Designing Effective Training Programs: the course project (instructional strategy)

Easy English for business e-mail: Instructional strategy
Allan Edmands's project for the "Designing Effective Training Programs" class (3/00)

Bentley College

Introduction

Needs analysis

Goals

Instructional strategy

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Instructional strategy The instructional strategy for the comprehensive course in business English is essentially mastery learning. Learners must be able to master a minimum of English skills to be able to communicate effectively in international commerce. Mastery learning is consistent with the learning model prevalent in the Japanese culture; it is what learners are used to and are comfortable with. This topic is divided into the following sections: Performance support Lesson format Delivery medium Support Constraints and component costs Testing Performance support The primary reason that approximately 90 percent of all training fails to stick is that the skills that are taught are not used. MITI has assured the Bentley development team that the learners who will be taking the comprehensive course in business English indeed must use English daily on their jobs. Now a very important challenge to the team is to ensure that the lessons taken from the course (1) will remain conveniently handy to the learners for reference, and (2) will be deemed sufficiently useful by them to be referred to regularly. Templates of e-mail types Needing to create a ready often-referred-to reference, and taking into account MITI's request that the course should be "easy," the Bentley team has realized that attempting to ensure that learners attain a mastery high enough to compose all business English from scratch is inadvisable. Instead, the team will: Provide *templates for business English* that the learner would be able to adapt to any given business situation, and Ensure, with lessons practicing with the templates, that the learner recognizes the appropriateness of a particular template to the given business situation at hand. For example, in the "Easy business e-mail in English" submodule, there will be templates for each of the following types of e-mails: request or inquiry note, acknowledgment note, confirmation note, congratulations note, acceptance or approval note, rejection or refusal note, complaint note, disagreement note, apology note, introduction or recommendation note, invitation note, and gratitude note. The submodule will include lessons providing practice with each type. Grammar points Although the templates obviate any need to compose business English from scratch, the Bentley team does intend the course to develop sufficient mastery in the learner to be able to adapt the template to its appropriate situation without introducing strange or substandard English. Therefore, interspersed with the template lessons will be minimal tutorials in sufficient English grammar to enable the learners to avoid typical pitfalls. For example, lack of skill with articles is one sure indication that English has been composed by a non-native speaker. A lesson on articles will develop mastery with articles--the same mastery that a six-year-old native speaker might have (see test item 1 in the Level-2 evaluation)--to the degree that the non-native origin of the writing will be masked. Advanced subtleties with article use--usually not mastered by native speakers until the teen years (should one write "The elephant is said to have a long memory" or "An elephant is said to have a long memory"?)--will not be addressed. Relevance Aligned with MITI's request, the course will build on whatever English skills are already possessed by the learner by employing wherever practicable the learner's previous experience, which would certainly help to make the course relevant. Therefore, realistic situations (from the typical Japanese businessperson's work day) will be featured in the tutorial itself and in the quiz exercises. Exercises will typically resemble TOEIC questions, and the material will increase in difficulty the deeper the learner gets into it. By the end of the course, we intend the learner to be able to attain a significantly higher TOEIC score, thereby advancing his or her career. Convenience Further taking into account MITI's request that the course should be "easy" (because the Japanese businessperson has very little time), the Bentley team intends the course to be convenient, enabling each learner to take the lessons in little nibbles whenever time allows. Entertainment Still further taking into account MITI's request that the course should be "easy" (because, although MITI wouldn't state this directly, the typical Japanese businessperson hates English), the Bentley team will incorporate entertainment into what otherwise could be very dry material. Building on the popularity among a large portion of the learner audience for manga comics, the team will design animated characters into each lesson. They will ensure that the characters reinforce rather than distract from the point of the lesson. Back to the top Lesson format This section discusses business e-mail format, grammatical issue format, writing style, and arrangement of the submodule. Business e-mail format Each lesson dealing with a type of business e-mail covers the following in a tutorial format: A description of the lesson's purpose and of the skills that will be developed The probable length of time needed for the lesson What this type of e-mail is used for (gaining the learner's attention, tying this type of e-mail to a known on-the-job task) Things to include in this type of e-mail Things to avoid in this type of e-mail The format for this type of e-mail Words that can be plugged into the appropriate places Phrases and sentences that can be plugged into the appropriate places Tips on writing and a discussion of any special situations A bad example or two, with a discussion about the points that are bad A good example or two, with a discussion about the points that are good A template for this type of e-mail that can be plugged into the appropriate business situation and modified as needed A TOEIC-like quiz on this type of e-mail, with feedback A descriptive summary, recapping the main points of the lesson A glossary if appropriate (terminology is defined wherever first used) Grammatical issue format Each lesson dealing with a grammatical issue covers the following in a tutorial format: A description of the lesson's purpose and of the skills that will be developed The probable length of time needed for the lesson A short explanation of the grammatical point, with an illustrative example An explanation explaining how this grammatical point corresponds with a familiar grammatical point in Japanese Examples of misuse of the grammatical point, explanations of how the misuse can be corrected, and relevant discussion A TOEIC-like quiz on this grammatical point, with feedback Drills as appropriate, with feedback until mastery A descriptive summary, recapping the main points of the lesson A glossary if appropriate (terminology is defined wherever first used) Writing style The writing style of each lesson is persuasive (to motivate the learners to take an interest in improving their business English), clear and involving (revealing how the lesson is applicable to the learners' daily work), supportive and explanatory, and polite while at the same time direct. Arrangement of the submodule The following is the arrangement of the "Easy business e-mail in English" submodule. Lessons on grammatical points alternate with lessons on an e-mail type template, to reduce the possibility of the learner getting bored or bogged down. In the sequence, we will ensure that the instruction is cumulative: That is, the samples in the lesson on articles (lesson 8) will incorporate material from a request note (lesson 6), and the confirmation note samples (lesson 9) will employ some of the points given in the articles lesson. Intoduction to writing effective business e-mails in English The content objectives of the submodule The arrangement of the submodule The differences between good business writing and bad business writing (the criteria with examples of each) A lesson in tone (writing from the recipient's point of view), including criteria of good tone, bad examples, good examples, and a quiz Request or inquiry note Acknowledgment note Grammar: Articles Confirmation note Grammar: Active and passive voice Congratulations note Grammar: Tense, person, and mood Acceptance or approval note Rejection or refusal note Grammar: Modifiers Complaint note Grammar: Emotion words Disagreement note Grammar: Nominalizations Apology note Grammar: Parallelism Introduction or recommendation note Grammar: Phrasing (to break up noun strings) Invitation note Grammar: Deadwood-free prose Gratitude note Summary of effective business e-mail in English A TOEIC-like test (Level-2 evaluation); see a sample Back to the top Delivery medium "Easy business e-mail in English," as with each of the other course modules and submodules of the comprehensive business English curriculum, will be delivered over the computer, either offline or online. The choice of computer-based training (CBT) is strongly indicated for the following compelling reasons: MITI's request for a standard course, consistent for all learners in Japan Ease of distribution to a large number of learners at geographically dispersed sites (all over Japan) Cost efficiency for recurring training Convenience (no need for instructor, classroom, or minimum number of classroom learners) The need for the learners to pace themselves The need for extensive learner practice, which can be supported with templates long after course completion The desire of most learners in this culture to remain anonymous to other learners and not to deal face to face with instructors Sufficient time and budget to develop CBT Ease of upgrading because of the modular design The specific delivery medium for each course module will be a business-card-size CD-ROM, 62.5 mm by 78 mm, capable of holding 75 MB but also capable of fitting in the learner's shirt pocket. The CD-ROM will be packaged in a clear plastic sleeve. On the back of the sleeve will be affixed a clear sticker containing the minimum system requirements and instructions for getting started, written in Japanese. The software will perform on standard configurations, in most versions of most browsers. We can safely assume that most users have versions of commonly available readers and players (Macromedia Shockwave Flash, RealPlayer, and Adobe Acrobat, for example), but free plug-ins are readily available to the few learners who do not have them. The user interface will be consistent and predictable (although the content itself will vary and have surprises). Navigation will be continuously evident to the learner, and will be the place the learner currently is in the lesson. The learner will always be able to repeat a lesson or any part of a lesson. Conversely, it will always be possible for a learner to skip ahead. The learner will be able to run the course in a laptop on a commuter train, for example, without being connected to the Internet. (This is why we are not using the term online learning.) When the learner is connected to the Internet, however, an extensive support system will be available. There will be supporting print materials (enlarging upon the text printed on the CD-ROM's sleeve sticker), documenting the minimal system requirements and the instructions for loading the program, saving data, and turning the program off--all written in Japanese. Back to the top Support This section discusses feedback to learner input and editing of actual e-mails. But first, we need to discuss the help that will be available. Feedback to learner input There will be feedback both offline and online to learner input. To a correct response the feedback will be very congratulatory, and to an incorrect response it will be slightly apologetic and encouraging for the learner to try again. Where appropriate, feedback to an incorrect response can include a hint. The hint to a second incorrect response can be stronger. To the third incorrect response to the same question, feedback will supply the correct answer, with some explanation. Programming for this feedback can be somewhat daunting. For such input as learner response to items 5, 7, 10, 11, and 13 in the Level-2 test, feedback can be straightforward: It is possible for only one answer to be correct. For items 1 and 12, however, the feedback will need to tolerate mixed case and misspelling, although in counting an otherwise correct input as correct, the feedback will tactfully take note of the lapse. For items 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9, the feedback will draw from a database onboard the CD-ROM that will be stocked with variant correct answers, searching for a match (again tolerating variations in case and spelling), thereby counting the input as correct. If it finds no match, the feedback will state that no match was found and offer the learner two choices: Either revise the input or submit it online to the administration Web site, which has a variants database far larger than the onboard CD-ROM database. (A learner who is currently offline can save the input for later submission.) For item 14, submission online would be necessary in any case. If no match is found at the Web site database after submission, the feedback will again offer the learner two choices: Either revise the input or submit it to human editorial review, which will have a 48-hour turnaround from a human instructor drawn from a farm of free-lance editors and instructors who could be based anywhere in an English-speaking country. Feedback from the human instructor will include a short explanation. Editing of actual e-mails For a fee, individual learners will be able to submit to the administration Web site actual correspondence they have written or are about to write. The administration site will then pass the e-mails on to an instructor from the free-lance farm. The concept for this facility is aligned with MITI's request that the course builds on whatever English skills are already possessed by the learner.
*Note:* The actual delivery of the education and its administration is beyond the scope of this proposal, which is strictly for design and development. Nonetheless, you can be sure that Dr. Carliner is preparing a separate proposal for Bentley College to administer the course delivery, for another fat contract with MITI.
Back to the top Constraints and component costs Constraints to consider include the following: Overall editorial and graphic guidelines for the entire course Authoring environment, including authoring software and hardware platform Delivery environment For more information, see Dr. Carliner's paper "Preparing a Persuasive Business Case for Online Learning Programs" (published in the February 2000 issue of Learning Circuits). Component costs include the following: Interpreter, for conferences with MITI Research Equipment costs, including hardware that can accommodate some double-byte information Software licences, including for authoring tools that can accommodate double-byte information Training of Bentley staff in authoring tools Labor: Fully burdened cost of an instructional designer and a course developer (each module) Fully burdened cost of a project manager Fully burdened cost of an editor Fully burdened cost of an art director, as well as for graphic designers for modules developed in house (extensive graphics) Fully burdened cost of the production staff Subcontract fees: Scripting Writing of print materials Editing (as needed) Graphic design Storyboarding Programming Module and submodule development (outside of Bentley staff work; see Labor) Translation into Japanese of help information, supporting print material, and the feedback form Contingencies Royalties for graphics and music Recording and postproduction of voice-over narrations and other sound Narration talent Usability test Manufacturing of business-card-size CD-ROMs Printing of hardcopy support materials Packaging Inventory costs Marketing costs (to be discussed in subsequent meetings) Back to the top Testing There will be thorough technical reviews throughout the development process. At the end, testing will be done in two phases: quality review and pilot testing. There is a third phase, validation field testing, but that activity is covered elsewhere under the name evaluation. Quality review testing Everything displayed on the screen, every aspect of the CBT course, will undergo a thorough quality review test, covering the following: *Language and grammar* will be of the highest standard, the best possible English as an example for those who are trying to learn the language. (This test can be done with a printed version of the script.) Criteria will include the following: Reading level: A reading level no higher than 6th grade will be appropriate for this audience. Cultural bias: Parochial language will not be used, except in the context where learners will need to become acquainted with American conventions (in such a case, the conventions will be explained). Technical terms and jargon: Buzzwords and acronyms will be avoided, or--if they are unavoidable in the context of the lesson--they will be thoroughly explained. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation will undergo a thorough editorial review. Spacing: Conventions for paragraphing, spacing between sentences, and hyphenation will be determined in advance and will be adhered to. Page breaks will be appropriate. *Surface features* are what can be seen on the display other than the spelling and grammar just referred to; they will include the aesthetics of display presentations, the quality of student input, and related topics. Displays will be uncluttered, without too much information being shown at once, and will be relevant to the goals of the lesson. Overlaid sections will not overlap and will not be too close together. Attention will be attracted to the important information. Presentation modes, such as text, graphics, color, and sound, will be used appropriately. Text quality: Scrolling will be avoided, wordiness will be avoided, and the typeface will be easy to read. Input devices will be appropriate for each type of user input. Mouse actions will have keyboard shortcut equivalents wherever possible. Completion scenario: At the end of a lesson, it will be obvious to the learner that the lesson is over, and instructions will be present for what to do next. *Links* will work, all of them, without exception. *Menus* will be consistent and well-labeled, so that it is apparent where the learner is within a lesson. Directions for making a choice will be clear, and feedback will be informative after incorrect selections. Correcting an incorrect choice will be easy. Completed menu items in a lesson will be marked. *Questions* will be relevant to the course objectives and will be concerned with important information. There will be a variety of types of questions, requiring not only recognition and pressing a single key but also remembering, understanding, applying, evaluating, typing, constructing, and so on. All correct and likely responses will be allowed. Help will be available, and retries after incorrect responses will be possible. Increasingly informative feedback, supportive rather than demeaning, will be given after each incorrect response, and the correct answer will be provided after a set number of such incorrect responses. All feedback will be unambiguous. Feedback will be based on intelligent judging of the learner's response rather than mere checking for a particular word or phrase with perfect spelling. *General pedagogical issues:* Presentation of tutuorial information will be broken up by learner activities, such as questions related to the information just presented. Lessons will be designed so that short learning sessions are convenient, between 15 minutes to an hour depending on the material. *Learner control:* The learner will be able to move forward to the next display, review, exit and return to complete a lesson later, and ask for help and directions. How to do these things will be obvious. There will be protection against accidental irreversible actions. The learner will be able to control the pace of the information. All advertised keys work will operate as promised, and no keys will cause such malfunctions as overwriting of displays or execution errors. *Motivation:* Computer anxiety will be minimized through ease-of-use and appropriate safety nets. An appropriate level of challenge will be maintained (increasing difficulty as the learner progresses). Curiosity will periodically be aroused with surprising or apparently discordant information. Learner confidence will be maintained with appropriate objectives and instruction that makes achieving the objectives possible. Satisfaction will be maintained with supportive feedback, encouragement, and procedures that the learner will perceive as fair. *Interactions* will be relevant to the objectives and will enhance comprehension, memory, and the transfer of what is learned to real-world activities. *Animations and graphics* will reinforce the lesson's objectives, will be at the appropriate level of detail, and will look professional. Animations will be paced properly. *Invisible functions* are those features that are not seen when the lesson is running, including acquisition and presentation of data. Records and data accuracy will be ensured. Security and accessibility: All data collected will be accesible only to those who are authorized to see it. Data tampering will be prevented through encryption and backup procedures. The amount of data will not overwhelm the capacity of the system, and data records will not be lost. Restarting after accidental termination will be possible, without loss of data. *Subject matter* will be thoroughly reviewed and will be error-free. All information presented on creating effective business e-mails in English will be correct, having been reviewed by a content expert (a teacher of English as a foreign language) not directly on the development team. The goals and objectives of each lesson will be explicitly stated, in terms not requiring the learner to understand already the content of the lesson just to understand the goals and objectives. The goals will be perceived by the learner and by an independent content expert as useful and relevant. The information presented in each lesson will be relevant to the lesson's objectives and will be accurate and complete. All stated facts will be correct, correct answers to questions posed will be judged to be correct, and all graphic material will be accurate. Terminology will be correct, contemporary, and consistent. The subject will be covered with sufficient depth for the objectives. The level of detail, complexity, and realism will be appropriate for the objectives. Content emphasis: Each lesson will emphasize those things most relevant to the objectives and most likely to be difficult for the learner. The organization of each lesson will conform to the natural organization of the subject matter, from the learner's perspective. The organization will be obvious to the learner. *Supporting print materials* will be reviewed for their relevance to the lessons on the computer. All print information will be accurate and complete, determined through an actual test of following the instructions. Everything silkscreened on the surface of the CD-ROM (artwork and text) and printing in any part of the packaging will conform to specifications. Pilot testing Pilot testing for usability will involve selecting the test subjects (at least three actual representatives of the Japanese learner population), explaining the purpose of the test and the overall procedures (this is a test of our course, not of the subjects), determining the prior knowledge of the subjects, unobtrusively observing and recording the subjects interacting with the lessons, debriefing the subjects while thoughts are fresh, and revising lessons according to our findings. In a pilot test, we will validate the content of the course and all the instructions in it. Can our test subjects, who represent our learners, understand what is going on without our staff prompting them from the sidelines? Can they understand the questions in the lessons, for example? Can they correctly answer the questions? Wherever the test subjects fail to understand the material or follow the instructions, we will need to assess what it is that is unclear. Back to the top Go to the next topic, "Screen mockups"