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13 August 2011

AskMecha: What does this sentence mean? - Scholarship Application Edition [More:]

So I'm trying to get an organization to pay my way to a conference in March, and I've got to write an essay as part of the scholarship application. I'm an English-language teacher/teacher-trainer in a country that doesn't speak English.

Ironically, the problem I'm having is with the question I need to answer, because I can't figure out what "how" means here! Here's the question:

Write an essay saying how you would advise a new or trainee teacher about the use of L1 [ed: this means students' first language(s)] and English in the classroom.

This could mean two things to me:

1) What advice would you give to the new teacher? (ie, "plan activities which let students translate things from English to L1 and then back to English", "create a reward system for young students who use more English than L1")

OR

2) Through what means would you impart whatever training you wanted to give teachers to them? (ie, "conduct training sessions", "observe their lessons and give them feedback")

To me, 2) is probably what they want - the scholarship is for people who "formally or informally train or develop teachers", so learning about my methods of training and why I think they'd be effective here seems relevant. But 1) also works, because if they're thinking a new/trainee teacher has just asked me the question "how would you advise me here?", then clearly the question is "what specific strategies/tools/ideas would you give a new/trainee teacher dealing with this issue?"

Here's the page explaining how to apply - with no contact info! Any ideas?!

Thanks!
I actually think they mean both. This question of how much L1 is appropriately in use in the classroom is a persistent one, and the training techniques you would use to impart your best practices to another teacher are key given the purpose of the scholarship and, I assume, the conference.
posted by bearwife 13 August | 10:36
To me, it seems to mean 2 but want some practical answers like in 1 because of the info they want provided.
My instinct would be to combine the two in a manner that showcases your writing skills and how you best express yourself, but I'm always concerned about the writing.
posted by ethylene 13 August | 10:39
I think it could mean both, too, for what that's worth. What is your training style and what are your words of wisdom. The one thing that's throwing me is that the question has the word "teacher" singular. So you'd know better than I, but as a trainer myself, I almost exclusively think in group settings...activities that are interactive, play to several learning styles, etc. But if it's just one teacher, the means of giving guidance seems more limited. Which would make me think it's about advice. So maybe I'm leaning towards #1.
posted by Stewriffic 13 August | 11:28
Thank you all! After reading your responses, I'm going to use my writing-fu to try to fit answers to both questions into the piece (which can only be 500 words! eek!).

Without the scholarship, going to the conference is impossible - it's a full ride, including accommodation, flights, registration, membership in a professional organization, even expenses! - so I'm freaking out a bit here. It's not life or death for me to attend, but I've never been to a conference so large (I think it's the world's largest?) and I'm getting to a point in my career where I NEED to tap into the wisdom of people beyond my school to see what's next down the road. Thank you again!
posted by mdonley 13 August | 17:42
Application DONE! Thanks to all. :)
posted by mdonley 14 August | 16:06
Conservative set theory. || I killed a bird today :-(

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