Evaluation of Foreign Language Courses by Language Instructors[1]

8/13/2019 Evaluation of Foreign Language Courses by Language Instructors[1]

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Evaluation of Foreign LanguageCourses by Language Instructors inLiberal Adult Education Institutions

Tamar Mikeladze

Ed.D, English Language Teaching Methodology

Telavi State University, Georgia

Erasmus Mundus Grantee,

Post Doc researcher, University of TurkuAFINLA

16.11.2013


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Adult education

Every adult is a learner (Jarvis, 1995) Basic human need

Benefits in economic, social and political

domains (OECD, 2003)

Liberal adult education is not degree-oriented,

nor is its content regulated by law Instead,

educational goals and content are decided

upon by the administrators of educational

institutions and organizations (Anderzn, 2012)

Adult education and training is provided by

some 800 institutions in Finland


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Literature review

The report of OECD 2003 Beyond Rhetoric:Adult Learning Policies and Practices

Teachers need to be well trained with the range of adult learning

processes and the attendant difficulties and they must choose the most

suitable method to particular learners. As society is changeable so are

jobs and it is important to reassess teachers jobs and skills, provide aclear definition of responsibilities and redefine priorities in terms of

practice, approaches and the skills needed to fully develop their adult

learning experience. p. 179

Immigrant Education In Liberal Adult Education

Institutions 2010 (by Finnish National Board of Education, theFinnish Association of Adult Education Centres (KoL)

Teachers must be given training that takes adult immigrants into

consideration

The state should use these institutions as educational forums and train

a few teachers for this purpose.


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Research goal

evaluate teachers attitude towards foreignlanguage programs and adult learners in liberal

adult education institutions in Turku, Finland.

determine what factors influence the successful

language program according to teachers views.

Research questions:

What is the attitude of instructors toward the language

programs?

What are strengths and weaknesses of these language

courses?

What can be changed in these language programs?


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Research strategy & Method

Survey which is used to gather and describe the attitudes,views and opinions (Brown & Rogers, 2005)

Interviews

an interview schedule or structured interview, which included

open-ended questions and prompts for the interviewer to use.

(Denscombe, 2003)

Participants

7 teachers from Turku Adult Education Center, 2 from Arbis and 1

teacher from Aurala.

Procedures


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Materials

Questions for the interview were divided in 4categories:

1) personal data

2) teaching experience3) description/characteristics of target language

course

4) teachers attitude, characteristics and views

about learners in class


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Data Analysis

1 male and 9 female teachers Finnish - 7, Russian - 1, Dutch -1, Estonian -1

N0

1

2

3

4

below 4040 - 50

above 50

4

33

Age groups

N

Overall teaching

experience 16.3 years

Overall teachingexperience 24.6 years


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Description of the languagecourses

Intensive courses

last 2 months and classes are three times a

week with the duration of 120 minutes.

regular courses24 weeks of instruction. Classes are once a

week with the duration of 90 minutes.


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Effective teachingYes - 8 teachers, Not sure2 teachers

Examples of Effective teaching

All explanations are done in the learners native tongue

Learners, who have family members in the target language country, communicate with them.

Some students went as exchange students there after completing the language course

The teacher gives a questionnaire form at the end of each course, and mainly gets positive

feedback

Learners are able to communicate in a target language and travel to the country of the targetlanguage

They learn to speak, but it takes years and patience to learn

If we compare this learning to which happens in formal environment, then it is not so effective.

The goal here is different; it is more connected to leisure and fun. However the result is

always visible.

Mini-checks are utilized after each unit; they show how well the student knows the material.

If students are willing to work, then they have results. If students do not do homework then it is

very difficult to teach language. Teaching is effective when students start asking their own

questions.

Students seem to be happy. The progress is visible.


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Goal, Satisfaction,effective vs. ineffective

Effective

Frequencyineffective Frequenc

ySpeaking activities

3 pair-work 1combination of different activities

1 depends on learners mood 1vocabulary activities

1 discussion topics with students of low educationalbackground 1

reading unknown texts, games1 Writing and listening activities 1

creative activities, speaking, pair-work1 - 2

audio, video, writing activities1 activities not related to language learning 2

audio, writing activities1 discussion with students whose vocabulary is

poor 1group-work, problem-solving, games,

listening activities 1teacher reading the passage, which has the audio

recording as well 1Total

10 Total 10

Goalyes (7), no (3)

satisfactionvery much (7), just satisfactory (3)


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Learners complaints

6 teachers answered that their students had anykind of complaints

Textbooks / Design of textbooks

not enough exposure to the target language Fast/slow pace

Not understandable audio material

Eager for more homework


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Successful factorsThe successful factors were divided into 2 groups related to

the teacher and the teaching process.

According to the teachers answers the

language courses are successful if the teacher: is the native speaker of the target language has rich experience chooses diverse materials: internet

resources and applications (moodle),

songs is aware of the target language culture is motivated offers task-based activities prepares main and supplementary

materials

According to the teachers answers the teaching

process is successful if: The textbook is chosen properly There are excursions to the target

language country

There is different approach to teaching,

e.g. tandem-teaching There is freedom for learners in the

classroom and group environment is

favorable Instructional language is native to learners Interaction happens freely It is a social event with elements of fun Learners questions are answered Students can discuss content of the course The course has appropriate length


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Negative factors The teacher cannot communicate well in instructional language and has difficulty

in explaining material e.g. grammar

The group is big, too much noise and not all learners have a chance to

participate in classroom activities

Younger learners want to proceed faster but older learners struggle with the

current material

Too much communication in the instructional language between learners and the

teacher. Learners ask questions in the instructional language

In the beginning there is mainly grammar instruction, which is difficult

There are few instructional hours in a week (but perhaps more hours would be

difficult for learners) which is not enough for language practice and retention

The students miss classes. Even though there are online resources of the

course, students do not study at home and they have to cope with the missed

material. The teacher has little experience and she/he is not self-confident in the

classroom

The classes are in the evening, and teacher is usually tired at that time.

The writing is not practiced with senior citizens.


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Proposed changes to the courses(organizational, content-related)

Increase instructional hours

Reduce the group size

Use instructional language less; add next level to the course

Introduce Tandem-teaching; create facebook page of the

course

Change a textbook with better one

Move into a bigger classroom as it is hard to move around for

pair-work

Use more target language in the classroom and involve

students in discussions

Give more chances to learners to develop writing

Organize a project where learners can talk to native speakers

Use computers and audio equipment at the center


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Students attendance

Reasons for working at the adult education

centers

1) teachers main job

2) additional income - I need money

3) attractive working conditions

4) maintaining foreign language skills by teaching it.

Students miss classes

Students inform teachers about absence and the reason.

To the question how many students out 100% will finish

the course, 5 teachers - about 80% of the students in their

groups are expected to complete the course, 4 teachers -

varies between 60% and 80%


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Discussion/conclusions

Teacher training is one solution for the teacherswho start work and do not have any guidance.

Senior teachers can organize training or

discussions to share their experience with

young teachers. Second, the communication between the

teachers and course administrators/organizers

should be improved.

Classroom size

Group size

Computer technologies (trainings/supply)


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Attitudes to adult teaching

Teachers like giving the language course to

adults

a job which offers less stress, less responsibility

and less control

low reimbursement can cause teachers low motivation and lack of

goal-oriented planning

Dangerous judgments which are widespread

among language teachers of adults: This

course is for fun, it is learners hobby - can

cause superficial approach to teaching

learners come not only for leisure, but they

value learning and have certain goals


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Establish teacher-learner rapport

Teachers are facilitators in achieving these goals.

the relationship of trust - a relationship which can be rich

and rewarding since both teachers and learners are

adults.

Teachers should try to establish a friendly, openatmosphere for positive and meaningful educational

experience, set the degree of difficulty high enough to

challenge participants, but not to frustrate them by

information overloading.

Teachers of adults should explore multiple explanationsof what adult learning is.


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Limitations of the study

The small number of the participants at this stage

some participants have just started working in this area.

Respondents had problems with understanding the

questions in Russian and English correctly and it was

sometimes necessary to simplify the questions no follow-up interviews were conducted

Necessary - further research among adult learners of

these language courses and conduct classroom

observations


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References:

Anderzn, J. (2012). Immigrant Education in liberal Adult Education Institutions2010. Finnish National Board of Education and Finnish Association of Adult

Education Centres (Kol).

Burt, M., Peyton, J., K., & Adams, R. (2003). Reading and Adult English

Language Learners. A Review of the Research. Center for Applied

Linguistics.

Denscombe, M. (2003). The Good Research Guide for Small-scale SocialResearch Projects. Open University Press. p. 166.

Falasca, M. (2011). Barriers to adult learning: Bridging the gap Australian

Journal of Adult learning. Vol. 51, November, p. 584.

Freedman, L. (1987). Quality in continuing education.

Jarvis, P. (1995). Adult and continuing education. Theory and practice. 2nded.

Routledge

OECD, 2003. Beyond Rhetoric: Adult Learning Policies and Practices

Schmidt, S. W. (2013). The future of adult education. Adult learning vol.24 N2, p.

79-80

Wrigley, H. S. & Guth, G.J.A. (1992). Bringing literacy to life: Issues and

obstacles in adults ESL literacy: San Mateo, CA: Aguirre International.

Evaluation of Foreign Language Courses by Language Instructors[1]

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