Job Discussion Forums

[tellersquill]

I've a cynical friend who believes ESL will be replaced by technology and robotics by 2028.

These predictions have been bandied around for quite some time but are becoming, on the surface, a lot more feasible in their forecast.

I rubished his theory merely on the fact that the children would still need to go somewhere during the day because parents tend to work during school hours (quite a weak response to be fair).

Its actually been playing on my mind more and more because I see ESL as a career. I have a nice life, a good job, and I save over five hundred dollars per month (so clearly dont want this to end).

What do you folks invision?

Should we all be looking at an exit plan with the next decade?

[scot47]

Children will still go to school, but why will they need a native speaker to teach them English ?

[bograt]

As you pointed out, as soon as the internet was up and running, people were predicting this. Until robots can only be distinguished from humans through some complicated psychological test like in Blade Runner, I think people who want a face to face approach to learning languages will choose a human. So there's a way to go yet. I also think most people will still prefer a native speaker. I would.

Also where are you working that you can only save $500 a month? I hope it's a nice place to make up for it. Unless you're paying off student loans as well, that is.

[psychedelicacy]

Pearson recently sold Wall Street English for $300 million to some Chinese private equity companies (https://www.ft.com/content/c0aa89d4-131b-320e-ade5-d8c6b3962ca2). I find it difficult to believe that they plan to replace everything with tech in the near future, not least because that would overturn the present model and be very capital intensive. Generally teaching is considered one of the professions less likely to be automated (a good reason to stay in it). There is some very sophisticated language tech which will obviously only improve, but at the moment it struggles to get collocations and colloquial language right. Type "one more beer please" into Google Translate, and it'll give you a translation which no-one uses ("one more" in Mandarin for example is literally "again come one", but Google Translate, for all its sophistication, doesn't grasp this). Now try translating some contract law, and the result might be unintelligible.

[twowheel]

I plan to still be honing my career in this field a decade from now.

twowheel

[nimadecaomei]

[iknowwhatiamtalkingabout]

I'm not worried. Our industry will survive. The key is the same as any industry, really. Make sure you're qualified, make sure you continue to develop your skills, and have a solid base of experience behind you. There will always be work for people like that.

I've got a cosy job at the moment with the BC and fully plan on staying with them for the next few years. My time at the BC has got my TYLEC and the Trinity Dip for free and has allowed me to save money really easily. Ten weeks holiday a year too.

Next step is an MA (which they've already agreed to half fund) and then take stock and see what I fancy.

Get your qualifications in order, take development opportunities when they come up, and be decent at what you do. Then there'll always be work. Relax and enjoy your tefl. It's a good life.

[In the heat of the moment]

You can listen to the radio but people still choose to learn musical instruments. A lot of the stuff you learn in school you'll never use in real life. Learning a second language helps you understand your own, better. English is the lingua franca used in the vast majority of entertainment, plus if you're in a foreign country it's highly likely someone you meet in a restaurant or hotel will speak some English.

[creeper1]

[psychedelicacy]

[suphanburi]

Until they change children there will always be a need for teachers in all subjects including EFL / ESL.

Until they change the biological, physiological and psychological makeup of the young of homo sapiens I have no fear about having a job as a teacher.

That said it behooves us as teachers to stay current in both pedagogical and technological changes within our professional practice and use our good judgement as to when to apply each in their appropriate place.
(Doesn't work for Americans because they think properly trained teachers are an expensive waste of time - "Those who can - do; Those who can't - teach").

.

[tellersquill]

[suphanburi]

Because teachers are not the givers of knowledge (except in the US where they don't know any better). Google knows more than any teacher can, it is faster and has a better memory. Any teacher who thinks otherwise is doomed to the same future as the dinosaurs. The writing is on the wall. The days of the "sage on the stage" are numbered.

Effective teachers are the guides in learning. They assist the pupil in examining what they learn in a critical fashion. They suggest methods of solving problems and guide the students through the learning process.

Until human nature and the needs of children significantly change... there will always be room for decent teachers. "As has been, as will be."

For adult learners it is different but the same. They can be more autonomous in their learning but they still want the guide through the process (no different than hiring a guide on a safari).

.

[litterascriptor]

I for one look forward to watching some of my young learners mauling whatever poor robot they stick in front of them. I will remember to make some popcorn for the event.

[HLJHLJ]

One day, though probably not in my life time, someone will figure out a viable brain / machine interface and knowledge and skills will become implantable or programmable. Then teaching as a mass product will be all but obsolete. In the meantime, bring on the robots!