Job Discussion Forums

[Sweetsee]

Hi Blue Jay,

Truly magnificent. I keep replaying in my mind the giant pendulum I saw across from the Fairmont. I stopped to give money to a homeless man in a wheelchair with no socks. He told me about the pendulum and as I was speaking to him kocho-sensei and another teacher passed by on their way back to the Hyatt and were waiting for the light and looking at me like I might be in danger. I ran to see the pendulum moments before our busses were splitting for the airport.
It was absolutely amazing the way you could stand beneath the path of this giant metal pendulum swinging from high above as you stood among the artwork in the high glassceilinged lobby.
What I really want to say is that before going to Canada the school arranged a face to face with me and the gang-o-eight. Boss man said we neede to clear the air and that we would talk about class time after the trip. Well, we have resumed lessons and the girls are worse that ever and I asked how long they will be allowed to disrupt my lessons? I was told that my colleage, co-homeroom teacher, would have a word with them. And he did. He reminded them again not to chatter during the lesson. Really, they are exhausting me.

My question to every one is this: Its a long course, how can I best survive?
Is it realistic to hand out the day's lesson to those who want to do it and let the other's do as they wish?
I am thinking to change things. Like set up a little Eikaiwa in the classroom where kids can take part if they want. Maybe have some mags around for the others. I don't know. The school could care less what I do as they obviously don't expect me to teach anything. I believe I will give up trying to force English, to try and motivate at this school.

Conversely, things are going great at the Tokyo night school for dropouts. Really, really good. Except I continue to lose our post lesson tennis matches.


Enjoy yourselves,
s

[The G-stringed Avenger]

[blue jay]

I read recently in a Vancouver Province article (Oct. 3, 2004), that ESL students use to stay primarily in homestays prior to the 2002 BC Translink bus strike. Many of the ESL students who studied at English Language Schools downtown ended up staying with their friends who rented apartments in the West End.

Now most ESL students (which includes Japanese & Korean students) prefer to rent apts. downtown with their friends and Robson St. has a large concentration of Japanese and Korean restaurants and stores as a result. Before that homestays were prefered and were not downtown.

Most of the Japanese and Korean students I know in Vancouver tend to hang out with other ESL students whether they are Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Mexican or from other European countries.

There is sometimes a tendency for them to clique together with classmates from the same country but they do make friends with classmates from other countries on occasion as well.

I noticed a group of Japanese and Korean ESL students playing a game and having a picnic together at Vanier Park on a nice sunny Autumn day a couple of weeks ago. Their main language was English with a bit of Japanese thrown in for good measure. It was fun to watch them..

A few years ago a fellow ESL teacher invited a number of Japanese, Korean & Taiwanese ESL students to her farewell party at her farm in the country. It was nice to see them intermingle and ask questions to some of her Canadian friends but I did notice that a times there was a quite marked separation between the ESL students and the Canadians who were there (some were ESL teachers & some weren't).

I read another article in the Vancouver Province in which a Japanese ESL student remarked about the same subject, that they (ESL students) aren't able to break through and make friends with Canadians their age. They end up being friends with other Japanese and aren't able to improve their English. I wish I could find that article online but I believe you have to subscribe the newspaper online.

[Sweetsee]

Hi Blue Jay,

Yes, I know when the kids study abroad many tend to hang together and don't mix enough. It is really not the best way to study.

Enjoy yourself,
s

[Gordon]

Most reputable homestays don`t allow 2　people from the same nationality to stay in the same homestay. Makes good sense.

[Lynn]

Oh, all this talk about Vancouver is so exciting. As some of you know, I left the ESL field and now work in the airline industry. I can fly for free to Vancouver and it's just a short ride from Seattle. I've been planning to do a day trip on my next day off.

How is the public transpo from YVR int'l to downtown? Is there a "Chinatown" in Vancouver? I really want to get some good Chinese food. I also want bubble tea. Shopping would be fun, too.

*********************************************************

Okay, and now back to the original post. What is the perception of J students abroad? I'd say, many think that they are rich. Shopowners and travel industry people love them. There is a perception that you can rip off J people because they will not bother to check the bill and even if they do, they won't bother to confront either because it is too embarassing or the English level is not high enough.

When I was 25, a group of J students came to my mom's town. They all split up into homestays for two weeks. My mother got Tomoko and her friend got Naomi. I know my mother was a little envious of her friend who housed Naomi because Naomi was so much more communicative than Tomoko. Naomi didn't even have a high level of English, but she tried her best, she she showed pictures, cooked yakisoba, and laughed and got along so well with her host family. My mother was confused why Tomoko chose to come to the US if she had no interest in interacting with an American family. In the end Naomi, actually came back the following summer on her own to visit her host family.

[Sweetsee]

Hi Lynn,

You are going to have a blast in Vancouver. We took busses from the airport. It isn't far. There is a Chinatown! Enjoy yopurself!

Thanks for your comments regarding the students.


All the best to you,
s

[Glenski]

[Sweetsee]

Hi Glenski,

Took you a while to get to my querry. I had pretty much given up hope, on the others that is, I knew you would get to me. Thank you so much, again.

Nothing in my contract about teaching.

No syllabus, I never wrote one. I prefer to be very spontaneous. We have so many events, holidays, etc. that I just go with how I feel.

I don't selectively teach. I respond to the student's needs by creating an effective learning environment.

I have adopted a token system at school. My students use English and I give them a token. There are 8 different tokens to collect, each unique with pictures and words of encouragement and praise. I give them out whenever I hear students speaking in English, this includes greeting me outside of class. When they have 10 tokens they come to me at the end of class, count them off, tell me their name and class number and I give them a red cross in my grade book.

I don't stand in front of the class anymore. I put on some chill music and I set myself up in the back of the room, no more looking down. With new material, I ask the students to form groups of 4's and come and get the material from me for 1 token. For those who have no tokens they have to raise their hands and ask me for them.

I teach them to raise their hands and ask me for help. They learn how to ask me for the meaning of words they don't know and/or pronunciation.

Everytime a student asks me for help they get a token!

It has been a remarkable turn around. I am also using a new text which was co-written by the gentleman who turned me on to the token system, whom I met at the ETJ Expo last week.

It seems that the group of girls that were the inspiration of my search for teaching answers are the only ones not enjoying my new scheme. They couldn't see their way to getting up and asking me for the material. It's funny because the day I was to introduce my new lesson my co-teacher informed me that he would be observing my lesson, as there was concern over the bad girls behavior. The only comment he made after the lesson was that he really liked the music, very relaxing he said.

In this type of lesson I am so busy helping students that want help that there is no time for those who don't want it. No more trying to motivate students to speak. I am there because I am a native English speaker and I am there to help students to speak English...period. All this business about standing in front of a class and students not listening, that is over.

What we are doing now is: ROCKING!!!!!!

[Sweetsee]

I am looking for comments about the big turnaround at school.
Sorry for the bump!

[Celeste]

SOunds like you have had your "aha" moment, Sweetsee. (All that child psychology stuff actually works, doesn't it?!) FOr further reading, check out a book called The First Days of School by Harry Wong. With your new system, you may find that some students will test you to see if you will continue - keep at it and don't let the willful ones overcome you!

[Sweetsee]

Hi Celeste,

Thanks so much for refering that book to me. I am still reading but it is very good. I believe you also pointed me to the ETJ Expo, double thanks for that. And I will definitely be getting the book you just mentioned.

You are very kind. I hope that the most you hope for is the least you receive.


Enjoy yourself,
s

P.S. Thanks so much for the words of encouragement, they will go a long way.

[merlin]

[Sweetsee]

Hi Merlin,

Thanks for the tips and thanks for that compliment. I believe I can help these kids because that's who I am.

Today the bad girls all joined in and rocked the lesson. When I asked the class to get into the groups of 4 from the previous lesson, I was more than a little surprised to see them putting their desks together. In the last 5 minutes I spread about some full-page newspaper articles showing the Milan and Paris Collections, Backstreet Boys and a greater Vancouver HS students magazine.

It wasn't a full on peace-pipe pow wow shake hands kiss and make up session but I feel we are beginning to heal the rift between us.

I want to get back to you on some of those points you mentioned but have to run to run on an errand now.

All the best to you guys over there Merlin,
enjoy yourselves,
s

[merlin]

Sometimes teaching has a nasty habit of getting in the way of learning, eh?

You know, I think you'd be a perfect person to write a blog about this for other teachers to read. So many people think they can take this or that course and become a better teacher when maybe they should just get in touch with who they are.

Let me restate that in the first person:
Instead of taking a course to become a better teacher and reading more damn books I should just get more in touch with who I am.

Thanks for the lesson, sweetsee.