Part-Time Classes

LINC classes are offered in both full-time and part-time formats across Canada. The hours for each of these varies depending on the service provider. Each organization usually schedules classes based on learner and community needs. Part-time classes can be offered in the mornings, afternoons, evenings or weekends, and can be offered in a variety of formats: face-to-face, blended or online. 

Part-time classes meet the needs of learners who are working or who have family or other responsibilities. Organizations should consider how to best support and schedule the reporting and conferencing cycle for part-time classes. 

Learners who attend part-time classes may progress at a different pace than full-time learners as they have less instructional hours per week. They cannot complete the PBLA learning cycle of skill-building, skill-using and assessment at the same rate as a full-time program.

Learners may only be able to register for one LINC class at a time, but part-time learners can consider accessing other learning opportunities such as community programs, vocational programs or provincial/ territorial language programs to supplement their learning.

Part-time courses present benefits but also unique challenges. You should consider the following when teaching part-time courses:

• Learners may be juggling several responsibilities in addition to studying English. As a result, they may be absent periodically, and when present, may want to maximize their learning time with focused instruction and practice.
• Learners may be attending a course as little as once a week, with possible absences. They can benefit from short, chunk-sized learning with clear learning outcomes that can be realized in a single lesson.
• Learners can benefit from supplementing their course time with online learning  or materials that they can refer to between sessions.
• Part-time learners have fewer opportunities to get to know their classmates. Provide frequent opportunities for learners to get to know each other.
• Some part-time learners may progress slowly because of the infrequency with which they are practicing English. However, other part-time learners, especially if they are immersed in English in the workplace or community, can progress very quickly. Ensure that artifacts are being collected frequently, so that their progress can be captured.

   

You will need to give the planning process more consideration in selecting themes and tasks as there is less time to spend on them. If you are teaching part-time LINC in an online or blended setting, another consideration is balancing time dedicated to real-time (synchronous) class interactions and asynchronous learning that is learner directed. Consider using a flipped classroom model in your planning and teaching: start each lesson cycle with a guided asynchronous learning component completed by learners independently, then follow with in-class practice based on what learners have just learned. You will have to optimize real-time class time for communicative interaction, task completion and assessment, and balance this with asynchronous self-directed skill-building activities in all four skills.