COURSE OVERVIEW:
This course is a timely response to the modern-day demands of intercultural integration in different educational contexts, including the classroom, homestay tuition and language mobility programmes.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
- Teachers or other professionals working or involved in multicultural education settings, domestic or academic, who would like to better inform and equip themselves to deal with the changing demands of an increasingly diverse and inclusive world.
- The skills and awareness developed through the course are transferable across a wide variety of contexts and activities in and out of the school classroom, such as home tuition and foreign exchange projects.
PREPARATION:
Before arrival, course participants will be provided with:
- A course timetable;
- A pre-arrival profile questionnaire that will help course coordinators profile trainees individually based on their respective teaching contexts, practices and beliefs, and get a better understanding of any specific TRAINING NEEDS they may have;
- The school’s official placement test which will accurately assess participants’ level from B1 to C2 and indicate the most prevalent and pertinent English language needs, allowing course coordinators to better situate applicants’ English language proficiency and group trainees together accordingly for their own benefit, both generally throughout the course and, particularly, in anticipation of the ‘Language Development’ Module, which is customised towards participants’ own needs;
- A Welcome Pack which includes a map and the Student Handbook;
- A recommended reading list.
OBJECTIVES:
The course will give participants an opportunity to:
- Become more aware of the fast-paced changes taking place in the world at large and the education sector more specifically, as a result of the modern reality of increased diversification;
- Sensitively discuss the challenges posed by this diversification, such as the global need to update politically correct language;
- Review various approaches to the situation by highlighting the importance of tolerant and respectful behaviour starting from basic social skills to improve intercultural communication;
- Understand personal and social roles in the global context towards the end of cultural harmony;
- Develop internationally relevant interpersonal skills that are transferable to various cultural contexts.
METHODOLOGY:
Participants will enjoy a combination of explicit instruction and direct teacher involvement. Following the format of a workshop, sessions are:
- Interactive with plenty of ongoing group discussion and opportunities for participants to draw on their own experience and exchange ideas they feel are worth sharing;
- Demonstrative in the presentation of teaching approaches, lesson planning and materials design;
- Practical and hands-on when it comes to trialling some of the ideas presented in class, with the aim that participants will be able to take something tangible away with them (a specific technique, a particular activity, a general way of planning lessons or adapting resources, etc.);
- Experiential in nature, so that participants can experience the content being presented and promoted (methodologies, teaching styles, lesson plans etc.) first hand, from the perspective of students, through which they will be better positioned to make judgements on learning effectiveness;
- Evaluative with opportunities for individual reflection, teaching practice, lesson observations and peer feedback.
SAMPLE SCHEDULE:
1) Monday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- Course Introduction
- Defining key words; Dealing with definitions and their implications
2) Tuesday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- Cross-cultural classroom clash: What does it all boil down to?
- Examining existing attitudes – source of the problem
3) Wednesday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- The way forward? From Intercultural to Interpersonal Skills: The cultivation of cultural tolerance;
- Resolving differences and finding common ground through Communication: A look at functional language
4) Thursday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- Introducing Personality: Character types, learner styles, individual competencies
- Reviewing variations of personality to capitalise on strengths and keep weaknesses in check for maximum group/project benefit
5) Friday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- Mixed cultures, mixed abilities, one class: Exploiting variety in cooperative/collaborative projects
- Identifying abilities, establishing roles and responsibilities and fostering respect to work towards group goals;
- Individual vs. team identity; Balancing individual and collective needs, using interpersonal differences to collective group advantage
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY - Free days
6) Monday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- IQ vs EQ: The importance of emotional intelligence in a culturally diverse world
7) Tuesday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- Soft skills in context: Case studies of verbal and written communication in multicultural settings
8) Wednesday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- In/Formal Networking: Branding and selling yourself to make international contacts
9) Thursday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- Teaching Culture: How to make sensitive, allinclusive references to various cultures in an educational context; An evaluative look at materials and methodologies
5) Friday:
- General English (2 sessions; 1,5h each)
- Educational focus: Practical preparation and peer presentation of personal contextrelevant culture-based materials/lessons for whole-class review
- End-of-course evaluation
Przykładowe zajęcia dodatkowe:
archery *, beach games, beach volleyball, bowling *, extreme sports *, surfing *, water sports *, windsurfing *
barbecue *, boat cruises *, cheese & wine tasting *, city tour/walk, country walk/trekking, cultural activities, cultural events and festivals, football matches, guided city tours *, international evenings, museum visits, pub and restaurant evenings, sightseeng
Valetta *, Mdina *, The Three Cities *, Gozo and Comino *, Popeye's Village *, “Splash ‘n’ Fun” Amusement Park *
* zajęcia dodatkowo płatne
