Job Discussion Forums

[Gawain]

Over years in Taiwan I always asked my teenage and adult students why they sign up for English class. I avoid discussing tuition, but that's what I'm really after: Working 50 hour weeks 6 days a week, many Taiwanese pay big bucks and spend hours in 7PM-9PM classes. Why?

In EVERY case they said they were doing it "FOR FUN, NOT BUSINESS." Should I believe them? They don't want to admit English skills help them on career path. Then again, Taiwanese do love global travel, and English helps....

I WOULD NEVER TAKE A LANGUAGE CLASS FOR FUN! My high school French class was HELL and I failed it and had to make it up in summer school. Taking a language class FOR FUN on top of working 50 hour weeks-- Man, I can't imagine it!

Why do you think our students give us so much time and money?

[Sweetsee]

Good way to meet people, have fun and learn something.

[basiltherat]

in damascus/syria (and id imagine in many of this regions countries) it is often a means to meet members of the opposite gender and date. i have found a few couples who meet and become attracted to each other at the institute, stay in the class for just a short while and then asked to be excused. Heaven knows where they go together but im pretty sure the parents of both have no idea wats going on.... and who am i to tell on them.
I used to ask myself; "Are my lessons really so boring ?" until i realized the situation.
basil

[Sheep-Goats]

English means money in Thailand -- I can't honestly say I've ever had a student who said anything along the lines of "fun or literature" for why they were studying English instead of because of "work or money."

[Roger]

Adult Chinese students very often enrol to kill time. Life is soooo boring without anything to do unless it is making money, raising kids or eating sunflower seeds.

I suppose, the presence of a foreign national in such venues is a big draw. Westerners are a sure promise of more thrill and entertainment, and if it helps raise one's English skills they are killing two flies with one pebble.

[Glenski]

I would have to say that a huge number of Japanese students (adults) take conversation classes NOT because they are serious about learning the language. They consist of housewives with time and money on their hands, retired people in the same situation, or the occasional businessman who thinks a once a week class will raise his TOEIC score enough to get a promotion.

Many come for the novelty of seeing a foreigner as well, and perhaps getting to know him/her better.

[ls650]

[Ben Round de Bloc]

The pat answers I get from my students to that question:

~ I like studying English.
~ It's an educational requirement.
~ I need it for my job.
~ It's the international language of travel.

At the university where I teach, undergrads are required to take 4 semesters of English, grad students 8 semesters (or pass an equivalency test as an option.) More than half of our students continue to take English classes well beyond their required levels, however.

[dmb]

I teach mainly Business English at the moment. I'd like to think it's fun aswell.

[dajiang]

Well, I've always liked learning languages. So, it can be fun for sure.
The main reason though is because of business I'm sure.

The entire trading world speaks English, it's world language nr 1: speak it and join the party; don't speak it and never get out of whichever hole you might be stuck in.

The world's major superpowers speak English, so of course you want to learn English as your 2nd language.
At the height of the cold war the Russian faculty used to be the biggest department at my uni. Now it's got a yearly enrollment of 7 people on average.
And with the rise of China it's getting more and more popular to learn Chinese as well.

Regards,
Dajiang

[dyak]

'If have good English, can get good job when i come back in my country', is the standard response in a London school. Maybe i'm too cynical but it seems most only come to school to fulfil the visa requirement in order to stay here and work. And why not? The economy is ripe for it. When Poland, Slovakia et al entered the EU, there was virtually an overnight exodus from the classroom. For me, students who actually have a genuine passion to learn English always stand out a mile here.

[Deconstructor]

Life is pretty hard, hectic and mundane in Asia. My students came to class as a change of pace, to relax and to do something totally different. It was a social occasion more than anything else. It also provided great escape for people. They played games and spoke the international language and dreamt a little. One of my students once told me that as a kid he used to go to the local airport and watch the planes take off to North America. He had romanticized the English world that much. For him being in class was almost a form of therapy.

[marblez]

A lot of people enjoy learning a new language.