Job Discussion Forums

[Cleopatra]

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read this article, which is as good a description of the sorry state of EFL teaching as I have yet come across.

Be warned, however: if you are a "newbie" it might well put you off the "profession" for life. On second thoughts, that might not be a bad thing...

http://education.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2004/01/17/teftefl17.xml

[basiltherat]

cleo
yes, a cc to newbie forum would be useful, i think.
rgrds
basil

[jobe3x]

What job isn't tedious?

I think the author full of bull.

Same thing could be said about regular teachers. Who in there right mind would want to become a teacher in the states? The low pay and abuse would probably drive anybody insane.

Yet, people still become teachers. Some people just don't care about money or promotions. Are they pathetic? I hope not. Because, their educating the enginneers and docotors of the future.

Most people would agree that lawyers and doctors are probably the most ambitious people in our society. However, survey's indicate that those fields have highest concentration of unhappy people.

Plus the article is refering to english teaching in the UK.

I willing to bet that conditions are whole lot worse in the UK because of low demand.

[Stephen Jones]

[jobe3x]

But do you see my point?

Let's take a quick poll.

If anybody reading this message who has taught EFL for more than two years, do you consider your self a washed up nobody?

Are you in this field because you can't hack in the real world?

Do you have no ambitions in life?

I hope we have some pride in this forum.

The author full of bull.

[denise]

The article doesn't put me off teaching at all. I know very well that that side of the industry exists, but I also know that there are other contexts that are not mentioned.

To answer another poster's questions (I think it was jobe3x), no, I don't consider myself washed up, and I am pretty sure that I could handle living in the real world. I'm in this field because I enjoy it.

d

[Frater]

The article has moved me to poetry ...

Sebastian Cresswell-Turner
Hated the sight of a learner -
Without a scrap of ambition
Or sense of a mission
He's a terribly low-bracket earner.

He can't please his father
And is all in a lather
For in Rome the wages are c.rap
(While in the City there's money on tap)
'Want a job in my Bank, Seb?' 'Ooh, rather!'

etc ...

Ah well, we should remember that it's not only EFL teachers who make unsuccessful attempts on their own lives.

[khmerhit]

It's never over until the fat lady sings.

[struelle]

Wow, that was the most pessimistic article on the EFL industry I've read in ages, and I've read quite a few.

I agree with the author that the lack of career direction and a life of poverty can be setbacks in this industry. However, it's the teacher's choice as to whether or not that happens. What I mean is that if a teacher wants to advance his career, he can find a way to do that, even within this industry.

There's the progression from teacher to senior teacher or teacher trainer, or the management route. There's also curriculum design and exam testing (IELTS) work. There's working in universities with a Masters Degree.

Also, I don't see how a career change is impossible for ex-TEFLers as the author suggests. After 5-10 years in the industry, surely there must be a set of transferable skills. Regular teaching perhaps?

Then again, it's all too easy for a teacher to get stuck in a certain country or city, getting used to a comfortable lifestyle on a salary back home that's just above the poverty line. That's my current situation in Shanghai, and I don't see how it can last much longer, so I'm looking for either a lateral or upward career shift.

Steve

[shmooj]

Right, anyone heretofore accused of spreading "doom and gloom" is summarily acquitted on all counts.

Don't forget that this guy is really a journalist not a TESOL professional - and boy does it show!

Sure there are situations exactly as he paints them - but that is not the be all and end all.

Prior to entering the world of TESOL, I was serving pizza full-time in the UK. Now, that's a dead-end job. Must admit I enjoyed that too though. Could be a personality thing...

[Gordon]

That was one sad (pathetic) article. It was journalistic sensationalism. My favourite part was:

[FGT]

Ouch! I think there were some truths there BUT it was written from a very jaundiced viewpoint. As others have said "he's a journalist", "he's talking about Rome" etc etc. We can deny until we're blue in the face but fundamentally, what he says is what's wrong with this profession - there is a captive market for both teachers and students. A lot of schools are only in it for the money and couldn't give a **** for any professional standards. A lot of "teachers" are almost illiterate. A lot of training courses concentrate too much on "fun". We know there's more to the job than that.....

What really got me was the list of gliterati who've followed this profession and not got a good word to say about it. Which of us is going to be first to win the Booker or the Whitbread and put the record straight?

[naturegirl321]

Wow, my goodness. That's horrible. BUt come on, people are unhappy in any profession. I personally love what I'm doing. Am not in it for the money, for the time being. And if I were, I"d go to South Korea, Taiwan, or the Middle East, where I could make just as much back home, but save more.
All over the world, teachers are paid pretty low. Unfortunately.
For the author of this article. . .I think that for any profession, if you don't like it, get out. BUt don't assume that everyone feels the same way as you.

[RK]

frater, love your work! Perhaps there is a literary life for you outside the grim and depressing world of TEFL teaching.

What a silly article. Love my job. Get paid just fine. I won't starve in my old age and I have great holidays. What more could anyone want?

[bud]

In my mind, the most poignant line in the article is a quote by Alain de Botton: "You become a TEFL teacher when your life has gone wrong." I had to highlight that one.