A few days back I was discussing problems associated with students not listening properly. Further to that, it’s worth going into depth on a part of that phenomenon.
During a ride out, the student failed to follow a direction. When instructors give directions there is a sequence – indeed, there is an acronym to help them remember; ADI. Alert, direct, inform. So, for example, “At the next junction (alert) turn left/right (direct), it’s just past the bus stop (inform). On this particular occasion, I switched the order slightly as the junction was partially obscured by a bend in the road and I wanted to give the student ample time to react. So I informed him first by describing what he was about to see; a speed limit sign of 30mph, closely followed by a junction on the right. I then told him that he would be taking the next junction on the right, just past the speed limit sign. Given his level of competence at this stage, I proceeded to talk him through the observation, signal, position sequence.
When he then proceeded straight ahead, having moved to the right indicating right, I had to quickly check and chase after him. At least on this occasion I could do so. A few weeks previously, a student did this on a busy dual carriageway roundabout and there was no way I could follow him. I managed to lose him for about ten minutes while I went round the roundabout, followed his route and couldn’t find him, but that’s another story.
A subsequent debrief led to the student admitting that he did not understand the term “junction”. Okay, this surprised me as the term is in common usage. However, what is important is that he mentioned it, as a single word that is misunderstood can create a block – as it did here, leading to confusion and poor navigation. By explaining it, I could rectify the navigation. I suspect that there were other words we had been using that he did not understand, leading to some of the difficulties we experienced during the ride. Unfortunately, the limited time available meant that I did not have the time to delve too deeply.
This has also manifested itself with the railway training. A few months back I had a student who was not a native English speaker. She spoke it fluently enough, however, trying to learn new terms and definitions in the space of a couple of days is difficult and we both were unsurprised at the subsequent failure to pass the end of course test. The course just doesn’t allow the luxury of revisiting material in detail, relying on learners taking the time to study what they have learned during day one before attending day two. I am sure that there were a number of words we use in the railway environment, words that were used and defined during the course, that were misunderstood by the student.
In this case, the only option is for the learner to study the literature at leisure and then come back for another go. It’s also worth bearing in mind that personal study gives the learner time to look words up using a dictionary and I would always advise checking any word that seems unfamiliar using a dictionary – otherwise a misunderstanding takes root and eventually leads to one of those blocks to learning.
It was just interesting to see it demonstrated so clearly as usually I have to dig to get to the bottom of it. Had I been training an instructor, this would have been a classic case study.
If he does not know it as a “Junction”, WTF DOES he call it?
Probably “turning”.
Having had the good fortune of living in several English-speaking countries, but sadly being forced to take driving theory and practical tests in all of them, the driving terminology used varies from place to place, even within the country itself. “Intersection” is the same as junction, for instance in the US. Coming to terms with the cultural differences in road terminology is the hardest part.
In a safety critical environment understanding the meaning of words is quite important, I imagine. Especially as under stress or in a crisis communication is likely to be less clear.