Job Discussion Forums

[almuze]

just out of curiosity, does it seem like most ESL teachers in Turkey speak enough turkish to get by? or none at all? Not just the users on this site, but what about the other yabanci teachers you work with?

then, does this seem like a help or a hinderance? For me, knowing turkish is a big help in the classroom, even tho I don't speak it to them, it helps me track what the rug rats are doing, but then, out side of the classrom, sometimes it is a pain. Because I know Turkish, people some times think I agree with strange turkish thoughts, like drinking cold water will give you a horrible stomach ache, and other not so strange but boring administative stuff, that I wasn't asked to do when I didn't know any turkish...
adios, amigos.

[dmb]

There are large numbers of non turkish speaker teachers, usually only in the country for a year. Then there is a large number of teachers who have been here for years and can hold down a conversation.

[vre]

I think it can be useful to use a bit of the ss native language as a teaching tool. I wish my Turkish were better. But I get annoyed with teachers (and there are quite a few) who are employed to speak and teach IN English and don't! They think it's a chance for them to practise their Turkish, or they have just got so used to it and can't be bothered with English because it takes a hell of a lot more time, patience and effort to communicate with a class in the language they are learning, at any level, or their students think its 'oh so cute' etc. Why does it annoy me so much? Not because I can't do it myself but because speaking production and listening reception are two of the skills which monolingual classes really lack and tend to be their weakest areas, generally. Thus you speaking and being spoken to in English every lesson, every day, every week, how much exposure and practice is that? Well, a lot more than what those disadvantaged students are getting from a teacher who cant be bothered. And dont tell me teachers dont do it! When that door is closed........

[dmb]

VRE, it happens loads. Over the years I've done alot of observations. Usually within the first few minutes I can tell if a teacher uses alot of Turkish in the class. You know, the teacher tries to set up an activity in English and the students look blankly at each other because normally the teacher would do it in Turkish.

[Otterman Ollie]

Gotta go with the smart dog on this one . Generally the users of L1 are the biggest culprits in keeping the kids back from L2 practise . In addition to this they generally get better thought of and land the best jobs DOS for example ,our place is full of bi lingual types who use it at the drop of a hat ,these are allegged native speakers of English ,for chris sake !
Sadly they usually end up in a well thought of position of power just to make us feel even better about trying to teach OUR language instead of learning theirs using the students as teachers . You can usually spot them before they use Turkish though , their spoken English sounds very shall we say ,broken ,some have even forgotten how to use contractions .

[corall]

maybe a tad bit of broken turkish works in class - i don't use any. in korea i found it a hinderance because they barely spoke to me in english.

there is a girl in my school that told me that her kids were lucky to have her as a teacher because she was fluent in turkish but spoke non of it in her class. She reasoned that if they asked for something in Turkish she could get it for them and they wouldn't be frustrated. what do you think to that? so in other words they could speak to her in turkish and get what they wanted and she would respond to them in English- that happens a lot in my school actually.

my kids on the other hand go through frustrating times when they ask for things and i don't understand them. usually they just try to say it a different way the next time (they are 6 years old) and if i don't understand them they definitely find out how to say it so that later i will. the kid that eats jam for breakfast every morning definitely learns how to say jam please if he doesn't want to starve....

[ghost]

If you are a native speaker who knows Turkish, it takes a lot of discipline to not use it (Turkish) in class.

The key is to never use the L1 language (the language of the students), because if you use it just once, students will wait for explanations time after time.

An Australian guy who worked for a famous Kolej in Istanbul had to be "let go" by the school, because after many years at the Kolej (yes - he is an exception in Turkey), he became fluent in Turkish and used it too much in class. He was a good teacher (class management -good), but he spoke too much Turkish in class and the parents complained.....and when the parents complain....Admin. takes note and does what the parents want, because they are money making enterprises (the schools).

Do not get the reputation of speaking Turkish in class, because that could be grounds for dismissal.

Do learn Turkish outside class, though, because it will make you so much more aware of where the students are coming from, and you will have more empathy for their language learning efforts if you know the students' language. Not to mention all the benefits of knowing Turkish for your daily living. And Turks are always in awe of foreigners who know some Turkish, even if the level is low.

[ekmekparasi]

It is all a fantasy -event though they may not tell you to your face you are only there to con the parents into coming up with the fees. You are then told are the reason why the fees are expensive-you are just a job and achieve nothing-the sooner you get this the better

[ghost]

[almuze]

Hmmmm, I am trying to think of another job where the employee is not ultimatly viewed as replaceable/just a job/window dressing.... and I have to say, I think that for most of humanity they are just cogs in the system, so I don't really see how this is special to ESL teachers, except, of course, they get the thrilling chance to do it in a place they often know nothing about (at first, anyway..)
when I was a waitress I was basically there just to talk the tables into spending more money and leaving me more of what they spent.

And, most people prefer to be taught by thier own, to some degree, don't you think? People who know how to command respect in whatever group usually get it, but I know that if I had to play a game of The Dozens to get it, I would lose horribly and get no respect at all. Luck me, nobody plays innner city american word games here, so I am safe with looking mean and not giving stickers out to students who dont listen.

All the classes I have taught here have been quiet and orderly (well, ok, there was one...) but really, even when I didn't even know how to say "merhaba" my kids sat in thier seats and remembered what I had said the day before... and now, my kids still sit in thier seats, so, personally I have never experienced these classes from hell that people hear down that hall.... But, when I didn't know turkish, I had some awesome turkish teachers who gave me lots of support and let thier sss know how important this was, so that helped.

Language schools have a casual attitude towards hiring/firing, but aren't there a lot of teachers who have a casual attitude towards work? (like they can't come in because thier girlfriend left them?)

The turkish ESL teacher I am working with right now is really annoying me, because so far as I can tell, she gives the whole lesson in Turkish, except for the "target language" listed at the top of the lesson, which she teaches by translation ie - she says "iceride" and they shout "in" I think this sucks, but hey.
hasta la vista

[ardabay]

The reason why the Turkish English teachers do not use �English� in their classes is that they don�t know English at all. In fact, most of them know about the language but not the language. While I was teaching in a language school in Istanbul, I suggested speaking English in some of the meetings. I thought it would be a good practice for everyone because we can�t find a chance to hone our skills that easily, not in Turkey. Then I got the weird comments from my colleagues like �We teach English all day, let�s speak Turkish here for God�s sake� (which is more acceptable among the others), �Why speak English? Aren�t you a Turk?�, �I can teach but my conversational skills are not that good� (?!?). This is all about the rotten education system in Turkey. There are signs of improvement, though, caused by either the increasing grumbles or the EU integration process. I hope we won�t miss this chance.

[whynotme]

[dmb]

I detect sweeping generalsations. I'm not saying the above does not happen. But to talk about ALL Turkish teachers and ALL foreign teachers. Quite ridiculous. In the past I've had problems recruiting teachers. I have found more than adequate Turkish teachers(my flatmate for example) However, the Turkish owner of the company doesn't allow me to hire Turkish teachers.

[31]

Who do you work for?

Why are you all so afraid to say who you work for?

Molly is so brave. Not only does she use her full name she lets everyone know her position.

[dmb]