Job Discussion Forums

[disregardedknowledge]

Can anyone tell me what Emirati military students (age 18-25) are generally like in an EFL classroom? Feel free to PM

[Green Acres]

Cute angels with pink bows. Really pink.

[scot47]

Emirati military ? The worst job in the region ! Even the National Guard in KSA is preferable !

[johnslat]

Dear scot47,

My mind's response to your post:

BOOGLE, BOOGLE, BOOGLE, BOOGLE, BOOGLE, BOOGLE, BOOGLE, BOOGLE



Regards,
John

[Neil McBeath]

I may be wromng, but I believe that Scot has taught neither Emirati ArmedForces personnel nor the Saudi National Guard.

As someone who has taught both tri-service personnel in Oman and Royal Saudi Air Force cadets, however, I havbe to say that the reputation of the Emirati forces is not good.

Individually, they might be fine, but a lot depends on the quality of their officers, and how the officers regard English language teaching.

As so often happens with questions that are posted here, there is no hard and fast answer.

[veiledsentiments]

I have waited for one of the ex-MLI people to chime in as that military contract went for quite a few years in Abu Dhabi. Their comments over the years to me about the teaching was positive for the most part. In particular, the women teachers had few problems. The levels were very low, of course, and motivation was often not terribly high, but there were few discipline problems - because the officers were supportive for the majority of that multi-year contract. (it fell apart when the military decided that it could run the program itself... and it disappeared shortly after)

Much will probably depend on who is managing the program... just like every Gulf job.

VS

[15yearsinQ8]

military students in kuwait are Neanderthals

stick throwers, not even to the level of understanding stone tools

natioanl guard are wonderful though - cro-magnons they were

[Smallbore]

Friends who have worked at MLI and in other capacities (not only teaching English) have given me the impression that they are not very bright, not very motivated, but generally nice kids. Personally I find male Emirati students very emotionally intelligent, though they don't always know a great deal about things and don't have a lot of motivation to learn. There's seldom any harm in them.

[scrog_420]

[kiefer]

???

[secretsquirrel]

I can back up a lot of what has been written here about teaching military personnel. I have taught both soldiers and policemen in the UAE, and can only say that the majority are certainly not bright, have little motivation, and don't like having to learn English. There are a few exceptions in every class, but it's still an uphill struggle all the time.

If you want an easy life, just let them watch films and play cards. In fact, my most successful classes usually involved teaching various card games, and winning money off them!

[HCEG1]

They are unmotivated, lazy, low-level, but infinitely better than RSAF cadets at TSI, for example.

If they are Officer cadets, it's very likely they will have a good deal of 'wasta', a double-edged sword

I've taught in the Military in Kuwait, Saudi and the UAE. The Emirati shabab certainly weren't the worst

[ardiles81]

Like most of the other feckless and pointless men in the country - thick and useless and unmotivated which is I suppose what you or I would be with no need to work, no need to fight as other people do that and way too much money for nothing.

Like they taught you in your MA just give them pictures of cars to colour in...opps, no a mite ambitious there, they can't can't manage that without needing someone to do it for them.