The objectives of the present volume are the same as those of the foundations handbook and the didactic suggestions in booklets 1–4: supporting the HLT instructors in shaping a classroom experience that is current and attractive and methodologically and didactically as compatible as possible with regular classroom education in the immigration country.
However, the structure and the content concept of the volume “Teaching learning strategies and techniques in HLT” differs from volumes 1–4. Whereas the suggestions and teaching proposals there were primarily intended for the instructors, volume 5 is mainly comprised of teaching materials for students from the 4th or 5th grade on. The materials would need to be tweaked and simplified to be age- appropriate for the younger students.
Part I
Part I is comprised of 15 pages (M1–15) with a selection of concrete, easily understandable instructions for learning strategies and techniques. They concern the topics of practicing in general, using study tools, reading comprehension, writing, as well as test preparation and preparing for presentations. These pages are conceived as master copies and will be distributed to the students as copies. There is no particular sequential order, which allows the choice of materials to better support the current theme or kind of learning situation. For each learning technique, i. e., materials M1–15, there are recommendations for didactical implementation. These can be found on the introduction pages of the five mentioned theme areas and offer the instructors hints and suggestions for the specific tasks. (It should be noted that, naturally, the workbooks 1–4 already point out hints for learning strategies, see for example the writing strategies in volume 1. The prompts there, however, are directed at the instructors, whereas volume 5 offers materials that are directly intended for the students.
Part II
Part II contains a training program aimed at the prerequisites for successful learning and student success. The focus of this program – which is further described in chapter 4 below – is on the “unwritten rules” and their importance, particularly since complying with rules can be crucial or decisive for student success in the middle and northern European immigration countries. If we succeed in acquainting HLT students with these rules and work techniques and how they themselves can apply and use them, it would be an important step toward equal opportunity.
Initial introduction
Preceeding the two practice parts is an introduction to the learning techniques and strategies in general (chapter 2), suggestions about the role of HLT in mediating these techniques (chapter 3), and suggestions for working with the referenced training program in Part II (chapter 4).
Regarding the origin of ideas
The current volume is closely oriented to, in part verbatim, the following titles by the same author and publisher: Basil Schader (2012, 2013): Mein schlaues Lernheft. Zürich, Orell Füssli. (My clever textbook). The “clever textbook” has not only proven its worth in Switzerland, it was also published in two Albanian edtions (Peja, 2012; Lausanne, 2013). The author‘s assembled learning techniques in those issues were partially shortened or summarized for inclusion in the present publication; the training program component was wholly integrated, however. The introduction, as well as the didactic suggestions and parts of the graphic design are totally new.