- For effective collaboration, define each other’s roles. It is essential that people not specialized in the field, e.g. language teachers, are thoroughly oriented and given the chance to familiarise themselves with other subjects and with real workplace situations. A well-designed exercise benefits both teachers and students.
- Community spirit, interaction and cooperation are key to success. Effective teamwork and trust in one’s colleagues encourage continuation of the exercises and lower the threshold for asking for help, giving feedback or joining another subject’s exercise. Formal meetings are not always necessary, progress can often be made through informal conversations (for example over a coffee break), which helps the practice evolve.
- Induction for language teachers: If possible, participate in speciality subject exercises and gain insights into workplace practices. This improves your understanding of the subject content and enables you to better support speciality learning. If needed, give basic feedback and advice during operational tasks.
- Students should first master the basics of the specialty subject before applied language exercises begin. If needed, invite students to utilize self-access language learning options onsite or online.
- Pace the teaching carefully—there is no single right rhythm. Tailor it to each group’s needs and decide when applied exercises can start.
- Role-player participation is crucial to the success of the exercise, e.g. people not specialized in the field make good role players because their behaviour is “less in the know” and they have no preset assumptions about procedures. They also most closely resemble the clients the students will meet in professional practice. People not specialized in the field can therefore create more authentic customer-interaction scenarios, but it is important to brief them adequately for each exercise.
- Students who possess the necessary or adequate language skills can contribute and be involved in training. Give students a chance to play to their strengths: use bilingual or native-speaker students as role players.
- When planning an applied exercise, decide whether the main emphasis is on operational procedures or on target language learning.
- Success depends on everyone’s motivation. Experience shows that the more cooperation takes place, the greater the motivation of all parties—teachers and students alike—and the more meaningful the exercise becomes. If possible, run joint online activities with outreach training bodies, e.g., training colleges in neighboring countries.
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