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abufletcher
Joined: 14 Sep 2005
Posts: 779
Location: Shikoku Japan (for now)
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 Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:19 pm Post subject: |
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| PAULH wrote: |
PS Teaching English is not about problem solving, its not a math class. |
I hate to quibble...but I beg to differ! Teaching EFL (or anthing) is ALL about problem solving!!!! What you do as a teacher all day long everyday is recognize (learning) problems and try out solutions to them. I wouldn't want to be teaching if this weren't the case. The students as well should be constanting "problem solving" in their efforts to acquire the target language.
I agree however that places like NOVA do what they do because they realize that most of their "teachers" haven't got a clue about what to do in a classroom so they try to build the methodology into the materials. As Paul says "paint-by-number" teaching. This is probably a good thing as you'd go insane trying to properly prepare 25-35 "creative" lessons each week!!!
As far as "plans changing" I'd say the number one reason plans change here in Japan is that a male newbie teacher (first time in a foreign land) soon acquires a J-girlfriend and then without having thought about it too much ends up a couple of years later with a J-wife. I feel that all male newcomers to Japan should be sat down and talked to or be forced to attend a "romantic reality" seminar or something.  |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:36 pm Post subject: |
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| abufletcher wrote: |
| [ I feel that all male newcomers to Japan should be sat down and talked to or be forced to attend a "romantic reality" seminar or something. |
Or ten minutes in the ring with me and I'll tell them what happens to them (and their sanity) fifteen years down the track. |
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Birdog3344
Joined: 28 Jun 2004
Posts: 126
Location: Osaka, Japan
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| Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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| ECC is a decent place to work. There's plenty of vacation time to travel around the country and abroad. The salary allows for a comfortable lifestyle, including those trips plus a bit of savings. You meet alot of people both students and fellow teachers. Some students are very shy and some teachers are quite self-involved, but on the whole its a pleasant environment. Classes tend to get pretty repetitive and monotonous, trying to get some students to participate can often be like pulling teeth. You have good days and bad. There's little room for creativity but plenty of chances to be silly and have fun with it. It's really what you make of it. Take a look at some of my other posts regarding ECC if you're interested in more of one teacher's experience. Or PM me if you have specific questions. |
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