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Special Projects |
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Pilgrims International Training & Development |
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Project 850
This project demonstrates Pilgrims' ability to design
and manage a residential train the trainer programme for
an international client in Central Europe.
Trainer Training Course for Hungarian Teacher
Trainers.
Introduction
The political changes in Central and Eastern Europe, leading
to the abolition of Russian as the compulsory foreign
language in schools, has created a huge demand for qualified
English teachers. In Hungary, the introduction of English
at lower primary level increased this demand still further.
In response, with support from the British Council and
the English Language Teacher Supply Project, 12 teacher
training colleges established a 4 year primary level English
programme. There was, however, no standardised curriculum.
Pilgrims was approached by the British Council to design
and manage an intensive 3 week course in the United Kingdom
for one teacher trainer from each of the 12 colleges.
Brief
The British Council's English Programme Officer in Budapest
requested Pilgrims to send a senior trainer to Hungary
to conduct a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) in order to
be able to deliver a course that would:
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Develop an effective
curriculum for the primary level English programme |
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Deliver the curriculum
to the teacher trainers |
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Train the trainers in
modern lower primary language teaching techniques |
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improve the trainers'
fluency in English |
The TNA involved visiting training colleges and primary
schools throughout Hungary. Following a presentation of
the TNA findings, course objectives and content were prepared
and agreed with the British Council.
Execution
The course was held at Pilgrims' Training Centre in Canterbury,
was of a highly practical nature, and covered:
Curriculum Development:
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Workshops and discussions
with leading UK "primary specialists" |
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Workshops and discussions
with E.F.L. specialists |
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Bringing all the ideas
together, seeking consensus and finalising the curriculum |
Curriculum Delivery:
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Ways of planning and
shaping classes |
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Teaching the four skills
at primary level |
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Presenting material
through themes and projects |
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Presenting material
in songs and rhymes |
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Co-operative games and
learning activities |
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Teaching sounds, stress
and intonation |
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Testing |
Trainer Training:
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Ways of presenting information
to teachers |
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Peer training |
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Observation and feedback |
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Developing communication
skills |
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Teaching vocabulary
to trainers |
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Workshops and discussions
with primary head teachers |
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Cisits to primary schools
and teacher training colleges |
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Counselling skills for
trainers |
The training was conducted entirely in English. During
the 3 week course, the trainers stayed with carefully
selected local families, gaining an insight into British
life as well as offering a relaxing and friendly atmosphere
to continue practising conversational English.
Pilgrims organised a full programme of educationally orientated
events where the emphasis was on demonstrating ways that
lower primary level pupils can learn and practice English
outside the classroom which included:
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City excursions |
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Nature trails |
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Visits to cultural attractions |
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Reviewing children’s
films and language programmes |
Pilgrims selected the following staff to deliver the course
based on their experience and expertise: Christine
Price, course co-ordinator has 19 years experience
in primary and secondary state education. Formerly a Head
of English, she has taught teachers from Estonia, Latvia,
Ukraine, Russia, Poland and Hungary. Sheelagh
Deller conducted the Training Needs Analysis
and prepared the report. She is a highly experienced trainer
and regularly runs Pilgrims' 'Train the Trainer' courses.
She is the author of several books including "Lessons
from the Learner" in the Pilgrims Longman Series
for Teachers.
Feedback
"Absolutely fabulous!" Èva Gönezi,
English Programme Officer, British Council, Budapest.
Following the success of this first course, it was repeated
the following year with double the number of participants.
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