Job Discussion Forums

[tekirdag]

My last job was in a private primary school where I was shipped out to all the kiddies -from preschool to prep. The lower grades- preschool to 5 went well enough, as did prep class. But there was a no-man's(or no-teacher's) land in the middle - 6 to 8. Half of these students seemed to have a mission statement of "Do NOT ever, under any circumstances, cooperate with the teacher."

For young kids, there was plenty of material and ideas that worked very well. With prep class I was able to use many of the techniques that I had used with adults. But with 6-8 I was unable to use the text books effectively(Look at the pictures and discuss the environmental problems with a partner. Off ya. In a small group talk about what you did on the weekend. TRY THAT WITH 22 TWELVE YEAR OLDS!! Chaos.) and they were very resistent to communicative methods. They were so used to a rote style of teaching that anything not in the student's book "is a game" and need not be taken seriously.

Even pelmanisms were out the window! I was forced to concentrate on various dictation techniques and drills. The only way to keep control of the lesson was never to make pairs or groups. I had to have a tight grip on the class, and sadly, there was a lot of the ole teacher talk time. I found no effective text book to support my work and I made most of my material myself which took wayyyyy too much of my time.

Can anyone recommend a good textbook for 6-8 graders? I would love to find a book that contains carefully controlled activities suited to that age group.

[31]

Betty Azar grammar book

[tekirdag]

Yes, that would make for a great time!

[dmb]

As you know I ain't no kids teacher. But really just google. The amount of resources available at the end of a URL is amazing

[whynotme]

tekirdag,

why dont you speak to the principal of your school and they can invite the educational representatives or sale representatives of some companies to give u catalogues or samples, btw are you working in Corlu or in Tekirdag? I have a friend who owns a language school in Corlu. she can help you.

[tekirdag]

I have looked at many catalogues and sales representatives have come to the school. I found no suitable books. All the books are clearly aimed at the wee kiddies who think active lessons are great or at older learners who are willing to cooperate and take some responsibility for what they do in the lesson.

OR books are written for a dershane type situation where the class size is small and the students have decided to take the lessons or their parents have sent them to the lessons. There is a HUGE difference between dershane students and kolej students, as I am sure you know.

Half of my students hated English classes, English teachers and being in school all together. And they really hated having to use only English with me in the lessons. WHAT D'YA MEAN YOU DON'T SPEAK TURKISH?! THE HORROR! How then, can I expect those 25 thirteen year olds to open their Can Do books to page 22 and discuss Lance Armstrong before we read the article?

The "program" at that school separates grammar from skills. sigh. I was the skills teacher. Fair enough. But I have found the books to be out of touch with the reality of a middle school English lesson. Still, I had a job to do... but the question of how to do that job well remains in my mind.

I, and you, and you, and you, know an ESL lesson shouldn't be all about the book. But how can one individual instructor win a fight against the long tradition of rote teaching at a particular school? These kids think "lesson=book work. no book work=talk to friends and throw erasers".

I have known schools in South Korea which give a few minutes of a listening on cassettes as homework. The kids transcribe what they hear. Sounds awful and very boring but it is actually very effective for that age of learner. That is the sort of thing I would like to find with a class book for middle school students.

I'll stop my blah blah blah now. I live in Tekirdağ, whynotme, but I will be checking out the language schools in �orlu very soon. Maybe I'll be able to pick up a few hours and enjoy making and finding materials to suit the learners and the lessons.

I am quite interested to hear the experiences of other kolej teachers who may be haunting this forum.

[31]

The usual reply to ''I work at a lise'' is ''gecmis olsun.''

[dmb]