Job Discussion Forums

[sidjameson]

Notice how virtually all singers seem to peak then just slowly or rather dramatically lose it? Lets be honest even the greats like John Lennon dont seem produce anywhere near the output of greats that they did in their prime.

Now I tend to view teaching as a bit of a performance art. You certainly have an audience that needs to be kept interested. I havent had a chance to watch a teacher say every 5 years and notice the changes, but I would lightly suggest that all things being equal, most of us are at our best, for whatever reason, for a given period of time. And then? I guess a bit of a fade out. Though I havent spoken or seen that many teachers to verify this.

What ya all think?

[furiousmilksheikali]

John Lennon is certainly not as good now that he's dead as when he was in his prime. I would hope that more teachers could perform in class better than a dead Beatle but the fact is that some teachers don't improve at all as they often get stuck doing a very limited range of activities ad nauseum. Some teachers educate themselves about new techniques or watch other teachers teaching and learn from them. Others are simply lazy and get by with doing as little as they have to.

[Mike_2007]

You peak about 5 minutes before your first class.

Full of CELTA-induced enthusiasm you march towards the classroom door, determined to educate the young minds before you - not only in grammar, but in life and the western way. You'll listen, you'll care, you'll become their friend and they'll applaud and love you. 'Please teacher, I've done some extra writing homework, I so want to be good at the Engleesh.' You pat young Jonny on the head. 'Don't worry son, I'll see you through it'. So, carefully-timed lesson plan and 20 photocopies under you arm, marker pens in your top pocket and your watch carefully synchronised you open the door and salute you students, bustling your way towards the desk, preparing to perch your behind on it in a 'I'm very informal, call me Terry, love me...like me' kind of way.

After that I think it all goes a bit downhill, no?

[Sonnet]

Just as with language learners, I'd say that the vast majority of teachers fossilize at some point; i.e. they stop progressing & may even begin to regress.

And, as with learners, the level at which this happens & how long it takes is heavily influenced by the teacher, their motivation, the environment they're in, the effort they put in & the training they're given.

That's a bit of a nothing answer, isn't it?

[denise]

I hope I don't fossilize!

It seems more likely to happen if you stay in the same job and teach the same levels year in and year out. I've moved around a bit, so at the very least I am faced with new students (new learning styles, new culture, etc.), and I constantly find that techniques or activities that worked in the past don't necessarily work in new settings... I am constantly having to make changes to my methods and materials, my own attitudes, levels and types of interaction with students, etc.

d

[gaijinalways]

That's why going to conferences (for networking too) and chapter meetings, and even informal meetings talking about activities is always useful. I find I'm really interested in doing more things on the PC, though I am limited as I only have 7 classes in the lab now (out of 16) and 3 are more content classes.

There are days when you peak early, or like today, I picked up a SONY cassette player which I like using as it has a speed adjustor on it, great for demonstrating o students normal pace, but also giving them a chance to pick up some language in spots at a slower pace. But, i forgot I had brought a book CD, oops! Had to switch gears quick and do omething else with that book exercise!

This is the hardest thing to do, stay flexible and 'read' your students for deciding when to extend activities or terminate them, as well as adjusting the activities depending on the size of the class and their language levels.

[saint57]

I see myself peaking in about five years. How good can you get? In a few years I'd like to become a department head and see how I like it before deciding whether to stay in the classroom or move into the office.

[John Hall]

[tedkarma]

I think it is like anything: you will hit plateaus and unless you pay constant attention to improving, you won't.

Some skills and improvement can be acquired without focused attention, but most require some effort and purposeful behavior.

I certainly DON'T see myself as an "entertainer" - but I DO want to enjoy the time in the classroom and feel the students should also enjoy themselves. It is, after all, only an English lesson and no one is going to die if things don't go right . . .

[gaijinalways]

This is true, though someone may die if English is not understood or used inappropriately. Remember the Berlitz commercial?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhICbFn2JI

Or remember this poor Japanese exchange student?


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