Job Discussion Forums

[lcanupp1964]

A teacher from Germany was hired for the ELI at KAU a few months ago. All his degrees were from his home country. I don't know if they were in English, or "English related" or if his MA was in TESOL, but he did have a CELTA. We get teachers from some counties (like the one that starts with the letter "P") that have less stuff in their CV, so I'm not surprised to see teachers from Europe teaching in KSA.

[veiledsentiments]

[scot47]

Policy ?

[ttxor1]

Hi all,

I'm not in a position to speak to whether an MA in English would be considered as relevant as an MA in TESOL. I have never been on a hiring/selection committee. But I was struck at the below charts, which compare the goals for ESOL students to the goals for Language Arts students in New York. I was wondering if any teachers with experience in the Middle East could speak to whether the standards for Language Arts students in NYC would be appropriate for/ applicable to students in the Middle East.

Source: “Teaching Children Literacy Skills in a Second Language” by Anne Ediger in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Third Edition Marianne Celce-Murcia (Ed), Heinle & Heinle, 2001. pgs 164-165.

TESOL's Pre-K-12 ESOL Standards
Source: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). ESL standards for pre-K-12 students. Alexandria, VA: TESOL. 1997, pp 9-10

Goals for ESOL Learners
Goal 1: To Use English to Communicate in Social Settings
Standards for Goal I

Students will:
1. use English to participate in social interaction
2. interact in, through, and with spoken and written English for personal expression and enjoyment
3. use learning strategies to extend their communicative competence

Goal 2: To Use English to Achieve Academically in All Content Areas
Standards for Goal 2

Students will:
1. use English to interact in the classroom
2. use English to obtain, process, construct, and provide subject matter information in spoken and written form
3. use appropriate learning strategies to construct and apply academic knowledge

Goal 3: To Use English in Socially and Culturally Appropriate Ways
Standards for Goal 3

Students will:
1. use the appropriate language variety, register, and genre according to audience, purpose, and setting
2. use nonverbal communication appropriate to audience, purposes, and setting
3. use appropriate learning strategies to extend their sociolinguistic and sociocultural compentence


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

English Language Arts Standards Used in New York City Schools
Source: Board of Education in the City of New York. 1997. New standards performance standards: English language arts, English as a second language, Spanish language arts. New York: Board of Education of the City of New York

New Standards Performance Standards – English Language Arts (Elementary)
E1. Reading
E1a Read at least twenty-five books of the quality and complexity illustrated in the sample reading list.
E1b Read and comprehend at least four books on the same subject, or by the same author, or in the same genre.
E1c Read and comprehend informational materials.
E1d Read aloud fluently.

E1. Writing
E2a Produce a report of information.
E2b Produce a response to literature.
E2c Produce a narrative account (fictional or autobiographical).
E2d Produce a narrative procedure.

E3. Speaking, Listening, and Viewing
E3a Participate in one-to-one conferences with the teacher.
E3b Participate in group meetings.
E3c Prepare and deliver an individual presentation.
E3 Make informed judgements about TV, radio, and film

E4. Conventions, Grammar, and Usage of the English Language
E4a Demonstrate a basic understanding of rules of the English language in written and oral work.
E4b Analyze and subsequently revise work to improve its clarity and effectiveness.

E5. Literature
E5a Respond to non-fiction, poetry and drama using interpretive and critical processes
E5b Produce work in at least one literary genre that follows the conventions of the genre

[SENTINEL33]

In many cases, an MA in English Language would be considered as "closely related" to a TESOL MA and therefore acceptable for a TEFL job in KSA. So the qualification is not the problem. (Although I'd avoid using the term "and Literature" in describing your MA).

The problem, seems to me is that in many cases, the job specifies that the job candidate must be a "native speaker" of English above and beyond his academic qualifications. Even if the job candidate graduates from Oxford University, he is still not a native speaker and that would disqualify him for many ESL jobs in KSA.

I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned this to Jon Jones 27 because this "nativeness" is such a central issue in the hiring of English teachers in KSA. A couple of posters here have mentioned that they know of certain non-native English speakers who have gotten ESL jobs. I have no reason to doubt them, but it must be a very rare situation for this to occur. Most employers are quite adamant about his issue.

I disagree with this policy because there are superb English teachers who are non-native speakers. I'm sure we've all met a few during our careers. There are a couple of reasons why this is done, but I won't go into them here since they necessarily would be way off topic.

Bottom line: To Jon Jones 27 - be aware of this "native-speaker" condition....I think you will still find it to be prevalent among KSA employers. No amount of further "study" on your part, I would say, can overcome this stringent and unchangeable requirement. However, as previous posters have suggested, there are certain employers who don't seem to care about this "native speaker" condition.....at least they don't advertize it.

[nomad soul]

[nomad soul]

[lcanupp1964]

Nomad Soul wrote:

"It's not rare at all; I worked alongside teachers who hailed from many parts of the planet---most of them from non-Anglophone countries but with TEFL-related degrees and solid teaching experience."

I agree. The ELI at KAU has around 270 teachers, which 30% are from Anglophone countries. To drill down the point even more, the ELI only has around 10 teachers that were born and raised in the United States.

[SENTINEL33]

[scot47]

They WANT people with PhDs from Oxford and Cambridge. They do not get them !

[ttxor1]

[ttxor1]