Job Discussion Forums

[killian]

how long is a "teaching hour" as in "...teacher will teach 100 teaching hours..." ?

[naturegirl321]

Usually 40 to 50 minutes

[Gordon]

it depends

[tedkarma]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

And when they compute those forty minutes as only 2/3 of an hour, then if you have a maximum of four teaching hours a day, then they will give you five classes (or in the case of my old Board of Education, when you had a maximum of three 50 minute junior high classes with a Japanese Teacher of English per day, that somehow translated to five or occasionally six 45 minute elementary classes with a Home Room Teacher who spoke zero English and just stood at the back of the room, or would try to leave and get a cup of coffee, per day).

[grahamb]

Call me old-fashioned, but an hour is sixty minutes. Whoever dreamt up the concept of the "teaching hour" and the "pedagogical hour" should have been sentenced to clean Imelda Marcos' shoes for thirty years, whatever that is in teaching hours.
Why can't managers say "a fifty-minute lesson"?

[killian]

yes, it is all pretty innane. the recruiter tells you a teaching hour is a class session. then you take the long flight, get to the school and a teaching hour is now sixty minutes.

the difference? 100 classes vs. 130 classes.

[malu]

It is something you need to clarify before accepting a position. My present employer calls single class sessions of 40 minutes 'teaching hours' and, fortunately, my contractual obligations are stated in 'teaching hours'.

I used to work for a school where teaching hours were 50 mins each but hours for pay calculation were 60 minutes. Not nice! Especially as this wasn't very clear in the contract - but partly my fault for not checking.

[tedkarma]

It's not really anything to get super stressed over - things are different in different places. Things are not always defined the way we would like or think them to be. Such is life overseas.

Just get it clear on your contract - at least ASK before you take job: "How long is a contact/classroom hour?" and "How are my wages computed?" (seems a common sense question, no?)

[JZer]

I would break it down like this in my experience in Korea and Taiwan. If you work at a real school or university you will usually be paid per class if you don't have a monthly salary. When working at a language school then expect the owner to pay you for every 60 minutes you teach. The owners really want to get every penny out of you.

[denise]

[tatterdemalion]

A "teaching hour" is a weasel phrase, the true meaning of which varies from one employer to the next.

Ask yours!

Many postings will specify. Others won't. I've seen a contract where "20 teaching hours" was specified, and when clarified, it turned out to mean thirty classes, each forty minutes long. I was glad I didn't take that one.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I've always thought the "teaching hour" factored in prep time. For example, if I were to teach 20 academic hours a week, then I'd expect my work week to be 30 "real" hours due to preparation. Personally, I require more prep time than that, but this was my (perhaps erroneous) understanding on the subject.

[groothewanderer]

60 minutes.

[Phil_K]

In company classes the hour (and pay) starts on time i.e. you are paid for the time the class is scheduled for. Here in Mexico, the actual teaching time depends on the puntuality of the students.

We have a saying in Mexico that even a morning class starts at (for example) 8.00PM - PM = Punctualidad Mexicana (Mexican Punctuality)