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eha
Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 355
Location: ME
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 Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 4:46 pm Post subject: What do EFL teachers think? |
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I've shamelessly co-opted this topic from another website (Times Ed). But it seems relevant:
'Should people who can't spell, be allowed to teach'? |
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william wallace
Joined: 14 May 2003
Posts: 2869
Location: in between
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| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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| To teach ? understanding complex knowledge, and dispersing it wholly in a simplified way - teaching. To possess such a rare gift, is it necessary to spell words perfectly ? No. It's a trite distraction. |
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rusmeister
Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 867
Location: Russia
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| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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My problem is with the way the question is formed:
"...be allowed..."
Who's going to do the 'allowing'?
That said, a person who professes to have a strong enough knowledge to be able to teach something jolly well ought to possess a thorough knowledge of what they profess to teach, and for the English language this does include spelling. This is common sense.
(Common sense means that which is commonly known, and does not require intensive analytical reasoning to achieve this knowledge.) |
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Guy Courchesne
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 9650
Location: Mexico City
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| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| (Common sense means that which is commonly known, and does not require intensive analytical reasoning to achieve this knowledge.) |
Common Sense
In Memorium
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense.
No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated valued lessons such as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Lynda Penning Gatelaro |
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TheLongWayHome
Joined: 07 Jun 2006
Posts: 1016
Location: San Luis Piojosi
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| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:43 pm Post subject: Re: What do EFL teachers think? |
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| eha wrote: |
I've shamelessly co-opted this topic from another website (Times Ed). But it seems relevant:
'Should people who can't spell, be allowed to teach'? |
I would say no. However, I've seen people who were great teachers, in the sense that they could impart knowledge in a meaningful and relevant way, but couldn't spell for sh�te. |
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wildchild
Joined: 14 Nov 2005
Posts: 519
Location: Puebla 2009 - 2010
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| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:45 pm Post subject: |
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Some folks don't care for spelling, sometimes.
I was learning to speak Arabic, taking notes in IPA.  |
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Jetgirly
Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 741
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| Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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| What's up with that comma? |
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jwbhomer
Joined: 14 Dec 2003
Posts: 876
Location: CANADA
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:18 am Post subject: |
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"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."
To judge by some of the posts in these forums, the old saw seems to apply -- in spades -- to many teachers of EFL/ESL. |
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rusmeister
Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 867
Location: Russia
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 3:07 am Post subject: |
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| Guy Courchesne wrote: |
| Quote: |
| (Common sense means that which is commonly known, and does not require intensive analytical reasoning to achieve this knowledge.) |
Common Sense
In Memorium
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense.
No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated valued lessons such as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.
Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.
Finally, Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner. Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
Lynda Penning Gatelaro |
 Excellent commentary!
If you really like common sense, read Chesterton! http://www.cse.dmu.ac.uk/~mward/gkc/index.html |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 6:54 am Post subject: |
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I think teachers have a responsibility to provide correct examples for students, insofar as possible. Sure, the occasional spelling error doesn't seriously impact teaching.
But teachers who defend their fossilized iggies ('definately,' for example) don't come across to me as professionals.
I know that writing on a forum like this one leads to errors of haste, but fossilized spelling errors and hasty mistypings are two very different things.
If you can't spell 'definitely' properly (or my personal iggie, 'its versus it's') you have a responsiblity to get it right, for the sake of your students and your profession. |
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Sonnet
Joined: 10 Mar 2004
Posts: 235
Location: South of the river
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 7:15 am Post subject: |
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Yeah; someone who makes spelling mistakes can still be a perfectly good teacher - heck, we all make mistakes sometimes.
But someone who actually can't spell shouldn't really be teaching the language, should they? |
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denise
Joined: 23 Apr 2003
Posts: 3419
Location: finally home-ish
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 7:29 am Post subject: |
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I'd say math, science, art, history, P.E., etc. teachers can get away with it.
For us, the English language is our field and we should know it well. In the grand scheme of things, spelling really is trivial, but we of all people should do it correctly.
As long as we use spell-checkers and have our worksheets and hand-outs checked, the problem can largely be avoided--except for writing on the board.
There was an entire thread about "definately" a while ago.
d |
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fluffyhamster
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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| i deafinatly aggree teaches who cant speller bad shootem i say! |
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Cognition
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
Posts: 62
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 2:48 pm Post subject: Re: What do EFL teachers think? |
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| eha wrote: |
| 'Should people who can't spell, be allowed to teach'? |
Beats me! How about another question: Should people who can't use punctuation, be allowed to pose such questions? |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2007 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." |
And those who don't know punctuation or grammar put in a misplaced comma at the end of defining relative clauses, splitting the subject and verb. |
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