Job Discussion Forums

[englishgibson]

I have taught under a fixed academic system and I have enjoyed it, even though I’ve found it a bit restrictive. The academic material, courses and the course books were set as well as were the exams for the students on the end of their courses. The supplementary material was available and any flexibility was allowed, but the end of course exam had to yield results and make the students pass to the next level. The professionalism was assured there and no doubt the students saw it.

This year, I am teaching “academic material” that I actually create and I do not have any standards set nor I have any exams set as a goal. The employer has little clue to what should be taught or little experience (you might say the school is a dive), but that has not encouraged me to go for that midnight run or to take any advantage of my twit employer with all due respect to him/her. In fact, it challenges me to go beyond any course books or supplementary material that I have had my experience with and it bring the best out of me, and then according to the results everyone is happy. Having collected enough of my supplementary staff and ideas through out the years teaching and managing academics, I have been enjoying myself and so have the students here. The tremendous flexibility in the system (which system?) allows me to cater to the needs of the students in a highly sensitive manner. What I need is my copies, copy machine, computer, Internet to goggle, color printer and a few ideas. Eslcafe site is also incredibly helpful with respect to the academic ideas and material.

To you experienced teachers, would you rather go with the first or the second option above-mentioned in a language-training center? Do you need a course book to teach? Does it take a long time to you to prepare a “non-course book” lesson? Does the course book give you enough flexibility on the other hand?

Cheers and beers

[Chris_Crossley]

I teach English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at my current school, and there is no set EAP course book. I prepare all the materials that my students use in class, and I mean ALL of them. Unlike some other tutors in the past, I am not in the habit of photocopying pages out of a text-book, although there are some courses (like business studies and research methods) which do have a set text-book.

When the students see that I have taken the time and trouble to prepare something for them and that I am consistent in the standards of what I set, they seem to respond to that quite positively, although, of course, materials alone do not a good teacher make.

Nevertheless, preparing everything on the computer means that I can change, adapt or even omit any material for future use without too much of an effort. It becomes a lot easier once you have your own materials for use and can download the stuff you yourself have prepared. Hence, there is less preparation time for future groups, so long as you continue to use them for years to come!

As for the end-of-course assessment, there is an EAP examination which is set externally and taken in late June/early July, although there is an internally set EAP examination set a few months earlier, which could simply be a clone of the previous July's EAP examination!

I am familiar with the "fixed academic system" that englishgibson is referring to, although I (and many others) have always questioned the need to have end-of-course written examinations put so much emphasis on the grammar and the writing when the focus of the lessons themselves was on the oral component. The illogic of having the oral component in the examination at less than, say, 60%, when the idea of the lessons was to get the students talking and discussing the topic, was absurdly maintained for such a long time.

I remember having a 12-year-old boy, whose English name was Peter, in one of my summer classes two years ago. His English-speaking ability was astonishing for a Chinese boy of such an age, yet he failed the examination twice because his writing and grammar were, unfortunately for him, nowhere near as good as his speaking abilities. Had the examination assessment system allowed for the oral to have the largest weighting, I dare say that he could have passed the first time hands down.

As for the text-book under that same system, I used only what I thought was necessary. Most of the time, I used supplementary materials. Of course, a lot of students did not like the course books because they were so biased towards anything American, as if to convey the idea that American English was the "only desirable" form of English to speak, which was why the same four or five Americans' voices were on every single one of the tapes in every one of the first 11 courses (in terms of English level) offered through the franchise. So much for English being an "international" language!

[JDYoung]

If a miracle occurs and the course book:

matches the level of your students
has topics suitable to their age and culture and
has good teacher resources

then I'd go largely for the coursebook, especially in a situation with a large class.

Unfortunately miracles seem to be few and far between.

[tw]

I love the text book that the school is getting the students to use, though some students find it easy while others find it very difficult (these are all second-year English majors with most having only a year of English training). I am staying close to the book but I do use other creative ways to get the students to practice wht they are learning.

In Dalian the books were boring as hell so I stayed away from them and basically used activities and games to help the students worked on their fluency.

[englishgibson]

JDYoung, miracles don't happen too often, do they?

TW, welcome to Asia. I have read somewhere on the forum that you are in Inner Mongolia now. Back to the classroom, every class may be different and we have to be creative, don't we?

[tarzaninchina]

Interesting question, but reverting back to my experiences, it's been a sequential process for me.

When I first started out, I was in a low-English-level training school that had their own books (including the schools they shipped you out to).

Then, I moved on to a mid-level training school that had their own books, but expected you to go beyond the book, at least a bit.

Then, I moved on to a public college and for my English writing class I was given the Dean's book to use as a textbook and a bit of a 'carte blanche'. This year I'm in the same college, but the Dean's confident enough that there's no textbook for my most amazing course.

It depends on how you want to develop yourself as well as how much effort you want to put into the job. Do you want to know what to do no matter what page your on, waltz in there, do your thing, and leave forgetting about it? Or, do you want to build a course for yourself that maximizes both your and the students' potential?

In other words, the basic question is, what do you want to get out the job?

[englishgibson]

[bubblebubble]

our college provides a text book and also a set of TLP (Teaching and Learning Package) but they SUCK!!!! i usually just skim through the book and the TLP and create my own teaching material. it's much better and tailored for the levels of my students. yes, it's a lot of work and a lot of paper involved, but hey, the students results are good and they actually learn things.

the only thing that piss me off is that other colleagues try to 'steal' my material... not that i'm selfish or anything.. i belive in contributions and sharing.. i just hate it when they keep coming up and 'ask' me for teaching material. DAN*, they are TEACHERS too...

do any of you experience such problems at your school?

[randyj]

If the foreign teacher can find a halfway suitable textbook, then they should recommend the students buy it. University students can afford the 20 RMB or so. For the teacher the book may provide nothing more than a framework for lessons, but it will give the students something concrete, even for oral English. I was recently made to realize how important this is for Chinese students.

[englishgibson]

Bubblebubble, I know well what you are talking about. With regards to your school’s poor choice of the textbooks, it is unfortunate that schools (public or private) often choose the material without consulting the teachers (especially foreign teachers). We are given those “Foreign Expert” booklets that say we are the EXPERTS, although we are usually not involved in the selection of academic materials.

Speaking of the academic material and its selection for students, the bookshops (especially in smaller cities) carry little or none of the foreign press. In China, it looks like there is fair amount of restrictions on academic materials published in foreign countries, doesn’t it?

Randyj, the 20 RMB books may often not serve as a good “framework” for lessons. In my opinion, it usually takes quite an experienced teacher to use a “cheap” book as a framework for students’ course.

Cheers and beers