Happy New Year 2012

To all our clients and trainers, wishing you a great 2012 from Edutec Training and Development.

IELTS E-Book

This ebook gives an overview of common tips and strategies that should be used before and during the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam to achieve high scores. It is divided into the four skill areas which match the skill areas of the exam: listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Topics include: general information about the exam, how to prepare before the exam, how to answer questions during the exam, common problems faced by candidates, example questions and how to answer specific types of questions.

The IELTS exam has two different versions, the General IELTS exam (often used for migration purposes) and the Academic IELTS exam (often used for academic entry purposes).

The reading and writing sections of the General exam are considered to be easier than the reading and writing sections of the Academic exam. Both General and Academic exams have the same listening and speaking sections.

Non-Native Speaker Job Applications

This week Edutec has been working with a number of recent graduates from non-native English speaking backgrounds who are preparing to enter the workforce. To do this, we have been assisting them with writing and proofreading CV's and cover letters.

It's amazing how many mistakes that highly qualified graduates can make in simple areas. Out of a large group, not a single post-graduate student was able to produce a document that was 100% correct.

Common mistakes included:
- confusion between singular and countable nouns
- confusion of verb tenses, especially present perfect and past simple
- incomplete sentences
- verb agreement
- wrong use of prepositions
- inappropriate use of idioms
- spelling
- capitals
- use of punctuation and spacing
- formatting inconsistencies

The sad part is that these students have invested tens of thousands of dollars in their education, and they are blowing it by writing poor quality applications. While universities may have been happy to let them get by with poor writing skills, their future employers will not be prepared to do the same, as the reputation of the businesses are often at stake.

Entry requirements for foreign students lowered - From Sydney Morning Herald

ENTRY requirements for foreign students will be relaxed and short-term visas will be available for those who wish to work after completing their university studies in an overhaul intended to revive the tertiary sector announced yesterday.

The government response to Michael Knight's report, Strategic Review of the Student Visa Program 2011, aims to increase Australia's competitiveness to students whose numbers have dropped off recently due to strict visa requirements, the strong dollar and the perception of an unwelcome atmosphere.

Mr Knight's 41 recommendations will be accepted, some with amendments, said Senator Chris Evans, the Minister for Tertiary Education, and the Immigration Minister, Chris Bowen, at a joint announcement yesterday.

Mr Evans said the education sector, Australia's third largest export industry, was also a major contributor to the economy, but that the visa system and high price of the currency had made the sector uncompetitive.

''We've been keen to do what we can to assist them to be competitive and so we think these changes will very much assist them in the international market,'' he said.

The main recommendation calls for ''streamlined visa processing'': treating all prospective university students as a low-risk regardless of what country they come from, loosening constraints on how much financial backing they have, and determining whether they are a genuine student and plan to stay only on a temporary basis, that is without an expectation of migration.

Other key recommendations are to reduce the English prerequisite for those enrolling in intense language studies, and to offer graduates a two-to-four year working visa, depending on the level of qualification.

''The absence of a clearly defined post-study work rights entitlement puts Australian universities at a very serious disadvantage compared to some of our major competitor countries,'' the report said.

The university and business sectors were unanimous in their support for the report.

"The value of international education to Australia extends well beyond immediate economic returns by delivering significant social and diplomatic benefits, particularly within our region," said Graham Bradley, the president of the Business Council of Australia.

Dr Glenn Withers, the CEO of Universities Australia, said the report addressed the difficulties of attracting and retaining foreign students, whose numbers had dived in recent years.

''In this sector you've still got the dollar being very detrimental for us and globally the ramifications of the GFC have dampened international student movements. You've got the ongoing issue of how welcoming we are or aren't as a country for students. How long that damage will take to be overcome is an issue for us, however, the tone of this report will help offset that.''

The emphasis on growth was encouraging, said Arfa Noor, the president of the Council of International Students Australia, but only if it provided enough infrastructure for foreign students.

''They want to make sure there is ongoing support, social integration, and social inclusion for the students and not just focus on getting them here.''

Surge in Workplace Harassment

According to the Community and Public Sector Union, there has been a recent surge in demand for training to deal with workplace bullying and harassment issues. The organisation has made the link to excessive workloads, where there is increased pressure and not enough staff.

Training can focus on appropriate codes of conduct and a self-awareness of participants' values, behaviours and assumptions. Training will also help make staff aware of workplace bullying and harassment legislation.

Perth is included in Federal Government’s regional sponsored migration scheme

According to the announcement by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen on 16 July, Perth will have access to a potential national pool of 16,000 sponsored visa holders for foreign workers. This is the result of being reclassified as a country town, alongside employment ‘hardship’ areas such as Port Headland and Karratha.

The program means that workers coming to Perth will be able to become permanent residents and businesses applying for the visa places will be given priority in the processing of their applications.

English as a Second Langauge Problems in the Workforce

Current Situation
Productivity is suffering in many Australian workplaces because employees from non English speaking backgrounds do not have adequate English language skills in their specialised area. In many cases, employees have not formally studied English since high school and they have forgotten the basics of English grammar, speaking and writing. Without personalised analysis and correction, their errors become reinforced and difficult to address.

Common English Mistakes
• Mispronunciation of sounds, words and sentences
• Confusion of verb tenses when speaking and writing
• Inappropriate use of common expressions and phrases
• Inability to understand idioms and colloquial English
• Difficulties with numbers, dates, acronyms and abbreviations
• Translation of inappropriate phrases from the native language into English

Effects in the Workplace
• Clients are confused with poorly written emails
• Reports include numerous language mistakes
• Poor communication by telephone
• Lack of confidence in internal and client meetings
• Reliance on limited phrases for a range of situations
• Inability to give subtle messages when speaking or writing
• Use of ‘out-of-date’ English
• Frustration felt by native English speaking colleagues and clients
• Time loss when native English speaking colleagues act as ‘teachers’

Reasons for Difficulties in Getting Help
• Language schools offer generic courses that don’t suit employee needs
• Language schools prefer to offer large class sizes
• Self-study materials including books, CDs and websites don’t give feedback
• Non-qualified native English speakers can’t correctly analyse language mistakes
• Lack of time outside work to study a lengthy formal course

Professional English Program

Excellent communication skills are critical in the modern workforce. Almost every new job advertisement these days includes the line: Excellent communication skills are essential. Some of the benefits of having strong writing, speaking and reading skills include: improved workplace safety, higher productivity and improved teamwork.

In many cases, however, employees are lacking the basic language skills that are deemed essential. According to the Industry Skills Council 2011 report, ‘No More Excuses’, approximately half of working age Australians suffer from problems related to language, literacy and numeracy (LLN).

The report provides the following reasons for the situation:

• inadequately prepared workforce entrants
• limited access to LLN expertise
• an ageing workforce
• increasing use of technology
• increasing compliance requirements
• demand for higher level skills

Edutec Training and Development provides a solution to this issue. As part of our Professional Language Program, we offer:

1. Needs analysis testing of employees with LLN issues
2. Programs tailored for staff from English and non-English speaking backgrounds
3. Training in professional writing, reading, speaking, listening, numeracy and grammar
4. Targeted training that is effective for the specific needs of each workplace
5. On-site or online training delivery for better outcomes and convenience
6. Regular assessment and management reporting to demonstrate trainee competence and progress

To arrange an appointment with one of our consultants, or for more information about the Professional English Program, please contact: info@edutectraining.com or call 0433 359 990.

Learning Difficulties - Dyslexia

According to researchers, approximately 10% of people have some form of dyslexia.

The term dyslexia comes from the Greek word meaning 'difficulty with words and language'. Until the 1970's, researchers believed dyslexia was caused by a visual problem, and that leaning problems were due to the fact that words could not be seen correctly. In recent years, however, researchers have concluded that the issue is caused by difficultly in matching words with sounds, because of the way the brain works in dyslexic people.

A person who is not dyslexic can break down the sounds in a word. For example, the word 'pen' can be easily broken into three sounds: /p/ + /e/ + /n/. For a dyslexic person, it is difficult to break words down based on sounds. This leads to confusion and misunderstanding when reading.

Other problems caused by dyslexia can include not being able to pay attention and poor concentration skills. Others may confuse left and right or have difficulties following the steps of a maths problem.

Dyslexia is further complicated by the fact that no two people have the same problems, because people's brains follow different patterns and may therefore work differently.

As a result, dyslexic people are often thought to be lazy or unintelligent, even though this is usually not the case.

According to researchers, about 85% of people with dyslexia have a parent with dyslexia, which suggests probable genetic reasons behind the disorder.

Educators need to be aware that learners with dyslexia are often highly intelligent, but may have negative feelings towards training based on previous bad experiences in the learning environment.

Furthermore, educators should try to use a variety of teaching styles, using visual and audio methods when disseminating information.

Literacy Issues in Australia

Up to eight million Australian workers don't have the reading, writing or numeracy skills to undertake training for trade or professional jobs.

This is according to the report released today, 'No More Excuses', which is calling for the Council of Australian Governments to develop a national "overarching blueprint for action on language, literacy and numeracy".

Workplaces that employ people with low levels of literacy tend to either:

1. Sideline these workers into another area in order to 'mask' the problem.
2. Offer assistance for their workforce through training courses.

Edutec Training and Development provides targeted literacy and numeracy training to pinpoint the areas of most concern to a particular industry or job function.

Training includes:

• Information literacy
• Literacy for occupational health and safety
• Literacy for computer based technologies
• Numeracy for specific needs

WA labour shortage predicted

From 'The West Australian' Newspaper

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/8195905/wa-labour-shortage-looming-again/

West Australians face the renewed prospect of soaring prices and tradesmen shortages, with a string of fresh reports warning yesterday of a looming skills crisis.

With Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens predicting the current boom will be the biggest in more than a century, Access Economics used its latest economic update to predict the single largest threat to WA is the Federal bipartisan approach to shutting migrants out of the country.

Businesses have already started reporting trouble finding the workers they need to fill jobs as the economy grows on the back of major works such as the $43 billion Gorgon and $12.3 billion Pluto projects.

The State's unemployment rate is now at 4.5 percent, with a record number of men in full-time work.

Access director Chris Richardson said with both sides of politics wanting to cut immigration it would be WA that would suffer, with even people not employed in the mining sector paying the price.

He said it was high levels of immigration that had helped WA get through the problems associated with the pre-global financial crisis boom, and even then that had not been enough to keep a complete lid on price pressures.

"Our short-sighted and popularity hungry national leaders have adopted a bipartisan approach to handicapping the West by cutting back on what was its best buffer last time - international migration," he said.

"And if there will be fewer people arriving to help fill the yawning skills shortage soon to be apparent in the State, then WA can expect shortages, delays, cost increases and price hikes to be all the worse this time around."

He was backed by Australian Industry Group president Don Matthews who warned last night that immigration cuts would cost homeowners everywhere. "The fact is we need a substantial immigration program if we don't want a lack of capacity to force interest rates and wages higher and skill shortages to intensify," he said.

A report yesterday from the Housing Industry Association found Perth and WA are already in the grip of a shortage of construction workers.

The supply of tradies, from bricklayers to tilers, in WA contracted for the fifth consecutive quarter.

The shortage of workers is now back to September 2008 levels at the start of the global financial crisis.

HIA senior economist Harley Dale said bringing in skilled migrants would be vital in meeting demand in the housing construction sector.

A KPMG report also released yesterday showed it is not just the construction sector running out of staff.

More than a third of WA firms had increased their use of Section 457 visa skilled workers over the past year, with the State recording the biggest increase in the nation.

And 70 percent of WA businesses said they planned to increase employment under the system next year.

It found that WA firms were so dependent on overseas workers that they risked breaking Department of Immigration laws if they employed any more.

SHANE WRIGHT ECONOMICS EDITOR, The West Australian October 26, 2010

Embedding English in training courses

Last week ETD attended the Australasian Oil and Gas Conference at the Perth Convention Centre. This was a much anticipated event and well-attended event, with an average of 3,500 attendees each day.

http://www.aogexpo.com.au/

ETD spoke to a number of training organisations, many of whom were conducting practical skills courses in safe work practices, apprenticeships and courses specific to the Oil and Gas industry.

A recurrent theme was that many of these companies were training individuals and groups from non-English speaking backgrounds. As an experienced trainer of international groups, I know exactly how hard it is to determine the level of English proficiency of each trainee, and that's after they have passed through entry test appraisals. I asked one of the senior trainers how he appraised the level of English competancy in a group. He said it was based on their interaction, how much they smiled, how much they asked questions etc.

The representatives of some of these groups asked how we would go about helping groups of trainees, for example, large groups of Timorese oil platform workers who needed to become competent in training for 'Working at Heights'.

The answer is embedding. This is the model which is currently favoured by universities, who are endevouring to help international students keep up with required English levels. Put simply, embedding is the process of adding optional language components into existing training curriculum. This 'scaffolding' of relevant information therefore helps trainees to understand course content, while at the same time gaining required English language skills and competency in the target training content.

Edutec Training Network

The Edutec Training Network (ETN) is the place where Edutec trainees can practice their English language and business skills. The software was developed by expert English as a Second Language trainers, who used the concepts of collaborative learning, online community and VoIP (Skype).

The network gives trainees the feeling of a real school environment via the internet. This allows training to be conducted from home or work 24/7.

Edutec Training Network features:

• User friendly design
• Online community with Skype
• Private online classrooms
• English Helpdesk with language queries answered daily
• Interactive discussions and role-plays
• Training videos
• Real world listening practice
• Forum

Email info@edutectraining.com to gain access to the ETN.

Leadership

John McGinniss has provided a series of eight videos on leadership.

You can find these at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/edutectraining

eBooks

The trend in eBook retail sales growth suggests this is an area that will boom over the coming decade. In 2005, eBooks accounted for approximately 2% of retail book sales in the United States. By 2008 this had jumped to 5% and by the end of 2010 the figure is likely to be close to 10%.

So what is the reason for this spike in numbers?

1. People can search for books online, as opposed to a bookstore.
2. eBooks are generally cheaper than printed books.
3. The way to read eBooks has greatly improved.
4. Greater connection between reader and author.

More on this interesting topic soon.

English language tenses

I was talking about the importance of correct tenses with my language students today. One point that came up was the use of the future perfect tense.

eg. By next week I will have sent the invoice.

In languages such as Chinese, the future perfect tense does not exist, which may impede accurate reporting of financial transactions, in terms of time at least.

This is just one of the 12 main tenses we use in English, which can act to make precise communication difficult between non-expert users.

The importance of context

Background knowledge and context is such an important element of learning, especially for people from diverse backgrounds.

For example, the students who need to do an IELTS listening test can't just answer the questions based on their listening skills. In section 3 of the IELTS listening they need to understand western academic contexts and the ways that university function. In some cases they need to understand why university students conduct research, how they evaluate methodology such as questionnaires and sample sizes and the ways in which their results are analysed. Not only that, but they need to consider the implications of their finding, and what questions do they pose for future study.

As a result, students need to know the importance of academic style in Western institutions, not only the academic phrases related to academic study. This is often ignored by language teachers who simply teach students methods for passing a test, without doing into what any of the information actually means.

Using technology as a teaching tool

What do teachers and students generally think about using technology in the classroom? It seems they often have vastly different views.

Training with the use of technology can be hugely empowering for the student, as well as the teacher. But certainly not all teachers are keen to use technology, as I have experienced in the past. Once I was involved in teacher professional development training for a simple application, and almost half the teachers were glazing over, even offering openly negative comments like 'this is a complete waste of time' or 'how am I going to remember all this?'

It's funny how closed-minded teachers can be. Maybe it's due to the fact that they don't have the time or energy to deal with something new when there are so many demands on their time. When it comes to the learner's, however, it's appears to be a totally different story. From my experience they love it when you try something new with technology in the classroom, as it breaks up the monotony of standard lessons that drag on and on. Actually, it seems their desire to try something new is so strong, they will give the teacher the benefit of the doubt even when things go completely wrong with technology. It's as if they appreciate the effort that the teacher is trying to advance their knowledge in a fresh new way.

In conclusion, teachers should try to take risks with new technologies for learning, in any case it may help them re-consider the staid old lessons they've been hammering out over the years.

Direction for the business

Edutec Training and Development provides English language, business and leadership training. It has evolved over the years from Matt McGinniss' engagement in English as a second language training, business training and high quality content creation. We are passionate about these areas, as they have the ability to raise the prospects for people who may not have had strong opportunities in the past. In particular, we hope people from backgrounds that don't necessarily fit with the current paradigm of education and training will benefit from these services.

Edutec will provide training services that are user-friendly, value for money and accessible to a wide range of people through the face-to-face training and the internet.

We look forward to your support.