SENSE’s Training SIG convenor, Stephen Johnston, writes:
We held the first Training SIG meeting on Wednesday November 16 via Zoom. The topic was ‘The difference between teaching and training’. Participants included seasoned trainers and teachers, as well as the usual variety of language professionals from a wide range of fields.
It was a lively discussion, with most in agreement that while there is overlap between teaching and training, teaching is usually theoretical, focusing on increasing students’ understanding of a subject, while training is more concrete, focusing on increasing participants’ skill sets in a professional setting.
We agreed that training also involves shorter speaking segments combined with plenty of hands-on exercises, usually given in one or two-day sessions as opposed to longer series of lectures across weeks or months.
One surprise did pop up: the addition of the idea of ‘coaching’, which led to interesting discussions about a series of single participant sessions instead of a group approach.
The fact that we had experienced trainers as well as those curious about moving into the field ensured that there were plenty of questions, which kept the conversation going easily.
The Training SIG will be meeting about 3-4 times a year, so stay tuned for upcoming sessions that will focus on issues such as:
• What makes a good workshop session?
• How do you pitch a workshop and negotiate a price?
• What do corporate businesses want? (with a guest speaker)
• What do educational organizations want? (with a guest speaker)
• What are the current and future trends in training (blended learning, etc.)?
• What’s the difference between ‘business English’ and ‘business writing’?
• What are ‘storytelling for business’ workshops?
If you're interested in future meetings of the Training SIG, please contact
[stock photo: Unsplash]
