Job Discussion Forums

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

So let me get this right -

Teachers were asked only to spot and note typos and did so ... while also offering feedback on top ... only to receive put downs from the management for doing more than they were asked to do ...

or

Teachers were asked to note down typos and offer comments on the materials based on opinion and pilotting the materials in the class [in which case teachers were neither simply typo-spotting nor proof-reading] ... only to receive put downs from the management for doing what they were asked to do ...

??

[molly farquharson]

few teachers have bothered to note typos, but some have and it is well appreciated. As for putdowns from management, that refers to me, and I admit to being crabby on occasion. I also admit to criticizing teachers who don't give a rip about their fellow teachers and their students and so refuse to do anything to help. One of our old textbooks had whole pages that were transposed, but it did not get the teachers up in arms.

I agree with tararu re the vocab. The CONTEXT, which was not mentioned, is crime, and the apparently troublesome vocab in question refers to crimes. It also refers to Molly the husband murderer but I laughed and kept it. The attitude of the teacher is one thing that has caused the particular tempest in a teapot. Most teachers have not been upset with it and deal with it. If religious students don't know there are murderers or rapists, they need to get a grip on life. The vocab in itself is not offensive and neither is the way it is presented. if the teacher is uncomfortable with it, then skip the exercise. jeez!

re the comment that the books should have been written by en educational publishing house, I really disagree. I have several teacher friends in the US who wrote their own books, and none of them worked for a publishing house. They wrote the books because they knew they could and they saw a need, and they got them published. headway was published by a pub house and I think our books are better than it.

Our books are basically being piloted now. A friend here who also wrote some textbooks (and not as part of a publishing house) told me that they are still finding typos and other mistakes, so it is not only ETs books. You can't imagine how many times the books were checked for errors, but still there are some.

the attitude of some of the teachers is what is distressing. It's an opportunity to work with something new and to make it better, but a lot of the teachers obviously don't see it that way. I think there are more putdowns from the teachers than from the management. In this case the management is me, and i take responsibility for being crabby with the teachers sometimes. They have no idea about the work involved nor about the way things work here. the Turkish management is dealing with the system as a whole, and I think they are coping. they (mgrs) have only complained about teachers who go into class and diss the books, which is very unprofessional.

We were asked to write these books and I think we have done a good job with it. We recognized from the start that there would be things to change and we will do that for the second printing. In the meantime, we have annotated the pacing schedule and the teachers guides for the grammar blocks to give more support to the teachers.

And I am curious-- I know one person who posts here who is writing a textbook and from what I have seen of it, it is quite good. Are any of you writing a textbook or do you want to? if so, why and how?

[Henry_Cowell]

I was in the textbook publishing business for about 20 years. You can PM me if you have questions about processes or anything else.

[Sheikh Inal Ovar]

[Henry_Cowell]

You've never heard of the the cowboy hobbit, Tex Took??

[thrifty]

[quote="Henry_Cowell"]

[Golightly]

Molly, you say you were asked to write the textbooks - by whom? The management of ET?

[molly farquharson]

first, thrifty you misquoted-- that was not from my post.

yes, the management asked us to write them, but they did not dictate how to do it (how could they?).

[Henry_Cowell]

[Golightly]

Oh, come on Henry, leave Thrifty alone - you've made your dislike of him obvious enough over plenty of posts. Whatever his experience of the TEFL life is, it's his, and clearly one he feels trapped in: So things haven't worked out as he wished. Who's to say how you'd feel if things hadn't worked out so well for you?
Molly, I didn't mean that a publishing house should be involved with producing In-house material. I meant that an external, objective voice is useful, because it gives vital pedagogical input. We all write our own materials, but we can only see if they really work when they're used, and work, with teachers and classes outside those we know. I also wonder at why your ET bosses wanted you to write the materials - it does seem a hubristic move, along the lines of, I suspect, 'All ET students will study our Exclusive Coursebook, guaranteed to make you learn more and better English!'
If I recall correctly, another Dershane tried that back in the early 90's. They lost 65% of their students in 6 months, and most of their staff in the folowing six.

[Henry_Cowell]

What's wrong with a school writing its own materials? That's how most textbook series got their start -- small and local. After testing and success, those materials and writers/teachers attracted the attention of publishers, and the millions just started pouring in.

[thrifty]

Those materials have only attracted ridicule and the only money that has poured in has been from the so far unsuspecting students.

[TeachEnglish]

Henry_Cowell wrote:

[Golightly]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a school writing its own materials! Materials creation is, after all, an essential part of the average TEFLer's workload, or should be.

[halfman]

Just a few points to make about the 'unique' new books: -

1) There are typos on every single page of every book. They were given to staff to look over about a year ago. Corrections were noted but not implemented in the books. All head teachers were put into a room all together a couple of months ago to make all amendments. These amendments were noted but the head of education never implemented any of these changes.

2) A pilot scheme was setup for some of the books about six months ago. The teachers giving their students the new books tended to be the same teachers who wrote the book. The feedback was very negative but ET went ahead with giving all students the books regardless.

3) The books are very glossy but look beneath the surface and there are loads of problems. There are glossy pictures with stories but most of them bear no relevance to the text. Questions are asked that require excellent knowledge of American geography. The work that the students are supposed to get through is enormous. Teachers are told to skip pages and only teach exactly what the tests require. This isn't too hard for experienced teachers but difficult for newbies. And there are plenty of newbies - teachers are leaving in droves, not only the students!

4) There are some seriously crazy things written in these books, and in the tests. Pictures of people pointing guns at you, stuff about child molestation, flashing, child murder, rape, incest, oh, and check out this pearler: "Harlem is a mecca for drugs and prostitution..." the list goes on.

5) Teachers and students alike are complaining. Head teachers are passing the buck onto the head of education, as it is that persons call. Nobody is taking any responsibility and teachers who speak their mind are being sworn at, being told to leave, and it's all getting a bit nasty.

The books are an embarrassing disgrace but nothing will be done about it until ET has folded and people are out of work. Management seem to take it personally when the books are criticised but teachers are only complaining because they care.