Job Discussion Forums

[JZer]

[JZer]

One good vocabulary exercise is picture bingo. If you can draw like my co-worker you can make the kids draw simple sketches of the vocab words on the bingo card. I think that is more beneficial. If you are drawing impared like me, you might want to use the computer to paste pictures of the vocabulary words in the squares on the card.

[shuize]

I think the poll needs a third option: Both of the above. Etx is a drunkard who is generally spot on about the EFL profession.

And I'm with Deconstructor. The vast majority of adult language learners are idiots. Thankfully, however, they're willing to keep throwing good money after bad week after week without anything to show for it. If they had any sense in their heads, they'd save their money and study at home.

[basiltherat]

[Gregor]

I'm not familiar with the OP. I shall look at the site as soon as I'm finished composing this message. But we DO need a third choice. The OP is correct and spot-on, yes, indeed. But I don't see why this reality has got to be such a negative thing. Why is all of that so BAD in evertyone's opinion?

I mean, we have fairly agreeable jobs, if you want to look at it from the right perspective (and I know that many, many people don't care to; they much prefer to complain and whine, and OK if that's what you want to do. I guess).
What would you be doing if you weren't teaching English? I have no idea what I'd be doing, but it would likely involve customer service at some crappy strip mall kind of place. I recently had a job where I was giving out loans to the local trailer trash at 578% interest. THERE'S a nice job, eh?
And as to the teaching part of the job, itself - why don't you accept the capitalism part (which is going to come from any market economy immediately, and others later on)? Do what you can for the students you can help. Many of them will appreciate it. If a student is well below the rest of the class, give advice to the student, parent and your boss, and then just let it go. It's not your fault if that person can't keep up. You'll likely lose that student eventually, anyway - he or she just won't stick around, and until that happens, just work around it.
Is the WHOLE class inappropriate to the level? Tell your boss (center manager, or DOS if you have one) and ask for suggestions. If nothing helpful comes, teach to their real level, work from the book they bought as much as you can, and make sure they know what they will be tested on at the end of the course.
You can care about helping them but not make your whole life based around this crusade, you know. You can be pissed off and burn your bridges abroad, and then going home to find that things there are FAR worse than you remember them being and hating any job you might get there, EVEN IF IT'S TEACHING (which happened to me), THEN where are you? Even MORE pissed off.
On the other hand, you can look at reality and cope wth that.

I take a lot of abuse from people for being like that. I do not understand it. I'm accused of brown-nosing, and even to lying and cheating for my boss, simply because I'm willing to make the best of an admittedly already pretty OK situation.
I refuse to see the management making money as a bad thing for me. I'm an American. I grew up with capitalism.
Students unwilling to do what is necessary to learn whatever you're teaching is an unfortunate reality of any teaching gig. Anywhere. So is passing students who don't deserve to pass (American school systems are famous for failing to teach high school graduates how to read, for example). Teachers have been complaining about this since time out of mind. What EVER gave any of you the idea that ESL was going to be any different, or are you THAT ignorant of the teaching profession?
The CELTA-waving newbies talking about teaching and entertaining at the same time are exactly right. Naive, but right. TO A POINT.
Eventually, they'll learn the reality - that some students are just plain dumb, and that school beuroacracy will often trump educational standards, and most places of learning operate on a budget, whether it's paying customers or a governmental program, and in the end that translates to money for students, and that means that pleasing the students will become a very high priority.
And then the newbie will either get disgusted or jaded, like a lot of y'all, or else they'll see what the world is like. Money is everything, people. It's why you're doing what you do, rather than lounge on the beach, writing your life story or touring the world with your art exibit or rock band.

It's just LIFE, folks. It's the reality we were born into. It's not just ESL in _______. (Fill in your favorite country to whinge about.) It's not your country, or ESL, or even teaching. Most organizations of any sort are in existance for the purpose of making money. EVERY organization requires it to keep in business, and NO one is going to be willing to PAY YOU money unless that act will make money for the organization.

Governments are a POSSIBLE exception to that rule, because they can tax folks. But even THEN, tax payers want to know where the money is going, and governments are notorious for privatizing, and when THAT happens, you will have to turn a profit. Because that's what keeps everything going.

Why do I seem to be the only one here who seems to understand this BASIC fact of life??