Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/221

CHAPTER 4 writing was done by the instructors and the cultural coordinator, and then polished by the language coordinator.

The experience of this training program demonstrated certain advantages of the cluster format:


 * 1) It was fairly easy to coordinate the presentation of a particular cluster with the ongoing cross-cultural or technical program.
 * 2) The language coordinator felt that clusters could as easily have been devised for most other kinds of basic material with which she was familiar.
 * 3) Clusters made the staff confident and aware of how much of the culture and the technical details they could explore even as early as the second week (i.e. after 50 hours of instruction).
 * 4) Use of clusters at the end of the day aroused the attention and enthusiasm of the trainees for something they were curious about and interested in.
 * 5) The very loose format helped the instructors to see how they were able to use different clusters or parts of clusters with different groups or single trainees.

There were also a few caveats:

Since the matrix (p.142) provides so many possible combinations of linguistic, social and topical content, writers must decide on some way of establishing priorities. Insofar as the devices used in the clusters differ from those in the basic textbook, they require some extra staff training. 