Facilitation tips for language instructors that have much wider application

1. Facilitation Skills for
Language/All Instructors
M A K I N G I T L O O K E A S Y W H I L E P R O V I D I N G R E A L V A L U E
I D E A S S H A R E D B Y
M A U R I Z I O M O R S E L L I

2. What is “Effective Facilitation”?
EF CAN LOOK EASY IF DONE WELL,
HOWEVER, IN ADDITION TO OUR
PASSION AND DESIRE TO PROVIDE
AN EXCEPTIONAL LEARNING
EXPERIENCE,
IT IS THE SUM TOTAL OF A NUMBER
OF FACTORS

3. What is “Effective Facilitation”?
EF = K + S + P
Effective Facilitation = Knowledge + Skills + Planning
- “But I’m a native speaker of the target language so I should be ok…”
- “Fine, but you need more: here are some proven Success Factors; namely
what to do
Before, During and After each Session”

4. Success Factors (From my experience)
1 ABSOLUTE CLARITY:
of the objectives of the
course and of each lesson

5. Success Factors (From my experience)
 2 PRE-PLANNING: you must have a
detailed “roadmap” to facilitate the
group through each session. Creating
a smart, intuitive roadmap/process
can take hours or sometimes days but,
with a detailed roadmap, you’ll be able
to maneuver well and not get lost.

6. Success Factors (From my experience)
 3 FLEXIBILITY: to switch gears mid-
stream when your process is not meeting
the needs of the group or the objective has
shifted (no matter how many hours went
into the planning). Your students are your
customers and you must meet THEIR
needs.

7. Success Factors (From my experience)
 4. FACILITATION SKILLS: An
understanding of group dynamics;
knowing when to work as a large group, in
small teams and as individuals; knowing
when to seek consensus and when majority
or an individual take precedence. Knowing
how to engage the whole group in healthy
discovery and discussion.

8. Success Factors (From my experience)
 5. ENGAGEMENT AND
BRAINSTORMING: Understanding
the idea generation process, including
how lateral thinking occurs and how
to design & adapt exercises to help
groups think laterally

9. Success Factors (From my experience)
 6. CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
ABILITY: if and when it occurs, an
effective facilitators nips conflict at
the bud, addresses it and defuses it.

10. Success Factors (From my experience)
 7. IDEA JUGGLING: The ability to
juggle multiple ideas in your head,
bring them together succinctly and
play them back to the group; the
ability to summarize the group’s
progress towards the goals.

11. Success Factors (From my experience)
 8. RECORDS MANAGEMENT: The
ability to capture notes /record of the
session’s strengths and weaknesses as
well as individual student needs.
Follow up on any pending
items/promises to students.

12. Success Factors (From my experience)
 9. TRUST PARTNERSHIP: knowing
how to help groups build trust;
beginning with setting agreements in
advance and at the end of every
meeting. Maintaining confidentiality
and professionalism at all times.

13. Success Factors (From my experience)
 10. SUBJECT MATTER MASTERY: unless
you know the subject thoroughly (in our
case, the target language, ) and have the
confidence to tackle most
questions/emerging issues on the subject,
you should not be facilitating it.

14. Effective Facilitation = Leadership
Being a good facilitator is at the core of being a good leader.
A strong leader/facilitator is able to motivate his or her team/students
and is able to create an environment where team members trust each
other and are empowered to make decisions, ask questions & actively
participate — even in the absence of the leader. An effective facilitator
engages the group continuously.
An effective facilitator encourages teams to be honest, to take risks and to
seek mutual understanding. All of these things contribute to positive
outcomes, incrementally better results and high value.
Good luck and write to me with your ideas and suggestions or just to say hello:
mloves2teach@gmail.com