Job Discussion Forums

[santi84]

I have to admit, after my degree and certificate, I really don't care much for ESL I am not a fan of it. Ouch. I still like teaching, but I'm thinking of training for another subject (since I have to redo some university anyways to become licensed in another province). Has anyone flirted with this idea? Any regrets?

[fluffyhamster]

I'm wondering if I could teach Chinese. The problems however are that 1) I'm probably not at quite a high enough level yet in it (my degree's in something else...but I have studied Chinese to a not completely insignificant level (postgrad dip)), 2) the UK is going broke or there already, 3) it seems to have always been easier and cheaper to simply hire native speakers (it's probably only in countries like China and Japan that they have only non-native speakers in charge of the teaching of foreign languages in schools), 4) the GCSE seems quite geared to (British-born Chinese - Cantonese speakers or quasi-speakers, in other words) demonstrating some mastery of standard written Putonghua/Mandarin (me, I don't think it should be so hard to teach Chinese characters at GCSE-level, but there seems to be the perception nevertheless that it is a difficult subject to pass, which is affecting uptake and/or funding of much more than taster courses), and lastly 5) I am not sure I fancy becoming a political football (the governments claims to want to expand Mandarin education, but they ignore points like those above, and are always, always so very hard to please: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=726028#726028 . Plus, could Chinese all just be one big bubble, a bit like Japanese? Either way, I try as a responsible citizen to not climb on potentially unaffordable bandwagons/gravytrains! Then again, one could easily give up trying to second guess government and the economy and just try to snatch a bit of what is there passing by to smash and grab (or should that be grabbed and smashed? Education can sure make a dog's dinner of what should be relatively straightforward things!).

Quite an interesting discussion (for me anyway!) developed on the following thread, by the way: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?p=724024#724024

Anyway, it is hard to not be ambivalent about entering an environment in which you will almost certainly be told far more often than you ever were in ELT exactly what to do and think (or rather, what you "can't" dare do or think!), regardless of the actual, crying needs of your students and country. (Discipline (Self-~)? Respect (Self-~)? Respect for the subject? Rote learning (even one iota)? Knowledge, and its value? What are all these things?! ).

[robertokun]

Definitely, but in the opposite direction that you want to take. I want to switch to TESOL. I think that you should consider why you dislike ESL before deciding to switch disciplines, because you may find that a lot of the same issues will follow you to the new discipline, or perhaps be even worse.

[naturegirl321]

I taught Maths for a bit. It was ok. But hard for me when the kids didn-t understand. Maths just comes easy for me.

I also thought about teacher training.

In march I-ll be starting at a uni teaching writing and presentation, so not so much EFL.

[csfek]

I have sort of switched subjects in that I am now teaching sheltered instruction classes in History to ESL students. Honestly, it's not that different from teaching some ESL classes because you still need to incorporate a lot of the same teaching methods (e.g. group work, reading activities, differentiating instruction for different learning styles). I guess the main difference is that I'm not teaching any grammar or mechanics to my History students.

[rogerwallace]

I have taught esl using many subject units in many fields-it was great.

[AjarnIam]

I like teaching ESP courses like Hotel, and Tourism. I've tried teaching English for general business, and generally speaking the concepts are miles above the student's heads. I blame the publishers a bit for this, as they sell beginner level text books with some very complex topics, like Corporate and Social Responsibility, Economic Stability and the Global Markets.....these topic hit the overhead and suddenly heads hit the desks.

[geaaronson]

I have never come across such advanced books on corporate responsibility such as you have mentioned AjarnIam. If you are talking about Market Leader, perhaps your students are not at that point yet as in all my classes my advanced students have been able to handle it. The worse class I ever had with ML had a grade average of 78.

[Glenski]

[AjarnIam]

I would sooner stick hot pins in my eyes than teach writing. The most painful experience IMO.

[AjarnIam]

[Molson]

If you want to switch teaching subjects, why not become a certified teacher and teach the subjects you are certified to teach?

Fact is though, you are on an ESL board wondering what else you can teach. In my ESL experience I have taught:

- business English
- hospitality English
- oral English
- English composition
- critical reading and writing
- TOEFL (paper based writing and reading)


There could be one or two other areas, but I didn't put basic writing, reading, speaking, grammar, etc.

Within an ESL base, my favorites to teach are business/hospitality English because it is what I have done the least, so I can actually learn stuff. For me, teaching is also about learning. If I am not learning, I get bored. When I get bored, I think it all goes down hill from there.

[geaaronson]

I taught photography and graphic design before I started teaching English here in Mexico. In my case, I could always go back to teaching those subjects, but as long as I am here in Mexico, I have to restrict myself to teaching English. There simply is a glut of teachers teaching the two subjects worldwide and the only opportunity is in teaching Photoshop, at which I am not proficient.
I have taught at language schools, accesorias, prepas, and now university teaching. I have also taught Business English in the corporate environment. The latter is my preference but does not have the steadiness of income that university teaching has.