Job Discussion Forums

[AGoodStory]

So, as you've described it:

Better TOLES exam scores (happy administration) = Lower student evaluations (not so happy students)

Lower TOLES scores (unhappy admin) = Higher student evaluations (happier students)


But of course poor student evaluations will also displease the administration, so it's sort of a double no-win. Assuming you can't change your mandate (it sounds as if you've already tried to address the problem with your boss), is there any way to address the question of student motivation? For example, is there any overlap between the TOLES material, and what the students would find useful?

[Knedliki]

Does sound like a no win situation. Just suck it up seems to be the best advice and wait until your contract's up.

A gardener once told me the best thing to do to get moles out of your garden was to move house.

[Nicky_McG]

[fluffyhamster]

[Hod]

You're no doubt a good teacher who plans.

Could you do me a favour, please?

You've put time and effort into the above post. It's appreciated. Imagine if you suddenly had to leave town for a few days and had to draft a lesson plan for a less-experienced stand-in.

- Pre-Int
- 20 adult general English students from various countries
- 90-minute lesson

If I were that stand-in at a decent school, it’d be only fair I get a one-page summary.

Lesson plan, please.

[fluffyhamster]

If it were a "decent" school, such as British Council one, then wouldn't the less experienced but still qualified colleague stand in no problem, for example by using that activity you linked to? Job done, the students progress like a slow-motion dream, no need to read what I write at all!

If they'd listened to me...

...they wouldn't have had to buy all that air freshener.
...they'd be going on advanced by now. (Mixed conditional)
...the BC would've gone out of business/would be out of business by now.
...

[Hod]

I've worked at decent schools and had to stand in at a moment's notice on many occasions.

I cursed the sick/lazy teacher, but I always knew the not sick/lazy students had traipsed that 25Km across town and deserved a meaningful lesson.

Would you be happy as a paying student, who'd traipsed 25Km to your class, with what you've written above?

Can you offer a basic lesson plan, please?

[spiral78]

Dear Hod:

If you'd listened to the hamster, you'd .....



Best,
spiral

[Hod]

First Conditional:

1. If the hamster attempts a concise lesson plan as discussed above, i.e. bullet points and no chunky paragraphs, I'll nominate him/her as eslcafe non-edutainer of the year 2015.

2. If the hamster doesn't give a concise lesson plan as discussed above, i.e. bullet points and no chunky paragraphs, I'll nominate him/her as eslcafe edutainer of the year 2015 and 2016.

[fluffyhamster]

I believe I've gone into sufficient detail already, particularly in my post at the top of page 3 (note its penultimate paragraph especially), and my mention of ballpark exponents and vicarious rehearsal on page 4. And I don't see it as my job to teach native speakers how to converse and highlight key points in their speech. If however those suggestions don't appeal then I'm sure it wouldn't take too much to develop sentence-generating activities from the metafunctional cues I've provided above e.g. the Blame Game, pointing out all the mistakes that somebody made doing something (perhaps a Worst Lesson Ever? ). Another area ripe for exploitation is film plots, and positing different courses of action for certain characters. The only problem with any potentially less conversational practice however is that you end up with a cavalcade or indeed an avalanche of similar forms. It may all be focussed practice but it isn't discourse, and the salience of the form thus risks being lost in a way (i.e. less or incremental could be more). But if these and similar points are ignored by the reader then I'm not sure what else I can do to help improve what should be more genuine, purposeful and exemplificatory communication in their classes, or indeed if they should really even be language teachers.

If the rationale is sound the lesson plan will follow, and I'm not sure what to make of the implication here that providing (all-too-)concise plans necessarily allows easier criticism - if anything, it is the lack of a rationale that is making your and the BC's plans look weaker than they perhaps might otherwise (though I don't feel my criticisms have been unfair, far from it actually). Depending on the responses I now get and how the mood strikes me I may however "relent" and somehow find the time to type up a plan formatted to your exacting specifications*, but as one is spoilt for choice really regarding possible "metafunctional foci" then it might be an idea if we settled on just one or two before proceeding any. Then again, I could imagine doing justice to several areas if the conversation went around a few times and a change of topic were allowed. Another option would be to return to the form over a series of lessons. One thing that should be pointed out is that the students will have already met if, past perfect, would and perfect aspect generally, so the accreted meaning shouldn't be that hard to grasp, and purposeful communication can help LOL.

[grahamb]

[Hod]

[spiral78]

If the hamster teaches in the same style as he writes on Dave's, I expect his students spend lots of time smiling and nodding in order to save face, but that very little is going on inside their heads. Who wants to admit that the teacher makes no sense?

[fluffyhamster]

Hod, you've veered from saying 'You're no doubt a good teacher who plans' and 'You've put time and effort into the above post. It's appreciated' to 'If I'd stood in the Big Mac queue behind fluffyhamster whilst he/she/it debates every option on the menu with the staff whilst also discussing KFC, Burger King and the price of bread in the congo, I'd have eaten your cat by now. I'd eat your hat too if anyone could make any sort of plan from hamster's meandering chunky paragraphs. Call me an edutainer, but I thought teachers should have decent communication skills'.

Yes, you really hunger for debate and possible knowledge, I can tell! I guess a sandwich to you is just two slices of unbuttered bread with a slice of luncheon meat shoved between them, that you then proceed to choke down as "it's only food". (I'm sure there has to be a middle ground beyond Wet Umbrellaless Bob or Hungry Banana-dodging Steve with all their CCQs, and the heady freedom of classroom surprise instant marriages and exploding OHPs, but I just can't work out what the answer is. Oh wait, I think I've got it - mayo).

I didn't realize I was having (well, trying to have) a conversation with somebody so keen to appeal to lowest common denominators ("But think of the children!") and the frenzied baying mob beyond. Let's be absolutely clear, I wasn't talking to your callow colleague Neville Halfbrain, I was talking to you, and if I'd felt the points I wanted to raise could be covered in a bare-bones lesson plan I'd've posted one earlier, sorry about that. (That there was a sarcastic use of third conditional, by the way ).

In all, I can't say I'm inclined to continue with this immensely pleasant and rewarding chat (well, I got something out of it at least), but you'll doubtless walk away congratulating yourself that you actually addressed and refuted my points and are thus Vindicated!* (but you didn't, and you aren't). The exit is that way, and drinks are on Spiral and Grahamb in some nameless bar as you nurse your poor aching hide after a somewhat rough ride on Dave's.


*I'm thinking, sounding like Woody Harrelson does in that bit in EDtv LOL.

[grahamb]

Veering is typical of Hod's debating style. If I may quote Lord Melchett, he twists and turns like a twisty-turny thing. Not my idea of a drinking partner.