Job Discussion Forums

[Samantha]

Since the Year End Bonus thread went off the rails, I thought a new thread might be a good idea. There seems to be strong feelings about the professionalism of foreign ESL teachers, but we have yet to define just what that is exactly. I think we were beginning to scratch the surface, so let's keep going.

I'll tread into this aspect. I get the feeling that some who have lived here for a few years, yet who may have arrived as a newbie teacher back then, feel that they are somehow more "professional" at their jobs than newcomers with backgrounds we know nothing about, will be. Teachers who are established now, but who also had only a 4 week course before they landed, or NO course at all, have no room to talk, IMHO. I'm curious about this attitude, actually. We all know it takes time to become established, and every one of us had to start somewhere, therefore we should probably not try to "pull rank". To me, professionalism is earning a reputation as a good teacher (no matter how many credentials you hold, or don't hold), and losing the sense of entitlement and gaining a load of flexibility. My two pesos worth, to get the topic going.

[Guy Courchesne]

[Samantha]

I don't want to exclude anyone from this conversation! Sorry, you will have to weed through the previous thread to which I referred, to understand what I meant. I shouldn't have assumed everyone was following the other thread. I completely agree with what you just wrote, by the way.

[the peanut gallery]

Guy,

I agree with all that you wrote, but surely if we are to label someone "professional" they must have completed recognized formal training of some sort?

[gregd75]

Aren't TEFL courses a type of 'formal training'??

CELTA, Trinity TESOL etc are very demanding courses, but yet they are only 4 weeks in duration.

Would these count, or would they not count as formal training? If not, why not???

[the peanut gallery]

That is subjective is it not, and probably why so many of us butt heads

Is the Upstairs TESOL institute of middle Ohio as recognized as a degree in Education from NYU or UCLA? Subjective, depends on ones interests and requirements. But i know who i would prefer to teach me if i were a paying student.

[Guy Courchesne]

[the peanut gallery]

"...I don't believe that the end all and be all of 'recognized ESL formal training' is a CELTA or TEFL course though, if this is what you mean or want to hear..."

I agree. In fact, many places that offer these courses are basically diploma mills, some even offering correspondence courses with no real instruction at all. But these useless papers are often enough to get them in the door. I suspect not many private institutes do too much checking into the quality of the TEFL certificate. Again and again it comes back to Mexican students suffering because they are buying something that isnt up to snuff.

[gregd75]

But then the same arguement can be had about the varying quality of degrees from various universities. Especially private universities.

Are students really learning, or are they just paying for a degree certificate?

This provides employers with a difficult situation- is 4 years of studying at university and a further 4 years of volunteer teaching more valuable than 4 weeks of teacher training where the bar is set very high?

The only thing that is important is what Guy said in his post, a good teacher is the person dedicated to self-development and someone who can reflect on their work and improve as a result of what they reflect upon.

So, the qualification isnt really as important as the person taking it and their true motivations for wanting to teach. If one 'falls' into teaching- say because they have married a Mexican, have a Mexican child and have followed their family here, then maybe they wouldn't be as motivated as a person coming here say to really make a difference in the lives of EFL students.

Which then brings you onto job satisfaction and general happiness...

[the peanut gallery]

But Samantha started this topic to define what constitutes a professional teacher, not a good one.

[Samantha]

[Guy Courchesne]

[PlayadelSoul]

The simple answer is that if you make a living teaching ESL, you are a "professional." I think the ongoing debate (and rather tiresome one, in some cases) is what makes a good teacher. I find that those who talk the most about how "professional" they are rarely live up to the hype. What makes a good teacher, IMHO, has more to do with attitude than with how much "paper" I can wave in your face. It comes from a stick-to-it approach wherein each student's learning is a challenge that must be met. No one gets left on the field. If it means working extra hours for no pay, so be it. If it means rewriting a lesson plan that doesn't get the job done, you do it. If it means eating some pride and asking for help, get out the knife and fork.

If I were a student, I would want a teacher who was more interested in my learning than he was in telling me how "professional" he was and how many months/years he spent studying the subject. You give me a reasonably intelligent person with a good level of English and the desire to the help others learn; I will make a good teacher out of him. We are not talking quantam physics, here. Some people need to do an ego check. It might just be the very thing that is getting in their way and causing so much frustration.

[gregd75]

Excellent post Playadelsoul

[the peanut gallery]

"...If I were a student, I would want a teacher who was more interested in my learning than he was in telling me how "professional he was..."

Are professional teachers interested in telling their students how professional they are? Didnt know that was the case. So to be a true professional one must also be vain? Wow, the qualification bar keeps rising while the pay stays frozen.