Job Discussion Forums

[ecocks]

Since some folks found this topic of equal interest to the current employment and legal/political situation for teachers in the FSU so it seemed better to open a thread where you can pursue the topic without derailing the thread completely.

Everybody has their own styles, mannerisms and methods of teaching. While I've seen and heard of schools which attempt to restrict these topics it hasn't been my inclination to work for them. As far as I am concerned whatever the students wish to discuss is fair game. I've had Muslims discuss their religion and those of others, ME women consider women's rights and freedoms, Russian and Ukrainians discuss historical and current events, differences in educational systems, Catholics elaborate on birth control and abortion, the list is long.

How is your style affected by the area you are teaching in? When conducting discussion, selecting readings or building vocabulary do you refuse to discuss current events? Legal realities or philosophical questions? Medical conditions and incidence rates? Racial discrimination and political repression?

What's your reaction when your students bring you an article for critical consideration or ask your opinion of drinking alcohol or age gap relationships? Do you duck and run, remind them that there are certain things that must not be talked about or seek to have a discussion on the issues?

[ecocks]

[jonniboy]

[ecocks]

Your "Dressed for crap" comment is a bit out of left field and seems designed to foster the contention you envision. What makes you think that's the way someone approaches a conversation? However, if there was an article in the Telegraph or on Reuter's that the Brits were wearing frumpy clothes with poor fashion sense it would be one of the options for the day's discussions. Another might be the invasion of Lughansk or the referendum in Crimea or whether women have ample access to education in Central Asian countries.

As for the rest, I don't know about you but sometimes I want to hear them express, other times they need to hear a challenge and formulate response.

To get off the political horse, another example would be one time when I taught 3 Azeri girls to make chicken salad using English as the language of instruction and we had a grand time in the kitchen that day. There were protests that I was "doing it wrong" but we stayed with an American-style recipe. At the end each left with a half kilo in a plastic container and I had 30 Euro on the table to go with almost 4 kilos of chicken salad for the next week.

We should note that none of them seemed inclined to become chefs but they were pleasantly surprised to realize they spent almost three hours speaking nothing but English.

Another time we took a tour of the country's mud volcanoes, in English. Despite their comments that they had been before they were pushed to explain to the half-dozen American and Brit teachers I brought along what we were seeing - i n E n g l i s h.

Again, I am not so sure any of them aspired to become tour guides.

My belief is that the content drives new areas of vocabulary as well as increases them to integrate their English construction skills and vocabulary acquisition. You can keep writing K N I F E on the whiteboard 20 times over a couple of weeks and have them make up sentences about it for homework lessons but nothing beats three hours in the kitchen asking for a bigger one, can you clean it and so on. All while chopping, slicing, de-boning, etc.

[jonniboy]

[ecocks]

Students pick what they wish to discuss or ask me to pick for them. I'm pretty much scanning headlines and thinking about vocabulary options and how complex the subject matter is.

Travel, politics, education, fashion, trade, conflict, freedom/repression, sex, automobile designs, university courses.....lots of wonderful stuff out there for discussion that grows vocabulary.

Another factor was that they read my FB page. It was clear that one woman in particular was offended at my posts and lobbied her employer to cancel me. That one person cost me a total of four of the lost students.

No loss or shedding of crocodile tears, I was looking for students when I found them.

[Sashadroogie]

Just one TEFLtastic word for you: PARSNIP.

There are sound business reasons underlying it. Apart from any ethical or methodological, not to say legal reasons.

[Sashadroogie]

For those who don't know it:

no Politics, Alcohol, Religion, Sex, Narcotics, Isms or Pork.

Otherwise there is a strong chance your students will think you are a fruitcake. And drop you.

[ecocks]

To each their own then, you make your living and I'll make mine.

[spiral78]

I, too, avoid PARSNIPS in my classes, and have for over 15 years now. Definitely hasn't hurt my career.

Not that such things don't occasionally come up, but not guided or prodded or encouraged by me. But I teach in what could be volatile environments, as I noted on the other thread, and the stated goals of our courses don't really include expressing opinions on controversial topics as such.

Again, I still think that any uneducated babushka in any village in any country can do this proficiently; I disagree that it's a sign of high-level cognitive skills.

[ecocks]

So, we agree to disagree then.

Now, what do you do with the ones who keep spelling Center with the switched E and R?

[Sashadroogie]

Agree to disagree is exactly what students and teachers need to do in a language lesson. And perhaps on a forum for the profession too. Otherwise, there'd be skin and fur flying.

Why court controversy? It doesn't pay. In an way.

[ecocks]

Pays me.

YMMV.

[Sashadroogie]

Avoiding parsnips, and student walk-outs, pays more.

[ecocks]