Job Discussion Forums

[mishmumkin]

[veiledsentiments]

That is good... ECAE has the right faculty to be teaching IELTS. I was afraid that they might be using the Teachaway people who are K-12 credentialed... not IELTS experienced.

It must really be difficult out in the schools in the boonies and I don't suppose that most of these teachers, who often have no overseas experience - no less Middle East experience, burn out quickly.

VS

[mishmumkin]

[Takahiwai]

LS0808 - the curriculum is changing next year, possibly due to ADEC's new bright plan (tone of sarcasm should be read here) to introduce team-teaching to the kindergartens - that is to say they plan to have one LT and one local/Arabic-speaking teacher for each class. At present, nobody - I'm including ADEC here! - has any idea what the curriculum will be, so I can't help you out on that one. As to dress code etc., be warned that the principal is the queen of her realm, and each school is different, so you may be able to wear reasonably conservative 'Western' clothes, or you may be expected to don a shayla and abaya. Do not expect ADEC to help you out on that one, as they seem pretty unwilling/unable to actually support their LTs in the schools, hence the reason why they are foisting responsibility off onto the provider companies next year.

Speaking as one who lives in the 'boondocks', I have to say that the impact of the LTs has been largely negative. This is largely due to the fact that most of them seem to think they have carte blanche to behave just as they would back home, and this doesn't go unnoticed, even in larger places. Out in the boonies, where people have little else to do but 'people-watch', it has created a significant amount of bad feeling towards Westerners where none seemed to exist before. Obviously, there are several honourable exceptions to my sweeping generalisation, and we've been lucky to have some of those exceptions working in the school where I'm based. Most others haven't been so lucky.

Having said all that, I hope your time in the UAE will be enjoyable, and if you have any questions you'd like to PM me, I'll be happy to answer them as candidly as possible. Good luck!

[Takahiwai]

Hi VS,
I don't know about the other provider company schools, but in those run by the company for whom I work IELTS training is provided by the EFL trainer appointed to each school. Many of these people had no prior knowledge of the IELTS exam before ADEC decided to adopt it as a measure of English language capability, so they've been on a steep learning curve to learn about the exam and how to prepare the teachers for it. It all seems pretty absurd to me - the notion that kindergarten and primary school teachers need a 5.5 IELTS (Academic) score in order to do what? Deliver university-level lectures to toddlers and small children?

[veiledsentiments]

[mishmumkin]

[Takahiwai]

@VS

[bje]

[veiledsentiments]

I agree too... the reliance on inappropriate tests is something that has haunted the TEFL field forever.

VS

[Iamherebecause]

The teachers ought to do CEELT, the Cambridge Examination for English Language teachers, which is an exam in English which looks specifically at the language a teacher needs to manage the classroom and to teach the language itself through the medium of English. But I guess the 'experts' at ADEC haven't heard of it.

[bje]

[veiledsentiments]

[bje]

[veiledsentiments]

I dislike them both about equally. One is too American and the other is too British. Both are too advanced for elementary teachers to have to deal with.

VS