Job Discussion Forums

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

"Semi-skilled"? Teachers in Indonesia? That's a real stretch.

TEAM_PAPUA · Joined: 24 May 2004 Posts: 1679 Location: HOLE

guruengerish · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Posts: 424 Location: Australia

Maybe the Indonesian authorities were taking into consideration the life experiences of a very young teacher.

By the time you've hit middle age, a lot of books have been read, a lot of the world has been seen and explored, English usage has been experienced in many other countries.

Sure, a 19yo is old enough to vote, drink and go to war, but has s/he really got the experience needed to teach a class the vagaries of the English language, whether or not a TEFLA course has been completed?

Recently, I was tutoring first year students at a university, and it was a shock to see how often they chose the wrong words and used incorrect spelling.

So maybe if the 19yo teacher is a wunderkind, no problem, but ordinarily, this seems rather young.

On the other hand, I think the authorities are crazy to bar anyone over 55 from teaching. What a total waste. Confused

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

I doubt that any 19-year-old is able to answer questions about English usage in its different varieties and contexts, or to draw upon a wide enough lexicon, or to explain cross-cultural language use. But if all the school is looking for is a native-speaking monkey to keep classes entertained, then a 19-year-old will fit the bill as well as anyone else.

guruengerish · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Posts: 424 Location: Australia

Couldn't have put this better!

Certainly, I found that with a biology background, it came in handy in discussions with the older students, and having read and travelled a good deal, this also widened the horizons.

If you're teaching teen students just a few years younger than yourself, or maybe university students aspiring to IELTS of TOEFL, you need more than a high school (college) background.

Universities in many countries have a minimum entry age of 19, for good reasons.

I've seen "mature" teachers come in from overseas, and lose control with the ultra cheap smokes, beer and stronger substances. A 19yo would need to have a very strong constitution to avoid being drawn in.

Fishy · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 138

There seems to be confusion here more than anything as the word "teacher" is being used by posters to describe two very different jobs.

The job of an ESL teacher at a language mill like EF, TBI etc. is not comparable to a full time primary or secondary school teacher.

A smart 19 year old with a 4 week TEFL course and a good awareness of their own English could handle an ESL job in a language mill but teaching in a school is a whole different ball game that does require training, knowledge and experience of things other than the subject being taught. Teaching in a school goes way further than just teaching your subject.

eddie honda · Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 59

Henry_Cowell · Joined: 27 May 2005 Posts: 3352 Location: Berkeley

Rich Indonesian parents would probably not want their spoiled little darlings going to a school that hires 19-year-old native "teachers." How much prestige is there in that?

philbags · Joined: 13 May 2006 Posts: 149 Location: 1962-69

I'm sorry, but I can't understand why so many EFL teachers claim there's little or no substance to the profession. Admittedly, there are a lot of techniques and approaches that appear to be reinventing the same wheel, but I've been developing myself as a language teacher/trainer/educator whatever the f#k you want to call it for ten years now and there's still a vast amount of material written on skills acquisition, language analysis, pronunciation work, lexis vs. grammar and task based approaches that I have yet to touch on. My masters degree in self immolation from the university of no-wheresville has been of little help, I must confess.
I've worked alongside 'teachers' with degrees and those without and I honestly believe that it makes NO DIFFERENCE to teaching ability. Either you have the interest, patience, and personality to engage a class and cater to its needs or you don't. This is a real profession and those that don't regard it as such are perhaps not putting in a lot of effort. Wouldn't they be doing themselves a service by finding a vocation that suited them better?
ooops, let it slip a bit there. getting bored. saturday night. Ramadan round the corner.
ciao kids, happy headbangin'
P

Fishy · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 138

Having a degree or not may make little difference to your abilty to teach ESL at after school English club like EF or TBI but its essential if you want to work in School.

If you only want to work in language mills then fair play to you. I worked hard at it but it was still one of the easiest, stress free jobs I ever had.

Chancellor · Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:49 pm Post subject:

malu · Joined: 22 Apr 2007 Posts: 1344 Location: Sunny Java

I think I'd put public school teachers a few notches above lawyers.

Atoms for Peace · Joined: 06 Feb 2006 Posts: 135 Location: NKRI

Chancellor · Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject:

wannaBguru · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 110

not correct. graduating from a law school is the equilivent of a masters degree. some states, including california, do not require u to attend or graduate from a law school to sit for the bar exam. pass the test and u are allowed to practice law.

most states require u to pass a teaching qualification test before u can get your teaching license. most school districts allow a certain amount of time to get a masters before freezing their salary. most colleges allow university professors to have their masters in the speciality they are teaching, at least for BA degrees.