Module 1: Introduction: Language Program Management

[Audio] Option 1. Module 1: Introduction: Language Program Management.

[Audio] Hello everyone! In this module, we are going to first focus on expectations of Language Program management, before moving onto the challenges impact language program management. You will be invited to reflect on key points by drawing on your professional experiences or beliefs. Let's get started!.

[Audio] Before we start, I want to clarify the use of two terms that get used a lot: Management and administration. Management focuses on managing people and their work. On the other hand, administration focuses on making the best possible utilization of the organization's resources. Traditionally, LP Administration has referred to program records keeping, scheduling, teaching assignments, administration of budgets and instructional resources. However, LPM Admin these days involves much more than that. According to Christison and Stoller ( 2015), LP Admin It's a professional area of expertise that pulls from other fields such as curriculum development, pedagogy, and assessment. It also includes others such as business management, education leadership, entrepreneurial education, human resources, marketing, and organizational management. Likewise, management includes planning, policy formulation, and implementation, thus covering the functions of administration. So the distinction between these two terms has become blurred. We will use Language Program Manager in this course to cover the roles just described,.

[Audio] Now we will focus on Language Program Manager responsibilities. Language Teaching Organizations, or LTOs, vary a great deal from one context to another domestically and internationally, such as adult ed programs, binational centers, intensive English programs, international schools, k- 12 programs, and private language schools. You'll learn more about these LTOs later in Christison and Stoller ( 2015). What unites LP managers regardless of the organization are the core leadership roles and responsibilities that they must assume, as well as the underlying educational goals of language teaching. The LPM is expected to provide oversight, including supervision of faculty and staff, responsibility for financial matters, and assurance of program quality including the curriculum. White ( 2008) and others categorize responsibilities from a management perspective, and they list: academic management, business management, resources mgmt., people mgmt., as well as relations mgmt., including customer, entrepreneurial, and representational relations. Under admin responsibilities, they include registration, scheduling, student placement, teaching assignments and others. And finally under the category of leadership responsibilities, they list professional and corporate leadership. In our view, the expected core responsibilities that cut across most positions regardless of the LTO include the following: Human resource management Budget and resource management Student recruitment and marketing Student admission and advising Student services (co-curricular activities, housing, health insurance, etc.) Curriculum design and review Information management systems Program evaluation Change management Depending on your own LTO, there of course may be additional core responsibilities, such as working with agents or state departments to ensure student visas..

[Audio] How do LPManagers perceive their own core responsibilities? In this study, we see the results of a survey conducted with 200 LPMs who ranked their core responsibiltiies. Overall, they ranked the evaluation of overall program effectiveness as their primary core responsibility, followed by determing and reevaluating language program goals and objectives, developing and then revision of curricula, conducting staff meetings, supervisions and evaluations, as well as hiring. According to Bailey and Llamas, it can be inferred by the large sample size that these are relatively consistent across the LTO..

[Audio] Now let's pause for a for some food for thought. As a first step, please take the self-awareness questionnaire adapted from Christison and Stoller. If you are a LPM, try to focus on your current responsibilities. If you are not yet an LPM, select what you believe your responsibilities should be. When you are done, think further: if you are to reorganize them, what would you add or delete from the ones you selected? Then prioritize 5 of them and think of your own rationale for ranking them that way..

[Audio] Now that we've covered responsibilities, let's talk about LPM roles. We will rely on Murphy's 1996 study that focused on Leadership IQ, where he stated that leadership can be defined and measured as a form of intelligence. Murphy discovered that leaders with a high leadership IQ--whom he calls work leaders—can fulfill 8 specific roles: Selector – chooses the right people for the right job. They need to make sure to attract people who have the right fit. They also need to know WHEN to select and de-select, and because these deal with personnel issues, it can get uncomfortable. However, when work leaders learn how to make the right choices, they can let go of control and gain confidence in other people. Connector – builds effective relationships. They are able to use the right tools to assess the team, and the colleague receptivity or communication aptitudes so that they understand how they can develop a plan to improve relationships. Problem solver – identifies and transforms problems into solutions. These are results-driven individuals. Evaluator – evaluates progress and identifies opportunities for improvement. This is an optimistic position, rather than looking at what is wrong. Negotiator – resolves conflict and achieves consensus, and find a better way to focus on the people they serve—be they students, staff members, customers, or faculty colleagues. Negotiating also necessitates understanding the institutional culture and politics, as well as being able to effectively interact with upper administration at any level, such as the Provost of a University or a CEO of a company. Healer – This type of leader appeals to compassion in human interactions. A healer diagnoses and remedies a challenge or conflictual situation, focused on the healing process, and take steps toward that. Protector –When crises threaten people or organizations, this leader anticipates/identifies risk and takes action to address it. They also develop a plan to learn from it. Synergizer – As we know, the principal beyond synergy is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The key is in finding out how everyone can work to the best of their abilities. This leader Plans and facilitates growth collectively to generate a chain reaction of synergy. Think for a moment: which ones come naturally to you? Which ones do not?.

[Audio] Let us know take a quick look at the most essential LPM Leadership skills. The LPM needs to be able to: Understand the organizational structure Plan strategically Ensure quality programs Manage performance Build a communicative toolkit for leadership Build effective teams AND VERY IMPORTANTLY: Demonstrate emotional intelligence or leadership EQ : Self-awareness Self-regulation Self-motivation Empathy Social skills.

[Audio] Another very important skill is being able to act ethically and honestly. The LPM needs to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of legally mandated professionally ethical standards, such as FERPA. In addition to demonstrating such knowledge and understanding, the LPM needs to establish ethical practices at the LTO. He or she should demonstrate personal leadership ethics and make sure that they always act in a manner consistent with the rhetoric of ethical behavior. This also extends to hiring practices, as well as organizational culture..

[Audio] Also, the LPM must make a continued and deliberate effort tp maintain ethical practices including: Practice ethical decision making by respecting democracy and inclusiveness Put decision-making processes in place that require people to consider the ethical dimensions of business decisions Build socially just and equitable learning communities Respect and promote diversity Act with moral courage.

[Audio] Now let's pause for some more food for thought. You can take notes to answer the questions, make a bullet list, draw a mind map, or anything that can push your thoughts further. You can also always pick one of the questions and share your thoughts on Canvas. What are some of the most common ethical dilemmas a language program manager can face? What accounts for them? Identify an existing or a potential ethical concern in your program. What steps need to be taken to address it?.

[Audio] In the last part of this presentation, I'd like to illustrate the challenges impacting LP mgmt. The first Challenge discussed at length in Christison and Stoller is simply the transition from teaching to management. Lack of prior formal administrative training is a major one because most people step into the managerial role from the teaching role having never trained to become a manager. This isn't unique to LTOs. There are plenty of talented engineers, for example, who have been promoted to managers and do a terrible job because of a lack of training, and mimicry of their own bad managers. Insufficient opportunities for training in program administration continue to be a problem, so your being here for this course is just one step in the right direction for LTOs as a whole. They take on New leadership responsibilities that they often have not been taught New demands on the LPM's time that are different than the demands on a teacher's time. New configuration of workload Different professional relationships present another problem, especially where you now manage former colleagues, but also with support staff and the upper administration at every level. This necessitates the Need for new strategies for communicating with others and new interpersonal skills at every level. Finally, the New leader is expected to carry out new management functions ( planning, organizing, leading).

[Audio] Panferov in Christison and Stoller 2015 reports the results of a survey with 190 US and European based administrators. They were asked to share what they wish they had known before the transition from teaching ot administration. The reported skills they wished they had known were: Managerial: budgeting, hiring, and handling personnel concerns – 65[ break]% Promotions, navigating the institutional culture, supporting change, advocating for their programs – 27[break]% Program leadership – developing a strategic plan, setting goals for the program, capturing a vision for the program's future – less than 10[break]%.

[Audio] So how can these challenges be met? White and others support the develop of competencies to support this transition, primarily through the KASA framework: Knowledge: Knowing about - What information do I need to manage this program successfully? Skills: Knowing how - What skills do I already have that I need to adapt, and which skills do I need to acquire? Attitudes: Knowing why – Why do people behave the way they do? How can I become more aware of their attitudes? Awareness: Knowing oneself – Who am I as a manager? What am I bringing to this role? White and others see the development of these competencies as a gradual process of learning through trial and error, commitment, and practice..

[Audio] Let's move on now to contextual challenges LPms face. As we know, context impacts LTOs significantly. To illustrate, we are currently living in a new COVID reality where the pandemic conditions and their socio-political and sociocultural ramifications mean that you are watching a video I created rather than sitting next to me in a seminar classroom. There are new priorities for LPmgmt. Let us take a moment to analyze the current IEP context in the US, for example. We all remember in March 2020 when suddenly everything switched online overnight with no training or skills or expertise. It's been almost a decade that international student enrolment in US-based language programs has been declining. That's due in part to foreign education language policy changes, immigration impact on English language education, as well as the ever changing regulations affecting student visa holders. As a result, many language programs have downsized or restructured. Several programs have also changed their roles within the broader organizational context. And finally, business acquisitions have also changed the landscape..

[Audio] With increased world population mobility, the need for language training is more immediate than ever to ensure the sociocultural and economic integration of people into their new communities and increase their marketability. So, how to manage diversity has remained a compelling priority in many areas of the world. In the last decade, more and more countries and cultures have been facing such a pressing need. Let's take an example. In the light of the new wave of immigration from southeast asia in Japan, an issue was raised at the JALT conference in 2018 as to how to accelerate integration of immigrants into society and the job market. The conflict was about which was more useful for the immigrants to meet those goals: learning Japanese or learning English? You can find out more in Christison and Stoller, pp. 303- 352. Can you think of an example of your own? What challenges is your program currently facing? Please share it in the upcoming discussion on Canvas if you would like..

[Audio] I'd like to wrap up by encouraging all of you to engage in the last reflection point in this module. If you would like, watch the first two presentations ( 23 minutes) in this video here , put together by the TESOL International Program Administration Interest Section ( PAIS) . The video discusses steps LP managers in the USA and abroad have been taking in the face of current challenges to language education. Then, answer the following questions in a reflection on canvas in the SHARE section: What roles and responsibilities did the presenters take over in order to address the difficulties their programs were facing? As an LPM, what roles and responsibilities do you need to commit to in order to meet the current needs and challenges in your program? As a future LPM, what roles and responsibilities do you think are important for you to embrace? Once again, this is optional. And thank you for your time..