| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Would a 'China teaching/class management' forum be of interest? |
| I would find such a forum of interest |
|
28% |
[ 6 ] |
| I would not find such a forum of interest |
|
57% |
[ 12 ] |
| I'm undecided, but it could be useful |
|
14% |
[ 3 ] |
|
| Total Votes : 21 |
|
| Author |
Message |
Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
|
 Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:24 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| mw182006 wrote: |
| Undecided, but while you're at it, can you ask them to clean up the stickies and announcements that are 6-7 years old? Yeesh! |
I cleared my poll with the MOD before posting but that doesn't mean I've got any pull on other matters.
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 3:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
| Dave's is what it is. |
And it's not what it's not!
Warm regards,
fat_chris |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:21 pm Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
| This would leave 'Job-related' to cater for job search, visa and contract-related stuff. |
I voted 'no' because that's what the General Forum and Teacher Forums (in Teacher Related Stuff) are for. Unless you feel your thread specifically pertains to teaching in China, consider posting elsewhere.
A few years ago, I was surprised to find there was no test-related Teacher Forum other than TOEFL. I found IELTS-related threads in a number of locations echoing the same sentiment so I forwarded them to admin along with a request to either revise the TOEFL forum name to include all such tests, or create an additional IELTS forum. For whatever reason, there's still only the TOEFL forum. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
muffintop
Joined: 07 Jan 2013
Posts: 803
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:59 pm Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| LongShiKong wrote: |
I voted 'no' because that's what the General Forum and Teacher Forums (in Teacher Related Stuff) are for. Unless you feel your thread specifically pertains to teaching in China, consider posting elsewhere. |
Pretty sure that was the entire point of this idea.
| LongShiKong wrote: |
A few years ago, I was surprised to find there was no test-related Teacher Forum other than TOEFL. I found IELTS-related threads in a number of locations echoing the same sentiment so I forwarded them to admin along with a request to either revise the TOEFL forum name to include all such tests, or create an additional IELTS forum. For whatever reason, there's still only the TOEFL forum. |
Cool story bro.
Last edited by muffintop on Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:09 pm Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| muffintop wrote: |
| LongShiKong wrote: |
I voted 'no' because that's what the General Forum and Teacher Forums (in Teacher Related Stuff) are for. Unless you feel your thread specifically pertains to teaching in China, consider posting elsewhere. |
Pretty sure that was the entire point of this idea.
| LongShiKong wrote: |
A few years ago, I was surprised to find there was no test-related Teacher Forum other than TOEFL. I found IELTS-related threads in a number of locations echoing the same sentiment so I forwarded them to admin along with a request to either revise the TOEFL forum name to include all such tests, or create an additional IELTS forum. For whatever reason, there's still only the TOEFL forum. |
Cool story bro |
Yes it is a key point.
This is a comment in one of my posts:
'I feel the 'teacher' forum doesn't address the unique issues that occur in China which unfortunately include under-prepared teachers'.
Interesting that someone who votes 'no' because the info is elsewhere, misses this .
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 8:37 pm Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
Interesting that someone who votes 'no' because the info is elsewhere, misses this .
|
What have I missed? I've addressed the issue on this forum many times, most recently on the 'Candid conversation thread'. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
|
| Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:57 pm Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| LongShiKong wrote: |
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
Interesting that someone who votes 'no' because the info is elsewhere, misses this .
|
What have I missed? I've addressed the issue on this forum many times, most recently on the 'Candid conversation thread'. |
You missed my explicit comments that the proposed forum was China related.
(a) it is to be one of three China threads.
(b) I stated it again to be beyond misunderstanding. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 4:05 am Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| muffintop wrote: |
| Cool story bro. |
Broseph!
I also voted "nay". I think we have enough forums and I don't think that the TEFL landscape of China is sooooooo different from other places that it merits getting its own teaching page. Surely, we can find a place for such posts in other forums?
Warm regards,
fat_chris |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 5:15 am Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
[You missed my explicit comments that the proposed forum was China related.
(a) it is to be one of three China threads.
(b) I stated it again to be beyond misunderstanding. |
Do you seriously think the topics you've mentioned-- discipline, time management, assessment, resources etc.--require a different approach in China than elsewhere? If you haven't already, take a look at some of the forums on the Teachers Forums such as the Assessment forum for instance and note how few threads it has. I believe there's only one that has more than 10 replies and it's off topic. I don't even bother looking at the 'Asia forum', just this and the 'General Forum' which I'd recommend you posting threads on even if they belong to the Tech, Training or one of the many Teacher Forums because you're not going to get much of a conversation over there.
If you really want to find stimulating conversation and debate regarding ELT, PM me and I'll give you some weblinks. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Non Sequitur
Joined: 23 May 2010
Posts: 4724
Location: China
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 6:30 am Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| LongShiKong wrote: |
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
[You missed my explicit comments that the proposed forum was China related.
(a) it is to be one of three China threads.
(b) I stated it again to be beyond misunderstanding. |
Do you seriously think the topics you've mentioned-- discipline, time management, assessment, resources etc.--require a different approach in China than elsewhere? If you haven't already, take a look at some of the forums on the Teachers Forums such as the Assessment forum for instance and note how few threads it has. I believe there's only one that has more than 10 replies and it's off topic. I don't even bother looking at the 'Asia forum', just this and the 'General Forum' which I'd recommend you posting threads on even if they belong to the Tech, Training or one of the many Teacher Forums because you're not going to get much of a conversation over there.
If you really want to find stimulating conversation and debate regarding ELT, PM me and I'll give you some weblinks. |
China different from elsewhere?
Nah
Except for large classes (mega).
No streaming for ability.
No or few resources and those that are provided are woeful.
No syllabus
Lack of notice on timetable changes, even when they impact on weeks set aside for assessment.
No help from other FTs who are inexperienced or demotivated or have personal issues.
Dodgy or no A/V equipment randomly encountered across campus.
Classroom layout not conducive to many activities essential to Oral English.
But there's really nothing special about China. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
fat_chris
Joined: 10 Sep 2003
Posts: 3198
Location: Beijing
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 3:38 pm Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
Except for large classes (mega).
No streaming for ability.
No or few resources and those that are provided are woeful.
No syllabus
Lack of notice on timetable changes, even when they impact on weeks set aside for assessment.
No help from other FTs who are inexperienced or demotivated or have personal issues.
Dodgy or no A/V equipment randomly encountered across campus.
Classroom layout not conducive to many activities essential to Oral English.
But there's really nothing special about China. |
These are not unique to China. The TEFL landscape in several other countries also has these characteristics.
Warm regards,
fat_chris |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
LongShiKong
Joined: 28 May 2007
Posts: 1082
Location: China
|
| Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 4:29 pm Post subject: Re: Another 'China-related' forum? |
|
|
| Non Sequitur wrote: |
China different from elsewhere? Nah, Except for...
1. Large classes (mega).
2. No streaming for ability.
3. No or few resources and those that are provided are woeful.
4. No syllabus
5. Lack of notice on timetable changes, even when they impact on weeks set aside for assessment.
6. No help from other FTs who are inexperienced or demotivated or have personal issues.
7. Dodgy or no A/V equipment randomly encountered across campus.
8. Classroom layout not conducive to many activities essential to Oral English. |
I'm also from a country that starts with 'C' and ends with 'A' and public sector language teachers complain about much the same thing: 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Although no ESL teacher complains about 25 students per class, as you can appreciate any language class with 20+ immature students is going to pose a challenge to even the best. As for 6, although colleagues are experienced, qualified, and motivated they're just too busy to help.
But don't take fat_chris's and my word for it, post this as a poll question on other national job-forums and/or region forums if you're so inclined so as to compare. I for one would be interested to see the ratio of those who teach in the public (pre-primary vs primary vs mid vs high vs tertiary) vs private sectors, the req'd minimal qual's and their actual qual's, class sizes, and other data for each country but haven't been able to locate such data. Does anyone know whether the Brit Council or Cambridge has researched this? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
