Job Discussion Forums

[philbags]

I got interested in this thread as it seemed that it might actually be germain to EFL teaching,as i read more it occurs to me that what is necessary here is an approach to the needs of the culture in the climate of the time. right now im working in the czech republic where i deal exclusively with business clients who need to communicate with colleagues of different nationalities on a regular basis. i think that European learners have a much greater understanding of the need to speak english and that individuals are much more aware of the kind of english they need. Is it different in asia? i dunno; its true that your average indo doesnt need to say much more than " hello mister" or just " misterrrrrrr" from the back of a speeding motorcycle ( its so much nicer than " bule goblooooook" innit?) but for those that want to put the edge on their future studies/careers its a done deal - the chinese are going to take over the world IN ENGLISH it seems.
If we want to be serious about teaching, we need to identify the kind of language skills that our students are likely to need. This means less time spent trying to explain the difference between perfect tenses( I think I used past perfect twice this year) and more time on.... what?
personally I like to teach exam prep. or interview skills- there's a definite aim in mind and a goal to be reached,but if stuck with a bunch of school kids who just spent 8 hours in formal education the " human tape recorder" appproach might be the best.my mum used to just talk to me; thats how I learned English.
Im sure that there's a future, and a lucrative one,in EFL - just check out what kind of car the owner of your school is driving, as you get into the angkot.

[Winmarr]

[flapjack]

Philbags wrote