Job Discussion Forums

[Santos L Halper]

I can't help but think of Scooby Doo when I read "rocksail".

[lily]

thank goodness the EC in my contract never materialised ...

... touch wood...

...but with 8 weeks to go, I don't think it will!

[Mugato]

i can't believe how upset some people are about EC. it's usually once a week for a maximal period of 1 1/2 hours. since most people's teaching schedules are light to begin with my suggestion is: GET A GRIP! a lot of FTs in china would be working a lot shittier and harder jobs in their home-countries for (relatively speaking) a lot less money!!!

[ShapeSphere]

Ariadne,

You want more help but have no 'desire' to organise anything. You sound like my students who just sit there unmotivated, arms folded, expecting me the teacher to do everything for me. Why should I bother?

The best advice I can really give is to put your head between your legs and kiss your a**e goodbye.

But perhaps marginally better is to be very strong-minded with your group and tell them quite firmly the subject you will be discussing. It's a constantly changing group, so you will just need to keep repeating it.

I have had to repeat many things to my dull-as-dishwater students in my general classes - 5 times a lesson, with a lesson being four times a week and a course being two months. Eventually these recalcitrant dullards begin to recognise what is required.

Mugato,

Think about English Corner as having your teeth extracted with a pair of pliers. Would you want to do that for 90 minutes every week?

I have had other jobs and have NEVER been so exhausted and drained after an encounter with Chinese students. I feel like a necromancer attempting to breathe life into these deadbeats. Unfortunately teaching schedules are not that light in China, as the morons in suits (Chinese managers) believe in quantity over quality. But your opinions were very welcome - I prefer an argument to the blind obedience to the party line as displayed by many Chinese people.

[Mugato]

thanks for your comment. three things:

1. by 'light teaching schedule' i was speaking for the majority of FTs that i know in universities and private schools alike. i am tired too after teaching but it is hardly like working in a call-centre for 8hours a day which a lot of chinese FTs would be doing given their qualifications or lack thereof. sorry to be so blunt but that's how i see it.

2. i think your 'deadbeat' comment is quite harsh and somewhat underestimates the students' previous learning experiences. the oral english classes that most students receive are the only classes they will ever have had in which they are encouraged to open their mouths, let alone develope and express opinions of any sort. this is new for most of them since they are used to getting talked/balked at by teachers from grade 1 with no encouragement to interact whatsoever. granted, it is frustrating for us FTs since we can hardly iron out decades of bad teaching habits and lack of taught oral english. but to simply call them 'deadbeats' is unfair i think. my suggestion is to put yourself in their shoes and consider that what you are asking them to do something is totally opposed to everything else they have been taught in life-to speak out and up!

3. i too do not like english corner but it is hardly like dental surgery. more like watching it and listening to the noises-not great but bearable. if it was every day-now that would be like surgery...

any other takes?

[ShapeSphere]

Mugato,

1. A call centre job is hell - I agree. But in our teaching jobs we have to be concentrated all the time - usually standing, listening, talking, being organised and do have more responsibility. We don't get paid an incredible sum considering the demands for our services.

2. Deadbeats may be harsh to you, but clearly you have not many of my students. We both know about the parrot-style education of Chinese schools, and have to break this routine. But if I was a student who had been shackled and leashed, and then suddenly this energetic and open foreign teacher arrived, I would see it as a breath of fresh air and a wonderful opportunity to express myself. But that's just me I guess.

3. I just used an analogy to make a point!

If only my students were like you - it would make my lessons engaging!

Must go out now - duty calls. My necromancy skills are required. Anybody got any magic potions?

[ShapeSphere]

2. Deadbeats may be harsh to you, but clearly you have not MET many of my students.

DOH!

[Ariadne]

ShapeSphere,
I really do appreciate your suggestions, but I didn't say I didn't want to organize anything, just that I didn't have the authority or the desire to organize English Corner. The overall format is set by the administration and it isn't my call to change it. I'm very willing to organize my little corner of it. I actually enjoy talking with the students. I'm just anxious to have them benefit from the conversations.

.

[Mugato]

shapesphere:

i take your points. we probably don't differ that much in our positions. i too get tired and find the job demanding most of the time. but keep in mind that not all FTs take it as seriously as you do and most people in this forum like to bitch rather than actually talk about issues or try to understand why students come across as 'deadbeats'. i have just found that some FTs in china bitch above their qualifications if you know what i mean. they should be glad and feel privileged to teach people which they probably wouldn't do elsewhere. i take teaching seriously and this is my third country (after canada and germany) in which i teach and while it is often challenging it still gets paid quite well in comparison to other places...

just as a footnote; i think it'll take a generation or two for our efforts (free-speaking, interaction between FT and students) to have some effect.

[Mugato]

that's a lot of beeps i guess.

i was saying that people whinge above their qualifications....

[Roger]