are designed to help learners
understand what they are listening to, and eventually be able to apply the
information into a broader context (outside of the classroom). The goal is for them to comprehend what
they hear and subsequently apply it in their own lives and understanding.
|
Provide
achievable challenge
|
The
resource does have varying levels of difficulty, with beginner to
intermediate levels. The learners can
then be assigned or can choose the worksheets to work on depending on their
skills and their learning style.
Therefore, the materials provide learners an achievable challenge
through the notion of scaffolding (different levels for different learners).
|
Help
develop cultural awareness
|
Interestingly,
the resource also provides materials that describe or discuss aspects of another
culture. The discussions of
televisions, vacations, multicultural Britain, etc., gives us insight to the
present culture. Therefore, the
resource helps newcomers develop a sense of cultural awareness by presenting
information about it.
|
Help
make use of the English environment outside of the classroom
|
The
resource utilizes topics that exist outside the classroom context, such as
songs, television, vacations, cybercrime and social issues. By having these broad topics, the learners
can apply the vocabulary and skills that they learn or practice outside the
classroom environment. Even some of
the activities or materials utilize discussions that often happen outside of
the classroom such as a description of homes or what they did last weekend or
their hobbies.
|
Conclusion
(whether it is suitable for a specified
context of learning)
Overall, I think that the
resource is not perfectly suitable for the context of workplace learning and
will have to be modified to reflect the vocabulary and skills that are required
from my learners. While this is the
case, it is important to note that the resource has great materials for
introductory language learning. It
provides a wide range of materials with a broad range of skill requirements and
topics, which is excellent when attempting to connect with the learner’s
previous knowledge or experience. Therefore,
it is a great way to introduce a skill to the learners but would need to be
adapted to a more workplace context if I would like to align it to the needs of
my learners.
References
Tomlinson,
B. (2014) Developing Materials for
Language Teaching. Great Britain:
Bloomsbury Academic
Bloomsbury Academic
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