Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

I am applying for a position in a teacher training college in Guandong Province.

Has anyone taught at a place like this, and what were your general impressions of teaching future English teachers who happen to be Chinese?

How does teaching future teachers compare with teaching General English in a typical university?

If I am offered the job, I just want to be sure that I am qualified to do it, as I had a less than positive experience in Korea when teaching already qualified Korean teachers of English at GIFLE (www.gifle.go.kr) - They were there for 'refresher courses' and/or to upgrade their skills. The Korean teachers were extremely demanding and it was not a positive experience, because although they seemed satisfied in class, they would run to the administration at the drop of a hat if things did not go to their liking.

I want to make sure I do not run into the same problems here.

Thank you.

Ghost

[Big Worm]

I also taught English to experienced English teachers in another country. I thought it was going to be an awesome time. It was the worst teaching gig of my life. Basically you have 20+ experienced teachers (some of which may have more experience/qualifications than you) in the same room. Some of them are already cynical because you are a foreigner. But ALL of them think they know the best way to teach an English class. They all have different ideas, and their ideas are different than yours. So basically even if they are all nice to you, they still think they are better than you at your job. Sometimes they're right.



That's a long summer.

[Javelin of Radiance]

I think teaching people who are already qualified teachers and teaching students who are still studying to be teachers are two different experiences.

At my previous job I was asked to give some kind of ad hoc presentations (not teaching related) to a group of Chinese English teachers on the topics of my choice. The whole thing was poorly thought out from the start, and when we did get together almost no-one had any interest in what I had to say. The idea was abandoned a few weeks in, thank God.

Teaching English majors in a college setting is a decent job. They're usually more motivated and capable than non-English majors (general English?).

[doogsville]

It might not be too bad depending on their age. I taught both middle school and primary school teachers for a series of 'teacher training' classes about two years ago. The middle school teachers were horrible. They ranged in age from thirties to fifties, and the ones that bothered to turn up mostly sat there stony faced and didn't speak. When I asked them what they wanted to learn, they said 'tell us about foreign culture'. At least I think that's what they said, their English was pretty bad.

The primary school teachers on the other hand were younger, happier, and much more engaged in the class. They wanted new ideas and activities they could use in their own classrooms, and even devised a few activities of their own.

It might also depend on what your teaching them. If their training to be English teachers they may think that their English is already good enough and resent your input. If you meet that kind of resistance, I would think about pitching what you do as 'natural English', 'idiomatic English' or something along those lines. Let them think of themselves as advanced students, whether they are or not, and take it from there.

I would also make it clear from the outset that your background is in communicative language teaching, and very different from theirs and what they are used to, so they should try to approach it with an open mind, and not judge it from the perspective of their own cultural or educational background.

[Javelin of Radiance]

[Big Worm]

Oh yeah, you're right.

Then there's the matter of if you are there to teach them English or to teach them how to TEACH English. Make sure that everyone involved knows exactly what is expected from the class. It could be good tho.

[ghost]

Thank you for your replies. I am very interested in the job, because the location is good, and the town is a provincial town (more to my liking compared with a major city) in addition to the fact that I have a very helpful interlocutor at the college in question.

I just want to be sure (as possible) that I am qualified to do the job, because I think teaching future teachers at a teacher training college would be very different from teaching 'General English' - this is a special job, and only the most qualified applicants need apply, I would imagine.

In Korea, It was a tough grind for one year, and most foreign teacher trainers there (www.gifle.go.kr) did not stay for more than two years - as the expectations were so high. Take a look at the website for an idea of what they expect of us in South Korea, which is a very competitive and intense education market.

To get back to the original, specific question - how different is teaching English to English teaching majors, compared with teaching English to students of other subjects who need to take English courses as part of their requirement? For one thing, I imagine that English majors, for one thing, one would have a much higher level of English (as they have been selected from a large pool of applicants, presumably) - this would mean, as well - that the expectations those students have (the English majors) would be correspondingly higher compared with 'other major' Chinese students.

Have any of you taught both groups (English majors and non English majors) and how would you compare the (assumed) vastly different jobs?

Thank you.

Ghost

[Simon in Suzhou]

A "normal" university does not really mean it is a teacher-training school anymore. This is just their historical roots. They surely have education majors, but I have worked at two normal universities and they are pretty much liberal arts schools with all sorts of majors.

English majors are generally more interested in English than other majors, but that does not mean their fluency will be higher. My English majors are enthusiastic, but my law majors are usually better at English. With that said, they are much better than computer science majors!

[doogsville]

[quote="Javelin of Radiance"]

[ghost]

The expectations in Korea were so high, from the already qualified teachers. Several of the teachers, including myself, found it a challenge, because the Korean teachers wanted us to be 'dancing pandas' in the classroom and teach them games and activities, and that is really not my forte (some people are good at that). It is ironic, that when observing the way Koreans teach, they are not usually dancing pandas, but they expected that of us, and if any of our lessons were dry or boring, it meant trouble for us in our evaluations, which were the basis of being contracted or not.

It meant we were under constant pressure, and that was a tough situation to be in.
I am interested in this position in Guandong, but just want to be as sure as possible that I can handle the expectations.

Thank you.

Ghost

[NoBillyNO]

I

[teenoso]

I find a huge difference between teaching English majors and teaching non-English majors : mainly in their motivation. Non-English majors need only to pass CET4 and CET6, but there is no spoken exam, so they don't really care.

English majors generally need to master the language in all its aspects , so are keen to learn and take part in class activities.
Some of the boys in English major classes , however, seem to get left behind and 'withdraw' to the back of the class and keep quiet if they can. Often they didn't choose their major , but it was chosen for them (by parents, or their poor College Entrance exam score).

I knew someone who taught in a 'normal college' in a small provincial city, just below uni level, and her students were mainly future primary school teachers, taking a three year degree/diploma. Their language skills were very poor , and the FT had a hard time !