Job Discussion Forums

[amandajoy99]

My teacher training program gave me a not-so-helpful brochure about living in a foreign country and dealing with culture shock. One of their suggestions is "read something or listen to music in your own language." But I have been finding that English is so closely related to work for me now that it�s hard to relax. If I listen to music, I keep noticing the use of an idiom I just taught one class, or good examples of the present perfect tense. I start deciding which words to blank out on my handout. If I read an article or a story, i keep wondering, would this be too difficult for my advanced students? Then before I know it I�ve got the pen out and I�m underlining phrasal verbs.
In the end I find out that the language I am trying to learn - Portuguese - is more relaxing. I can listen to some good Brazilian music or talk to the family I live with. But if I really want to relax, I listen to music in another language, maybe Spanish - lately it�s been Carlos Gardel.
Of course it would be silly to say that English is completely associated with work for me. It�s my native language. But I was just wondering if anyone else had this experience and how you deal with it. What do you do to relax and escape the teacher�s habit of breaking down sentences and thinking about vocabulary? How do you separate English that subject you teach and talk about all day from English the language in which you think (most of the time)?

[spiral78]

It's an interesting point.
I must say that my second language (the L1 of my spouse) has been the language of relaxation, home, and 'private talk' over the past seven or eight years. English IS sort of a working language for me these days.....though that does not necessarily imply that my L2 or L3 abilities are top notch....maye it's simply because I am and can be lazy in those, as opposed to the language I teach!

[Glenski]

I read and listen to English materials. Despite teaching English all day, I don't have the problems amandajoy cited.

[denise]

I do some of those same things--analyze songs, articles, etc., and try to figure out how to use them in class--but I consider it a plus. I'm always happy to come up with new ideas or uses for materials.

d

[Aramas]

You could always try listening to instrumental music. Who really needs to listen to what some semi-literate tw*t of an entertainer is willing to say in order be rich and famous anyway?

I find that listening to Euro trance/dance/club and a smattering of prog house lifts my mood better than beer.

[ls650]

[Deconstructor]

You gotta learn not to bring work home. You prepare your classes and that's it. Occupy yourself with your hobbies and explore the culture; make some native friends, etc.

Launch a shock and awe attack on sobraiety: Smoke a joint if you can find any; have a drink; have sex with a local. Just use your imagination.


The Golden Rule: Have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[moonraven]

English is one of my "work languages". I only use it when I happen to be teaching English or making translations into English, when I am writing e-mails, posts on Dave's or keeping up my website. The rest of the time I use Spanish--which is also a work language for me.

The only times I have ever experienced culture shock I was in the US.

[amandajoy99]

Thanks for your interesting responses, everyone. It�s hardly an earth-shattering problem for me but I just wondered what other people�s experiences were. I think it�s mostly because I�m relatively new to teaching - this is my first "real" teaching job, discounting that joke of an assistantship in France - so I have to spend a lot more time preparing lessons that probably the rest of you do.