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DLIguy
Joined: 29 Jun 2013
Posts: 167
Location: Being led around by the nose...by you-know-who!
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 Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 2:20 am Post subject: |
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| santi84 wrote: |
Nellychess, all quips aside, I'm sorry if you felt my suggestions were not useful. This is still a discussion forum for teachers, so we do occasionally blurt out what we are really thinking, and not necessarily a softened version.
You don't sit around and talk about the weather in teacher training, you spend months (or years, for some of us) learning about these issues, reading about them, coming up with solutions, and dealing with them in student teaching environment. So, my most useful suggestion is that you really should take teacher training before becoming a teacher. I know many people don't want to do that, but in the end, this video is an example of what happens when people think that speaking English is good enough to teach English.
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In a nutshell, this is the state of the industry since it began to form. This is especially the case with those fools that they've been bringing into Saudi Arabia over the past few years on shady visas because they own unrelated degrees.
"How DARE you find fault with me just because you have a linguistics degree! I'll have you know that I have an 'A-Pass' in Monkey Management!"
As long as charlatans, like the poser in the video continue to spread their ineptitude, TESL/TEFL/TESOL/App.Ling. will never receive the respect that its serious purveyors deserve.
THERE! I said it!
Nellychess: From your profile..."Occupation: Tennis Instructor"
I pray that that's your sense of humour! |
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nellychess
Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 187
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 5:17 am Post subject: |
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Nellychess: From your profile..."Occupation: Tennis Instructor"
I pray that that's your sense of humour! |
That was from years ago. I've been wanting to do this for many years. I finally decided to take the plunge. If my first year goes well, I will get my CELTA.
I'm very excited. |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 5:48 am Post subject: |
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| If my first year goes well, I will get my CELTA. |
Cart before horse. Though, fair enough, you're heading somewhere you'll be one of many.
Seriously, difficult for one's first year to go well without much idea of how teaching is done well in such a situation.
Let me also add that CELTA candidates with experience teaching before the course sometimes struggle to let go of habits and concepts they've developed prior to the course. If you've really got to do it in this way, at least be aware that what might 'feel right' in your first year, or what you may learn from other untrained teachers, may need to be scrapped in training.
This is why better employers don't count experience gained prior to certification. |
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Teacher in Rome
Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 1286
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| Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:41 am Post subject: |
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Agree 100% with Spiral here. Why? Because it happened to me.
Fortunately for the student population at large, I was only let loose in a teaching environment for a few weeks - and not for an entire year.
When I came to do my training, I was amazed, AMAZED, that you do not read out the rules from Thompson & Martinet and expect students to get it via osmosis.
I was young, no real 'business' experience to fall back on, so training helped me see what was good vs bad practice, what to look for in teaching materials, how to spot problems and help students overcome them, etc etc.
Lots of people on these forums are less than impressed with the weekend online training you can get, but if you can't afford to do a CELTA yet, I'd suggest you do a short training course before you go to China. They're cheaper, shorter, less intensive, but will give you something to work from. At the very least, you'll have an idea of what's not OK in the classroom. Failing that, a book like "Teaching Large Multilevel Classes" (Natalie Hess, CUP) is also valuable.
Good luck! |
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nellychess
Joined: 25 Mar 2005
Posts: 187
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 9:24 am Post subject: |
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| Teacher in Rome wrote: |
Agree 100% with Spiral here. Why? Because it happened to me.
Fortunately for the student population at large, I was only let loose in a teaching environment for a few weeks - and not for an entire year.
When I came to do my training, I was amazed, AMAZED, that you do not read out the rules from Thompson & Martinet and expect students to get it via osmosis.
I was young, no real 'business' experience to fall back on, so training helped me see what was good vs bad practice, what to look for in teaching materials, how to spot problems and help students overcome them, etc etc.
Lots of people on these forums are less than impressed with the weekend online training you can get, but if you can't afford to do a CELTA yet, I'd suggest you do a short training course before you go to China. They're cheaper, shorter, less intensive, but will give you something to work from. At the very least, you'll have an idea of what's not OK in the classroom. Failing that, a book like "Teaching Large Multilevel Classes" (Natalie Hess, CUP) is also valuable.
Good luck! |
Just ordered that book you suggested and some others. Thanks !! |
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fluffyhamster
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
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| Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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I didn't know Thomson & Martinet was even readable, let alone read-aloudable!    |
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santi84
Joined: 14 Mar 2008
Posts: 1317
Location: under da sea
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| Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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| nellychess wrote: |
| nomad soul wrote: |
| nellychess wrote: |
| There are however, so many negative people on here that can't even express themselves, or share anything with anyone on here, that I doubt they are good at what they do, regardless of their experience and credentials. |
Yet, making such snarky comments and labeling others who stated the obvious as "negative people" (when that clearly wasn't their intention) solely because you considered their advice unhelpful or lacking isn't likely to garner you much sympathy or support nor have other posters chomping at the bit to use this forum to provide you with the kind of training (yes, training) you need. The reality is, against the advice of others, you chose to take on a teaching job without getting trained, and now you alone---and not a bunch of anonymous strangers on a public forum---own that decision and all the consequences that come with it. Harsh? Perhaps, but it is what it is.
Anyway, the Cafe's teacher forum (http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/) might be more useful to you since it focuses on teaching and not on jobs. It requires separate registration. |
Glad you got your daily fix. Feel better? |
I really don't understand why you are responding to nomad_soul in this manner? |
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rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US
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| Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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| nellychess wrote: |
That's fair, but I find it quite interesting that so many will make comments with nothing constructive to say. |
Nellychess, I think part of the reason for the types of responses you are receiving is that you haven't asked very focused, specific questions. Your OP was just "what do you think of this video" (and I think you've gotten that answer). You asked for other videos, and you've found out there are not many out there.
I think if you ask specific, substantive questions, you'll get specific, substantive responses back. As others have said, we can't train you how to teach EFL here, so when you ask broad questions, all we can say is "get some training". |
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