Thursday, May 20, 2021

English Career Development: Job Market, Resume, Cover letter & More

English for Career Development 

Welcome to English for Career Development, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania (upenn), and funded by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs. 

https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment


This course is designed for non-native English speakers who are interested in advancing their careers in the global marketplace.  In this course, you will learn about the job search, application, and interview process in the United States, while comparing and contrasting the same process in your home country. 

This course is designed for high beginner to low intermediate English language learners.

  • Unit 1: Entering the Job Market
  • Unit 2: Resumes
  • Unit 3: Writing a Cover Letter
  • Unit 4: Networking
  • Unit 5:  Interviewing for a Job


Unit 1: Entering the Job Market

Average U.S. worker today holds 10 different jobs before age 40? For younger workers just beginning their career that number is between 12 and 15 jobs.

In the United States a person will send a resume and cover letter to formally apply for a job. A resume is a written document of one's employment, education, and skills.

The cover letter is a formal letter addressed to the employer to introduce the job seeker, show qualifications, and ask for an interview.







  • An occupation is a person's work as a way to earn money.
  • A career is an occupation or a profession that requires special training and continues over a long period of time.
  • Employment is a general term for the activity that people do to make money.

  • To apply for a job is to formally ask for employment, usually in writing.
This means completing a specific job application or sending a documents like a resume and cover letter. We will talk more about these later in units two and three.
  • To interview for a job is to answer question in a formal meeting.
  • To be hired for a job, is to be given a job and then paid for the work.
  • To work is to do an activity related to one's occupation.
  • A job seeker is someone who is looking for a job.
  • After a person applies for a job they become a candidate or an applicant which is a person who might get the job.
  • An employer is the person making the decision to give the applicant a job.
  • When a candidate is hired and begins working, he is then called an employee. Employee is a more formal word for worker.

Unit 2: Resume

A resume is a written document of work experience, education, and skills. Resumes are usually only one or two pages long. And give a short but detailed description of your past job duties and experiences. Reverse chronological order. In other words, list your most recent job first, the one before that next, and so on into the past.





Resume guide: the basic elements
https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment/supplement/WCatU/advanced-resume-guide-the-basic-elements

https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment/supplement/cdAnF/sample-resume-tomoko-martin
https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment/supplement/6OMkO/sample-resume-beth-smith

https://www.careeronestop.org/JobSearch/Resumes/ResumeGuide/introduction.aspx



In this example, he attended Cornell University in the city of Ithaca, in the state of New York. On the next line, he lists his most recent degree, an M.B.A. in General Management, which he completed in 2015. This is a graduate level Master's Degree in Business Administration with a special focus or major in general management. Next, he lists his B.A. in sociology which he completed in 2009. His Bachelor of Arts degree is a four year degree and sociology is the subject area that he studied most. After listing the degrees, Michael includes an award that he earned in 2008 and 2009. In United States Universities, Dean's List awards go to students who received very high grades at the end of the academic year.


When describing experience, many job seekers use a bullet list of three to five lines. There is no punctuation at the end because these are not complete sentences. read the resume looking for mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. There are two common types of resume used nowadays, functional and chronological.

Haven’t had a lot of (or any) work experience?

https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment/supplement/QNLxh/sample-resume-for-haven-t-had-a-lot-of-or-any-work-experience

Action verbs:




Unit 3: Cover letter
A written cover letter shows the applicant's personal style, explains the applicant's qualifications for the job and formally asks for an interview.

  • The first part is the heading which includes the writer's address and contact information, the date and the reader's name and address 
  • The second part is the salutation.(always begins with the word dear)
  • The third part is the three body paragraphs, opening paragraph, middle paragraph and closing paragraph. The first paragraph of a cover letter must include a statement of application applying for job, the specific title of the job opening, and your source of information. In paragraph two in the body of the cover letter, you will summarize two or three examples from your education, experience, and interests to show a future employer how you are qualified for the job.
  • And the fourth is the closing which includes a complimentary close, a signature and a typed name.  The complimentary close that is used most often is sincerely followed by a comma.

Hi Mary, or Hi Mr. Smith to Dear Mr. Smith, Dear Ms. Smith, Dear Sir or Madam 
Bye or Take care or Goodbye to Sincerely or Yours sincerely
I'm, you're (contractions ) to I am, you are

Dear Ms. Smith, I was very interested to read your advertisement for the position of receptionist in the Seattle Herald dated May 6th 2011. I would like to be considered for this job.


Unit 4: Networking


Small talks vs. elevator speech

Networking elevator speech is a short description of skills and career goals.
Because the average amount of time in an elevator is about 45 seconds.A good elevator speech includes your name and current job, what you are looking for, something from a past experience, and a short description of your best job skill.

Speakers who use effective stress, pausing and intonation are often easier to understand and show confidence. 
When we talk about stress, we mean words that are longer and louder. Stressed words are usually important keywords that you want the listener to hear clearly.Pauses are the short silence between words.You should also notice that the pause follows the words with the most stress.

Intonation is the rising or falling of a sound. Intonation is used to show that you're asking a question or ending a statement. Rising intonation usually signals that the speaker isn't finished speaking or signals a yes or no question. Falling intonation is used to signal the end of a statement or a wh question that begins with who, what, when, where or how. Intonation is important because it shows your level of confidence. If Amanda has too much rising intonation she would sound like she's asking too many questions or that she's not sure of herself. On the other hand, too much falling intonation can make her sound like she's impatient or unfriendly.

Job seekers who use stress, pausing and intonation effectively appear more competent and are more likely to be successful in their networking.

Sample answer

Hello, I’m Amanda Smith and I have been in sales for about five years. I’m currently looking for a sales position in the auto industry. One of the things I like most about sales is meeting and talking with new customers all the time. I’m really good at listening to customers and I am able to understand what they really want.

My name is Robyn Turner and I've been an English language instructor for over 15 years. I taught English in many different programs in Japan, Bulgaria, and New York. I'm looking to work with other instructors to help build online courses. I've really enjoyed working with international students because I learned so much about different people, places, and cultures. One of my best skills is being flexible and willing to try new things.


Hello, I'm Amanda Smith and I have been in sales for about five years.I'm currently looking for a sales position in the auto industry.One of the thing I like most about sales is meeting is talking with new customers all the time.I'm really good at listening to customers and I'm able to understand what they really want.Do you know if Toyota is hiring any new salespeople in this area?

My name is Robyn Turner and I've been an English language instructor for over 15 years. I taught English in many different programs in Japan, Bulgaria, and New York. I'm looking to work with other instructors to help build online courses. I've really enjoyed working with international students because I learned so much about different people, places, and cultures. One of my best skills is being flexible and willing to try new things.

Write a networking elevator speech introducing yourself

Hello, I’m Sharon and I have homeschooled my child for more than ten years. I’m currently looking for a teacher or tutor job in math or computer area. My child's PSAT is 1470, only 50 away from full score, 1520. I hope I could help more students


One tool that helps to build a career is temporary employment, such as internships and co-ops. Co-op is short for Cooperative Education and is an academic program meant to complement the student's education, according to the Cooperative Education & Internship Association. 

Internships are often short-term positions with a company or organization while a co-op is meant to be longer term. They both let students test their knowledge and abilities in the real world and help them consider if the work or company is a good fit for them.


What's Your Passion? Internships Can Help Focus Career Path


 Unit 5: Interview

A direct question vs. an indirect question 

A direct question is why are you a good fit for this job, or why do you want to work for this company. 
Answer: I believe I'm a good fit for this company because I have the necessary skills and experience to fit right in and help the company grow.


It's called an indirect question because the question doesn't begin with a w-word, like what, where, when, why, who, and how, which direct questions often use.

  • tell me a little bit about yourself.
  • I wonder if you could tell me about a time when you faced a challenge and you overcame that challenge.
  • I'd like to know what type of skills you have that make you qualified for this job.

Do you have any questions for me? Or do you have any questions of your own?
Answer: what opportunities are there for professional development in this company? Or what is the next step in the interview process?  

We're going to look at some more do's and don'ts of an interview.


>> Michael, you just told me about your biggest strength, what would you say is your biggest weakness?
>>>>>> That's a good question. Let me think, probably I take criticism a little too personal. But, this is something I'm really working on and trying not to let criticism I've see it as being personal but more professional thing. Am I making sense here?

>> Yes, absolutely. And so, why do you want to work for this company?
>>>>>> Well, I really like the set of products that this company has developed and I think with my own experience in the set of skills that I've developed that I can really contribute and help this company grow. 

>> Okay, so where do you see yourself in three years? 
>>>>>> If I'm understanding you correctly, you're asking me where do I see myself in three years time. Is that right? 

>> Yes, that's correct. 
>>>>>> Well, probably in the same role or maybe in a more senior position. Maybe growing into a position with more responsibility, maybe managing a team.

>> Okay, great, I have asked you a few questions. Do you have any questions for me? 
>>>>>> Yeah, sure do. Are there any opportunities for professional development in this position? 

>> Great question. We do have a budget for training and a lot of our employees use that money to take courses. But we also offer in-house professional development a few times a year.
>>>>>>That sounds like a wonderful opportunity. Great, I can't wait to start. 

>> All right, well we have a few more candidates to interview but then we will be getting back to you very soon. 
>>>>>>Okay, wonderful, thank you.




I wonder if you could tell me about a time when you faced a challenge and what you did to overcome that challenge?

>>>>>>Well, after my husband and I moved to California and our children started school there, I decided that I wanted to get my master's degree in English, lots of reading and papers to write. As you can imagine, this was a real challenge, taking care of my children, taking classes, and working in my husband's business. But I'm a very determined person and luckily my family was very supportive of me, so I could take classes in the evenings and on weekends. Of course I didn't sleep very much for about three years, and sometimes I missed spending time on the weekends with my family but I kept going. My family was so proud, and I was proud when I finally got my master's degree. 

Seven Ways to Advance Your Career With Social Media
https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment/supplement/3i2En/advanced-seven-ways-to-advance-your-career-with-social-media
  1. Add bling to LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn profile can support embedded files. This means that you can upload PowerPoint, Excel and Word files under a job in your "Experience" section.
  2. Complete your Facebook bio. 
  3. Try a Twitter chat.
  4. Join or host a live stream event. 
  5. Share thoughts on Instagram. 
  6. Tell your story on Snapchat. 
  7. Understand why these may or may not work. The sole purpose of trying any of these tricks is to get on the radar of a person inside a specific company. You'll win points for creativity and ingenuity if you tailor your message to your ideal employer. And because these platforms were designed for individual use, not marketing big brands, you don't need to obsess over how slick your campaign is. Focus on your message instead. Is it clear, engaging, humorous, appropriate or at least grammatically correct?
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Five Illegal Job Interview Questions in the US 五個非法求職面試問題

The three most stressful situations in life are said to be ending a marriage, dealing with death and moving to a new home. Many people would add one more experience to that list – a job interview.

Finding a good job is difficult enough. Add to that the fact that employers may ask some very personal questions during a job interview. In the United States, it is illegal for employers to raise some of these issues.

See how they compare to job interviews in your country.

In a job interview, you must show your best side. You must sell yourself and show the interviewer that you are the best candidate for the job.

To do this you must answer question after question. A prospective employer will want to know about your skills, qualifications, past work experiences, and goals.

The interviewer is the person asking the questions. Interviewers want to learn as much as they can about the interviewee, the person seeking employment. This can cause an uneven balance of power and lead to some difficult questions. In the United States, a few of those questions are not just difficult, they are illegal.

There are many websites that offer advice on careers and how to prepare for a job interview. You may have used some of these sites, such as Monster.com andLinkedIn.

The following five areas showed up in all the reports and lists I examined during my recent searches. All of these areas of questioning are considered illegal in the United States.

1. Sex questions are off limits.

It is very easy for an interviewer to discriminate based on a person’s gender or sex. If you are a woman, you may be asked, “Are you comfortable managing a team of men?” If you are man you may be asked, “Would you feel comfortable having a woman as a boss?”

In the United States, any question related to gender should not be raised during the job interview. But if gender does come up, answer the question by stating your past work experiences that show you can do the job, regardless of whether you are a woman or a man.

2. Questions about marriage and children are illegal.

People with children love talking about them. But during a job interview it's not the time. Questions such as, “Do you have children?” or “Do you plan to work after having children?” are not legal to ask.

Naturally, future employers want to know how long you plan to be with them if you are hired. Hiring people takes time and, as they say, time is money. But it is illegal to not hire someone because they have children or are planning on having a child in the future.

It is legal for a prospective employer to ask, “What hours can you work?” or “Do you have responsibilities that might keep you from doing your job?” These questions are legal because they are directly related to the job and not tied to your personal life.

Any question related to your marital status, whether you are married, is considered illegal in the U.S. But they are common. Asking someone, “Are you married?” is a loaded question, a question looking for more than what is simply asked. A question about marriage is illegal because it may lead to information about your sexual orientation -- whether you are gay, straight or bisexual. And that is no one’s business but your own.

3. Your Citizenship and Nationality are private.

It is illegal for a U.S. business to hire someone who is not permitted to work in the country. But the only way a company can explore the issue legally is to ask the question directly - “Can you work legally in the United States?” Done.

If an interviewer asks things such as, “Where are you from?” or “Where were you born?” they have, again, crossed into Illegal Land. These may seem like innocent questions. But they are illegal because it involves your country of birth. Employers in the U.S. cannot legally ask about your nationality.

This also extends to language. It is not the employer’s lawful right to know if a language is your first language. However, they can legally ask what other languages you know.

4. Asking about religion is a no-no.

Employers may want to ask which religious holidays you observe to see if it may interfere with work. But questions about your religion are illegal.

Employers can legally ask if you can work on a Sunday, a day when many Christians attend religious services.

5. Your Age is your business. Not theirs.

The question, “How long have you been working?” may seem fine. But this question is all about age discrimination. It is also illegal for an interviewer to ask what year you completed high school or college or even your birthday. It is easy enough to do the math. It is legal for an interviewer to ask you how long you have been working in a certain industry. Again, the question is tied to the job and not your personal life.

It can be difficult to answer personal questions during a job interview. After all, if you want the job, you do not want to seem difficult. If a question seems illegal or just makes you feel uneasy, simply direct the question back to the job and your qualifications.

Of course, you do not have to answer any question that you feel is insulting or illegal. This, however, may cost you the job.

In the end it is a personal decision. But always know your rights.

How do these employment laws in the U.S. differ from laws in your country? Let’s talk about it … in the comment section.

I’m Anna Matteo.

*This report was based on online resources including Monster.com, LinkedIn, HumanResourcesAbout.com and About.com/careers. Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in this Story

candidate – n. a person who is being considered for a job, position, award, etc.

qualification – n. a special skill or type of experience or knowledge that makes someone suitable to do a particular job or activity

prospective – adj. likely to be or become something specified in the future

sexual orientation – n. the inclination of an individual with respect to heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual behavior

discriminatory – adj. unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people. The noun is discrimination.

gender – n. the state of being male or female

hire – v. to give work or a job to someone in exchange for wages or a salary; n.someone who has been hired for a job

_____________

Matteo, A. (2014, November 04). Five Illegal Job Interview Questions in the US. Retrieved June 01, 2020, from https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/five-illegal-job-interview-questions/2492943.html

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Culture Affects Career and Life Planning

Culture Affects Career and Life Planning

07 December 2008

By Richard N. Bolles

How young people make career choices varies widely in different countries. A career expert surveys these various standards exclusively for eJournal USA.

Richard N. Bolles is the author of What Color Is Your Parachute?, a guide to job hunting and career choice that has been reprinted in 10 editions over the last 30 years and translated into more than 20 languages.

Let’s start with a story.

Imagine, if you will, a beautiful valley, filled with every kind of fruit tree. You are told that you may choose any tree in that valley, and its fruit will be yours. To aid you in your choice, a little table is set up at the entrance to the valley, where you may taste the various fruits to see which one you most prefer. When your tasting is finished, you point to one fruit you’ve decided is your favorite. They lead you down the valley until you are looking at this beautiful tree. “That is your tree,” they tell you.

You should be thrilled, but instead your heart falls because the lowest-hanging fruit is at least 20 feet (seven meters) above the ground. Though you may in theory have the fruit you chose, in fact you cannot reach it.

You resign yourself to the frustration that your favorite fruit is forever beyond your reach, or you devise some plan for attaining it.

First you try to knock down some of the fruit by throwing rocks at the lowest branches of the tree. When that approach is not successful, you try another. You get several of your friends together, and they form a living pyramid, standing on each other’s shoulders, then hauling you up, like an acrobat, to the very top of this human pyramid where you will be able to reach the fruit. But the friends are unsteady, and the pyramid beneath you soon begins to crumble. You come up with one last idea. You take out a book from the library, and with the advice and practical help of those same friends, you learn to build a 30-foot (nine-meter) wooden or bamboo ladder. Once built, it can be carried from one spot to another beneath the tree, and you can pick the lovely fruit you so desire.

Once you have the fruit in hand, you exit the valley at the other end, where there is an inspector to ascertain if the fruit is really yours before you are allowed to keep it.

You may have guessed that this is a parable or allegory, designed to help us picture the approach to career pursuit in the United States, with its four stages:

1. The choice of a career that pleases you. This is represented by the fruit tasting at the entrance to the valley.

2. The job hunt. This is represented by the fact that you cannot reach that fruit at first. Here is our principal truth in this article: Career choice without job-hunting skills is “fruitless.” They are two parts of one indivisible whole. Without job-hunting skills, career choice is only a dream. Without a career choice, job hunting is no more than drifting. Drifting or dreaming: These are the consequences of mastering only one side of the career hunt as it is pursued in the United States.


3. The various methods of job hunting. These are represented by the rocks, the human pyramid, and the ladder. Favored job-hunting methods in the United States are the sending out of resumes (throwing rocks at the tree, hoping to shake some of the fruit to the ground); networking (building a human pyramid in order to reach the fruit); and/or empowerment, becoming a competent job hunter forever by using the present crisis to learn how to deal with this kind of crisis for the rest of your life. You’ll achieve that by inventorying your skills, learning to provide evidence of those skills, and then identifying the needs of targeted employers (this is represented by the building of a permanent ladder).

4. Successfully passing the interview with a prospective employer. This is represented, in our parable, by the inspection station at the exit from the valley at the far end.

With this parable about the U.S. careers system as our background, let’s see how the process of career choice and the job hunt (one indivisible topic) diverges from this model in other countries around the world.

Keep in mind that in every country this process is like a rainbow. We may select or discuss a dominant color in that country, but the other colors are always present in one degree or another. Hence, claiming that any country has just one method of going about career choice or the job hunt is ridiculous; there are usually as many exceptions as there are “rules.” We can speak only in terms of dominant assumptions, tendencies, or trends, and these frequently occur only among some social classes in that particular country.

Keeping these caveats in mind, let us catalog what variations there are around the world. Let us look at the rainbows.

Career choice. Around the world, some people will just “fall into” a career by accident or happenstance, hence “career choice” is not something highly valued or expected; in such cultures, young people do not know what they want, nor do they have the perspective to even frame the question to themselves. While at the other end of our rainbow, in some countries career choice is certainly expected, but the whole family chooses what career you will be pointed toward. It is a communal choice, not an individual one -- based on what will gain the greatest prestige, or “face,” for the family as a whole. (In many cultures, “face” refers to a family or individual’s reputation or standing in society.) It is worth noting that societies that do not use the vocabulary of “face” often base their career-choice system upon the concept nonetheless: Does a certain career automatically earn respect and confer admirable social standing upon the individual or family? Typically, engineer, doctor, and professor are at the top, while entrepreneur and politician are at the bottom. Individual choice is constrained by such considerations.

The job hunt. In some cultures, or at least amidst certain classes, there is little choice as to how you go about your job hunt. The method of the job hunt is prescribed and even ritualistic: “There is an order to things; this is the way it’s done.” In Northern Ireland, for example, the law requires that for certain state jobs every candidate has to be asked exactly the same questions. In other countries, the ritual may not have all the status of law but may be a heavily prescribed expectation. In some Latin or South American countries, for example, you are expected to deliver to companies that are of interest a package, running up to 10 pages or more, in advance of an interview. This package should include a three- to five-page résumé (sometimes longer), educational records, certifications, photocopies of diplomas, letters of recommendation from previous employers, etc. The point is to provide credibility — “I am who I say I am” — before companies even ask for such evidence. Some cultures (as in Europe) have an almost indestructible belief that the job-hunting system functions in a well-ordered, prescribed way — even when there is a ton of evidence that this simply is not true. Even much of the United States is not immune to this delusion.

The various methods of job hunting. At the other end of this job-hunting rainbow, in the United States and countries with similar latitude, you can use any method of job hunting that occurs to you. If you invent a new method tomorrow that nobody has ever heard of, more power to you. There are no limits, apart from avoiding weirdness and bad taste. In What Color Is Your Parachute?, I identify 16 different methods of job hunting, but the three most common methods are those alluded to in our allegory earlier: résumés, networking, and empowerment. Unlike the allegory 讽喻, however, these are often not alternatives, but are all used simultaneously in pursuit of success in any particular case.

Successfully passing the interview with a prospective employer. The rainbow here is impressive. The outstanding difference, however, revolves around whether the interview and the job are perceived in terms of the group or perceived in terms of the individual. In the United States, we are accustomed to the emphasis being upon the individual. The individual is the subject of the hiring interview, at which time the individual must say what makes him or her outstanding, compared to other job hunters with similar backgrounds. The individual must describe and document the results he or she achieved in previous jobs or roles. The individual must, in the end, ask for the job and later decide which job offer to accept.

In many, many countries around the world, this is a totally foreign process, particularly in those cultures where the family is a dominant social force. In these countries, the emphasis is on the importance of the community, the group, and the team, both at work and in the interview.

For openers, the community may be present in the interview, with the entire family coming to the interview (in some Asian cultures or Maori). Their role is to volunteer things about you that you may have forgotten to mention or that humility may dictate you not say about yourself. As the process advances, the role of family members is to decide which position and firm you should accept, based on which offers the most “face” to the family.

The community is the subject of the interview. It is not the individual who accumulates achievements -- only the group or the team. Indeed, in some cultures, in order for the team to function at its highest, employers may only consider hiring everyone from the same city or community to be sure they will work well together.

As job hunter, your role in the interview is to emphasize what you contributed to the team or group you worked with in the past. More than this -- that is, trying to stand out from the other members of the group -- is regarded as arrogance. In Japan, this prohibition is enshrined in the adage 格言 “hit the nail that stands above the rest, so they all are even”; while in Australia and New Zealand, this is referred to as “the tall poppy gets cut first.” Ouch!

You are advised instead to speak of your assets only in terms of “added value,” a term that almost every employer understands.

Now that we have seen how the process of “career choice and the job hunt” varies in countries around the world, I see four lessons for someone who is about to head down this road:

1. Take inventory of yourself. Know yourself as well as you possibly can. (See exercises in What Color Is Your Parachute? or similar works.) Decide what transferable skills you have, particularly what skills you could contribute to a team or community of workers.

2. Using the Internet, the phone book, or conversations with people who work in your field of interest, find out as much as you can about companies or organizations where you might like to work. If you know more about that company than other job seekers, you’ll make a good impression when you get an interview. Companies love to be loved.

3. Familiarize yourself with how the job hunt is typically done in the land where you are seeking work. Talk to several people who have found jobs there, and ask how they did it. Take notes.

4. Go deeper. Ask people whom they know who didn’t follow the typical path but found work they enjoyed doing anyway. Talk to them face-to-face, if you can, and ask how they did it. Take note of all the details so you can devise a “Plan B” in case the typical path in that country doesn’t work for you.

What you want, more than any job, is hope for your future and in your life. And in job hunting, as in life, hope is born from always having alternate ways of pursuing your search for purpose and meaning on this earth.

Further information about job hunting is available at the author’s Web site http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/

_______________

Bolles, R. N. (2008, December 07). IIP Digital | U.S. Department of State. Retrieved from http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/publication/2008/12/20081210084227cmretrop5.685061e-02.html#axzz42Kxr2ta1

Original source: https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment/supplement/tksln/culture-affects-career-and-life-planning

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Set SMART goals to get ahead in your career.

Set SMART goals to get ahead in your career.

Where would you like to be in one year? In five years? What experiences will help you achieve that? What interests and skills would you like to use in your career? Setting a career goal is about deciding where you want to head in your career, and identifying the smaller steps needed to reach that goal.

What are examples of common career goals?

  1. Increase professional knowledge and training. This is a common goal for many people who are looking for work or those who have a job. Some ways to increase training are taking a college class, going to a workshop offered by an employer, or getting a certification.
  2. Increase salary. Being underpaid often makes people less interested in their work. Making changes to earn more money increases excitement for most jobs, and motivates a job search.
  3. Improve a difficult process or relationship. This goal area can make the daily work experience more positive and rewarding.
  4. Have new experiences. Whether volunteering in your community or at work, joining a professional association to meet new people in your field, or introducing yourself to people you never talk with, new experiences create interest in your career.
  5. Be a leader. Many people feel their biggest goal is to lead in their career or organization. Establishing the steps to achieve a leadership role makes it possible.

How to set goals

To help you write effective goals, try the SMART system for each career goal. Each letter in the word represents an important part of your goal.

Specific – Make a specific, clear focus for your goal or steps. For example, “make ten job search calls after the conference in April” is much more specific than “make some networking connections.”

Measurable – To see if your goal is measurable, ask questions such as: how much? How many? How will I know when it is accomplished? These questions usually focus on something that can be counted, for example, time, people, or specific things.

Attainable – Goals are attainable, or possible, when steps are planned clearly and allow enough time. How do you plan to complete your goal? Which actions follow on other actions? Is the goal realistic from your starting point? It should be a challenge, but also achievable.

Relevant – A relevant goal is one that really matters to you and is important. Is it worth the effort? Is this the right time? Does your goal relate to other efforts or timelines? Does it require resources or things that are currently available?

Timely - A goal should be set within a certain time period to be clear and to keep you focused on the goal. When do you want to begin? When do you want to complete each step?

Tips to reach your goal

  • Write down the steps. Write down your career goal and the steps to get there. This will help you remember and achieve each step. Put your list where you will see it often.
  • Set deadlines. Give yourself a date to complete your goals. Write the date when you actually finish each step.
  • Reward yourself. Taking steps toward goals is hard work. Think of small rewards to give yourself when you complete any step, to help you stay motivated.
  • Have a goal partner. Find someone to help you: a friend, co-worker, a job coach, or someone else. Discuss your goals, and meet with them when you complete steps. If possible, do the same for your partner!

Source: https://www.coursera.org/learn/careerdevelopment/supplement/wcWM8/advanced-set-smart-goals-to-get-ahead-in-your-career

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Tuesday, May 18, 2021

ASU Tesol Cert: #1 Foundational Principles Week 3, 4, 5, 6

 Module 3: Taking Risks and Learner Strategies

Using language-learning expert Francois Gouin’s experience of going to Germany and failing to learn German, this module demonstrates the need for learners to understand how a language is learned. Gouin’s experience demonstrates not only the need for a diffuse mode of learning wherein practice is valued, but it also demonstrates the psyche of many second language learners. Francois, in some sense, was too smart for his own good, relying on techniques for learning material that don’t apply to language use and application. Students must use techniques and strategies that are proven to help someone acquire language, like those from the good language learner studies. Teachers can facilitate student learning by helping to demonstrate good language learner principles.


Lesson 1: Taking Risks

Video 1: Language is a Stage

Like being on stage, learning a new language creates a heightened sense of self-awareness, where the learner is afraid to make mistakes and is almost paralyzed with tension.

Self awareness is the ability to see yourself, or perhaps imagine yourself, from someone else's viewpoint. In language learning, self awareness means you are aware of your accent, your grammar mistakes, and how well you are doing at communicating your idea.


Stephen Krashen, our famous ESL theorist, explains this concept using the term affective filter. The affective filter, he explains, refers to the complex emotions your students might have as they process all this new information, and try to produce language.  That stage-fright feeling is called the affective filter,





Video 2: Lowering the Affective Filter

  • First of all. From the very beginning of your classes, make sure you relate to your learners.
  • Second, I like to describe mistakes as normal.
  • Third. Use formative evaluation. When you give feedback that is not a final grade but is to help them along the way, this is called formative feedback, or formative evaluation. This is all in contrast to summative evaluation wherein students are evaluated by their performance and given a grade.
  • Fourth, be willing to look ridiculous. This helps students to recognize that they themselves can take risks.

Lesson 2: Understanding Mistakes

  • Video 3: Language Learner Strategies
  • Video 4: Good Language Learner Strategies

Lesson 3: Summary and Essential Questions

Video 5: Summary and Essential Question


Reading: Teaching Language Learning Strategies

you learned about the strategies that good language learners employ, namely:

  • Predicting – using social and contextual clues to guess at the topic
  • Using selective attention – paying attention to only what seems important
  • Preparing – thinking about what one wants to communicate in advance
  • Looking ridiculous – being willing to look foolish in order to complete the task
  • Practicing 
  • Monitoring – correcting one’s own speech for accuracy
  • Asking questions 
  • Taking notes
  • Using imagery – relating new information to a visualization
  • Finding the answer in multiple ways 
  • Using physical response – relating new information to a physical action
  • Playing – experimenting with language 

Bonus Materials: Stories about Risk and Trying New Strategies; Stephen Krashen 

Reading: The Lightning Bug

Reading: Three Korean Girls  (not surprisingly, it is how Asian study, it is my old way)

Reading: Fifty-five Hours

Reading: Pieces

Reading: The Affective Filter Hypothesis 


Module 4: The Flipped Model of Language Learning

While it was once considered impossible to be immersed in English outside of an English-speaking country, with the advent of the internet, the world has changed and continues to change significantly. This module presents ways in which to use the internet and other resources to a teacher’s advantage, and helps a teacher recognize their ability to engage students on cell phones, tablets, and computers. Introduction of the flipped classroom, meaning that learners can engage in focused material (videos, readings, etc) outside the classroom, and then engage in projects, exercises, and discussions within it.

Lesson 1: Connecting Students to Resources

  • Video 1: Language Learning Outside the Classroom
  • Video 2: Thinking Outside the Classroom Box

Lesson 2: Encouraging Student Autonomy

  • Video 3: Language Learning Online
  • Video 4: Student Autonomy

Lesson 3: Summary and Essential Question

Video 5: Summary and Essential Question


Reading: Opening the Classroom Door

Reading: Money well-spent? Government national plans

Assignment: Language learners should only be exposed to the forms they are taught

I don't believe everyone thinks it is true. 

If students are serious about learning English as a way to use it, they need to be exposed with many forms as possible. As we have previously discussed, it is not only important for the student to "learn" the language, but they should be able to "acquire" and use the language in the real world.

Pen-pals is very enticing. But I don't think native English people have time or interests to communicate with English learners. The most practical way is to join "fan clubs" where students can post their ideas and read other people's wonderful thoughts. In such context (l like call it scaffolding), students can learn a great deal. Game community is a wonderful place to go. But it poses a great challenge. Students must be familiar with games to be able engaging into deep talk, but where could they find time to play it? Or, is game really boost learning?



Module 5: Avoiding Teacher Burnout

This module introduces the concept of teacher burnout, and several techniques to avoid it. The first technique is the creation of a network. By creating a network of teachers to help you understand your field, you can learn new ideas and have a resource for solving difficult problems. The second technique, maintaining control of your teaching environment, demonstrates the need for teachers to understand how to best make a difference and avoid the pitfalls of complaining. Finally, the third technique, finding your core, explains that teachers can paradoxically maintain energy by working tirelessly for the principles they most believe in.

Lesson 1: Teacher Burnout
Video 1: Let's Talk About YOU
Video 2: Teaching is a Team Sport

Lesson 2: Lighting Fires Instead of Burning Out
Video 3: Freaking Out Over Control
Video 4: Lighting Fires

Lesson 3: Summary and Essential Question
Video 5: Summary and Essential Question

In Skinner and Edge's book about self-determination, they recommend which two strategies to avoid burnout? form a network and maintain a sense of control.

  • First of all, the happiest teachers focus on the things they can do not the things they cannot.
  • Second, the happiest teachers are agents of change.
  • Third, the happiest teachers find balance.
  • Fourth, the happiest teachers cherish the rewards of teaching.
Never act, be sincere. And I hope that you fight for the principles that you believe in. Strangely enough, the most significant thing I have ever seen in preventing teacher burnout is burning brightly.

Teachers that work too hard are the ones that burn out

I think everyone burns out in today's "winner takes it all" society. Now competition even starts in womb. The problem I believe is if everyone burns perfectly.  Did our teacher said "Strangely enough, the most significant thing I have ever seen in preventing teacher burnout is burning brightly." So, there should be no problem of burn out, only the question how to burn out. 

People always envy the rich or the powerful. But to me, these people burns "badly". They waste their life because priceless life lesson only comes from hardship. Thus, "easy" life is wasteful life. This is my realization when I turns to fifty. 

The lesson I learn from this course is "Never act, be sincere". If so, haven't we all learned homework seldom help us to learn when we were student. So what is point grading them when we become teachers? Is this supposing hard work of grading not sincere at all? If it is true, teachers burn out for nothing. 



Module 6: Assessment

This review of the course guides learners to understand the different metaphors that serve as guides to understanding the foundational principles presented in this course.




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Monday, May 17, 2021

ASU Tesol Cert: #1 Foundational Principles Week 2

Week 2 

Module 2: Modes of Learning and Interaction

In this module, learners are introduced to the distinction between learning and acquisition. The distinction is made to help give learners context for the principle that language requires practice. To introduce the importance of practice, the distinction between a focused and diffuse mode of learning demonstrates that students who simply learn through memorizing vocabulary and grammar structures (i.e., focused mode) often don’t acquire language structures. On the other hand, teachers who engage students in both a focused and diffuse mode, like a basketball coach with his players, are able to instruct but give time for that instruction to “sink in” through dedicated practice.


Lesson 1: Modes of Learning

  • Video 1: Acquisition vs. Learning
  • Video 2: Two Modes of Learning

Lesson 2: Modes of Interaction

  • Video 3: Language is Basketball  (another metaphor, means you need to practice)
  • Video 4: Practice in the Two Modes

Lesson 3: Summary and Essential Question

  • Video 5: Summary and Essential Question

Reading: Accuracy vs. Fluency: Find a Balance and Keep Moving Forward

Reading: The Acquisition-Learning Distinction


Acquisition refers to the ability to put into practice. The ability to interact with others in a real language environment in order to convey meaning and ideas that will be useful to communicate information.

While test taking and learning in a focused mode can be useful for language learning, it's simply isn't enough. In fact, many people have taken years of language classes without ever really acquiring the language.

In this module, we have learned that there's a big difference between Acquisition and Learning. Learning by memorizing lists of vocabulary and grammar can be important, but acquisition means you can put all that knowledge to use through real communication.

We learned about two modes of learning, the Focused and Diffused modes. In order to help deepen your understanding of learning which tends to be more focused and acquisition which tends to be more diffused.

The concept of an 80/20 rule helps gives you a general guideline an ideal for your language classroom. 80% Practice 20% instruction.


THE ACQUISITION-LEARNING DISTINCTION

The acquisition-learning distinction is perhaps the most fundamental of all the hypotheses to be presented here. It states that adults have two distinct and independent ways of developing competence in a second language.

The first way is language acquisition, a process similar, if not identical to the way children develop ability in their first language. Language acquisition is a subconscious process; language acquirers are not usually aware of the fact that they are acquiring language, but are only aware of the fact that they are using the language for communication. The result of language acquisition, acquired competence, is also subconscious. We are generally not consciously aware of the rules of the languages we have acquired. Instead, we have a "feel" for correctness. Grammatical sentences "sound" right, or "feel" right, and errors feel wrong, even if we do not consciously know what rule was violated.

Other ways of describing acquisition include implicit learning, informal learning, and natural learning. In non-technical language, acquisition is "picking-up" a language.

The second way to develop competence in a second language is by language learning. We will use the term "learning" henceforth to refer to conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing the rules, being aware of them, and being able to talk about them. In non-technical terms, learning is "knowing about" a language, known to most people as "grammar", or "rules". Some synonyms include formal knowledge of a language, or explicit learning.

Some second language theorists have assumed that children acquire, while adults can only learn. The acquisition-learning hypothesis claims, however, that adults also acquire, that the ability to "pick-up" languages does not disappear at puberty. This does not mean that adults will always be able to achieve native-like levels in a second language. It does mean that adults can access the same natural "language acquisition device" that children use. As we shall see later, acquisition is a very powerful process in the adult.

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What is taught is what is learned

I think this question is too ambiguous. If it refers to knowledge, it can't be true. Teachers can't teach students everything. Even contents in curriculum are carefully chosen to include the most important knowledge.

But if it refers to the skills to learn, it is true. Josef Albers said: "Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers." Good teachers teach students how to think, bad teachers train them to be robots. Thus, students learn what is to be taught and become copies of their teachers. 

To answer it more accurately, the essential question should be more specified. Just like learning vs. acquisition, without specific context, I would like think learing is broader than acquisition.
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ASU Tesol Cert: Foundational Principles Week 1

Arizona State University TESOL Professional Certificate

Launch Your Career as an English Teacher. Master strategies to teach English as a second or foreign language.

https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/arizona-state-university-tesol

Teach English Now! Courese #1 Foundational Principles

WEEK 1

Lesson 1: Technique and Content

Lesson 2: Teacher Techniques

Lesson 3: Summary and Essential Question

  • Video: Welcome Video
  • Video: Video 1: Language is Cake
  • Video: Video 2: Language is Cake: Technique and Content
  • Video: Video 3: Making Meaning Clear
  • Video: Video 4: Teacher Talk
  • Video: Video 5: Scaffolding
  • Video: Video 6: Summary and Essential Question
  • Video: Teacher Talk Example (Advanced)
  • Video: Teacher Talk Example (Advanced)

  • Reading: Welcome Guide to the Teach English Now! MOOC
  • Reading: Why Intrinsic Motivation Matters
  • Reading: The Input Hypothesis
  • Reading: Optimal Input is Comprehensible


Module 1: Making Meaning Clear

This course introduces learners to the role of a teacher in helping to motivate and properly engage learners. It begins with a metaphor: language is cake, meaning that language must be presented well in order to be enjoyed (we will actually perform a skit to show this meaning clearly). This module will demonstrate how a teacher can encourage a student and increase motivation by paying attention to techniques such as improving teacher talk, scaffolding language, and the use of body language to make meaning clear. All of these skills, while gained over the course of a lifetime as a language teacher, must be considered primary goals from the very beginning. And all of these skills help a teacher recognize that presentation skills make a difference to learners not only in motivating them, but in allowing them to understand the concepts presented.

  • Video 2: Language is Cake: Technique and Content

https://coursera.org/share/2bf96c1f05354e252494421401fa8a6d

In a controversial but famous 1993 study by Harvard researchers, Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal, students observing teachers were able to accurately predict the teachers who were really bad and really good.What makes the study so controversial is the amount of time it took students to make those predictions. it took students six seconds.the students weren't paying attention to the class content at all.students are paying attention to you.


Keep in mind the tremendous difference that both content, the cake, and technique, your presentation of the cake, will make in having successful classroom experiences. I remember hearing one educational expert remark that professors think of their bodies as nothing more than transportation for their brains.



  • Video: Video 3: Making Meaning Clear
Lev Vygotsky
sweet spot
Stephen Krashen, an ESL theorist, has a similar theory called the input hypothesis. or i + 1, meaning input plus new information.


  • Body language ( =80%)
  • teach talk: Teacher talk refers to the need for a teacher to speak in a modified or simplified way to accommodate the current level of your students. repetition, reduced grammatical forms, simplified vocabulary, signpost expressions, common cultural references, elaboration, clarification questions
  • scaffolding: Model, guided practice, independent practice,
Don't forget to look into learner's eyes to see if they are with you.
  • Reading: Why Intrinsic Motivation Matters
Why Intrinsic Motivation Matters in the Classroom 
by Norma Gorham 

One of the top ten problems teachers comment on is lack of student engagement and motivation.  
    

This drive to know and to find answers for their own sake is referred to as “intrinsic motivation.”  When you hear someone say – “Science interests me,” or “Learning math helps me think clearly.” – we are talking about intrinsic motivation.  William Glasser’s choice theory suggests how strong intrinsic motivation is in learners when he states that, “we are born with specific needs that we are genetically instructed to satisfy” (as cited in Sullo, 2007).  In other words, natural curiosity is literally built into our genetic makeup to help us best meet our basic needs, survive, and thrive as humans.  According to Glasser, these basic psychological needs are: 

  • Belonging or connecting 
  • Power or competence 
  • Freedom 
  • Fun 

Belonging or connecting  
As teachers, it is important to develop the community of our classroom to create a place where everyone is an active member with a purpose and reason for being a part of the learning process.  Our classroom communities need to provide a space where students feel safe and welcomed by the teacher and their classmates.  The teacher / student relationship sets the tone for the classroom.  Not surprisingly, research shows that teachers who developed good relationships with their students have fewer discipline problems than teachers who do not make that effort (Sullo, 2007).   Fewer discipline problems indicate more students are engaged and motivated in the work they are doing. 

  
Power or competence 
Power and competence relate to the ability to do something successfully.  When we teach our students how to learn and what not to learn, we provide them with the confidence, skills, and tools they need to be competent and successful individuals.  They are willing to take risks in their learning because they feel confident they have the tools necessary to achieve and master new skills.   

Modeling and feedback are important parts of mastering skills.  The first time I made this connection was watching my children taking ski lessons.  At the beginning of the day, they could barely stand upright on their skis, but with clear demonstrations of the correct technique and specific feedback from their instructor within a couple of hours they were able to successfully ski down the slope.  Even though it was difficult, they mastered the basic skills needed to enjoy the activity and the desire to learn more.  They were competent and therefore empowered by what they had learned. 

Freedom 
As humans we want the freedom to make choices and be a part of the decision making process.  By including learners in the decision making process, they have more ownership of that process. But what does that look like in the classroom? 

It could start with the students determining the classroom rules for the academic year or could be as simple as what topic they will write their essays about or as thoughtful as determining the criteria for grading that essay.  Students that have a voice in the classroom are more invested in the work they are producing for that classroom and thus more motivated. 

Fun 
Everything is better when there is a fun element to it.  It is our playfulness and enthusiasm that lead us to discovery and growth.  An enthusiastic teacher brings passion, excitement, pleasure, and joy to the classroom.  They bring their classroom to life, engage their students, and encourage exploration.  A teacher’s emotional engagement and enthusiasm can increase student participation, interest, curiosity, and motivation.   

These four basic psychological needs create the foundation of our individual interpretation of the world around us and is the basis for what motivates us.  When my students – whether they are energetic 5 year old boys or slow thoughtful grandmothers – have these needs met, they are more engaged and willing to learn; they have the skills and tools needed to succeed; and they enjoy the thrill and excitement they experienced as young children learning at their parent’s knee.  Simply stated, they are motivated. 

Please note that there are many ways to motivate, but that intrinsic motivation, sparking that natural, internal motivation inside each student, will make your students recognize their love of learning and their need to meet these four psychological needs!
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Anyone who speaks the language can teach the language
I totally disagree. 

Language is very complex. AI has conquered many things, but language translation maybe impossible feat. For example, operation can be referred to as surgery when you talk to a doctor but it means arithmetic, that is, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, when you take your math class. 

This is main reason I am taking this class because I want to be an ELL teacher even though I am a native Chinese speaker. I figure that even though I am weak in pronunciation, I would compensate it with better explanations.  


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Is language like cake?
I would like to admit I am puzzled by this cake metaphor first. Language to me is a necessary tool just like food. You have to eat no matter what in order to survive. After watching the second video, this makes more sense. The metaphor means that language must be presented well in order to be enjoyed. Our teacher said: "Keep in mind the tremendous difference that both content, the cake, and technique, your presentation of the cake, will make in having successful classroom experiences... I remember hearing one educational expert remark that professors think of their bodies as nothing more than transportation for their brains." I think cake metaphor preciesly demonstrate the difficulty that every teacher face: engagement and motivation, but solutions are not easy to find.

I am taking this class because I want to be ELL teacher even though I am native Chinese speaker. I figure that even though I am weak in pronunciation, I would compensate it with better explanations. For example, operation can be referred to as surgery or in math, arithmetic.


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Language is cake
Hello, I am Maralaa from Mongolia. First of all, congratulations to the team for reading this paragraph. I wish you success in your studies with the same passion.
I agree with the topic “Language is cake”. Because learning a language takes a lot of time and effort. But after a while, when you see the results, it feels like a slice of cake. very tasty and happy. The process of learning and developing little by little feels like a spoonful. I hope to eat it whole soon. Also, sharing your sweet cake with others is the same as sharing your knowledge with people who are learning a language.
How delicious your cake will depend on how hard you work. if any of the ingredients are lost, the taste will change and will not meet the needs of consumers. So I'm taking this course to make my cake taste better. Good luck all!

Cool! from Mongolia. Your English is pretty good. How do you learn it so well? Hope I could find a way to connect you to ask this question. This is my first time on Coursera. I am still in the process familiar with this platform. 

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LANGUAGE IS CAKE;
The metaphor above appeals to me, due to its sheer unexpectedness.

I personally interpret it on two levels:
1. Language is cake, meaning it is something that pleasurable.
2. Language is cake, meaning depending on how it is served, it will affect the recipient’s willingness to receive it. Therefore, how language is presented to a learner is very important.

I am taking this course in order to improve my skills as an English teacher, in order to better serve my students.






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