Job Discussion Forums

blueboy · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 27 Location: Seattle, Wa

I guess Machiavelli could have titled his book "The EFL Teacher" instead of "The Prince", because the question remains the same: Is it better to be feared or loved?
I'm kind of new to teaching bushiban, and most of my ESL teaching experience was with adults in an English speaking country. I handled them with kid gloves and gave them tons of encouragement. EFL is a different story, the kids are getting exposed to a native speaker for only two hours a week. Most importantly, the majority of the kids I teach do not want to be learning English.
The teachers who get the best results as far as I can see are the ones who relentlessly get on the kids cases, make them do loads of extra homework, and yell at them for not doing drills fast enough. Do I have to become this kind of teacher to see improvement in my students? It kills me to make students cry, but I fear that being a hardass is a necessary evil in the bushiban EFL setting.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

'bushiban'?

blueboy · Joined: 02 Jul 2004 Posts: 27 Location: Seattle, Wa

Maybe it was wrong of me to assume that everyone is familiar with the term (sometimes it's spelled "buxiban")
It's a cram school where elementary school kids come to study English for four hours a week. Only two hours a week are spent with a native English speaker.

sigmoid · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 1276

Well, for me the question is am I getting paid enough to make it worth it to deal with this kind of stress. When teaching becomes babysitting the answer for me, is 'no'.

Girl Scout · Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 525 Location: Inbetween worlds

The only "necessary evil" when working in a buxiban is keeping the boss happy. It is not up to you what goes on in the class. A buxiban is a bussiness first and a school last. I did this routine for three years. If the boss is happy your time in TW will be pleasent.

As for teaching the kids, I never had to go the route of "hard ass". Be strict but consistant and the kids will respond to you. There are many differnt ways to teach in this enviroment. You will have to find what works for you. You also have to remember that a lot of learning is based on rote memorization in this country.

I suggest you try a bunch of different methods. Don't use the same ones here that you used back home. Those don't go over well. This bit of advice I offer from experience.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

EFL venues are varied.

If you are not someone who is comfortable turning from being Mary Poppins to Genghis Khan at the drop of a hat, not all of those venues are for you.

Find one where your personal style fits with the climate of the classroom.

Aramas · Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2005 11:22 am Post subject:

lol - When I read the title I thought the post would be about Bush's fundamentaliast, totalitarian government - ie Bush + (tal)iban.

moonraven · Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094

So did I.

Too bad it wasn't.....