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. © Tímár Eszter, Anikó Speight, Mark Speight  novELTy Volume 7, Number 1. All rights reserved. 
Lessons to be learnt from a World Bank teacher training project 1

Timár Eszter, Anikó Speight and Mark Speight 


 In the autumn of 1998, Bell Iskolák, the Budapest branch of the Cambridge-based network of language schools won two government tenders for the in-service training of 135 vocational teachers to be taught in seven groups. Because the World Bank and the Hungarian Ministry of Education did not specify what to include in the programme, it was our job to make decisions on all its practical and theoretical aspects. Based on the little information we had about the participants, we thought we would introduce the theories of up-to-date language teaching methodology and to demonstrate and try them out in practice. It was hoped that the participants  on the week-long course would incorporate the ideas, new methods and skills into their own classroom practice and would pass them on to their own colleagues. 

Based on participants’ feedback and the ministry observers’ own opinion, in the spring of 1999, another tender was invited for a second week-long course for the same participants. After a lot of thinking about how we could make the second programme equally relevant to the teachers’ needs, we decided to change the focus slightly. We saw the second course as an opportunity to build on the areas we had covered previously as well as to encourage professional development through reflective practice, and to further raise self-awareness through this approach. Therefore, mini-lessons with detailed discussions, teachers’ own contributions and EFL ideas played an even more crucial role than before. Furthermore, lesson planning, classroom management and classroom language featured as new topics. As a result, the second course was even less trainer-centred, participants managed to establish long-lasting professional contacts, and the feedback that we received was also very positive.

Looking back at the two courses, we feel we have learnt a few general points about successful teacher training projects, which we have tried to collect in the form of the following checklist:

Points to consider when organising teacher training courses

Before the course
 

  •  Choice of course structure 
A concentrated residential course is probably more effective than spreading it over several weeks or months, as participants are fully involved in the programme, continuously discuss its various aspects with each other and usually integrate more of its contents into their own thinking about teaching. 
  •  Choice of location 
A small place in the country, where participants can be together all the time, is probably better than a hotel in a big city. Make sure you visit the place and write down all the promises local managers make, so that there should be no conflicts later on. Unfortunately, we learnt this point in the hard way, after a few disappointing incidents in which hotel managers pretended we had never agreed on the use of certain rooms and various facilities. 
  •  Research into participants’ background and their needs 
Before finalising your plans, write to the participants, sending them a letter with questions relevant for your course design. If possible, try to meet teachers in person, and perhaps to observe some of them in class. The better you know them, the more you can fine-tune your plans to meet their needs.
  • The letter you write to participants should include:
    1. Questionnaire about course content, professional background, needs, etc.
    2. Request for personal information (teachers are proud of their hobbies and interests outside EFL, which may be incorporated into evening activities)
    3. Practical information about accommodation, transport, food/diet, etc.
    4. Request for participants to bring along some of their favourite EFL ideas
  •  Set clearly the overall aim of the course 
Although it sounds obvious that course organisers should know what they are doing, it sometimes happens that teacher trainers are not fully aware of which way they want their courses to go and what they want to achieve in the given time. Make sure you can formulate exactly what your goals and objectives are. Once you know what you are aiming for, share your objectives with the course participants as well.
  • Build on the personal information you have received 
You can break the ice with a ‘Find someone who…’ activity’, including info from your questionnaires. You can also ask the musicians in the group to perform something, the sportsmen to lead a keep-fit class, etc. 
  •  Decide on your degree of flexibility 
How strictly do you want to stick to your planned course material? Are you ready to change the whole programme, some of its aspects or nothing at all?

Setting up the course
 

  • Classroom
      • 1. Arranging the furniture 
It may seem to be a negligible factor, but your first impressions of the place where you are going to spend a lot of time define your attitude to the whole course.  Therefore, it is worth thinking of a friendly and efficient way of placing and arranging desks, chairs, tape-recorders, your reference library and other pieces of equipment you will need.
2. The use of wall space 
Find out if you are allowed to put up posters. If you are, use both commercially produced posters and the participants’ own work, e.g. the outcome of their brainstorming sessions or the results of their classroom research.
  • Additional facilities you need
      • 1. Reference library 
Have a wide selection of the course books and resources participants will need, as well as newspapers, magazines and non-ELT readings. Decide how you are going to keep track of books taken out and returned so that they do not disappear by the end of your programme, and everyone can use them .
    2. Photocopying facilities 
    3. Good audio and video recorders
    4. Coffee, tea and refreshments
  • Other points to be considered at the beginning of a course
      • 1.  At the beginning, give participants an overview of your plans and the timetable of the course, so that people know what to expect (see Table 1).
2.   Give everyone an empty file with their names on, which will be filled gradually throughout the course. Isn’t it a gratifying feeling to see your own file growing with useful material?
Suggested principles to be applied during the course
 
Put theory into practice, never losing sight of how theory and practice are the two sides of the same coin.
Ensure an informal, workshop approach, encouraging open interaction at all times. 
Get course-participants to be as active as possible in the form of participant-led discussions, debates, presentations, mini-lessons, games, etc.
Use a variety of interaction types, not forgetting that even short lectures tend to be boring. Therefore, use lots of pair and groupwork instead.
For the sake of getting your message across, think of ways of sensitising participants:
You may want to start with a foreign language lesson to demonstrate your methodology (In the pre-course questionnaire, you can find out about languages spoken in the group. You only need a dozen words and a few phrases for giving a demo lesson in Czech, Arabic, Swahili, or whatever!) Build mini demo-lessons given by the course tutor into the lessons on skills development. A 15-minute vocabulary lesson tells you more about techniques than an hour’s lecture. Moreover, it also serves the purpose of language development.
  • Plan and incorporate participants’ mini-lessons 
The aim of this practice is that by the end of the course, participants are able to put into practice the theory they have learnt. The inevitable first reactions are protest, fear, reluctance and lots of worries. Some ideas for sweetening the bitter pill are demo-lessons, a clear explanation of your aims, suggestions for the way the feedback session could go, offering a choice of mini-lesson topics, letting participants decide on the order of their presentations and, if requested, helping the lesson planning with suggestions.
  • Provide lots of useful photocopied material 
Sometimes it is useful to hand out your notes as well, because in that case participants can listen to your presentation without worrying about taking notes.  It is useful to remember, however, that the most valued material is what teachers can use in their own teaching practice (e.g. activities, games, questionnaires, pictures, tests, etc.).
  • Constant recycling and revision
As teachers we know that if you say something once, about 5% of your students will remember it, if you say it twice another 10% will take it in… and you practically never get to 100%. Teacher training is not very different either.
  • Extra-curricular activities 
It is always appreciated if you can invite publishers, outside speakers, or if you can organise movie nights, pub quizzes, games etc.

After the course

  • Give certificates 
Use an attractive format and include course definition, learning hours and signatures.
  • Ask for feedback 
Depending on what you want to use it for, decide if you want it daily or only at the end of the project.
  • Decide beforehand if there is going to be continuation and follow-up
Correspondence / post-course tasks, assignments / real-life observations?
  • Writing reports for supervisors and authorities 
Keep them short, simple, but informative and honest! 

We hope that the programme we worked out for our intensive in-service teacher training, together with the checklist based on our experiences might prove to be beneficial to you and your colleagues in planning and implementing similar courses in the future.

Notes

  1. This paper was originally delivered at the 9th  IATEFL-Hungary Conference in Gyõr, October 1999. (back)


Appendix 1

Needs analysis questionnaire
Hol és pontosan milyen beosztásban dolgozik jelenleg?
.............................................................................................................
Angoltanárként korábban milyen munkahelyeken dolgozott?
Kérjük, azokat a munkákat is sorolja fel, amelyeket esetleg magán nyelviskolában vagy más, nem állami iskolában végzett.
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Milyen tanári végzettséggel rendelkezik?
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A saját szakmai igényeinek ismeretében, kérjük, hogy ötös skálán jelezze, hogy szüksége van-e, és ha igen, milyen mértékben, az alábbi módszertani területek fejlesztésére, bõvítésére, új ötletekkel történõ kiegészítésére. (5 - elengedhetetlen…… 1 - nincs rá szükségem).
- Kommunikatív nyelvtanítás a gyakorlatban
- A beszédkészség fejlesztése
- Az íráskészség fejlesztése
- A beszédértés fejlesztése
- Az olvasási készség fejlesztése
- A szókincstanítás korszerû módszerei
- A nyelvtantanítás kommunikatív eszközei
- Szintfelmérés és tesztkészítés
- Hibajavítás írásban és szóban
- Az új alapvizsga és érettségi körvonalai
- A videó használata a nyelvórán
- Nyelvi játékok
- A szaknyelv oktatásának speciális kérdései
Milyen más kérdésekrõl szeretne hallani a tanfolyamon? Mit vár a tanfolyamtól? A tanfolyam sikere érdekében kérjük, ossza meg velünk minden javaslatát és  ötletét!
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     Köszönik válaszát: 
     a Bell Iskolák vezetõi és tanárai
 
 

Appendix 2
Course evaluation questionnaire
Kedves Tanár Kollégánk!
Iskolánk minden alkalmazottja arra törekszik, hogy a nálunk tanuló diákok tökéletesen elégedettek legyenek munkánkkal. Kérjük, szíveskedjék válaszolni kérdéseinkre, hogy tapasztalatait felhasználva a következ? tanfolyamon munkánkat még eredményesebbé tehessük.

1. Elegend?nek találta-e a tanfolyam elõtt kapott tájékoztatást?
teljesen   nagyon    közepesen   nem egészen   egyáltalán nem
Észrevételek: ...................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
2. Meg volt-e elégedve a Bell Iskolák szervezési munkájával? 
teljesen   nagyon    közepesen   nem egészen   egyáltalán nem
Észrevételek: ...................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
3. Milyennek találta a tanárok személyiségét? 
Észrevételek: ...................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
4. Milyennek találta a tanárok nyelvi és szakmai felkészültségét?
nagyon jó     jó       közepes      elégséges       nem megfelel?
Észrevételek: ...................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
5. Milyennek találta az oktatást?
Észrevételek: ……………………………………………………………………………....
……………………………………………………………………………………………….....
a, Órák menete ..........................................................................
b,Tananyag , fénymásolatok, kiegészítõ anyagok, könyvtár ............
c, Csoportfoglalkozások, mini-órák ...............................................
6. Mi volt a véleménye arról, hogy a tanfolyam során nagyon nagy mértékben a résztvevõk munkájára támaszkodtunk? 
........................................................................................................
.......................................................................................................
7. A tanfolyammal egészében véve
 elégedett  közepesen elégedett  nem felelt meg
  volt       volt       várakozásainak

8. Amennyiben úgy érzi, hogy a két tanfolyam hatására bármilyen irányban módosult a tanári személyisége, nagyon hálásak lennénk, ha megfogalmazná, hogy miben áll a változás.
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Részletes véleményét, észrevételeit, javaslatait, kérjük írja le a kérdõív másik oldalára.

   Köszönjük!     A Bell Iskolák Vezetõsége

ímár Eszter is Director of Studies at Bell Schools, Budapest and a part-time lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University, Department of English Applied Linguistics. Anikó and Mark Speight are Assistant Directors of Studies at Bell Schools, Budapest.