During these difficult economic times, English teachers should take every possible opportunity to focus on job interview skills. As blog readers know, I’m a big fan of both videotaping practice interviews and having ESL/EFL students conduct research for possible jobs with information interviews.

The Q group, an ambitious online educational company, has a variety of solid resources for ESL students. Here is an excellent, concise list of simple practical steps for English language learners to take when preparing for a job interview – and a few post-interview suggestions worth noting. The fine article comes from the Q Blog for English language learners. It’s a fine resource. Check it out.

Official Q Blog: How to Succeed in an Interview

As I said before, practice might not lead to perfection, but it certainly leads to improvement for ESL students in job interviews.

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Personally, I’ve slightly modified my oral skills course this semester to provide greater emphasis on interviewing skills. Students interviewed each other for 10-15 minute videotaped mock job interviews for their first assignment.

The use of videotaping students in class has gained far more acceptance in the last few years, partly due to the technological advances. OTAN, the adult education website established by the California Department of Education, even created an entire section devoted to using videotapes and videocameras in the adult ESL classes.

Another factor has been the increasing popularity of YouTube videoclips by students seeking practical information. I’ve combined those two trends by requiring students to find and review YouTube clips on vital employment skills and speaking skills. Students found and reviewed videoclips, and emailed them in as homework. Afterwards, I combined all the student evaluations into a single email that I sent to the entire class with a few editorial comments and minor editing.

Here is the homework sheet for that assignment. As with the reviews, “use or lose.”

Getting Job Interview Advice from YouTube!

Student Name:
Class:
Teacher:
School:
Date:

Please find an YouTube videoclip that helps people successfully interview for jobs – in English – that you would like to share with your classmates. Watch the video, take notes, and review it for your classmates.

Video title:
Web address:
Length:
Creator:

Please describe the video.

What interview tips did the video provide?

Where do you think the video was produced? Why?

How practical did you find the advice? Why?

What was the strongest part? Why?

What was the weakest part? Why?

Who do think is the target audience for this video?

Why did you choose this video?

How would you rate this video 1-5 stars? Why?
————————————————

This simple worksheet combines research, critical thinking, and language skills. As English teachers, we can use simple technology to help English language learners develop their language skills, especially when they are motivated to learn and search out new sources. Instead of dismissing YouTube searching as a waste of time, let’s turn their interests into productive learning opportunities and share insights. After all, employment interviews often serve as a real-world language tests for our ESL students.

Let’s make sure we give them the tools to pass those crucial tests.

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The Los Angeles Regional CATESOL conference, titled “WWW. What Works and Why” at Biola University on October 25 features over 60 workshops and panel discussions. The annual event is expected to attract over 500 ESL professions from K-12 classes, adult education, IEP, and community college and university programs. CATESOL members receive a discount on the conference fee.

Do you live in Southern California? Do you have plans for October 25th yet? Visit
http://www.lacatesol2008.org/ if you are interested. This regional conference is larger than many state conferences and reflects the importance of studying English to immigrants in Los Angeles – especially during economically difficult times.

By the way, I will be giving a 45-minute presentation titled “Techniques for a More Democratic Classroom” and a joint presentation titled “Creating Win-Win Workplace English Programs That Work for Both Employers and Employees.”

In my solo presentation, I will review classroom practices like tailoring assignments for individual students, effective peer evaluations, and organizing students to create classroom materials. Some exercises come from Compelling Conversations, but most exercises are practices that I’ve developed over time in both writing and speaking courses.

The second presentation, with Troy Parr, comes out of a series of vocational ESL workshops that we designed for an important union for healthcare workers, the SEIU, in Los Angeles. (The director of their workplace educational programs read Compelling Conversations., and contacted me. I brought in Troy, who wrote his thesis on best practices in workplace ESL programs.) We emphasize the importance of creating practical, participant specific exercises that both introduce new workplace vocabulary and provide many opportunities to speak, write, and reflect on workplace issues – in English. These workshop exercise such as rewriting forms, writing memos, and giving presentations on safety tips also help students develop their language skills for beyond their immediate job.

Naturally, I hope you can make the LA Regional CATESOL conference. See you there?

For more information:

http://www.lacatesol2008.org/

http://catesol.org

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Have you ever seen two emotional people talk past each other? Both talk and neither listen. Both want to tell the other, and don’t want to hear – or understand – what the other person is saying. This happens too often in stressful workplaces.

Stephen Covey, author of the international bestseller called “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, advises people “to seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Following this traditional wisdom can improve workplace relationships and communication.

What are some techniques that can help understand other people? Here are some tips:

• Listen first and avoid interrupting.
• Pause before speaking.
• Look people in the eye.
• Be curious.
• Ask “what” and “how” questions to get more information.
• Keep the voice down. Stay calm. Talk slow.
• Repeat or rephrase what people say to avoid misunderstandings.

What are some other tips to avoid misunderstandings or conflicts at work?

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What are some advantages of staying calm at work?

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