Job Discussion Forums

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

I see a fair number of positions for teachers of 'Oral English'.

I can grasp Business English, Academic English, English for Specific Purposes, Academic Writing, even.

I didn't find any descriptions in a search of the site, but maybe I got the search engine right after his smoke break.

A quick and dirty description would be wonderful. Pros and cons are also welcome. I"m familiar with the Communicative Approach, which means I teach everything in one class, not broken up over several classes/ classrooms.

I'm partial towards Unis, as I am a grad student myself.

tommchone · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 108

It's primarily speaking skills; pronunciation, syntax, verb tense.

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

Do the Universities provide curriculae, or do we have to make them up as we go?

It sounds like a lesson-planning nightmare.

Thank you for the above reply.

tommchone · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 108

Depends on the place you're working for. I make up my own; it's better for me to assess the speaking skills of the students and find the common strengths and weaknessess. It's not too difficult, once you get the hang of it. Simple question and answer exercises, analyzing sentence structure, etc.

roadwalker · Joined: 24 Aug 2005 Posts: 1750 Location: Ch

Many (or most?) schools provide a text book. Hilarity often ensues when you read it, both from a grammatical and from a cultural perspective. Nevertheless they can be useful if only to explain what's wrong with them.

One thing to realize: if you teach oral English to English majors in a university, they have had grammar rammed down their throats so much they can barely speak English. That's in high school and cram schools, and now in university, where they study intensive reading, extensive reading, listening, writing, literature etc, etc. Save the grammar points for the most egregious, such as question mis- formation, or the things that bother you the most. The students will want nothing but guitar sing-a-longs and movies if you are willing. Save that for when it's useful from a teaching perspective, or rewards, if ever. They will tell you how their old foreign teacher did (sometimes they really sound like children) but they will understand.

Typical oral English class: lesson built around a specific scenario (shopping, phone call, discussion about a western holiday etc.) with imitation, substitution and then finally an open discussion in small groups. Your class could be as low as 30 but expect more like 40-50 and even more. Work the class listening for the most common errors and teach or unteach them en masse Students perform for the class. Role plays, games and other activities searchable on Dave's can break up the monotony.

Most schools will give you freedom to do whatever you want as far as lessons (except criticize or proselytize etc) since nobody (administration) really pays attention to oral English. It's a must have add-on for universities to show that they are international. Chances are it doesn't count as a grade for the students although most really appreciate the chance to speak "real" English with a genuine foreigner.

There are a lot of negatives, but it can be a lot of fun too. And if you have a good attitude, the students, with a few exceptions, are really great.

tommchone · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 108

It certainly counts as a grade where I'm at!! 30% of their total grade is oral English. I use that to threaten them!

tommchone · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 108

Forgot to mention, you're right about the textbooks; I've had two since I've been here, the last one was SO bad and I griped about it SO much that the administration replaced it. The new one is somewhat better, but still good for a laugh.

killian · Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 2:59 am Post subject:

i am recalling an old japanese saying...something akin to "first you learn the rules, then you must forget them". oral english is where the rules are forgotten so as to facilitate the comunicative process.

the students aren't stupid. they've been learning english for X years. they have grammar and syntax and all that coming out of their ears. sadly, precious little of it makes it out of their mouths.

oral english class is the exact opposite. you, the teacher, are to get students who all thru their formative lessons were taught to shut up and listen to actually speak. we all must over come our formal training and "oral english" is such a place. oftentimes you shall pass on "correcting" their grammar. why? because you understand what they say and correcting every little thing goes against the natural learning process.

it is maddening and frustrating and then sometimes just sheer joy to see a student w/ 0 confidence in english skills to shed the inner wall of fear and accept all the possibilities a new language offers. and then it is time for exams and you start all over again w/ a bunch of shut down, closed off folks.

misteradventure · Joined: 18 Aug 2003 Posts: 246

I'm sorry, tommchone.

I should have been more explicit:

The position is for an instructor of Oral English. Nothing less, nothing more.

I fail to understand how a course explicitly and exclusively for that one subject could "...account for 30% of their grade!"

Please elucidate. I expect to be responsible for determining 100% of their grade.

tommchone · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 108

Yes, 100% of the grade FOR THE CLASS is the instructor's responsibility. The grade in Oral English accounts for 30% of their TOTAL term grade.

sharpe88 · Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 226

In my experience - I believe others will corroborate - "Oral English" is generally a token English class led by a foreign face. Sounds harsh, but you can make the best of it. Do lots of listening and discussion work, as most students direly need it.

tommchone · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 108

I did not know that; no, that's not my Johnny Carson imitation, I was totally unaware of that. Yes, I would like some collaboration. Teachers?

tommchone · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 108

Sorry, I just woke up. "Corroborate", please.

Hansen · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 737 Location: central China

Simple guide to oral English:

Using a book provided by the school, such as Oral English for College Students, do chorusing drills based on the "phonetic practice" section of each chapter. The individual words are supposed to illustrate the pronunciation symbolized by the international phonetic symbols, which they usually do. If you have no such book, find some IPA drills and use those.

There are also some single sentences the book provides to teach which syllable of the word has the emphasis. These can also be used to teach liaison, one of the most useful tasks of the oral English teacher. Again, any kind of simple sentence can be used to teach these tasks, including those found in a book of English proverbs, poetry, whatever.

Then using a book such as Crazy English 900, have a student write a dialogue in Chinese on the board. Then have the students translate it into grammatically correct English and practice the dialogue with each other. The rest of the class can be spent listening to the students produce the dialogue and correcting mistakes they made in their translation. The teacher can also correct gross pronunciation errors. I consider "gross" to be unintelligible words.

Grade generously, encourage and praise the students for what they can do. Those who refuse to even try, fail. Depending on your location, and student's age, many may have had limited, if any, exposure to native spoken English. Simply modelling provides them an education.

To those who are critical of translation tasks, remember that the students like to do them, and are actively involved in the task.

youlan77 · Joined: 02 Nov 2009 Posts: 4 Location: Jilin City

It depends where the job is aswell. I have worked for a private language training school and this is their selling point. The students have to speak. At school, or university there is simply not enough time for the students to speak - I know because I am not working in a highschool. I actually would recommend a private language training school to any students who are serious about improving their English but can't afford to go abroad. If you work at a private language school, from my experience...the students have to complete coursework on the computer. They have to demonstrate to the Chinese teachers they've comprehended the courseware. Then they can book a lesson with the foreign teacher. That lesson consists mainly of the students been asked questions, and to complete activities that reinforces the lesson plans objectives. It is is 80/20 - 80% student talk, 20% student talk. You are correct them when necessary and give feedback at the end. The students also participate in a class with more students than a private class (usually only 4 students max in private) which is more activity based, ie more fun, and less stressful for the students..An oral English teacher's responsibility is to get the students to speak as much as possible. Sometimes there are jobs where they want you as an oral English teacher but the environment in which you have to teach is near impossible...too many students in one class, classroom has fixed desks (so no games), students are at different levels...