September 2012, Shane English School Vietnam (SEV) held Lattitude Training for almost 30 English Teaching Volunteers in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi during the Autumn of 2012. Despite winning the contract to conduct the program in Hanoi for the very first time, previous experience in Ho Chi Minh resulted in very successful trainings.
The program is run by SEV’s Director of Studies, Ewan Campbell. Based in Ho Chi Minh, Campbell understands the program very well. “Every six months in Shane English Vietnam, 20-30 volunteers arrive to work with the Lattitude Program,” reports Campbell. “They come to Shane and receive one week of teacher training before being sent off to schools around the country where they do volunteer teaching.”
The course in Ho Chi Minh lasts five days and consists of basic ESL teaching methodology. Included in this training is PPP, error correction, lesson planning, pronunciation, drilling, classroom management, listening and speaking. Different activities are introduced for volunteers to try out on their own. The instruction is followed up by teaching practice at night.
Lattitude has evolved over the years as well. It takes into account preferences from Lattitude Management and trainee feedback. “The success of [Lattitude] is built on the input of different directors of studies over the years,” says Campbell. “The course is so robust and educational largely thanks to their hard work.”
This was also the first time SEV won the contract to conduct the Lattitude program some 1000 miles north in the capital city of Hanoi.
Unlike the Ho Chi Minh course, which lasts for five days, the Hanoi course lasts for only three days without teaching practice. Campbell notes, “As the course was only three days, this meant longer hours of training as we condensed our five day course down.” Twenty-eight Australian students attended the three-day course to learn about activities to use in the classroom as well as basic teaching theory.
Students that completed the Lattitude training are now working on vonlunteer placements. To learn more about Shane English Vietnam, please visit www.shanevn.com or the Lattitude program at www.lattitude.org.au/.