Job Discussion Forums

[nomadder]

So we have CELTA, DELTA, TESOL, RSA, B.ED(PGCE), MA Linguistics, TEFL etc. M.ED blah, blah. The list could go on. Then there are undergrads with nothing or perhaps a Tefl cert. of sorts.

From your experience what makes the best teacher? Do some of the above really stand out or does the right personality with a willingness to find out what is needed do just as well? Obviously personality, caring and intuitive skills cannot be taught.

I'm just thinking of a really uptight bleep(save you the trouble of bleeping me) who got CELTA and a Masters and didn't even seem to understand what she had learned or why. A highly unlikeable sort who didn't even seem that smart.

Another situation: a school that certified CELTA teachers-all teachers that taught foreign students had CELTA and often other qualifications like Masters yet I met many students who thought it was a terrible school and they were switching to other schools in the area. Reasons were things like you asked a question and they didn't know the answer and never tried to find out and tell you later. There wasn't much chance to correct pronunciation.

It seems like-I look good so I don't have to try hard-the movie star syndrome in TEFL?

I know people often need to get credentials to stand out for employers but is most of it a bunch of hogwash or what? Most employers these days seem to lack the skill to pick up on people skills and probably just look at letters/numbers I think. Of course when it's a phone interview I suppose they take whatever they can get though I'm not sure face to face makes that make difference. My theory is a general lack of people skills/discernment all around.

[denise]

I wonder if this thread will turn into yet another argument between people who don't have degrees and therefore argue that degrees aren't necessary and don't make good teachers and people who have degrees and argue that degrees are necessary.

I have paper qualifications, but I wouldn't say that those alone are enough. I think a good teacher should have both qualifications and experience, and more importantly a good attitude--not "I have an MA so I must be a good teacher" or "I've been teaching for 30 years so I must be a good teacher," and not "I've never done this before and don't want to take the time and money to get trained but I think I could do a good job anyway because it's not like it's rocket science or anything!" but "What can I do to be a better teacher?"

I must also add that I do think teachers should have degrees (not necessarily in teaching), just because at the very least it shows that we respect education enough to get ourselves educated in the normal conventional way. How can we expect our students to sit through our classes if we haven't put in the time and effort to sit through other teachers' classes?

d

[gaijinalways]

denise posted

[ls650]

The more I teach and watch others teach, the more I'm convinced that paper qualifications have little to do with teaching ability, at least in the world of TEFL. A good teacher can become better with further training, but nothing can help a terrible teacher.

[guangho]

[naturegirl321]

Passion for teaching. SOme of the best teachers have no qualifications, some of the worst have PhDs. By the same token some of the worst have qualifications and some of the best have PhDs. It all comes down to how you teach in the classroom.

[MELEE]

Very well put guys.


I have two interview questions I love.

"What have you learned recently that has made you a better teacher?"

and

"What is the next step in your teaching career?"

[naturegirl321]

[John Hall]

"Personality profile" is something that is becoming more and more important to companies considering job applicants, and certainly it holds true that in teaching you have to have a certain type of personality to be a teacher.

I recently invited a multinational company's recruiters to give a presentation in my advanced English classes. They were looking for young people who could qualify for their fast-track upper management training program. The candidates that they were looking for had to be 24 years old or younger, finished or nearly finished their university degree, fluent in English, and, most important of all, they had to match the personality profile that the company was looking for.

Perhaps there should be personality testing for English teachers as well. If you don't have compassion for students, don't have patience, or don't have good communication skills, then you shouldn't be an English teacher.

[dmb]

From the title of this thread I thought it was going to be about me

[Gautsch]

I'd say that a certficate is a good way to start off..then teach for a year to see if you like it and if you do, then do an MA via distance ed and keep working. After 3 years, you'll have all the experience and education you need to get most jobs out there. It's what I'm doing right now and it seems to work pretty well for me right now And if you get a DELTA on top of that, I think you should be set.

I do agree with naturegirl, though, that the papers themselves don't make you a good teacher. Teaching is really a personal thing...some people can do it quite easily and without much training at all and some will never learn.

PS: To specify, I did a CELTA in Brissi and am doing an MA in Applied Linguistics from UNE in Armidale, Oz

[nomadder]

Gautsch-sounds interesting. I'm considering something similar though perhaps an M.Ed instead of an M.A.

John Hall - I totally agree. Others make good points as well.

From my most recent experiences playing the role of student I would say organization is key, write a lesson plan please!, genuine interest in students and what you are doing!, remember what you did last week-again keep some notes, discipline shouldn't be rude and excessive-especially at the adult level-one woman yelled and stamped her foot at the least noise-another made weird statements-maybe she was being sarcastic?, don't consistently end class a few minutes early or repeat the same filler exercises, be clear and balanced in how you present things, give enough repetition, be sure to answer the questions you bring up not to mention the students'.

These classes had nothing to do with language but I think the same rules apply and above all else-be personable.

[william wallace]

There is not one piece of paper, award or certificate that can guarantee ( and at times even come close) the integrity of a person. The papers etc that the OP speaks of are meant to be symbolic representations of knowledge or merit acquired.

[bigbadsuzie]

At the end of the day a piece of paper or many pieces of paper do not say much about a person who purports to teach . At the chalkface in front of 20 or 30 or more semi crazed young people who you are expected to impart some of your hard learned and won knowledge .That doesn't require a certificate or a diploma ,it takes guts and determination . From the employers perspective the best teacher is usually the cheapest and the ones who just get on with the job in hand with little or no complaint .

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

At some schools I've taught at, it was the money.

In Japan, for example, teachers were awarded a bonus based on their percentage of client renewals. They actually hung a sheet of paper on the wall of the teacher's room with a bar-graph showing the individual percentages for each teacher - apparently so we would feel compelled to compete with one another. It's not important, but I won the contest. When I left the school in 1999 I had a renewal rate of 69% - meaning 69% of my students renewed their contracts and continued with their lessons. The target set by the school was 40%, the average teacher usually hit 30% to 35%.




It's lonely at the top.






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