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7FOLLOWINGTHE MAINSTREAMCURRICULUM, IF APPROPRIATE7.1 PROGRESSION FROM ENGLISHLANGUAGE CLASSES TO PLCSome students have sufficient English to enter directly into PLCcourses. Some will have come through English language courses inthe college.7.2 TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVESTeachers’ Perspectives…Informal interviews carried out by an IVEA working group memberwith teachers in F.E. colleges during 2003 revealed some of theissues that can emerge when students from the minority linguisticlearners join mainstream classes:Back-up for students• Extra administration time needed e.g. letters references etc.• Extra tutorial time in English for written English and Englishgrammar. For example, for English-speaking Nigerians whosewritten English may not be of a sufficiently high standard.This could be arranged for small groups of similar standards.• Extra tutorial time for technical terms e.g. accounting terms,business terms & economic terms.• For Work Experience - minority linguistic learners do not havethe connections that Irish students might have and may faceprejudice from potential employers. Therefore, the educationalinstitution must be more proactive in arranging work experienceplacements for minority linguistic learners.• In some cases there is a difference between the educationalsystem students have come from and the system in Ireland,for example, they may be used to providing ‘text book’answers rather than providing their own opinions. Suchcultural differences can result in difficulties, particularly ina class of mixed ethnic or national backgrounds.Inservice for teachers• General anti-racism inservice should be provided for all teachers(regardless of whether they currently teach minority linguisticgroups or not).• Inservice in dealing successfully with a class group of mixedbackgrounds (ethnic, national, religious) and mixed standardsof English should also be provided for all teachers.General Points• New students may be from different educational backgroundse.g. some have been educated to degree level (in differentlanguages and other subjects) whereas, others have had aninterrupted educational background.• These students can be extremely highly motivated and willing towork extremely hard.• Difference in attitude, seriousness and determination canseparate them from other members of the class group.• These learners can take up, or be perceived to take up, more ofthe teachers’ time and effort.• It takes huge skills on the part of the teacher to cope effectively.7.3 WORK EXPERIENCE7.3.1 IntroductionWork experience is a fundamental component of all PLC courses.To achieve a FETAC Level II award the learner must complete awork experience module. A successful work experience placementcan be an important stepping stone into the labour market. Minoritylinguistic learners frequently experience discrimination in seekingemployment in Ireland and their previous qualifications are generallynot recognised. A work experience placement helps the transitioninto employment for these learners.7.3.2 Work Experience in the context ofMinority Linguistic LearnersIrish students have often done a work experience module before aspart of a transition year programme. The work experience involved ina PLC course is more important because, by now, students shouldhave developed many of the work skills that they will need. Obtaininga job directly from their work experience is a real possibility. Many ofthem may also be working part-time and have had a number ofpart-time jobs. For these Irish students, organising work experienceis not a huge difficulty. Many can also use connections e.g. parents;brothers; sisters; friends; and/or neighbours in order to obtain a workexperience placement. For instance, the commercial banks do notgenerally offer work experience placements for security reasons butthey will offer placements to family of employees. Minority linguisticstudents also need to complete the work experience module forFETAC level II awards. Many either do not complete it, or havedifficulty organising it. Sometimes they will obtain work experiencebut not in the specialist area they would wish in order to tie in withtheir area of study.29