Training the English Language Learner:

Strategies for Success

Training the English Language Learner:

Strategies for Success

LAWTELaboratory Animal Welfare Training Exchange

• Trainers, Managers, Supervisors, Compliance, Quality Assurance, Veterinarians

• Listserv, Sharing exchange, Conference• Booth # 1732; 20th Anniversary Event

2015 LAWTE Biennial Conference

• June 10-12, 2015 at the University of Wisconsin – Madison• 4 I’s (Investment, Innovation, Implementation and Impact) -

Call for abstracts!!• Pre-conference workshops includes the IACUC

Administrators’ Best Practice Meeting!

Join us the evening of Wednesday, June 10th at the Children’s Museum

Panel Introductions

PANEL DISCUSSION OVERVIEW

Stacy Pritt, DVM, MS, MBA, CPIA, DACAW

History

• 2013 Panel Discussion “Everyone Counts: A Cultural Competency Toolkit for Laboratory Animal Professionals”– Focus on understanding different cultures within

the lab animal setting– Training, Staff motivation, Celebrations– Much discussion on the English Language

Learner (ELL)

Article

Cultural Competency

• Skill set– Set of behaviors, knowledge, and attitude among

professionals that foster effective work in cross-cultural situations

• Helps with understanding differences in individuals that are observed in the workplace

• A culturally competent laboratory animal professional:– Has interest, drive, and energy to adapt cross culturally– Possesses an understanding of culture and the role of

culture in personal interactions, animal attachment, and service transactions

– Is aware, plans approaches, and monitors the effectiveness of cross-cultural interactions

– Acts appropriately in cross-cultural situations

Why is this important?

• Address animal welfare and ethical concepts within the right context

• Understand that social diversity can result in discomfort, tough interactions, lack of trust, interpersonal conflict, decreased communication, less cohesion, disrespect, and other problems

• Leverage the ability to have better science and problem solving through informational diversity– Promote hard work and creativity– Encourage the consideration of alternatives

Phillips, K.W. October, 2014. How Diversity Works. Scientific American.

Cultural Competency - Training

• Training with Cultural Competence• Main concepts

– Culture shock– Fear of failure– Difficulty with English– Teacher-student interactions– Difficulty with discussion-based learning and/or

classroom debate

• Today’s panel discussion to focus exclusively on training the ELL

Agenda

• Tiffany Whitcomb – Qualitative Research Theory & Translating Training Materials

• Andrea Knipe – In-House Studies & Lessons Learned

• LaTesa Hughes – Examples & Tips• Paula Clifford - Roadblocks

Using Qualitative Research ToEvaluate the Impacts of

Interventions

Tiffany Whitcomb, DVM, DACLAMAssistant ProfessorPenn State Hershey College of MedicineAALAS 2014

Why perform qualitative research?

Qualitative research attempts to understand phenomena from the participant’s perspective

Characteristics of qualitative research

• Search for meaning and understanding

• Researcher as the primary instrument of data collection and analysis

• Inductive investigative strategy

• A richly descriptive end product

Why did we choose to perform qualitative research?

• 22% of students in our training course are from China

• Class notes translated into Mandarin Chinese to help struggling students

• Methodology was needed to determine the impact of our intervention

Methodology for qualitative research

Data analysis

• Online survey programs have some qualitative data analysis tools

• Commercially available software

• Perform manual data analysis at least once

• Get to know your data

Data Analysis via Open Coding

Data analysis by axial coding

Quotes are used to provide evidence for categories

• “Just listening to something is hard. Maybe my English is not good. Just listening I cannot understand and learn well. I need vision.”

• “It is helpful... So you feel like if you need help, you must be able to get help. Yes, but we speak in Chinese first, and you know someone will be able to help you.”

What did we learn from our qualitative study?

• Translated documents had positive personal meaning for all participants

• Translated documents had pedagogical value• Our students are lonely • We needed to help our teachers with cultural

competence

Resources for learning qualitative research techniques

What about publishing?

Questions?

Andrea Knipe BS, RVT, LATG, SRA

Train the Trainer –Challenge in a foreign language

Our Global Workplace

• Trainers at UCLA report that 40-80% of the time, there is a language barrier in their classes

• Many investigators are still in the process of learning the English language, which complicates participation and comprehension of the training material.

• English language learners = ELL– Note – English may be their fourth language

Design a Seminar

Trainers go through an experience to mimic ELL student experience

Seminar will approximately follow our training program

Seminar Invitation

Istruzione• Ognuno prendere una

penna o una matita. • Ora, disegnare un

cerchio nel centro della pagina.

• Avanti, disegnare due triangoli sulla parte superiore del cerchio....

Anleitung• Bitte nehmen sie einen

Stift oder einen Bleistift.• Zeichnen sie einen

kreis in der mitte der seite.

• Als nächstes, zeichnen sie zwei dreiecke auf der spitze des....

Seminar – Part One

Training delivered in German or Italian

• Trainer explains lesson at normal speaking pace

• Trainer uses no visual aids/gestures• 5-6 minutes

Seminar – Part Two

Training delivered in German or Italian

• Trainer explains entire lesson again• Trainer uses visual aids, gestures,

slower pace• 9-10 minutes

Drawings Produced During Seminar

Seminar - Discussion

• Discussion about seminar experience, answer questions

• Fill out questionnaire about reactions to seminar

• 45 minutes

Seminar Results

• 87% Participants felt visual aids were the most helpful to their understanding

• 66% Participants felt uncomfortable asking questions during the training

• 39% Participants indicated that an action of the trainer made them uncomfortable

Seminar Results

• Trainers passed ~50% of participants based on their drawing

• 90% Participants that felt they understood 0-25% of the spoken words during the training

Suggestions for future trainings

• Techniques for trainers

• Update the training website

• Visual Aids

• Written outlines and key words

• Group students

Dr. Sandra Duarte-VogelDr. Ilaria Brun del ReAlyssa Leiva

Current Implementation

Huge thanks to the people that made this seminar possible

Dr. Marcelo CoutoDierk Biggs

NINE (9) TIPS TO USE WHEN WORKING WITH ELL TRAINEES

LaTesa Hughes, RLAT, DVM, MS

Lab Animal 43(3) March 2014

TIP#1

Don’t address the pause: A little silence is ok

TIP #2

Limit use of idioms

TIP #3

Check for understanding

TIP #4

Appreciate where they learned English

TIP #5

Use automated grammarand style checkers

TIP #6

Keep your readers in mind when writing training materials

Flesch Reading Ease Score

Notes

90-100 Easily understood by an average 11 year old student

60-70 Easily understood by 13-15 year old students

0.0-30 Best understood by university graduates

GOALWPS: <20 Reading score: >60Grade level: 8th grade or lower

TIP #7

Try learning a new language.

TIP #8

Consider TESOL trainingor certification

TIP #9

Start your own ESOL class/club

Support from Management a MUST!

Lab Animal 42(9) September 2013

Roadblocks