AN EFFECTIVE MODEL OF AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN TERMS OF ORGANISATION AND THE FUNCTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE UNITS /

Transcription

1 AN EFFECTIVE MODEL OF AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN TERMS OF ORGANISATION AND THE FUNCTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE UNITS / TEŞKİLATINDA YER ALAN UNİTELER VE İŞLEVLERİ AÇISINDAN ETKİN HAZIRLIK OKULU MODELİ AYTUNA KOCABIYIKOĞLU completed her secondary and high school education at TED Ankara College. She graduated from Ankara University D.T.C. Faculty, English Philology in She worked for various Institutions and Universities as an Instructor, tester, coordinator and manager. She has been working at Atılım University Prep. School since 1997 and has held the position of Director for the last 8 years. She has attended many seminars at home and abroad at such locations as London and Manchester. She is a co-author of the book Path to Proficiency, and Step up to Proficiency. Orta ve lise eğitimini TED Ankara Kolejinde yapmıştır. Ankara Universitesi Dil Tarih ve Coğrafya Fakültesi İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı bölümünden 1967 yılında mezun olmuştur. Bölüm dersleri dışında yardımcı ders olarak Latince ve Tiyatro Tarihi almıştır. Çeşitli kurum ve üniversitelerde okutmanlık, sınav hazırlıycısı, koordinator ve idari görevlerde çalışmıştır tarihinde başlamış olduğu Atılım Universitesi Hazırlık Okulunda son 8 yıldır Müdür olarak çalışmaktadır. Yurtiçi ve yurtdışında çeşitli ELT alanında seminerlere, konferanslara katılmıştır. Hazırlık Okulunda okutulmakta olan Path to Proficiency ve Step up to Proficiency kitaplarının yazarlarındandır AN EFFECTIVE MODEL OF AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN TERMS OF ORGANISATION AND THE FUNCTIONS OF THE RESPECTIVE UNITS AYTUNA KOCABIYIKOĞLU Hazırlık Okulu Müdürü Özet Teşkilatında Yer Alan Uniteler ve İşlevleri Açısından Etkin Hazırlık Okulu Modeli. Hazırlık Okulu İngilizce Eğitim Programlarının başarılı olması için dikkate alınması gereken konular içinde okul teşkilatı ve teşkilatlarda yer alması gereken birimler, örneğin; Öğrenci Gelişim ve Danışma Merkezi, Öğretmen Eğitici Birimi, Yazım Becerisi Geliştirme Birimi ve çok amaçlı Media Merkezlerinin olması programların başarılı olmasında çok büyük etkendir. Abstract

2 An Effective Model of a Preparation School in terms of the Organization and the Functionof the Respective Units. The essential units such as Teacher Training Unit Writing Unit. Student Development and Councilling Center. Multi Media Center which take place in the organization of a Preparatory School play a great role in the success of training programmes. In order to gain any kind of competitive advantage, either within Turkey s borders or in the international arena, a sound knowledge of English is essential. Universities Prep. Schools are responsible for enabling the students to acquire the language in one academic year. Organisation is an important issue to be considered.it is the framework of the institution. We can t realize our goals, objectives without carefully planned organisational structure. Here are the main issues to be considered among which organisation plays a crucial role. I have listed them all, as they all need to be taken into consideration while constructing the organisation chart of the institution. 1. Mission of the language school 2. Student profile Student needs / interest areas 3. Curriculum a. goals objectives b. syllabus c. system course system or classical one d. programmes time tables e. techniques methods implementation f. testing g. material development h. course books 4. Workforce a. Administrators b. Instructors / instructors need c. Teacher trainers d. Supporting Staff 5. Supporting Units and facilities a. Student Development and Counselling Centre b. MultiMedia Centre c. Technical equipment d. Teacher resource and recreation room e. Student resource and recreation room 6. Organisation 7. Physical Conditions

3 a. classrooms b. corridors c. lighting d. cafeteria 8. Workforce satisfaction 9. Rules and regulations

4 ORGANISATION Chart DIRECTOR / CHAIR PERSON V ı c e D ı r e c t o r Teacher Training Unit Academic Coordinator Administrative Coordinator Student Development and Counselling Unit Testing Unit Curriculum Developer Material Development Unit Group Heads Stand-by Instructors Main Course Instructors Writing Unit Video-Project Unit Recreation Room for Instructors Resource Room for Teachers MULTI MEDIA CENTER Self Access Center CALL Smart Classes Resource Room for Students Reading and Study Room for students Recreation Room for Students (Scrabble, Chess) Support Staff Secretaries and Staff for Printing and Photocopying We need to adapt the relevant changes in ELT to our organisation as well to make the most of them. In this respect the latest developments in technology, such as self access centres, language labs and smart classes, take a high priority in school organisations.

5 In fact organisation means more than that. Organisation is also the network of relationships among individuals. It can only achieve its purpose if all the parts work together in coordination for a common goal, with all units carrying out their responsibilities well and in line with clearly stated overall objectives. It is vitally important that there is healthy communication between the workforce and the units, and that the concerns and suggestions of every individual are valued.

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7 The Teacher Training Unit Excellent teachers can make a great difference to the lives and learning of their students.but they are not born excellent. It falls on the institution to develop excellent teachers. The Teacher Training Unit plays a role of utmost importance in this respect. What are their roles in teacher development? Enabling the novice teachers to relate therary to practice in their classroom teaching. To teach communicatively and meaningfully is something that novice teachers need training in most. Providing them with school based training related to the teacher s specific class material and conduct. Revitalising burnt-out teachers and equipping them with new skills. Organising preservice and inservice training Observing classes for diagnoistic and support purposes to guide and structure the teaching skills, to give the teacher critical feedback. Preparing administering and evaluating teacher performence questionnaires to shed light on our pre-and in-service training schemes. The activities done to train and develop the teachers in our institution are as follows; To provide the new or inexperienced teachers with a two week full day orientation programme which covers issues like student profile, organisation, educational system, academic and administrative management, approach to the language etc before the academic year starts. Through these sessions the new teachers become familiar with the context in which they are going to teach, and their ELT knowledge is refreshed and upgraded. Theories are integrated into practice. To observe classes as frequently as required for diagnostic and support purposes in order to guide and structure the teacher s teaching skills, to give the teacher critical feedback To provide theoretical and practical in-service seminars or workshops as a result of action research. To demonstrate more effective techniques and strategies that they want the teachers to use in their classes by giving model lessons themselves in pre-service and in-service seminars. To prepare, administer and evaluate teacher performance questionnaires to shed light on our preand in-service training schemes

8 Writing Unit Compared to the other skills, writing is a difficult one to acquire as it incorporates lower level language skills such as structure, grammar and vocabulary and higher level language skills such as thinking and evaluating, classifying, organising and synthesising information. So while preparing the syllabus, the writing component must be considered with utmost care. In our school, to create an effective programme, the writing syllabus takes its place as a separate component in the curriculum and the writing unit, which consists of a head and writing teachers who are specialists in this area, has been established to conduct the programme. The advantages of having a writing unit in an instititon Teachers become more motivated and focused with their clear roles. It is easier to monitor the programme. Diagnosing problems and training the teachers become more effective. It makes the teachers more organised in carrying out the roles demanded by the process approach to teaching the writing skill. Students approach their writing classes with a more responsible attitude. They become more focused, pay more attention and learn to meet deadlines. It is easier to monitor the teachers classroom strategies to make the instruction more effective. Both teachers and the students become more committed to their tasks. Focusing on teaching one skill makes the teacher more effective at teaching that skill, and consequently more confident. Arranging special office hours for individual students in order to guide them through their assignments and give them more personal attention and support becomes easier for the teacher. We practise the process approach to writing, by which students take an active role in reflecting and creating. There are seven stages involved in the approach, and each week the students go through an activity or task from start to finished product. The student needs to go through such stages as planning, targeting the task for an audience, organising the information, writing a first draft, having the teacher evaluate, editing and rewriting or redrafting. So it is a complicated but challenging process. The result is very satisufactory in terms of student achievement.

9 Student Development and Counselling Center The centre is responsible for,; 1- Offering Preventive Counselling Services: Needs assesments for this purpose are conducted in an extensive manner through multi dimensional methods. They are Student Profile Questionnaires which aim at identifying the strong and weak areas of their lives. Motivational Strategies of Learning Questionnaires which aim at finding out about the students studying habits, test anxiety and motivation. Symptom Check Lists. To indicate which psychological symptoms the students show are administered and evaluated at the very beginning of the year to identify the students weak areas, and preventive individual counselling sessions are offered to those who are at risk. 2- Organising effective studying skills seminars. These are aimed at teaching the students the studying and learning techniques which can help them learn efficiently 3- Giving supportive services individually or in groups, holding seminars for the students whose achievement is low 4- Following up the students academic achievement in Prep. School 5- Coordinating the academic advisory system. 6- Reporting the students with serious problems to the advisors in the faculty before they start their courses there 7- Offering individual support for the faculty students in need. Multi-Media Center According to the new coqnitive developmental construction approach, learner does more than just go through the motions of completing a task in the coursebook or. He is an active participant who construcs a personal base of knowledge and understanding and fits the information into his existing framework of understanding. In the online environment learners experience the information at first hand, rather than receiving filtered information from an instructor whose style or background may differ from theirs. The important role of e learning is undeniable in this respect, so, naturally, teaching and the learning enviorement extend far beyond the classroom.

10 Advantages of Language Labs. and Self Access Centers Students are happy to pursue independent, individualized study in centres where they are free to decide when and for how long to study, according to their needs. Also e learning has the potential to increase student s interest in and enthusiasm for language learning as the sources are limitless. Moreover one of the essential pedagogical principles of language teaching is the one which emphasises the study of language in a cultural context. Language and culture are inextricable and interdependent. Understanding the culture of the target language enhances understanding of the language. The internet can also be used to acquire information from language resources for a variety of purposes. Students can obtain information and use it as a platform for their own studies, such as project work etc. This approach promotes a higher order of thinking skills. Searching the web will improve logistical skills.