As of the 1st of May the English language and e-learning departments of Smart Business Communications have joined the ICB group. Smart has 15 years experience in the development and delivery of Business English training predominantly for the banking and financial sectors in Paris with a team of highly experienced trainers, administrators and IT specialists.
I recently conducted a two-week volunteer mission to the Centre for Information Systems Training (CIST) in Phnom Penh on behalf of ICB Europe, the Paris-based English-teaching company for which I work. The purpose of the mission was to provide feedback on the English training programme at CIST, and to offer ideas and encouragement about future directions for the training team.
The mission was a successful one, and this report outlines the main actions and findings of my visit, along with suggestions about how pedagogical training at CIST might continue to develop, and how the relationship between CIST and ICB Europe can continue to yield good results.
The tasks that I accomplished over the course of my mission can be summarised under four headings: materials, pedagogy, assessment and planning.
I arrived in Cambodia with various materials from ICB Europe: books, tapes, assessment tools, lesson plans. Once there, I discovered that the English-teaching programme is based on a series of textbooks produced by CIST trainers, and that the tools I had brought would need to be incorporated into these manuals for them to be of any practical day-to-day use. In consultation with the training staff, I presented the materials I had brought and made suggestions about how they might be incorporated into the CIST textbooks for next year.
I also spent a considerable amount of time examining the existing CIST textbooks, familiarising myself with the school’s curriculum and suggesting structural improvements. The books were given a thorough proof-reading!
Also, some careful work was done aligning the subject material in the English textbooks with the subjects being taught in other streams of the programme at CIST, namely Information Technology and Business Life. This was done in consultation with the people who devise the curriculum for those related areas of the school’s programme.
I was surprised at the division of the English curriculum into four sections (grammar, reading, writing, speaking) and remain convinced that the teaching of English at CIST could achieve results more efficiently if these areas were considered not as fragmented but aligned. Doing so would have radical implications for the structure of CIST textbooks, which are currently broken into four sections, each managed by a different trainer.
During my first week at CIST I observed all four of the English trainers in action and gave critical feedback about their methodology. I held meetings with them both individually and collectively to offer advice about training techniques and to suggest possible alternatives. I also taught my own grammar class as a kind of demonstration of the pedagogical methods I had advocated during these meetings.
Generally, my advice related to the teaching of English as a wholistic exercise in which students are encouraged to use language in a realistic and unfragmented way. For example, I insisted that vocabulary be practised whenever it came up, even in speaking classes, and that the teaching of vocabulary be conducted in relation to a term’s likely use. I also suggested that trainers feel licensed to engage language questions whenever they were relevant, irrespective of the category (grammar, reading, writing, speaking) to which the query may or may not belong.
I focused quite strongly on group work and its management, outlining strategies to ensure that all class members got involved in class activities and that a mood of encouragement was fostered among the students.
Finally, I considered strategies for dealing with difficult queries from class members that encouraged a spirit of research rather than competition.
During my brief visit to CIST I met many students in social and pedagogical settings, as well as holding three special sessions in which I sought feedback from students about their experiences at the school. These meetings held a dual function of gathering information about student satisfaction levels and assessing the language skills of students at different stages of the training programme.
Overwhelmingly, students at CIST are satisfied with the English training programme that is offered there, and demonstrated a high level of appreciation for their teachers and the school. However, more than one student described issues of confidence in relation to the speaking of English: how can English trainers ensure that students feel safe enough to speak in class? Students also expressed a desire for more everyday English, a stronger focus on vocabulary, and the possibility of having their progress measured against students from other language schools.
By interviewing students from different stages of the training programme, I observed that general progress was discernable in English levels as the classes advanced. Nonetheless, there was enough variety in the levels of students at any particular stage in the programme for me to question the school’s policy of having classes of mixed levels. Why not organise classes based on the level of students for the whole course of the programme and not only in its first term? As far as I can tell, this would be of immediate benefit to both stronger and weaker students, as well as to the English trainers themselves.
My mission was a very short one, with limited possibilities for immediate outcomes. However, over the course of my two-week visit, I was constantly focused on future directions for the training programme at CIST, and geared my work towards middle- and long-term outcomes for the school. This was achieved in the context of meetings with trainers and managers in which we allowed ourselves to ‘think big.’ Also, I was able to develop and refine the job description for a future pedagogical manager at CIST who would further improve and consolidate the school’s English training programme.
I believe that my work at CIST was of benefit to a number of parties. Not only was I able to develop and implement new strategies for the teaching of English at the school, but I was able to observe a space of pedagogical training radically different from the one I am used to. This exposure will have a beneficial impact on my own language teaching and the contribution I make to the work of ICB Europe.
Furthermore, my visit helped solidify the relationship between ICB Europe and CIST. In light of my experience at the Cambodian school, I feel licensed to encourage the two companies to continue building their important and productive partnership, and I happily offer my services to achieve that end.
With warm thanks to Alain Goyé, Eric Wrobley, Kandara Samphon, Pamela Belagué, Amélie Huard, Vandara Leng and the administrative teams at CIST and ICB Europe.
Philip Thiel
September 2008