Job Discussion Forums

[Englishpal]

What teacher training book(s) are most applicable or helpful for a foreign English teacher in a Chinese Uni? CELTA helped but I am wanting something different, or seemingly more transferable to where I am at.

[Shroob]

Learning Teaching by Scrivener. Though if you've done a CELTA I'm guessing you've read that, but it's still a great book.

People say that the CELTA isn't suited for large classes typically found in China, but I disagree to some extent. Sure, it's not ideal but you can always split the class into smaller groups. From there the techniques work well. That's if you subscribe the the communicative method.

[Harbin]

I recommend this book.

[GreatApe]

@ Harbin

Which reminds me of my graduate school! The only university in the states where students can major in Circus related studies and acrobatics (I'm being serious ... this is NOT snark)!

I won't name the university ... after all, What's Google for? ... but I've sometimes felt that I should have pursued my Master's degree in Circus Management rather than English and English Literature. It would have better prepared me for "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes!"

On a more serious note (and back to the thread topic), it's a very BASIC book, but I always recommend it (particularly to newbies and people with no teaching experience) and still refer to it from time-to-time myself because it's got good ideas in it and it helps me to keep things in perspective: TEFL: Teaching English in China by Robert Wyss, Jr. and Emily Thrush

Beyond that, I just rely on my experience, a variety of resources and books and the SDAIE strategies which I constantly used when I taught high school and middle school in California. The SDAIE acronym stands for: Specially Designed Academic Instruction in English.

You can find, save, and print the SDAIE strategies on PDF here:

http://mvh.sweetwaterschools.org/files/2012/06/EL-SDAIE-Strategies.pdf

I hope this helps, and GOOD LUCK!

--GA