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Quality Management for Schools andTeachers 1
Management in the Real World
Personal reflections of a
teacher/managerMaria Matheidesz
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INTRODUCTION
I had to formulate two crucial questions:
What can teachers/academic managers
transfer to the real world of management?
Do teachers teach what our students will
need outside the classroom?
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What can teachers/academic
managers transfer to the real
world of management?
Sensitivity to needs of staff and clientsteachers
experience in responding to students needs Observing and monitoring processesexperience
in lesson observation
Planning short and long termlesson planningand course design
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What skills do teachers/academic
managers have to learn? Financial awarenessin business
everything has financial implication
Time pressurebusiness life is much faster
than the working pace in education
Fast reactionsthe market changes rapidly,
quick reactions are needed as opposed toslow decision making in education
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What skills do our students need
most? Basic requirements in a working situation
are:
Independence
Efficiency
Appropriacy
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Independence
When you state at a job interview that you
speak a foreign language, employers will
expect you to operate in that language in thebusiness situations required by your job
E.g. sales assistants are likely to carry out
the following tasks in a foreign language:(1), (2)
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Tasks of a sales assistant
Writing emails, letters, agreements
TelephoningChecking and verifying documents (e.g.
consignment lists, customs clearancedocumentation, invoices etc.)
Negotiating (terms and conditions: discounts,delivery time, special orders, payment termsetc.)
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Tasks of a sales assistant (contd)
Reading product descriptions
Translating product descriptions
Producing brochure descriptions based onforeign texts
Giving presentations about trade results to
stakeholders/suppliersWriting reports/market analyses/proposals
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Efficiency
What does language efficiency mean in a workingsituation?
The job is done wellin timethe firsttime
How are foreign language transactions evaluated?
Success: if business is runningsmoothly
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When is the job done WELL?
If it is done in accordance with the business
interests of the company.
If the required business result is not
achieved the job is not done well.
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When is the job done in time?
Fast action is a major requirement inbusiness
The pace of the business world is muchfaster than that of the classroom
Slow action often has direct or indirect
financial implications Special skills are to be acquired to copewith the constant time pressure
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The job needs to be done well for
the first time A quality assurance concept
Tolerance for mistakes: no room for
mistakes in basic tasks, room for language
mistakes as long as task is performed well
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An example
A sales assistant is used to clarifying languagepoints with her boss to make sure that sheunderstands everything correctly.
One day the boss is on holiday.
The sales assistant puts off answering the emailwithout looking at it.
The company will have to pay a substantialstorage charge for a consignment due to thedelayed delivery of one document.
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Appropriacy
Language used in business transactions
have to meet international standards in the
use ofPronunciation/intonation
Specialised vocabulary
Register suitable for the position of participantsin the interaction
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Discussion points
Compare priorities of skills and requirements in
the real world and in the classroom?
For teachers/academic managers For students
Which requirements are not considered in the
classroom?
How could teachers prepare students for the
specific requirements of the business world?
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Teachers 16
What to do?
Raise awareness among teachers/students of
these difference
Design specialised tasks and exercisessimilar to real-life situations (e.g. build in a
time limit)
Evaluate language performance also by taskresult and not only by language accuracy