Job Discussion Forums

[Robert Russell]

What can be done to professionalize this field????

[johnslat]

Dear Robert,
Your question made me think of Tolstoy's " What Is To Be Done? ". And I guess the answer's pretty much the same. On a global scale, as long as there are so-called " English language schools " who will hire anyone who speaks English ( more or less ) regardless of his/her qualifications and ability, and as long as such " schools " turn a profit, nothing can be done. It's " the law of the marketplace ". So, although I dislike sounding discouraging, all that can be done, I'd say, is for each of us to behave as " professionally " as possible at all times. Going from Tolstoy to Voltaire, all we can do is " tend our own gardens ".
Regards,
John
P.S. But - who knows? Maybe someone on this board will come up with some good, practical suggestions.

[Albulbul]

Tolstoy ? Are you sure ? I would put my money on Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov as the author of the book with that title.

[johnslat]

Dear Albulbul,
You mean you didn't know - Tolstoy was Lenin's nom de plume. Actually both wrote on the subject, but Tolstoy's advice was merely contained in a " Letter to the Liberals " ( an apparently extinct species nowadays ) .

http://www.nationofcowards.net/done.html

whereas Lenin's essay, which has that title, is much better known. However, I wouldn't suggest taking Lenin's advice - look where his ideas ended up: in the dustbin of history.
Regards,
John

[leeroy]

Obviously this is a matter of intense personal opinion for many on this board! There are evidently a lot of issues which need to be resolved in this industry with regard to the "so-called teachers". I either empathise or agree with a lot of what people have said, despite their somewhat strong methods of delivery!

I would like to make a point, not to disagree outright with what anyone has said, rather to add an extra element to the argument. Perhaps this is best made through my personal experiences...

I do not have a degree in anything relevant to teaching. A few days after getting my CELTA, I flew off to Asia, and was an absolutely appalling teacher for about 6 months. I quickly discovered that my shortcomings as a teacher could be remedied by being an entertainer. By smiling, telling jokes, and playing games I found that I could make students like me. This was a counter-balance to my slavishly going through the book and doing photocopies, as I didn't know what else to do.

But the nagging question at the end of each lesson ("That was fun, but did they actually learn anything?") became ever louder. Myself, and another teacher started researching teaching styles on the internet. We chatted about the pros and cons of Krashen, the Lexical Approach, the role of grammar in the class, possible L1 interference etc... I wouldn't say for one second that it was a substitute for university education, but it showed that we took an interest in being good at what we were doing.

For our students, we were pretty western faces with which to be entertained by. They didn't care if we effectively achieved our language teaching aims or not; all they wanted to do was have fun & chat. The school administration was interested in making money, and my DOS an incompetent, egotistical, lazy gas balloon who provided very little in the way of support for teachers.

Everyone in the staff room took their job seriously enough, given the requirements made of them. They went to lessons on time, marked tests fairly, and (I think) genuinely liked the students, well... on the whole. The atmosphere was a bit like that of a working holiday though. It was understandable. Most teachers there had a CELTA and no experience. They were unable to "teach properly", and even if they could, the students wouldn't have cared anyway. This isn't to say that they didn't care at all about what they did, though, I think it was admitting our limitations.

My boss was promoted to a very senior position in the head office of the company we worked for, the students had fun and got to see a western person, and the teachers (for the most part) had a great time too. We weren't really seen as role models. I don't think our students wanted us to be.

I moved to a different school, where the standards were even worse. Most of the teachers were backpackers who had wandered through, or people who had studied at the town's university and fancied staying around for a bit to live with their boyfriend. The DOS was even more incompetent, he barely knew the teacher's names, and had nothing vaguely resembling management skills.

You would expect in environments such as these that the teachers would reflect this lack of professionalism, but interestingly in both cases they didn't. Teachers were constantly helping each other, talking about the best way to do things in class, taking personal time to improve the way the schools were run, often directly battling against the management and administration. All this was despite no formal training, and a monthly wage of $350 US.

It saddens me when I read the often repeated view that teachers who are unqualified are nothing but alcoholic rogues, unable to make it in their own country so they teach abroad, murdering professionalism and the image of TEFL. I know these people exist, but it seems unfair to blanket this image on everyone.

Often we'd joke in the staff room ("Man, if we were real teachers, we'd know that!"). This, I think, shows that we understood we were not "real professionals". We never pretended (or aspired) to be, but for the most part we did try and do a good job. We were well aware that there were people out there doing a better job than us (for more money), and it didn't bother anyone. Paradoxically, the experienced, qualified teachers seem gravely concerned about their unqualified counterparts.

The school I now work for in London is in many ways better run, but also in many ways more relaxed. (We're a couple of rungs higher than the "visa factories", but probably not up there with IH yet.) The students aren't tested. We are not authority figures, cultural ambassadors or life mentors. Our job is to help the students learn English, and in this environment none of the above personas will improve our ability to do that. In fact, I would say we are "instructors" rather than "teachers", and it is not so much a "school" as a "course". I mentioned this before when trying to justify how dating a student in these circumstances is something to be done carefully, but not completely unethical. (I think I'll give up on that one though!)

I have now started my degree while I continue to work teaching. This is an industry that I am interested in. I disagree with the assertion that, as I am still technically unqualified, that I am doing a bad job, or that I am in some way making life harder for someone who wants to get a job at a university in Japan. If I was working at a university for lower pay then maybe I would be, but that is a very different matter. (And I don't think a confidential joke in jest with another colleague about a student's bottom completely destroys my credibility as a teacher! I am 22, you know!)

It seems that the global demand for teachers is much larger than the supply. If NATO gave in to demands made by some posters on this forum, and ritually shot every teacher who didn't have a Masters in Applied Linguistics, then TEFL wouldn't be a brighter place. Maybe a few Hogwans would go bust, a load of Chinese kids wouldn't get to practise their English with That American Guy twice a week, and "flied lice" would become massively, and irreparably fossilised. And I completely fail to see, maybe due to my "na�vet�" (thanks bnix), how removing less able teachers from less respected positions would improve the life of teachers clearly more capable and who work much higher on the career ladder.

This is not to say that I don't have a shred of empathy with some of the situations described on this board. I would feel offended if I (a very qualified and experienced teacher) was hired alongside a smelly backpacker (albeit with a pretty face) for the same money and professional respect. But my course of action wouldn't be to hate the backpacker, it would be to find a job where my abilities are more appropriately rewarded.

Anyway, I suppose my message is actually fairly simple, despite the pages and pages of ramblings. All this negativity is not needed! Why not use the same amount of effort for something constructive? Couldn't the elder and wiser members of the TEFL community do something to help those suffering in "Mickey Mouse Language Schools", as opposed to shunning and criticising them?

And so to answer the question "How can we make this industry more professional", well I'm not sure. But being hostile to each other is definitely not the way to start, I hope at least someone agrees with me there.

Perhaps I personify everything that is wrong with this industry, but I have never found personal insults (either directly or implied) to be very constructive, given or received, especially on the internet!

Happy Teaching People!

Leeroy

PS. As for "Tolstoy", I've got no idea

[omar805]

deleted

[johnslat]

Dear leeroy and omar825,
I was impressed by the time and effort leeroy put into his message, and by its content as well. I suspect that he's a very good teacher indeed. Now, although I hesitate to jump into this topic, so fraught with emotionalism and partisanship, here goes. I've always thought that it takes to things to be a " good teacher ": a comprehensive knowledge of the subject matter and the ability to communicate it in a way that inspires students to learn. It is, I'd say, more likely ( but not 100% certain ) that a " qualified " teacher would have a better knowledge of the subject matter. But the ability to communicate effectively and to motivate students is not, I suspect, something that can be learned in school. I'm not saying, by the way, that it can't be learned - but only, in some cases, through experience. I've known teachers with PhDs in Linguistics who had a fine command of the subject, but whose classroom manner would put even a group of students loaded with caffeine and speed to sleep. Thus, you could have a highly qualified, highly knowledgeable ineffective teacher. Those who teach without " the right qualifications " may have sufficient knowledge to do so, and they may have the ability to convey that knowledge in a motivating way - but, on the other hand, they could also be deficient in both areas. So, the way I see it is - a " qualified " teacher has the edge in the knowledge department; in the communication and motivating department, well, maybe it's a toss-up - although, even there, the " qualified teacher " would probably have the edge, since he/she deliberately chose the profession and therefore would, I think, be more likely to possess the skills it requires.

[omar805]

You probably have made a good point when you say that qualified teachers should have the edge in the knowledge department but your ability to communicate and motivate depends largely on your lesson preparation which is directly related to your professionalism and to a large extent, your personality..I've known many teachers who have considered qualifications to be merely a necessary "piece of paper" and I can honestly say that I have questioned the worth and usefulness of my Masters Degree in our chosen field.
As you mentioned, some well-qualified people do have astonishing abilities to "put students to sleep". If I were teaching in a team situation, I would like a good blend of qualified people and others like Leeroy who are prepared to go to whatever lengths to improve their teaching abilities and their professionalism.
Er, John - what qualifications do you have in Mathematics? I'm Omar 805!

[johnslat]

Dear Omar805,
I agree, with the proviso that a lot of experience can often stand in for some lesson preparation. When I first started out ( yes, there were classrooms in the Dark Ages ), I hated having to " sub " on VERY short notice. These days, I can do it with NO notice. I still do like to have everything planned and ready ( with back-ups also on hand ), but the years and the knowledge and confidence they've instilled now make " going in cold " no sweat ". I KNOW I can give a darn good lesson anyway. Qualifications in Math? Hmm, once I get past long-division, I'm on shaky ground. I opted for classical Greek in high school rather than take trig, and then, when I was at college, had to take calculus. Cosign? What's that? I still wake up screaming. But you know, even there a really good teacher can make such a difference. I had such a one in my Statistics class in grad school and was half-way through before I realized: Opps, this is MATH, but how come I'm doing so well in it?

[Bertrand]

...nothing can be done. Just look at how, say, they encourage their 'teachers' to 'teach' grammar points: make them read a grammar box from the book aloud (!) What does this give them that they could not get from a non-native speaker? Or at home, alone?

[zaneth]

Just resurrecting for the hell of it.

[gugelhupf]

[Aramas]

Wouldn't it be appropriate to discuss what exactly 'professionalizing' means, and why it might be considered desirable? I can't help but feel that the entire debate is ego driven. I hear occasional mumbles about how it would be better for the students, but mostly it's whining about how no one takes them seriously. Poor little sausages. It must be difficult to find someone to lord it over when one's down in the dirt with the huddled masses. My heart bleeds.

Does viewing one's wh*ring for cash as a 'career' or 'profession' make it any less inconvenient? I doubt that anyone here loves TEFL so much that they would do it for free if they were independently wealthy. It's just a job, and a lowly one at that. I've always considered the different meanings of 'career' to be closely related. People sell their souls for wealth and social position. Sorry, but my soul is not for sale - not for $500k a year and a chateau in the south of France, and certainly not for $10k a year and a garret in Prague.

It's the freedom and lack of regulation that defines TEFL's appeal for a lot of people. Take that away and all you have left is another menial job.

[Ludwig]

'Aramas', as they would say in my dialect, 'Shall we put you down as a maybe, then?'

[zaneth]

Ok, we get it. It's a job that people get into for freedom.

But a person interested in freedom and lack of regulation might be interested in those things because they have ideals and ideas of their own.

Another poster wrote that a person paid to be a foreigner has the chance to become a professional. Nice point.

An idealist, finding the freedom they sought, will, hopefully want to do something good with it. Will want to be effective and professional.

Isn't the freedom to fulfill your responsibilities in the way you see fit a major mark of a profession?

Good point about Delta/Masters being out of reach for people in poor countries. It'll be a long time before I have a spare $7,000. That's an astronomical sum for me. So I guess I need to leave the qualifications alone and just work on development, which doesn't necessarily cost anything.