After carefully carrying out my own needs analysis at
my receiving institution I am able to share with you my findings. I had the
great opportunity to interview some of the teachers and some of the students
about the current syllabus, I analyzed the course book they are currently using
and I drew the conclusion that students are not taught effective and enough
writing skills. They lack basic writing skills. When they finish their studies
at the language school, they are not able to write a short essay because they
lack those essential skills needed to complete such a task. Teachers do not
teach writing skills because they would not finish all they have to do and
another reason is that the course book does not contain enough and effective
writing skills to be taught. Teachers cannot do much about this since planning
and consequently the classes are standardized and they have to follow the
course book otherwise they could get into troubles. Students would welcome any
extra classes where they were taught such important writing skills and I am
willing to help them develop their writing skills during my Social Service
at the institution.
Another problem I found was the lack of opportunities
to develop their communication skills. The institution offers students a
conversation course which they have to pay; however, most students cannot
afford it. The good thing is that the institution started to promote a
conversation club which they do not have to pay and I am pleased to be part of
it.
One last problem I’d like to share is the lack of
appropriate material. Students usually complain about the material teachers use
in the classroom. The coordinator is in charge of making material like cues and
visuals for the grammar or vocabulary presentations however it seems not to be
enough. Teachers do not help out much with material making and the coordinator
does not have time to do everything.
In sum, there are some areas which the institution
will have to improve for the benefit of the students and I am definitely
willing to help during my Social Service.
You've got some clear needs to meet here, Jaide. Writing is a frequently neglected skill, largely because of the reasons you mention, so it would be great if you could offer an additional writing workshop for those students who are interested. What type of writing do you think would be most appropriate to work on? What are the writing needs of the students?
ResponderEliminarHi Jaide,
ResponderEliminarI think that many students find a little bit difficult to write something. In a recent writing activity I gave my students a series of holiday postcard pictures in which they have to write imaginaries messages. The other students have to guess which postcard they are writing about. This kind of activity helped my students in their writing skills and I realized that they felt comfortable and enthusiastic about writing. I hope this can help you and suits for an extra activity for your project.
Greetings :)