Job Discussion Forums

[redeyes]

How many EFL teachers are there in the English/TESOL Department? Are all the teachers together in a staffroom and if so, what's it like? Well equipped with texts/DVD's/tapes etc, and big enough to work freely in? Or, do staff get their own offices, or shared offices/two per office?

Re.materials now, are management quite good about ordering books/DVD's etc?

On the topic of DVD listening materials now.Of course, I realise that one has to be very careful of culturally offending/embarrassing/putting your foot in it etc, so which DVD's do you consider ok? I am not asking about adapting authentic materials/ "hollywood movies" etc for use in a Saudi class -- they would obviously have loads of potential for really offending. I am asking about professionally prepared EFL DVD's, which one would hope are culturally aware already anyway. Do you use DVD's from the Oxford University Press Headway series etc, for example -- or is it likely that even a listening from those Oxford DVD's , featuring a female presenter in fairly tight jeans/showing her figure, may offend, and is therefore a no no in Saudi too?

Also, I often use graded readers in my classes, which I consider truly excellent for encouraging reading amongst those that would normally run a mile from it. I usually use the Oxford and Longman texts, and I am considering these with Saudi students -- they are ( ostensibly ) totally inoffensive. But, I looked at them again today, imagining them through a strict Muslims' eyes. Of course, I may be way off target , but tales which are harmless to us ( King Arthur, etc ), may well be offensive due to, for example, magicians, magical themes etc in the stories. Of course, they are pretty much fairy tales in our culture -- but would some Saudis be offended?

Finally, what is the CALL set up at KFUPM? Do they have good language labs for listening/self study/teacher led Computer English classes etc? Is CALL popular at KFUPM, and a growing area amongst staff?


Thanks for replies -- again, I hope you don't consider my queries naive -- as I said before, I am just trying to get it right. I have taught Muslims for years -- but never in Saudi. I am very culturally sensitive anyway, but need to know the borders of "good taste", cultural sensitivity etc with the use of ostensibly conventional texts/DVD's etc.


I am grateful for your advice.


RE

[007]

Well, just avoid any story from The Satanic Verses, or anything which is related to the banned black list of Uncle Bandar!

[redeyes]

007, your attempt at dry humour is still utterly irrelevant to my original question -- unless you actually know something useful about the state of CALL in Saudi schools,the specific cultural and linguistic content of Longman/Oxford Graded Readers and OUP's graded DVD series, why don't you leave the topic to someone else? Sometimes, I am not even sure why you lurk around the board anyway. Are you an EFL teacher? If you are not involved in EFL, do you ever provide us with good insight into Saudi culture, or are you just here to troll?

[Stephen Jones]

I've been trying to reply to your PM for a week, but the ESLcafe software is so raquitic that I haven't been able to. Send me another PM with your email address and I'll reply by email.

[redeyes]

Thanks Stephen -- I have PM'd my email ad.

RE

[Imdramayu]

Most of my classes are in classrooms which I prefer b/c I can teach and the students learn better. It allows for more group-work.

Since the reading skills of many students are lacking, graded readers would be a great addition. Also, the English program seems to be geared to prepare students to study in their academic programs. Since there's a lot of reading in these programs, time spent on reading skills would be time well-spent.

[Stephen Jones]

If you want an hour with your class in the computer lab, sign the form on the board in the teacher's room. If you want a permanent weekly slot email me. There are four computer labs for exclusive EFL use. The idea is to keep one and a half or two of them for students self access, and have the rest used for classes.

The classroom PCs are all connected to the Internet and you can use web sites for classroom teaching (I regularly use www.esl-lab.com and www.english-grammar-lessons.com is excellent for teaching grammar), and of course Google Images makes the teaching of new vocabulary a doddle in most cases.

The course CALL material is also available in the classroom; whether you use it in the classroom, take your students to use it in the lab, or tell them to access it in their own time is up to you.

[redeyes]

Stephen, thanks very much indeed for your reply.

Baedaebok, what's your view on some of the cultural questions I raised regarding the use of graded readers in Saudi? I'd be interested to hear your views.

( PS : Stephen, I am wondering, perhaps the reason why you can't use your DAVES ESL PM'ing system is that your mail box is full? I know that when my box is full, it won't allow me to send any more messages until I have freed up some space. Could be your problem too? )

[scot47]

Is this forum an appropriste place to discuss internal arrangemenest, eg booking a CALL slot ?

[Stephen Jones]

Quite correct Scot, but as baedebok had stated he hadn't seen any EFL classes using CALL labs I needed to reply or others would presume they weren't available.

Now, regarding your order for lunch tomorrow ...

[Stephen Jones]

[battleshipb_b]

Go with your gut instinct. The important thing is respect: respect your students, the Saudis, the adminintration and anyone who crosses your path. Don't expect special treatment or favors.

This place is a relatively decent place to work as far as places go in the Kingdom. There are a lot of good staff with good ideas. Be wise, play safe.

[johnslat]

Dear Stephen,
I'm not trying to be a wise guy here - I was made inquisitive by your use of the word "raquitic" so I attempted to discover its meaning but was unable to find it.
Did you mean "rachitic" (rickety) instead?

Thanks,
John

[Stephen Jones]

I think it's Spanglish, though there are 295 Google hits. Rachitic is no doubt the english spelling. It means rickety as in 'rickets'.

[redeyes]

Thanks for the contribution Battleship_b. Points noted.

Stephen, thanks for your message BTW. Appreciated.