Job Discussion Forums

bgates276 · Joined: 13 Jan 2011 Posts: 22

Hi,

This question is for the PNETS. SNETS can reply too if its similar. Is there a curriculum that you follow? Are there textbooks you use or are you supposed to come up with everything on your own? If your supposed to be creative, what exactly do you do with your students? I've been in a situation in Korea where I was in a public school and there was nothing for the kids to do; no textbooks or curriculum and I didn't know what to do with the students. I don't want to be in that position again.

Thanks.

Honky Nick · Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 113 Location: Hong Kong

Hi there,

Schools can choose how they deploy their NETs and there is no set NET curriculum. There are, however, various projects that the school can sign up to, such as PLP-RW (Primary Literacy Programme - Reading and Writing). If a school is running one of these programs, some resources, professional development and lesson plans are available.

For non-project schools, the NET could be asked to develop their own materials and lesson plans.

In short, there are a lot of variables. I work at a non-project school and develop my own units of work based around big books for lower primary and chapter books for upper primary.

If you don't want to find yourself in that position again, ask if the school is a PLP-R or PLP-RW school. If they say yes, you will have a wealth of resources available to you.

bgates276 · Joined: 13 Jan 2011 Posts: 22

You can teach all subjects though if you want to right? Not just language arts or ESL specifically, but maths and science, music, phys ed, geography, or what ever else you can think of? Would certainly add a lot more possibilities in the classroom.

sistercream · Joined: 18 Dec 2010 Posts: 497 Location: Pearl River Delta

As a PNET, you would have to be very careful about doing this to avoid treading on the class teacher's toes - the children would be studying these other subjects using Chinese as the medium of instruction.

If you want to be a general class teacher, make sure you have the qualifications, accreditation and experience in your home jurisdiction and then apply for positions in international/ ESF schools using the same or closely related curricula to the one in which your trained.

bgates276 · Joined: 13 Jan 2011 Posts: 22

Are you with the same set of 30 -40 students for the whole day? Or is it like my teaching experience in Korea, where you teach each grade for like 45 minutes to an hour, then rotate so that each grade in the school gets a little taste of ESL each day? Cause I assumed only one PNET was assigned per school. Also, I heard a PNET works two schools. How exactly does that work?

sistercream · Joined: 18 Dec 2010 Posts: 497 Location: Pearl River Delta

Assuming you are thinking of the government NET scheme, then a PNET works the same kind of schedule as a secondary school subject teacher - you have a timetable of different classes at different hours.
If a school is too small to get funding for a "whole" NET, it might arrange with another school that only needs another .2 or .4 so you go to the second place 1 or 2 days a week.

Do note that by no means all of the places that advertise for NETs employ through the government scheme - it's just the acronym for Native English-speaking Teacher, so be very wary. That said, there are some excellent DSS (direct subsidy schools) which employ PNETs independently, but with the same pay & conditions as on the government scheme. This is normally specified in the ads, and they're worth looking for if your qualifications and experience are up to scratch.

Joshua2006 · Joined: 04 Jan 2010 Posts: 342

SNET.....all provided for me on the computer and in set books. The only extra work I could have is either marking or setting homework.....but as most of my students couldn't give a rat's a@@@ about DSE, homework is few and far between. They don't do it even when I do set it.....

So, curriculum yes, extra work - minimum.