Job Discussion Forums

[vikuk]

[Anda]

Um, well my current employer hasn't employed a foreign teacher for about three years due to a run of useless foreign teachers. One a lady who was young and good looking had a write up in one of the major papers as a stick bug (perfume) that was in love with herself and was useless as a teacher, the write up was done by the school's students. Another a man caused a lot of legal problems and was very demanding.


They contracted with me through recommendations from Chinese teachers including my first principal at the college where I worked here. Must be doing something right!

[Song&Dance]

I never rock the boat. I sink em.

[grwit]

Lots of useful information but few real answers as to "GOOD BOOKS'

I use the Lets Talk series for beginner to lower intermediate

The Interchange are quite god to from beginner to upper intermediate

For my advanced students I am using Further Communication Strategies

All are good for providing some discussion topics, introducing necessary vocabulary and saving hours of preparation.

[kev7161]

[ouyang]

[Song&Dance]

There are 4 books in the series, each progressively harder.

Book III

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Instructions ��������������......�. ii
Class rules ��������������.....�.. ii
Author�s Biography ����������...�� ii
Preface ���������������.........��. iii
Table of Contents �����������...�� v
Introduction ��������������......� vi
Instructions for Teachers ���������� vii

#1 Erin Brockovitch �...��������......��� 1
Environmental Pollution, Corporate Culture, Corporate Responsibility, Punitive Damages, Integrity, Class Action Lawsuit, Justice, Arbitration

#2 Wall Street �������...���.������� 13
Insider Trading, Integrity, Ethics, Morality, Virtue, Reliability, Loyalty, Honesty, Corporate Culture, Corporate Responsibility, Confidentiality Agreement, Tough Love, Stock Market Manipulation, Revenge, Labor Union, Greed, Corporate Espionage

#3 Other People�s Money �����������.�. 29
Mergers and Acquisitions, Shareholder Meetings, Corporate governance

#4 Disclosure ������������������... 39
Sexual Harassment, Corporate Responsib..ility, Corporate Culture, Human Resource Management, Corporate Governance, Mediation

#5 Working Girl ���������������..... 53
Intellectual Property, Copyright, Trademark, Patent, Integrity, Trade Secrets, Human Resource Management

#6 Rainmaker ���������������...... 73
Insurance Fraud, Unfair Business Practices

#7 Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price ... 85
Business Ethics

#8 Enron: The smartest guys in the room� 102
Accounting, Business Ethics

[Song&Dance]

Book I

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ��������������� ii
Class rules ���������������. ii
Author�s Biography ����������� ii
Preface ����������������....�. iii
Table of Contents ������������ v
Introduction ���������������. vii
Instruction for Teachers �������.. viii


#1 The Terminal ����������������.. 1
An Eastern European visitor (Hanks) becomes a resident of a New York airport terminal when a war breaks out and erases his country from the map, voiding his passport. He makes friends with the airport staff and falls in love with a flight attendant

#2 Coach Carter ���������������.� 10
COACH CARTER tells the inspiring true story of controversial high school basketball coach making headlines for his emphasis on the importance of academics over athletics.

#3 Iron and Silk ��������������.. 48
Western conflicts with Chinese culture. Mark Salzman always was interested in Kung-Fu and the Chinese culture, claims to have seen every Kung-Fu movie. 1982, with a degree in Chinese literature, he visits a province university in China for two years to teach Chinese teachers the English language. He learns the refinements of correct behavior among Chinese people, makes friends with his pupils, falls in love with the young doctor Ming, learns Wuschu (similar Kung-Fu) from the famous teacher Pan... but also learns about political repression, especially when he's forbidden contact with some of his friends.

#4 Gung Ho ���������������.......... 58
Western conflicts with Japanese culture. When a Japanese car company buys an American plant, the American liaison must mediate the clash of work attitudes between the foreign management and native labor.

#5 Not Without My Daughter ����.�����.. 65
Western conflicts with Muslim culture. An American woman, trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutish husband, must find a way to escape with her daughter as well.

#6 The War of The Roses ����������� 72
The Roses, Barbara and Oliver, live happily as a married couple. Then she starts to wonder what life would be like without Oliver, and likes what she sees. Both want to stay in the house, and so they begin a campaign to force each other to leave. In the middle of the fighting is D'Amato, the divorce lawyer. He gets to see how far both will go to get rid of the other, and boy do they go far..

#7 The Joy Luck Club �������������� 85
Four Chinese mothers and their American born daughters, and how the distinct cultural chasm in their upbringing, play into their daily lives.

#8 Eat A Bowl of Tea ��������������.. 97
A study in culture bridging, including ... a new US-born husband, trying to work within the traditional ways, a new China-born wife, eager to join the "dream" of America, two family-minded fathers, lots of gender-related social bifurcations.

[Song&Dance]

INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHERS

There are eight chapters. Each movie is a separate chapter. Each chapter is a two week instruction unit. Each chapter is broken down into three sections.

Assignments Before Watching The Movie (homework)
Watch The Movie
Assignments After Watching The Movie (homework)

The first section, �Assignments Before Watching Movie,� constitutes a reading and dictionary usage assignment intended to make the movie more comprehensible when watched. The students read about the movie and learn vocabulary taken from the movie. They use their dictionary and/or internet and write the definition next to the English word in the workbook. This is a homework assignment. This is a vocabulary familiarization exercise to assist in making the movie more understandable, it is not a vocabulary memorization exercise.

The second section �Watch Movie,� constitutes a listening, and when English subtitles are available, a reading exercise. Watching the movie should be like going to a local movie theater, a friendly, nonacademic environment. Food and drink should be allowed but not mobile phones. Most of the movies are 2 to 2 � hours long and must be shown in the evening. We discourage showing the movie in segments, at different sittings, or stopping the movie for explanation or discussion.*

The third section, �Assignments After Watching Movie,� constitutes a writing and research exercise. This section asks the students to write answer to discussion questions and topics. The questions and topics are minimal and the teacher is encouraged to develop a fresh set of questions and topics for use during the conversation class. Chinese students are highly accomplished in memorization skills and will have their written answers ready to parrot back during the conversation class. Use of fresh questions will cause the students to learn to think on their feet and become creative English producers rather than robots repeating set phrases and speech patterns.

All of the above constitutes �input� to properly prepare the students for �optimum output� in a subsequent conversation class. Each student will assimilate and interpret the �input� according to their personal level of English proficiency. Likewise, the �output� of each student will be highly individualized according to their level of English proficiency. It should also be remembered that �output� does not automatically follow input. Some students take longer than others. Also, constant or premature correction can actually deter �output.�

Before the conversation class, or during the first period, it is advisable to scan the workbooks and assign a grade of �P� � pass or, �F� - fail. This will give the students immediate feedback on how well they are proceeding with the workbook assignments. It will also give the teacher a fair indication of each student�s motivation. The teachers should be creative in facilitating the conversation class employing debate, role playing, games, etc.

It is strongly suggested that the teacher read the following articles available at http://www.usingenglish.com/esl-in-china/

Teaching with Movies

China EFL: Why Chinese Universities Do Not Provide an English Speaking Environment

China EFL: A New Paradigm

China EFL: The Revolution has begun but the long march lies ahead


The first lesson period should introduce the students to the difference between language learning and language acquisition (see inside back cover), discussion of an English speaking environment-immersion, listening skills, how to use the workbook and do internet research.

LANGUAGE LEARNING
The concept of language learning is linked to the traditional approach to the study of languages and today is still generally practiced in high schools worldwide. Attention is focused on the language in its written form and the objective is for the student to understand the structure and rules of the language through the application of intellect and logical deductive reasoning. The form is of greater importance than communication. Teaching and learning are technical and governed by a formal instructional plan with a predetermined syllabus. One studies the theory in the absence of the practical. One values the correct and represses the incorrect. There is little room for spontaneity. The teacher is an authority figure and the participation of the student is predominantly passive. In the teaching of English in Brazil, for example, the student will study the function of the interrogative and negative modes, irregular verbs, modals, etc. The student learns to construct sentences in the perfect tense, but only learns with difficulty when to use it. It's a progressive and cumulative process, normally tied to a preset syllabus that includes memorization of vocabulary. It seeks to transmit to the student knowledge about the language, its functioning and grammatical structure with its irregularities, its contrasts with the student's native language, knowledge that hopefully will produce the practical skills of understanding and speaking the language. This effort of accumulating knowledge becomes frustrating because of the lack of familiarity with the language.
Innumerable graduates with arts degrees in English are classic examples of language learning. They often are trained and theoretically able to teach a language that they can communicate in only with extreme difficulty. (Krashen)

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Language acquisition refers to the process of natural assimilation, involving intuition and subconscious learning, which is the product of real interactions between people where the learner is an active participant. It is similar to the way children learn their native tongue, a process that produces functional skill in the spoken language without theoretical knowledge; develops familiarity with the phonetic characteristics of the language as well as its structure and vocabulary, is responsible for oral understanding, the capability for creative communication and for the identification of cultural values. Teaching and learning are viewed as activities that happen in a personal psychological plane. The acquisition approach praises the communicative act and develops self-confidence in the learner.
A classic example of language acquisition involves adolescents and young adults who live abroad for a year in an exchange program, attaining near native fluency, while knowing little about the language in the majority of cases. They have a good pronunciation without a notion of phonology, don't know what the perfect tense is, modal or phrasal verbs are, but they intuitively recognize and know how to use all the structures.
Second language acquisition occurs when comprehensible input is delivered in a low-anxiety situation, when real messages of real interest are transmitted and understood. � we learn best only when the pressure is completely off, when anxiety is zero, when the acquirer's focus is entirely on communication; in short, when the interchange or input is so interesting that the acquirer 'forgets" that it is in a second language. (Krashen)

The first lesson period should also stress good listening skills.


Tips for being a good listener

Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don't look out the window or at what else is going on in the room.

Make sure your mind is focused, too. It can be easy to let your mind wander if you think you know what the person is going to say next, but you might be wrong! If you feel your mind wandering, change the position of your body and try to concentrate on the speaker's words.

Let the speaker finish before you begin to talk. Speakers appreciate having the chance to say everything they would like to say without being interrupted. When you interrupt, it looks like you aren't listening, even if you really are.

Let yourself finish listening before you begin to speak! You can't really listen if you are busy thinking about what you want say next.

Listen for main ideas. The main ideas are the most important points the speaker wants to get across. They may be mentioned at the start or end of a talk, and repeated a number of times. Pay special attention to statements that begin with phrases such as "My point is..." or "The thing to remember is..."

Ask questions. If you are not sure you understand what the speaker has said, just ask. It is a good idea to repeat in your own words what the speaker said so that you can be sure your understanding is correct. For example, you might say, "When you said that no two zebras are alike, did you mean that the stripes are different on each one?"

Give feedback. Sit up straight and look directly at the speaker. Now and then, nod to show that you understand. At appropriate points you may also smile, frown, laugh, or be silent. These are all ways to let the speaker know that you are really listening.

Remember, you listen with your face as well as your ears!

[Song&Dance]

The only teacher prep recommended is to watch the movie before trying to facilitate a discussion about it. You may think this is just common sense but just look at this board and see how many times we tend to speak about what we know little or nothing. ROFL (myself included. lol)

[Song&Dance]

Book I, movie #1 The Terminal

This is a movie about language acquisition. Look closer and you will see what I mean. You have probably already seen this movie. Since included in the workbook series it has been played on CCTV at least 4 times and provincial TV at least 7 times that we know of.


European guy lands at Kennedy, New York and can't comprehend or speak English. He answers the customs questions YES YES YES, very similar to Chinese Freshmen who figure they have a 50/50 chance of being right if they answer the FT with YES. So real, spooky!

There are three other L2 speakers who do not have "perfect English" but ARE understood. See, perfect English is an unrealistic bar, relax Chinese students.


By the end of the movie our European friend is speaking comprehensible English. How? No teacher, no classroom. First, he was in an English speaking environment. He listened to English TV, read the English sub-headlines. He read English. He wrote English every day. He spoke English at every opportunity.

Holistic English: Read more, listen to more, write more and speak more English as often as possible, not just in the classroom.

Great motivational film also!

[Song&Dance]

[Vinnie]

It's not a book, but, I highly recommend the "Word Up" boardgame from ESL Depot.

It is a bit pricey, but, my school reimbursed me for the expenditure. 1 Teachers Pack = $50 USD. The pack comes with 2 boards that allow 12 people to play or more if you create teams.

I suggest buying 2 packs so that 24 people can play.

I tried it out yesterday and it was a hit!

[kev7161]

Another excellent movie that concerns (among other things) language acquisition is "Dances with Wolves". EVERY SINGLE TIME I've shown this movie (to high school level students), they've loved it. I've never heard one complaint or have seen one bored or disinterested student. One favorite place is when the Kevin Costner character is trying to get the Native Americans to understand a coffee grinder and how to sweeten the coffee with sugar. He has to pantomime everything and the kids really relate to it. Later, when the lead Indian character played by Graham Greene finally speaks his first English words, the kids always react to that as well. It's an engaging movie (although can be a bit graphic sometimes) that pulls the viewer along. Sadly, it's 3 hours long (or more if you buy the full version) so that can take a lot of class time, but it's well worth showing to your high school or college aged students. Makes for a lot of good conversation starters as well: foreigners in a strange land, the environment, wars, animal cruelty, friendship, etc.