Job Discussion Forums

[Grendel]

After deciding to cut staff last spring, HCT in the fall decided to accept any UAE student with a high school diploma, and has been recruiting very hard. There�s gossip HCT has dropped its hiring standards, and are accepting teachers on extended probation; they will do the same work as other teachers, but for lower pay until they complete whatever requirements HCT has imposed.

New teachers should be aware these students will be extremely low in academic ability and even lower in motivation. They were, after all, ones HCT decided against in the first round. New teachers should also be aware they are quite liable to be held responsible for student performance.

New teachers should be pay attention to where they might be assigned. In the current HCT system, a college director�s power is nearly absolute, and each college differs radically in atmosphere and requirements. HCT in Sharajah has a frightening reputation, HCT in Fujairah a calmer one; yet the ICDL (a requirement all new staff should ask about) is barely glanced at in Sharajah, while in Fujairah, completing it successfully is the sole grounds for new teachers getting a raise.

Even by HCT standards, there has been lots of turmoil in the top the last two years; the man now in charge is the same one responsible for the takeover of MLI, which produced lots of confusion and hardship. Things could change. And the bright side is so far, all government institutions in the UAE (like HCT) continue to pay promptly.

[Buur]

Grendel, yes you are right, it is not easy to teach students who are not motivated and have language barriers.

When does HCT start new foundation classes in the Febraury or August 2007? is there any pre-assessment test before students they start the classes?

Buur

[veiledsentiments]

Of course there are assessments, but you have the usual problem that students level between skills varies immensely. You will find many students who are high intermediate in speaking, intermediate in listening, beginning in reading and low beginning in writing. So... what level do you put them in? Therein lies the continual situation with Arabic speaking students. Normally the first 3 weeks are then spent in moving students between classes as the exams, as usual, don't always get the levels right anyway.

I am not sure what you mean by language barriers. It is foundations and at HCT, they have always arrived in all levels from almost zero beginner to almost native speaker. It sounds like they are expanding numbers at the lower end of the scale.

But, I'm not completely sure what Gendel is talking about... HCT or CERT or something new. CERT was originally created just to handle the low level intake. Then it seemed to morph into a new income producer. Is there a new low level system coming in?

VS

[Tuttifruitti]

Hi VS,

I think what Grendel is talking about is the new Diploma Foundations (used to be called semester 1, 2 and 3 in the Certificate programme).

This year, after the cut-off point, a huge number of extra places were provided by private funding from one of the sheikhs. Due to space limitations etc, many of those students have to wait until the Feb semester to begin the Diploma Foundation course.

Many of these students will no doubt be at a much lower level than is currently acceptable. However, in contrast to the previous programme, where students could repeat numerous times and crawl their way up through the certificate/diploma programme, students who do not pass the Dip Foundation course first time cannot repeat in the summer, just like HD Foundations.

[veiledsentiments]

Actually this sort of intake used to happen on a limited basis each year... and these very low students were given one chance only to get up to the required level back then too.

And it sounds like exactly what the intentions were at the beginning of CERT.

They do keep reinventing the wheel, don't they? They are still trying to figure out what to do with the massive numbers of low level students that the secondary schools are producing... rather like the baby boom that the US educational system had to deal with after WW2.

I wonder when it is finally going to occur to them to have a tertiary system in... Arabic...

VS

[stoth1972]

So does this mean that the less qualified teachers will be teaching the diploma foundations courses?

Thinking about finishing this damn dissertation and heading back to the UAE, but wondered if HCT would be a good fit based on this most recent report.

[veiledsentiments]

Because they need so many teachers, I suspect that they will have to lower their requirements. (and logic says that you don't need people with MAs to teach extremely low level students anyway... a Cert is sure needed though)

I will be interested in hearing how this all plays out.

Get that dissertation done Stoth!! HCT has different levels and programs. You just need to take care as to which positions you are applying for, being interviewed for, and possibly being hired for.

VS

[stoth1972]

I need that kick in the pants, VS!! Any suggestions as to what positions I apply for? I'll need to pick some friends' brains, too. They are at the various HCT campuses, and some of them have really cool jobs that don't involve all teaching (and they all come from similar backgrounds to my own). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[veiledsentiments]

It's kind of a crapshoot with them. (as you know if you have been reading the threads through the years.) You don't really know what you are getting until you get the offer.

VS

[Tuttifruitti]

Hi stoth1972,

The Diploma Foundations programme started last year, so there are plenty of 'old timers' teaching them already. It won't be all new teachers. In fact, in some colleges, supervisors have already started allocating the Feb workload, as they need to know how many teachers to hire (never getting it right of course!).

I don't know what your dissertation is on, but it might lean towards the level you are interested in teaching and you could expand on this in an interview.

I think they are still interviewing separately for Madinat Zayed, so as far as I know that won't be one of the places you could be sent. Abu Dhabi Women's will be opening a new campus in Khalifa City next year though, so there will be opportunities at all levels at that campus.

Good luck!

[Manny2]

My experience with the HCT is that while you can make it known that you would prefer a particular location over another, or a higher level over a lower one , it will all come down to the needs of the system and particular colleges. When I interviewd I made it quite clear that i would not consider certain locations and I knew this might limit my chances , I was lucky and got what I requested. Another colleague also turned down his first offer and requested another location and he got it. Were we lucky , maybe , but obviously it coincided with their needs. From my understanding the extra students are mostly coming to Abu Dhabi and Dubai so that is where current hires will get sent and to the lower levels.

As a previous poster has noted there are currently alot of oldtimers teaching at the lower levels and this is often what they prefer. However, it would also depend on which college you get assined to , for example in some the teaching staff are allocated to a certain department be they ESL or content teachers and that is often where you will stay for at least a contract and then you have to apply to make a move. Other colleges have a more flexible approach and ESL teachers have opportunities to request specific levels each semester, so there is alot of room to move about the levels . So even if you get an offer it will just say English Faculty but not give details till you actually start and then you could dtill get moved about within weeks of starting if the need arises.

As far as jobs that don't involve any teaching then you are usually looking at a supervisory position which have their own requirements but usually a minimum of 3 years in a similiar position - and even then for these there are often many very qualified internal candidates, especially for English positions. Other positions that may cut dowm on your teaching hours like team leading or academic coordinating are not advertised outside and go to people already in the college.

[NadiaK]

There are also jobs (not many, though) as ILC co-ordinator and the like ("non-teaching faculty" - same pay, slightly less holiday).

Do take note of Manny's comments. In some colleges you may be moved from one programme to another whether you request it or not, and in some of the smaller colleges you may well be teaching across levels/programmes anyway. Even if you are hired to teach a particular level, there is absolutely no guarantee that a) you will actually be doing that and b) if you are, you will continue to do so for any length of time. You are hired as an English teacher, and the college reserves the right to put you where they need you.

[stoth1972]

My friend at RAK says they're quite desperate for Jan hires, and expects them to be desperate for August, too.

[Spin duck]

[like2answer]

Oh, I'm so sad. What you are saying is not 100% true. These students didn't get into HCT because of their high school results. They needed a 60% pass rate to enter. Some of the students who are coming have pretty high CEPA scores so will probably be placed into our HDF program once we can monitor their ability. Many students, at least where I teach, were put into the science option in HS because they were very smart. They are great in English, but they just got low marks in HS.

We had some of the students come visit our college and they were very keen to learn and be part of our college. New hires shouldn't be worried that these are the "worst" students or will have very low motivation. They might be even more motivated because they didn't get in the first time.

I hope new teachers, or oldies who are teaching them, will treat them with the same respect as the students who had higher HS %. You might be surprised.