Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Ingrid Preedy
preedy@web.de
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
1. The German Curriculum for English
2. The errors and mistakes Chinese teachers (and other
teachers!) are liable to make in the English classroom
3. Compute-aided Language Learning in Germany, and its
relation to regular education at vocational colleges
4. How to deal with big classes
5. Is English important for the student’s future?
6. Teacher development of vocational college teachers.
7. A useful Curriculum
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Gate 20 lift toilets exit 
plastic surgery hospital
buckle up confidence in motion  China Life  keep
space  Bank of China No drunken driving  rural
commercial bank  Don’t drive when you are tired  Tonyda
waterproof Trucks use the right lane agricultural bank 
toll gate phone (on taxi) Education group 
emergency lifestyle market)  jewellery (on bus)  the
little things of baking China construction bank  Today’s
events conference centre odd-number overloading
endangers lives  guest room
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
1. Curriculum English in Germany
Communicative Skills
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
Mediation
Viewing
Intercultural skills
Correct use of language
English at college/ in jobs
English around the world
Getting along in English
Respecting other countries‘
customs and culture
Pronunciation
Vocabulary
Grammar
Spelling
Aim of the lesson
Methods: How to…
Deal with texts
Write texts
Understand text
Work with others and alone
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
2. Errors and mistakes teachers make in class
Nobody is perfect – don’t interrupt a student to correct his English.
Don’t ignore an answer – be happy that a student has tried to answer.
Lack of praise – we all need to hear that we have done something well
Talking too much - never say what a student can say
Lack of motivation – both on the part of the teacher and the student –
make the lesson interesting and meaningful.
Don’t concentrate on what a student CANNOT do – concentrate on
what he CAN do.
Don’t repeat what a student says.
Don’t correct a student’s mistake.
Don’t talk Chinese
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
3. Computer-aided language learning
A way of dealing with mixed ability groups.
Motivating
Meets the needs of all the students
Can lead to more focused learning
Individual learning made possible with CALL
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
4. How to deal with big classes
Ingrid Preedy
•Get students to talk by using:
•think-pair-share
•group work
•projects
•potted learning: Each item in potted learning is a "building block" of some kind - a potted-down block of information, small or large, that has its place in the overall learning pro
•ERIC
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
4. How to deal with big classes
1. Motivate
2. Mixed ability classes
3. Get students to talk by using:
a.
b.
c.
d.
think-pair-share – text book rally
group work
projects
potted learning: Each item in potted learning is a "building block"
of some kind - a potted-down block of information, small or large,
that has its place in the overall learning process.
4. ERIC
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Motivate:
• Use a “treasure hunt” technique e.g. e.g. TB page 4, TB, unit 2, p.28
•
Use games - TB unit 3 page 40 (revising place name) , unit 5 page
72 (I pack my bag)
•
Use enquiry- based learning p. 40 TB2
•
Try to find a warming up task that is interesting e.g. p.40 TB 2
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Get the students to want to listen and want to
read:
• Pre listening: - These can consist of one global question e.g. unit 6
page 115 no. 5,page 119 no. 3, page 120 no. 3.
• While listening: e.g. gap filling exercises.
- combine while- listening with speaking / reading. Play the track on
the CD, stop it unexpectedly and call out a student’s name. This
student now has to repeat the last sentence he / she has heard
• Post listening: Additional exercise
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Think – pair – share
Think: What is the purpose of learning English
today? (1 minute)
Pair: Talk to a partner about your ideas (3
minutes)
Share: Share your ideas with a group of 8-10 (5
minutes)
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Multi- level classes:
• Give weaker students easier tasks.
• Give weaker students help e.g. answers in the wrong order or
matching exercise e.g. Match the questions and the answers.
• Extra tasks for slow /fast learners are good and necessary and can
be a wonderful source of differentiation. These can be found e.g.
unit 3 page 42, unit 4 page 56 and page 62 TB
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Mediation:
What are China's Shenzhen shoppers buying in Hong Kong?
China has moved to restrict visas for mainland visitors to Hong Kong in a bid
to temper the craze for shopping which has angered locals faced with empty
shelves and long queues. We look at who the shoppers are, what is on their
list and why.
Who are the shoppers?
The visa change targets residents of the southern Chinese area of Shenzhen
who currently enter the mainland on multi-entry visas. These residents will
now be limited to just one visit a week. Frank Li, a former Hong Kong
legislator and spokesman for consumer affairs, says that many are individuals
who are stocking up on products for their home, or to give or sell at a small
profit to friends and neighbours. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asiachina-32283440)
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
4.4 How to deal with big classes – E R I C
The 3 rules of ERIC:
1. Enjoy!
2. Enjoy!
3. Enjoy!
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
5. Is English important for the student‘s future?
• Dual college system in Germany
• In-company English courses
• Standard phrases – I’m looking forward to …ing
• International firms – Ikea etc.
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
5. Is English important for the student‘s future
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Curriculum English : ideas for book 1, unit 4
Communicative Skills
Listening
A. Right or wrong?
B. Work with a partner. Listen again
and find the answers to these questions
Speaking
Find three or four students who
think the One-Child Policy is good
or not good. Work out arguments
for or against the policy
Intercultural skills
Difference between Chinese and
American families
Difference between housing in
China and the USA
Talking about
families
Correct use of language
Pronunciation And Vocabulary:
campaign • One-Child Policy • save
money • care for • delegate • do away
with • grow up • sibling • give birth to •
twins • octuplets • full of
Grammar- phrasal verbs
Methods: How to…
Reading the text
Write gap sentences
Writing results on a poster
Answering questions
Multiple choice
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Questions you probably want to ask but don‘t
trust yourselves:
• How can I avoid speaking Chinese in class? (Tony)
• Students always answer in Chinese when I ask them e.g.
Where is your homework?
• How can I balance motivational phases with teaching towards
the national exam?
• What do I do when a student’s mobile rings in class?
• In group work there are good and “not so good” groups –
what can I do?
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Thank you very much for inviting
and listening to me.
preedy@web.de
Ingrid Preedy
Successful English for Vocational Colleges
Ingrid Preedy