Job Discussion Forums

[cduncan22]

I'm currently taking the Chiang Mai Uni TEFL course. We were told yesterday that for the observed teaching component we would be doing shared/joint teaching ie another TEFL student and I would be teaching the class together. We were told this form of teaching is becoming very popular which I doubt. Has anyone out there heard of joint/shared teaching?

[Pauleddy]

One or two unis were looking to trial this a while back. Correct, it is not popular (...except that a few schools have Thai teaching assistants who will walk around, keep discipline, give out papers in yr class and so on. Some will be hopeless, but some are OK).

Team teaching or partnered teaching by two western teachers has, IMHO, more cons than pros. I know what I want to teach, and a colleague would be a distraction. Some people might be uncomfortable with a more senior or very experienced partner in the room.

There are logistics too. If there are two ajarns, will the class size need to be doubled to make it economically viable? Big size classes? Many schools cannot pay for two teachers to teach a class of 30 kids. Huge classes are normally a no-no for many reasons, especially in TEFL.

There may be occasions when a 'double act' is fine. Two teachers who work well together and complement eachother can work. I have doubled with 1 or 2 people over the past few years. Synergy can be good.

Of course, a longer class can have a 'guest spot', when somebody comes in for 20-30 minutes and gives a teach-in or some sort of specialised topic. Or, the class is split into groups or two halves for an exercise.

Worst case scenario is that your trainers want to save time/money or they are too stretched to give TP to singles. OR, somebody is writing a thesis, and you are guinea pigs. Testing a new fad.

In the real-life situation, you will arrive at your school in Somalia or Sisaket, and you will normally be expected to rely on your wits and to teach alone. I was once told that I might teach all alone with just a stick in the sand, in Mongolia. When you are experienced, it may be fine to join up with someone for certain purposes. In my 20 years, I haven't heard of this joint TP being done at TEFL mills.

Eddy

[Insubordination]

I did "team teaching" for a practicum component. Worked with a fellow student. It was great and really helped a lot because we consulted with each other. I think this is done because they often can't find enough placements for every student teacher.

[cduncan22]

Thanks guys, that's what I thought.