Making Language Learning Real

Making it real.

For my speaking classes, I have been using core texts and rely on Market Leader Beginner and Pre-Intermediate (Oxford) for in class speaking activities. I like the task based flexible usage of these texts. To this I add a flexible seating arrangement making sure that Korean and Chinese students are paired as much as possible and as infrequently with the same partner as possible. I have evolved to this as I have found students do not seem to get to know many other classmates without encouragement. I also resist assigned seating for the same reason. When you are dealing with forty it is a zoo out there.

Regular weekly email assignments include discussion questions similar to those at the Oxford supplemental website which focus on chapter topics, a handful of vocabulary specific to international trade English and listening activities sourced from the BBC Six Minute English series. Last semester I added a randomly selected core small group study assignments schedule with ten outside class hourly weekly meetings. The materials used are up to the students and each team has a captain however I do provide free copies of Business Communication Games (Lloyd & Preier, 1996) and direct them to download resources from various free esl activities websites like bogglesworld. They must report their activities briefly either through short journal or email or even cellphone photographs.

Midterm and final exams test knowledge on homework topics previously covered in weekly assignments. Presentations pair-work focus on short easy to read articles with an international trade focus from google news selected by students and pre-approved by me (to avoid plagiarism) to construct a 300 word presentation (150 words each) supplemented by a five slide ppt. These activities are then presented in my office a week early to scan for construction issues. So far this is as real as I have been able to make it.

For my business correspondence courses samples of various cycles (Eg. enquiry letters, order letters, credit letters, etc.) are presented in class in lecture format. Accompanying short texts describing the purpose and use are supplemented by brief written questions. Standard full block business letter style and format are practiced throughout the term with selections of top twenty-five emerging market global businesses as hypothetical senders or receivers of various letter types. This requires students to visit those company websites to extract details, descriptions and specifications of products. Similar midterm and final exams include a written portion reviewing previously identified points as well as ppt presentations which require a constructed letter identifying its purpose and useful vocabulary and phrases. Of my two courses this one is much drier and is to hopefully be the focus of my improvements here. The content is fairly prescribed by department as well as the output of homework. It is a "look but do not touch" kind of course and sadly is the way many Koreans approach English. I sneak practical application in where I can.

Old but new to me!

Richard Haass on American Decline

"With American power in decline, who will fill the vacuum? China? India? For many, this may be good news, but be careful what you wish for, says Richard Haass, a prominent American foreign policy analyst."

What Are Business English Learners?

•How helpful do you find the categories Evan suggests in building a profile of business English learners?

I think it’s helpful and mirrors the local teaching environment here in Korea. The transition to business English teacher here can often be made in Seoul in particular working part-time hours in various corporations. For example I have acquaintances who have asked my advice on teaching materials for such situations where they have been given a job to do but may not have had the experience previously.

•Which of the categories mentioned do you think Eric may have had upper-most in mind during his interview? Why?

I think his direction towards sitting in on meetings and so on leads to the in company business English position more than the others. That would be challenging in Korea unless one has superior Korean language skills it might be challenging to understand those meetings. Frequently “kyopos” or American/Canadian Koreans take these p/t in company positions for this reason. However approximately 1.5 years of full-time Korean language studies would probably go very far for anyone contemplating making a move for corporate positions here.

•Have you had any experience of the teaching contexts described?

Certainly I work in the institutional category beginning my sixth year as an international trade and management instructor. Daejin University is a second tier school here in Korea but with proximity to Seoul our Department of International Trade and Management interviews about twenty to thirty applicants for every seat in freshmen year entry with about fifty entering for a four year program each year. I have two courses split over two semesters which are required and one focuses on business communicative competency and the other on understanding and responding to international business correspondence. These are generally taken by second or third year students. Two optional courses include an introductory general business English and an upper level global negotiation course.

•Which do you think you are mostly likely to experience?

As my experience is institutional I try to take it as it comes. I actually got this job because I applied for a general English position in another department almost at the same time that the recruiter received a new job order from this school. It was very late in the hiring period and the skills and needs matched so perfectly with cv they didn’t even interview anyone else. They did call my references and apparently everyone said the same thing, “He’s a very hard worker.”

•Which do you think present the greatest challenge and/or rewards from a teaching point of view? Why?

My students are pre-experienced so the challenge is in exposing them to communicative needs that really don’t come online (if ever) for two or three years after they’ve taken my lessons. So I warn them not to burn their books. Job experienced former students often stay in touch with me and I do get a few who are working in import/export trade, international financing as well as going on to further specializations in graduate studies or private learning abroad.

I find it quite rewarding to measure their progress and keep informed of their successes following graduation. Private language schools in Korea are usually not well business oriented and tend to deliver general English for the most part not requiring much higher learning beyond a BA degree among instructors. I’ve already worked in the cram schools and found it to be a proving ground for better benefits positions at universities and their associated institutes.

In company positions can be in high demand but the often part-time nature would be unsatisfactory to me as I prefer a regular salary which seems to meet my Herzberg hygiene needs. I would say 1 to 1 business English teaching would possibly be the most challenging but also could be quite rewarding. While I have taught elementary, middle-school, high-school in one to one experiences this requires very high motivation among learners and really the level of results appears to depend upon the learner’s self-motivation. However it would be interesting to teach a company CEO 1 to 1 I think I'd learn quite a lot from that.

Re: You get out what you put in to BE teaching.

Cross cultural management behaviour was one of my favourite courses and I have kept reading on it and it will be interesting to discuss this topic.

"there's no way to "fake" business knowledge and no way to really substitute it": That has been my experience especially in slogging through operations management and/or financial management accounting (a couple of my weaker topics). For example I need to review new Incoterms 2010 to get up to speed for next semester's lessons. It's a challenge to balance communicative capacities practice with minimal "need to knows" among students whom for a majority have not even held a part-time job and where maybe 10% of them may actually use English in their future career.

Re Hertzberg: I think in many ways my current position has allowed a lot of these self-actualization benefits to take place in my work and continued study. Especially in terms of autonomy there's never been anyone micro-managing me here. When I feel a need to learn more about something I just take a course and try to refine what I deliver to the students.

I've always felt the mind can be so actively under-challenged by work we must make new tasks for ourselves to measure our own progress. I don't like being bored. And if we believe in improving quality of our workers or students we must begin with ourselves. My pet peeve with my students is that they seem to think the only important thing about a job is how much money they make or that money buys happiness. I think many cultures in the world have had their core values hijacked by this theme paradoxically the profits of globalization help to generate a myth.

I think these hygiene factors have a lot of similarities with Maslow's Higher Needs. And Deming always said to get your workers to do a good job you must show them what you want them to do first. In short, "I am a responsible idiot." http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/maslow/

You get out what you put in to BE teaching.

I'd like to learn more about the Herzberg Hygiene factors as they are completely unfamiliar to me. My studies have focused extensively on strategic management and competitive business analysis using Porter's 5 forces among other frameworks. I also completed a course in cross cultural management for my MIB and have actually read much of Trompenaars and have several of his books on my shelf. However I find Edward T. Hall to be much more accessible to general reading along the same topic although an earlier era of research which was more tentative.

When I was in Abu Dhabi my job was extremely boring. I would sit and attend work six months of the year lolling in my office most of each half day perhaps with 1.5 hours of classes a week where one of twenty students were awake (never the same one). I learned to write all of the workbook answers on the boards just to stay awake. Sure I saved money and I could travel but I was wasting my enjoyment of work (an important hygiene factor).

So down the road in Dubai I went to an annual educational fair. Dr. Stephanie Jones recommended my graduate program at UOWD saying, "You'll be able to do anything you want with this." It is true. It's funny because when I was finished I did have diverse offers to enter active business management around the world but I didn't take any of them. I was convinced I would make a good teacher of this topic somewhere and honestly I missed Korea. I have to say I could not have my current job if I did not complete an MIB. But it did take a good two to three years actively searching to find it by accident. I think there's no way to "fake" business knowledge and no way to really substitute it. Of course real business people might say there is no way to substitute business work experience. However I think somewhere along the line when you have actually read more than enough it just starts coming out of your ears and you are suddenly useful to everybody.

Stupendous song

Another song I heard lately that I like...

Doctoral Research Fellowship

School of Business and Economics
Department of Management

Doctoral Research Fellowship with 1/2 time employment
(E 13 TV-L FU) for 3 years with option of extension

Tasks:
Research in the area of human resource management and labor politics with an interest and background in at least one of the following areas: corporate governance, corporate social responsibility, international or comparative HRM. The candidate will be expected to engage in teaching in the BSc degree in management.

Qualifications:

• Completed MSc degree or equivalent in a relevant social science, including business management, sociology or political science is required.
  
  
• Very strong English skills, international experience, and some basic knowledge of German are desirable.

Applications with a cover letter, CV, and short description of a PhD topic should be sent by 07.February.2011 with the following reference number 10016100/10/WM10 to the following address

Freie Universität Berlin
Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaft
Herrn Prof. Dr. Gregory Jackson
Boltzmannstr. 20
14195 Berlin (Dahlem)

--
Prof. Dr. Gregory Jackson

Freie Universität Berlin

Fachbereich Wirtschaftswissenschaft, Institut für Management

(School of Business & Economics, Dept of Management)

Boltzmannstraße 20

D-14195 Berlin (Germany)

Telefon: +49 30 838 56 809
Email: gregory.jackson@fu-berlin.de
Web: http://www.wiwiss.fu-berlin.de/institute/management/jackson/index.html
Working papers: http://ssrn.com/author=287864

Ya Ishq - with Greek slave strings

For Tante Imelda

Like father like son.

Interesting song

For Chef Malcolm

Jim Carrey- Canada

What's This?

Alleluia!

Praise when merited is not a boon: yet to a generous nature, is it pleasant to utter it. Herman Melville

Prayer At All Times

Obama's G20 Closing Conference

Considering the heap of dirty dishes Obama was presented with upon arriving in the Presidential Office I think he did as well as could be expected in Seoul recently. Here is a final press conference from that meeting.