Job Discussion Forums

[Roger]

My job description is rather vague: Teach Writing. For seven weeks, 4 hours each week, in two lessons of two periods each time.
But what? Do they have any thrilling and thought-provoking text materials?
You can safely forget that!
But I can say I have taught them a few things, if only simple and basic ones: They now know that writing "the peoples' Republic of china..." has three major mistakes that I won't ignore or forgive...
And they have learnt to keep margins on both sides as well as on the top and the bottom of the paper...
They all wrote a CURRICULUM VITAE for a former Hong Kong governor based on his biography. I was most pleased by the outcome of this test!

But asking them to write something of their own mental creation is like asking a bunny to lay golden eggs!

I asked them to write three pieces each, one using past tenses. the next using present tenses, and the third using future tenses. Each of these pieces was to have between 30 and 40 words, with every 2 to 5 words in excess or below the minimum costing them 2 scores. Topics? Okay:
- What was your happiest experience?
- Describe your current life;
- What do you expect from the future?

Here are three samples that I deem very representative of most of the studwents in the same classes (250 students in 5 classes):

(Typos and other mistkaes not corrected):

"1. My happyest experence:
My happyest time was one afternoon I was doing a partime job to find some qualified people to join in a car exhibition, it was easy to do and I earned yuan 200 in only two hours."

(Girls typically wrote about a particularly happy outing with their friends, fellow-students or family).

2. Nowadays, I spent most time do study. My major is Bussiness Administration, and I likes the internet very much. I get up at 6 a.m., and am in class by 7:30 every day. Study my major is my first job, learn new knowledge. In fact, my life is very boring."

(Some three students said studying was "boring"...)

3. My Ideal fulture:
My ideal fulture is that I will own three things that may be called "BMW" for short, that is, a good business, a good wife and enough money to support my family."

(I noticed that several students misspelt "future" in the same manner; did they copy from one another? Quite possible... Also, I counted at least 6 students out of 250 who wrote "weekens", omitting the "d"... It always amuses me to note how many of them make the exact same mistakes...).
(I don't know if "BMW refers to that German brand-name car...).

In fact, most students worte in a similar vein: they will be "CEO", or be running a business, marrying and travelling around the world.

All in all, nice students.

[Atlas]

yeah, ask them about the specifics for a laugh. What school? What major? WHat business? All of that is beside the point. I guess someone told them if
they say the right words for the teacher it will rain pennies from heaven.

I've had students say they wanted to be doctors but their study
habits were nonexistant and their behavior in the classroom was
abhorrant.

Of course they're copying. Even their dreams are copied.

[The Great Wall of Whiner]

Roger wrote:

[Yu]

BMW= Business Money Wife... it would have helped if the student wrote it in that order.

[Ace]

Remembering the order? (and in China, that should be the order )... logical but too hard...

[burnsie]

One of the schools I worked for (I won't name names) who did business courses in english ALWAYS passed their students to receive a degree from a university in England.

One day a new teacher came to the school to teach on the of the higher level classes. He found that the students were extremely poor and most did not understand english (after 2 1/2 years of study). He did an audit, spoke to the students one by one.

He found out that nearly all the students did not know english or understand. The students were passing their exams though. He found out more that the top 2-3 students who knew english would explain to the ones that didn't understand what the teacher had said after each class.

Before exams the top students would also write out answers on what they thought the exam would be about and give it to the lower students to study.

It's amazing that this goes on. Are the students so naive that a piece of paper is going to get them a good job with a foreign company? They will all get caught out sooner or later.

[Susie]

Teaching writing is easier when you have a good website to refer to, so you might or might not, (depending on whether or not you can access it on the mainland - assuming that you are there), find this one useful:-

http://hometown.aol.com/eslkathy/esl.htm#read,write

[Madmaxola]

"Of course they're copying. Even their dreams are copied."


How true, how sad.
A symptom of the modern world.

[Ludwig]

[Kurochan]

Pretty wimpy writing, Roger. How old are these students? They're not English majors, I hope?

Even my students at the much-maligned Shenzhen U. wrote much better essays than that. Some of them may not have been academically inclined, and some of them needed a good push to get them going, but they were a lot of them who were interesting people, with their own opinions and interesting things to say.

[Roger]

Surprise, surprise, kurochan: my students are 21 to 24 years old - the majority around 22, studying Business Administation.

[Susie]

Perhaps it is a wholly inappropriate suggestion for your writing students, but could they write lyrics for a song?

http://www.bobdylan.com/albums/

Bob Dylan has recently completed his book, he said something like it wasn't so splendid a thing to spend three years or so doing, "when you're writing you're not living".

Anyway, I guess after writing their CVs you might give them a job advertisement and teach them to write a covering letter and a targeted resume?

personal letters
instructions
descriptive writing
narrative writing
persuasive writing
wedding invitations

[badtyndale]

Re: Burnsie/Ludwig

A school I worked for were very fond of passing their students. They actually had a quota of 80%. Fortunately, the course was externally moderated by a UK national body and a more modest pass rate of around 20% resulted. The school in question (via its association with a Tefl recruiter) has now entered into an agreement with a UK university to provide a new course - successful students may then procede directly to the final stages of that university's business degree programmes. How the term 'successful' will be defined, and how that relates to 'ability' (as judged by other UK universities) is a matter for speculation. At the time of writing, the university in question has yet to provide its teachers with the syllabus - however, I am informed that a representative from the Business Department recently visited the school and told the fresh young teachers that matters of English language instruction were not his concern. "You're English teachers. Teach English!" I wonder if he realises that there is difference between describing oneself and describing a financial forecast...? In the meantime, the Tefl recruiter continues to hire business teachers who speak Chinese as well as (i.e. instead of) English.

[burnsie]

The university I am talking about has made big changes since this 'episode' occurred and now have interviewed every student and made countless of meetings with parents, students to outline that NOT ALL students will pass the course.

Of course many students protested (not the good ones though). What it will do is push the 40-50% of the middle level students to perform better.

They have also put into place 1st and 2nd level passes.

We all well know that most schools here in China are around for a financial means rather than a quality education means.