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A number
of people have asked to add Inter. (IV) type materials
and classes.
Question: What is Intermediate (IV)?
Answer: Intermediate IV is for those people who
are technically borderline Advanced level, but who don’t
feel they are comfortably ‘Advanced”.
A question frequently asked:
Question: Is your evaluation test of an academic
type?
Answer: Not at all. Business and industry have
expressed the need to measure their employees’ ability
to respond in English. Therefore, it is not useful to
measure knowledge of English as such. Instead, we
measure the degree of mastery of the language when
speaking and writing. Companies are concerned about the
ability to communicate. The requirements for the degree
of mastery of English vary in accordance with the task.
Our tools first establish the requirement for the task;
then, the language evaluation test measures the
candidate’s ability to meet that requirement.
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Some
Background |
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English as
a Second Language – The DL Method
In the early 1990’s, when the expression ‘Free Trade’
was making headlines, a number of international
companies operating in the province of Quebec (Canada)
realized they had an urgent need of fluently bilingual
personnel. Although management was often quite happy
with the professional abilities of their staff, for many
francophone employees, speaking English with suppliers
and customers was, if not impossible, certainly arduous.
Fortunately, at that same time Ms. Denise Larose
(creator of the DL Method) wanted new challenges.
Having been a teacher in the public sector for a number
of years, Ms. Larose connected with some people from the
private sector who ‘complained’ that although many
language schools operated in Quebec, few (if any) were
responding to the new challenges of the business world.
So Larose, went to work. She met with many people
working in international businesses (ex. Rolls-Royce
Canada, GECAlstom, Gaz Métro, Hydro Québec etc.). She
interviewed people in management as well as office
staff, union representatives and shop workers. Larose
studied company needs by talking with employees and
management, all the while evaluating posting needs. She
asked management: “What do you expect from your
employees?” She then asked employees: “How often and in
what type of situation, are you required to speak ESL?”
Answers would range from: “I need to negotiate contracts
in English with our customers in China.” to “I need to
be able to order office equipment from a supplier in
Toronto.”
In essence, some employees needed key phrases which they
often repeated (i.e. a limited need of English) whereas
others needed to become ‘fluently bilingual’.
Having identified needs, Larose worked on developing a
method using the best of many approaches (Communicative,
Audio-Lingual, Direct etc.). Her method quickly excluded
old and/or childish (familiar) concepts such as: ‘My
tailor is rich.’ and ‘See Dick. See Jane. See Dick and
Jane. See Dick and Jane run.’
Management also expressed financial concerns. Everyone
involved realized companies needed to invest in their
staff, but management wanted to know: “How much will
this cost?” So Larose identified levels of English (ex.
Beginners, Intermediate I, II and III, Advanced). She
developed a number of tools (Before registering in a
class, each participant undergoes a one-hour evaluation.)
used to determine a participant’s ability to speak (Oral
Expression), to write (Written Expression), to listen to
(Oral Comprehension) and to recognize
English sounds (Aural
Perception), vocabulary, grammar and structure.
The DL Method provides many advantages for all.
Participants, employers and teachers can
measure the
progress. Each lesson is made up of four components. In
class participation is compulsory as is homework. In a
regular session, participants attend a two-hour class
per week for a 12-week period. Much time is devoted to
the participant's ‘technical accent’. The participant is required to
control ‘waltzing’ (which is speaking and/or writing while
unduly
switching from one verb tense to another in the same
sentence) and needs to grasp concepts which are inherent
to the ‘English Way of Thinking’. Participants (not to
mention their colleagues and their superiors) see their
progress and feel they are learning with a method that
is structured, productive and interesting.
If you want to know more about the DL
Method, ask
someone who a few years ago couldn’t
speak any English and
is now explaining their product’s design to hispanophones in China. Ask around; these people are
easy to find. We also invite you to contact us by phone; we will gladly be of service.
Jeems von Platen
Les Communicateurs CBJT
January 2009 |
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