Job Discussion Forums

[inotu-unotme]

What is the best piece of advise you have ever heard or told a new teacher about about teaching English as a second language abroad?

And what is the best piece of advice you were ever given about teaching English as a second language?

[Sashadroogie]

Always make sure you know how to spell verb and noun forms of words correctly and consistently...

[Sashadroogie]

But seriously: always try to plan lessons from the learner's point of view. Makes all the difference in the world to becoming an effective teacher.

[johnslat]

Dear inotu-unotme and Sasha,

Well, it seems my forbearance, motivated by kindness, was all for naught,

Anyway, as a new teacher, I was given this advice: Always over-prepare and have back-ups. If you make a mistake, admit it cheerfully. Use it as an example of how everyone makes mistakes. Never get flustered; be patient and calm. Treat your students fairly, care about them and their goals.
and always have a sense of humor.

It's all worked well for thirty-five years

Regards,
John

[Sashadroogie]

Dear Johnslat

Are you calling me unkind? I'll take that under advisement, and then as a compliment : )


Best wishes

Sasha

[johnslat]

Dear Sasha,

Not I - e e cummings:


'pity this busy monster, manunkind'

pity this busy monster, manunkind,

not. Progress is a comfortable disease:
your victim (death and life safely beyond)

plays with the bigness of his littleness
--- electrons deify one razorblade
into a mountainrange; lenses extend
unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish
returns on its unself.
A world of made
is not a world of born --- pity poor flesh

and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this
fine specimen of hypermagical

ultraomnipotence. We doctors know

a hopeless case if --- listen: there's a hell
of a good universe next door; let's go"


I have to wonder - was this (pity this busy monster, manunkind,
not.) the first published case of putting the "not" at the end of the sentence in such a fashion?

I suppose not.

Regards,
John

[johntpartee]

[fluffyhamster]

I don't recall being given much actual advice - this is ELT we're talking about, after all. (The attitude in basic training is ultimately "Shut up and listen, maggots!" - some may disagree, but no one will dispute that a four-week course doesn't have enough time for too much to-and-fro - and then once minimally-qualified it is usually a case of "You've got the cert and should be able to manage, right? Good! Now get into that classroom and earn the school its heap of cash, why don't you!").

I did however find some wise words in the books of Michael Lewis, and the order in which I read his main ones (firstly Practical Techniques during and soon after the CTEFLA/CELTA - my trainers made more explicit use of their copy of this book than they ever did the Harmer [TPoELT2] that they'd recommended as pre-course reading! - then The Lexical Approach a year or two later, then finally The English Verb to more fully grasp his points relating to grammar) is probably the best order, though the latter two's order could be swopped around without too much discomfort (and the insights in The Lexical Approach may only chime with some after years and years and years spent doing the same old same old).

It would of course have been nice to have a genuine mentor figure, but chats with colleagues rather than superiors (the latter may just be in name or title only) are always an option and can be productive (you unfortunately have to already be in the trenches to start having them though!).

So, that's my advice - get good, synthesizing works, try to get informed (so you can not only appreciate any advice, but might have something to add or give back!), and then don't skimp on finding a good textbook (or being afraid of developing at least bits and pieces of your own). In short, try to get your hands really linguistically dirty ASAP. And do try to learn (some of) the the local lingo(es) if you go into EFL (ESL perhaps isn't quite the term - those countries that genuinely have ESL tend to do a reasonable enough job of teaching it in their state schools, and thus have less need of private-sector ELT and/or want teachers with more than a very basic cert. That's the impression I've got, anyway!).

Lastly, avoid a completely zombie-like adherence to the Direct Method (i.e. any "English only" policy) - it won't always help you improve the quality and genuine fidelity of the English/the spoken input that you the teacher provides, merely the quantity. You are not there to just drone on on autopilot. Classroomese, that often all-too-easy pidgin of English, is the threat, and can IMHO retard learner development. It's probably one reason why English language schools are full of no end of perennial intermediates, hoping to be spoon-fed any old stuff 'as long as it is (or sounds something like) "real English"'. Note that I am talking here about aural-oral approaches to learning, and that these generally precede exposure to the printed texts and writing, (foreign) literacy etc.

But that last point might be best saved for another thread e.g. there was recently one on the use of L1 in the classroom (L1=the student's or esp. the plural students' first language, i.e. in situations where the majority of the students share the same mother tongue, and thus may not always use or practice any English they are meant to be learning or at least using "as much as possible").

NB: I'm talking mainly about "unqualified" ELT/TEFL/TESL/TESOL. If you have the option though, it might be an idea to try to gain actual state teacher certification and become a "proper" teacher in your home country (and in e.g. the UK there is the option now of a PGCE ESOL), as doing so will then give you access to sectors with better pay and perks (e.g. in state schools, or in international schools [for expat kids and rich locals], or perhaps even as a higher-paid private tutor, and so on).

Further ELTy reading: http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=81815
.

[johntpartee]

[fluffyhamster]

Good advice, Johntpartee! I would balance flexibility with a need for conviction, though. That is, a bit of advice that's now come back to me ("Be half-prepared, i.e. thoroughly prepped but ready to change tack and switch activity etc") could rather sound too much like "...at the drop of a hat or the merest whimper" to some wimpy or lazy teachers. Pedal to the metal and peddle some mettle, I say!

[Sashadroogie]

Dear Johnslat

Great little poem. Should be in the poetry corner. By the way, have you read EIMI? I'd strongly adviCe you to do so.


Best wishes

Sasha

[Sashadroogie]

Advice I wish I had received: never take any pronouncements from species of small furry animals very seriously. Especially when they are gathered together grooving with a Pict.

[fluffyhamster]

Like I said, "some may disagree, but...". More of a substantial post than yours at any rate, Sash, but perhaps we should wait for the OP to get back to us with some comments on our respective comments first, eh.

[cmp45]

Patience and more patience! Oh and as John Slat said...a sense of humor.

Take a course on anger management, if you have control issues.

[Sashadroogie]

Substance, eh? Voluble, perhaps. Could easily be reduced to something more pithy. How about, "I think my experiences with Cambridge courses were terrible, so we should all over-generalise from that and restrict our training to autodidacticism"?