Job Discussion Forums

[alicantik]

I have gone for a few interviews lately where I have been asked what my teaching style is.
I'm not really sure how to answer this, as I feel it depends on the class and what's being taught.
Is there some special esl-jargon to answer this question?
ANy ideas would be appreciated.

[ChinaMovieMagic]

Also depends on...the school.
Some of my favorite jargon-in-practice:
*whole-brained
*emotional involvement
*student-centered
*communicative
*learning-how-to-learn
*memor-able
*creative Role Plays
*Gardner's multiple intelligences
*concepts/research from www.ialearn.org

More--lots more--is in the China-Jobs Forum, 1st page top, under "Promoting Change in China's Classrooms?"

[Twisting in the Wind]

IMO, the answer they are looking for is "Communicative approach, student-centered." That has been the buzzword for years now in ESL at least in the US.

Say something like this:
" I don't see myself as a teacher as much as I do a language facilitator or language coach." (by this you mean you are not just the all-knowing lecturer up at the front of the class, but you "coach" them and moderate them as they use the language in structured and unstructured practice.

I've found they like to hear you use those buzzwords/ESL speak because it shows you've been around in the ESL world. They're not just looking for an answer, as they are the fact you are familar with some of these terms.

[Guy Courchesne]

Whatever answer you give in an interview needs to be the truth. Repeating mantras is see-through, if you have a good DOS across the desk from you.

Be honest in your response, and you can't go wrong. What do you do best in the classroom? If that's your style, then fess up.

[Twisting in the Wind]

CMM mentioned Multiple Intelligences.

This is another important buzzword for you throw around. Say something like, "I subscribe to the Multiple Intelligences" model of learning." It means you recognize that people have different learning styles: Bodily-kinesthetic, natural, linguistic, spacial, musical, mathematical, visual, there are some more. And in your teaching you attempt to hit all these learning styles, not teach to just one or two. Type in "Multiple Intelligences" on a search engine. You can read all about it.

They've done studies that have shown that most ESL teachers' leaning style is Linguistic, so most will teach to that style, if left to their own devices.

[Twisting in the Wind]

[Guy Courchesne]

Forgive me for being so blunt, but my guess is that the jobs wouldn't have been worth the effort then.

[leeroy]

My take on jargon..

Principled Eclecticism: Doing a little bit of everything

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT): The students talk to you and each other sometimes in the class, as opposed to it being a lecture or simple drills.

Task Based Learning: Students embark on tasks that are not explicitly language focused; i.e. "Plan the perfect night out", or, "Design the ideal vehicle". Strong form TBL is where you talk about the language they use after they do it, Weak form TBL is where you do it beforehand.

PPP: Present, Practice, Produce: An unfairly hated method of teaching where the teacher first presents the language (be it grammar, vocab or whatever), the students then practice it in a controlled way, then produce it within a freer communicative context.

Student-centered: The students produce language relevant to them, instead of parroting what the teacher tells them exactly.

Learner-centered: The students learn what they want to learn, as opposed to having an externally imposed curricula

Audio-lingual and/or "Direct" methods: Drilling, and the like. Don't over-emphasise this one - though some employers will applaud your audacity for still using what is (again, unfairly) considered an outdated and barbaric style of teaching. Exists in contradiction to learner/student centered approaches.

Multiple intellignces: As stated by others above

NLP: "Neuro-Linguistic Programming": a very scientific name for something that is, essentially, quite new-age. It's about linking inner feelings, emotions and associations with target language (as I understand it, at least). ("This is a car. How do you feeeel about cars? Can you remember your parents' first car? What did it smell like?" etc...)

The Lexical Approach: Not just teaching individual words, rather "lexical chunks", i.e. words that go together; "It's fair to say that....", "I'd rather ..x.. than ..y.."

I'm sure there are many, many more...

So, how's this for a blurb..?

[Teacher in Rome]

Leroy says:

[Boy Wonder]

'What's your teaching style?'.......

Semi-controlled mania mixed with a bit of danger....no pain/no gain!

[latefordinner]

Guy, I'm with you. I avoid the buzzwords and jargon as much as possible. It might convince someone who knows jack, but that interviewer isn't worth imprssing. The interviewer who does know his stuff won't be easily fooled, and will be more impressed by intelligent questions and qualified answers that reveal mixed experiences.
When asked to explain my teaching methods, I like to draw an elongated oval on the blackboard, turn it into an unsmiling horizonatal face, then put oversized ears on it. I draw a funnel in the top ear, with a small arrow pointing down into the funnel, then another arrow pointing out of the lower ear. Then I go into my "in one ear, out the other" spiel. I not only explain my approach to teaching (facilitator and developer of skills as opposed to provider of facts, etc), but demonstrate how I like to use diagrams, concrete demonstrations, etc. to make a point. When they see what they're getting and like what they see, it gives a good start to things

[valley_girl]

Beyond knowing some "jargon" to spew in an interview, I would think teachers would want to spend some time really thinking about what teaching style does suit them (and their students) best and which methodologies they will employ in the classroom. Once you've used the jargon and have been (hopefully) offered the job, you will actually have to get in there and do what you said you could/would do, yes? BS only gets you so far. You won't do your students (or your employer) any favours by being wembly about your teaching style. Find what suits you and use it.

For the record, I am "student-centered" myself. My goal is to get the students involved in their language learning as much as possible and with as little assistance from me (that they are aware of) as possible. After all, if students are just going to sit there passively, they might as well go buy a book-on-tape about learning English. Read, write, speak, debate, analyze, role play, DO!

[Guy Courchesne]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I agree that they want to hear that you know the buzzwords. If you haven't already, then reading this book might help:

Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching by Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rogers

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0521008433/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-0752189-7841717#reader-link

[Roger]

Nice debate, using nice monikers that my interviewers no doubt are more familiar with than myself (I did read quitee a bit in linguistics, though...).

My approach usually is to demonstrate to them how little they have learnt in the many years of "studying Enlgish" aunder their antiquated system.
How on Earth can they ever claim to be bilingual (Chinese and English)?

I can easily demonstrate to them that a moderately-intelligent, normally-gifted human being can acquire half a dozen lingos simultaneously.
You won't need "facilitators" and "coaches", and least of all buzzwords!