Job Discussion Forums

[tw]

[wigan4]

I wasn't 'writing,' I was posting. But thanks.

[qiaohan]

You would not expect a 4 week TEFL course to turn you into a teacher, but it will give you some good ideas about what to teach, sources of information, what to concentrate on, presentation skills, job leads, and I would also read Jeremy Harmer's book. Also pick up Raymond Murphy's grammar book, but if you are teaching oral English, don't spend too much time teaching grammar. They do know grammar, they just don't use it. Think of some games or activities where they can develop their grammar skills. Most of my students had good reading, writing and grammar skills but pronunciation was poor. So teach phonetics and use pronunciation drills.

In China if you try to elicit a creative discussion, you will get blank stares. Be specific about what you want them to do or say. They are afraid of losing face if they say the wrong thing, so you must call on them. You can't just ask "Does anybody know...? They will just look down at their desks.

Be concientious about preparing your lessons. If you aren't prepared, the students will know it, no matter what level you are teaching.

Your students may not have any textbooks. This may sound a little intimidating until you realize - hey - you can do anything you want in class as long as it's not religious or political. And yes, they would like to be entertained for 90 minutes, but if it's an oral English class, THEY should do most of the talking. That's the only way they're gonna learn, by using the language themselves. They are curious about American pop culture so I told them about drive-in movies, showed them pictures of motels, diners, junk food, taught them songs (oh -you WILL be expected to sing) like Sea of Love, Live for Today, Baby the Rain Must Fall...

I was also an accountant in the US and never taught before I came to China. When I walked into my first college classroom in Dalian there were 70 students! They all stood and applauded and I thought...I can do this. So can you.

[tw]

[wigan4]

Well, again, I'm not really primarily an accountant--I only did that for three years before joining the Air Force and have been in the AF for 24 years since. I'll be a certified teacher (in math, science and social studies) before I ever go over, but it's not the technique of teaching or presenting (in a generic sense) that I was as concerned about as trying to get an idea of what 'oral English' is and how it 'happens' in a classroom. In particular I was concerned that they'd expect you to be an expert in grammar or linguistics, and as I said I couldn't see how a 4-week course could bring you up to (university-level) speed in those areas if you didn't already have a background in them.

Now I have a better understanding of what the expectations are and I think it would be a lot of fun. I was envisioning being handed a bunch of nearly proficient English speakers two days before class and being told to develop four sets of university/graduate level lesson plans in linguistics. Sure, I could muddle through something like that and embarrass myself, but that's not what I want to do.

I still have problems seeing myself doing much singing, though. If that's an absolute requirement I might just have to get fired!

[qiaohan]

[tw]

[wigan4]

When time comes to apply it appears that the most important document to include is your picture--because it sounds like it verifies your most important qualification. In any case, I have a typical tourist picture of me standing on the great wall--would that be a good one to include because it shows a familiarity with China, a bad one because it's not particularly professional, or macht nicht?

[tw]

[qiaohan]