Job Discussion Forums

[martinphipps]

I am writing a book about teaching English in Asia, but my experience only relates to Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines. Tell me about teaching English in Singapore. I have some specific questions.

Do you work with a local teacher? Is she in the classroom with you or does she teach the same class at a different time? Is he or she considered your boss or your equal or does this depend on how much experience you have?

When in Singapore, do people expect you to learn the local language or are they surprised whenever you use Chinese at all? Are you forbidden by your school owners from using Chinese in class? Do the students seem to expect you to understand Chinese and get frustrated when you don't understand Chinese?

Do most people work in private cram schools or in government sponsored public schools? Do they provide you with textbooks and a syllabus or is that entirely up to the teachers? Do you get in trouble for using other languages in class or by not playing enough games or are teaching methods left up to the teacher to decide?

If it isn't you who makes the decision as to how to teach your class then who's decision is it? Your co-teacher? Your supervisor? The owner of the school?

What is the biggest problem that students in Singapore have? How does the local language affect the way they speak English? Are there any words they especially have trouble pronouncing? Do they have trouble adapting to the fact that English uses a different alphabet or do they pick it up fairly quickly?

Thank you.

Martin Phipps,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Applied Foreign Languages,
Chungtai Institute pf Health Sciences and Technology,
Taichong, Taiwan

[rhinogirl]

I taught in Singa but the school was Japanese run and the students were all Japanese....interested?