Job Discussion Forums

[PanamaTeacher]

Some people seem to see teaching as an easy job, some think it is difficult. What I want to know is on a purely subjective level based on your style, your students and your schedule do you find teaching easy, average or difficult? I know it depends; I want your opinion based only on your situation. I would also like your reasons for your vote. Thanks for helping me out.

My vote goes with difficult not because of the material but because of trying to get students to learn. For example getting people to learn the difference between object, subject, possessive and reflexive pronouns (as well as possessive adjectives) is a major challenge. Verb tenses are another conundrum for Panamanians, especially memorizing and using irregular verbs.

[lajzar]

Easy or difficult compared to what?

I know I would have difficulty if I tried to teach my students grammar, so I don't try to do that. Let's face it, you don't need grammar to speak a language, much as it helps.

Mind you, my students are small children, which also goes against doing the grammar thing.

I think its just a matter of figuring out your students' learning style. Once you are doing it in a way they can learn easily (this doesn't always correspond with traditional teaching methods), the rest seems to fall into place.

[PanamaTeacher]

Lajzar--I'm with you part of the way--teaching kiddies can not only be easy but also fun as heck and satisfying. As for grammar and conversation, I think that as the student hits the low-intermediate level some grammar is needed, even if it is just grammar disguised as vocabulary.

For example some questions used do, does or did some don't:

Who(m) did you see?
Who ate the cake?

Can you explain the reason for the two types of constructions without using grammar? If so, favor me with your approach.

What about the sometimes disappearing relative pronoun that.

I know that you hate me.
I know you hate me.
but not
I know that is wrong.
I know is wrong.

How do you explain this situation without grammar?

[Ben Round de Bloc]

All things considered, I find my current teaching situation easy. You have to keep in mind, however, that my current teaching situation (more than 7 years in the same place) is EFL in a university setting in Mexico after teaching nearly 20 years in some rough public schools (junior highs, middle schools, and high schools) in the USA. Even my worst days in my current job are like a walk in the park compared to many of my experiences as a public school teacher in the USA. No race riots. I never have to break up fights. Students and their parents never verbally or physically threaten me. Police never interrupt my classes to arrest students. I like my current job.

[Cristovao]

Ten years ago, when I first started, it was easy. Now I take my job a lot more seriously and really care about the quality of education that I deliver...and it's bloody difficult!

[Capergirl]

I voted "average". I love teaching ESL/EFL and I do feel that I am pretty good at it. *Pats self on back* Nonetheless, it can be challenging...and yet that is one of the things that I love about this job. It can be easy and as I said, challenging (a word I prefer to "difficult", which sounds as though one doesn't know what one is doing), but most of the time it is somewhere in the middle. Most days, I come home from work feeling a huge sense of accomplishment. Helping someone to acquire a second language is a very fulfilling job for me and I hope to continue doing it for a long time to come.

I have to add that I find it a little insulting when some people post that ESL/EFL teaching is a job that anybody can do, like flipping burgers at a McRestaurant. No, I'm sorry, but you do actually have to know quite a bit about the 'ins and outs' of the English language in order to be an effective teacher of ESL/EFL. If you go in unarmed, your students are the big losers. You will waste their time and their money. Knowledge about that which you are teaching, and a true desire and ability to teach, are necessary for this line of work. If you think it's easy money or a "joke", chances are pretty good that you are one of those dancing monkeys that we joke about on here.

[PanamaTeacher]

I agree

[C76]

[Roger]

I personally vote "easy", not because it is easy objectively, but because I MAKE IT EASY for myself as well as for my learners.
If I did not know how to make my own work as little stressful as possible I would become a liability for my employer, my students and for myself.
I teach both kiddies and adults, and I teach grammar to both of them. Is that difficult, easy? Depends on how you tackle the problem.
To say you can pass up grammar and concentrate on speaking is nonsense. Grammar plays a subtle and semantically decisive role. Can you teach it to preschoolers who can't read any text yet? Yes, definitely! My kindergarten learners are easily coming to terms with the past tense and with SVA without 'studying' grammar. They are learning that in certain contexts - certain words acting as flags - they must use different words ('ate', 'went', 'was') to express what superficially seems to mean the same as in the present ('eat', 'eats', 'go,' 'goes,' 'am', 'are', 'is'), and they are learning this as fast as mother tongue English speakers. It is a great joy working with these kids as progress comes so obviously.
With adults it is a lot more difficult and more stressful because they no longer learn like youngsters. They have a complete set of concepts of the world and of life, and they are trying to squeeze the ideas and concepts of English into their own concepts, which inevitably leads to conflicts. They 'uynderstand' things only when they have translated them into their first tongue, and thus a lot gets lost in this process.

[PanamaTeacher]

Great response Roger, we can make things easy without being sloppy.
I also think everyone needs to understand what you so cogently point out:

To say you can pass up grammar and concentrate on speaking is nonsense.

I appreciate your input.

[Roger]

What I meant was I do not subscribe to these new-fangled notions a la Krashen and consorts of divorcing grammar from language; speaking only does not make any student proficient. Grammar is part and parcel of any ESL/EFL teaching.

[lajzar]

Perhaps a bit of clarification is in order. With a group that can appreciate a lesson with a grammar focus, I don't hesitate to do so if that is what they want. With most of my students, I do teach grammar where appropriate, but I make every attempt to hide it from their awareness. There are some that are simply too young for grammar to be a useful abstract concept. Some of them are too young to even understand *any* abstract concepts.

Like all things, grammar is not appropriate in every case.

In general, I would not try to teach a grammar point that a native speaking child of the same age would regularly make mistakes on.

[johnslat]

Dear lajzar,
" In general, I would not try to teach a grammar point that a native speaking child of the same age would regularly make mistakes on. "

Just out of curiosity, would irregular past tense verbs be one of those points?
Regards,
John

[PanamaTeacher]

I wonder if the teachers who advocate no/low grammar are right? There seems to be a valid theoretical basis for there position. Could Mr. Krashen be right? If so let's burn our grammar books. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

[rogan]

How many grammar lessons did you have from your parents and relatives when you were learning your version of 'English'?

I can't remember any formal "sit down and write", "learn 10 irregular past tense verbs" etc etc when I was a child.

As a parent I did, however, correct my children and do correct my grandchildren when they make/made a tense mistake (or a vocab mistake) when speaking.

And all 7 of them are proficient in 2 or more languages.

To misquote a little "Grammar lessons, humbug"