Job Discussion Forums

[one sky]

Thanks for everyone's help! I found a job teaching adults. Does anyone know of some good things to bring? I liked the question posted for children and wonder... What do people use in their classes for college age and adult?

[mikescapes]

Could you share your experience in finding a job? I'm looking for work in Argentina, BA preferably.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

There's a plethora of things that can be downloaded from the Internet and photocopied. In Merida, I think there are as many photocopy places as pharmacies, and that's a lot!

Magazines in English are hard to find and expensive. Also, we use lots of pictures for oral practice -- describe, compare & contrast, put events in sequence, etc. -- using the same style and format as the Cambridge exams (PET, KET, FCE, etc.) I'm always on the lookout for good pictures in color and of decent size to fit the various activities. If you have photos of family, friends, cultural events, pictures of almost anything from "back home," most students will be interested in seeing and talking about them.

Coins from your home country (in my case, coins from the U.S.) People here are very familiar with paper money from the U.S., but since only paper money and not coins can be exchanged for Mexican pesos, many students aren't familiar with foreign currency in coin form. I "love" to see American tourists leave what they consider a generous tip in quarters, dimes, and nickels in local restaurants and the bewildered looks on the waiters' faces . . . worthless to them unless they can find a foreigner willing to exchange the coins for paper dollars. Then because they aren't all that familiar with coins, they usually aren't sure if the foreigner is cheating them (giving them a dollar for five-dollars' worth of coins.)

I know some foreign teachers bring back common/popular board games from their home countries on their first visit back home. Scrabble seems to be one of the common ones. I've never used Scrabble with my students, but I've heard that the Spanish version, which is available here, is different from the English version, and, of course, the instructions, rules, and all are in Spanish.

Your question is a good one, but it's difficult to answer. Schools vary so much in what they provide for teachers to use. Ideally, if you could make contact with some of the teachers already at the school where you'll be teaching, they could probably give you a better idea of specific things.

[MELEE]

First of all Ben's suggestion of making contact with the school is a must, what do they have, what do they wish they had, etc.

I think some of the same things I do with kids work great with university students. For example, I love my kitchen timer. And Blu-Tak is handy no matter what level you are teaching.

Photos of your family, friends, and possibly your house, or other local buildings are nice too (or other countries you have visited). Students love looking at them. Just be warned--protect them in an album or just accept that they will be fingerprint covered!

I think most of the other things I use in class regularly are obtainable here--and I live off the beaten track.

[lozwich]

I agree with the other responses, onesky, but also, you can get magazines like Newsweek, Time, People and various others at Mexico City airport, and also at the bookshop in Oaxaca where they sell English language books. I can't remember what its called, but its up near Santo Domingo. Not sure where you're going, but this might save you lugging stuff from home.

Or, you could subscribe to your favourite magazine, thereby giving you something to read as well!

If you have access to the Net and a color printer, you can go to gettyimages.com and print out pics you might need.

[richtx1]

You don't mention WHERE in Mexico you are teaching (it's a very, very large country). Most SANDBORNs and (some) VIPs have English language magazines -- Forbes, Newsweek and the like. Even in smaller cities, you should be able to find at least the National Geographic. The Mexico City Herald sux (in my opinion), but sometimes is worth using.

And, of course, there's the internet. Probably border publications with Mexico bureaus (the San Diego Star-Leader, Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle) are worth looking at now and again. Cassal's Spanish-English dictionary is available on CD. Readable good novels are welcome by both students and teachers -- I can find used Robert Ludlam paperbacks by the truckload (left behind by tourists and business travellers), but try finding Jane Austin!

Most schools have material -- some canned and not so good, some canned and worthwhile -- available. One thing that IS useful, and sometimes hard to get are TAPES of English speakers. I like to use things like regional newscasts and commercials. Radio is better than TV for taping, being a aural, rather than oral media.

Relax, this ain't the third world and there are plenty of resourses already here. Still, it doesn't hurt to have a decent English grammar and source books like Strunk and White handy for the things we all forget.

One slight warning -- NEVER, NEVER, NEVER loan books to students! Even the most honorable and likeable people seem to lose them -- generally the day before their company cancels all training.