Motivate, Support and Encourage Students to Practise Skills for Life

KATRŇÁKOVÁ, Hana. Motivate, Support and Encourage Students to Practise Skills for Life. In IATEFL conference 2018. 2018.

Basic information

• Original name: Motivate, Support and Encourage Students to Practise Skills for Life
• Name in Czech: Motivuj a podporuj studenty v nácviku dovedností pro život
• Name (in English): Motivate, Support and Encourage Students to Practise Skills for Life
• Authors: KATRŇÁKOVÁ, Hana.
• Edition: IATEFL conference 2018, 2018.

Other information

• Type of outcome: Conference abstract
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• Keywords (in Czech): motivace studentů, dovednosti pro život
• Keywords in English: motivation of students, soft skills for life

Abstract

The starting point of the presentation is the motivation for incorporating selected soft skills aiming at increasing employability and success at the start of students‘ professional career. The talk will share our experience with introducing soft skills training as part of the ESP English for lawyers course, and provide samples of activities and students' feedback. Based on the qualitative and quantitative research among Human Resources departments of big private companies, state institutions and students of Masaryk university concerning the skills required by their first time employers and students´ expectations, the Language Centre developed specialized soft skills courses in foreign languages, parts of which were later in some form incorporated into standard course syllabi of Foreign Language for Specific or Academic Purposes. The talk will describe and comment on some useful activities practiced in order to increase success of graduates in their first employment and thus increase their employability. The focus will be on how to motivate students to work in teams, prepare and fulfil tasks in a creative atmosphere. Examples of tasks employing IT will be used to illustrate the issue. Our experience so far proves there are quite big discrepancies between students’ high command of English and their rather inadequate reactions, behaviour and strategies in carrying out specific tasks. Samples of different students’ experience in soft skills, immaturity, and different solutions depending on cultures and nationalities will be provided. Students in their written feedback confirm that they recognize the need to improve their soft skills and they also share their rewarding feeling of achievement after finishing the course with soft skills component.

Abstract (in English)

The starting point of the presentation is the motivation for incorporating selected soft skills aiming at increasing employability and success at the start of students‘ professional career. The talk will share our experience with introducing soft skills training as part of the ESP English for lawyers course, and provide samples of activities and students' feedback. Based on the qualitative and quantitative research among Human Resources departments of big private companies, state institutions and students of Masaryk university concerning the skills required by their first time employers and students´ expectations, the Language Centre developed specialized soft skills courses in foreign languages, parts of which were later in some form incorporated into standard course syllabi of Foreign Language for Specific or Academic Purposes. The talk will describe and comment on some useful activities practiced in order to increase success of graduates in their first employment and thus increase their employability. The focus will be on how to motivate students to work in teams, prepare and fulfil tasks in a creative atmosphere. Examples of tasks employing IT will be used to illustrate the issue. Our experience so far proves there are quite big discrepancies between students’ high command of English and their rather inadequate reactions, behaviour and strategies in carrying out specific tasks. Samples of different students’ experience in soft skills, immaturity, and different solutions depending on cultures and nationalities will be provided. Students in their written feedback confirm that they recognize the need to improve their soft skills and they also share their rewarding feeling of achievement after finishing the course with soft skills component. The starting point of the presentation is the motivation for incorporating selected soft skills aiming at increasing employability and success at the start of students‘ professional career. The talk will share our experience with introducing soft skills training as part of the ESP English for lawyers course, and provide samples of activities and students' feedback. Based on the qualitative and quantitative research among Human Resources departments of big private companies, state institutions and students of Masaryk university concerning the skills required by their first time employers and students´ expectations, the Language Centre developed specialized soft skills courses in foreign languages, parts of which were later in some form incorporated into standard course syllabi of Foreign Language for Specific or Academic Purposes. The talk will describe and comment on some useful activities practiced in order to increase success of graduates in their first employment and thus increase their employability. The focus will be on how to motivate students to work in teams, prepare and fulfil tasks in a creative atmosphere. Examples of tasks employing IT will be used to illustrate the issue. Our experience so far proves there are quite big discrepancies between students’ high command of English and their rather inadequate reactions, behaviour and strategies in carrying out specific tasks. Samples of different students’ experience in soft skills, immaturity, and different solutions depending on cultures and nationalities will be provided. Students in their written feedback confirm that they recognize the need to improve their soft skills and they also share their rewarding feeling of achievement after finishing the course with soft skills component.