Job Discussion Forums

[George Muresan]

I currently have no real prior experience with teaching at a college. I have helped children with basic grammar and writing skills as a volunteer.

For those with experience (probably all of you), do you have any suggestions on how to:

1. conduct a classroom lesson
2. prepare material (teaching directly from school's curriculum)
3. handle nerves

Any other suggestions would be highly appreciated!

I will be teaching in Jubail, so PM me if you can give me any additional pointers. I won't spam your inbox with asinine questions, just looking for feedback!

[spiral78]

Sure, it's possible for people to give you some helpful tips on the boards, but honestly this is a clear case for why a basic entry-level course such as CELTA (100+ hours on site, including supervised teaching practice) is really necessary.

In 100 - 120 hours, the bare minimum answers to your questions are presented and practiced by would-be teachers. In a few posts on a board such as this, you may get a bit of help, but how effective that would be when you are actually standing in a real, live classroom is very much questionable.

How in the world did you get hired with zero quals? Are you sure this is a legit offer?

Consider: this is a part of the world where, traditionally, the teachers hired have been required to have CELTA + related MA degree, AND two years of teaching (preferably Middle Eastern students) post MA before being hired. It seems that these standards have been lowered over the past couple of years, but if I were you, I'd be afraid that zero qualifications will mean that you've been hired by someone really dodgy.

[veiledsentiments]

Rather like the old joke about not wanting to be a member of a country club that would have me as a member. (Groucho Marx)

What are you educational credentials? I too worry about an employer that is hiring teachers at university level with zero experience. I suspect that you are also going over on a "business visa" where you will be working illegally.

It is way beyond the purview of this board to give basic teaching lessons. How to teach university level EFL in ten easy posts. There are basic EFL/ESL teaching textbooks out there. Pick up a couple of them and start reading!! To be honest, it won't help you all that much because one doesn't really learn to teach until you stand up there and do it. But, it will point out some basics for you.

VS

[George Muresan]

I appreciate your feedback and I have taken precautions to make sure the job is legit. Currently, I hold an MBA and will likely teach for only one year to pay off the rest of my student loans since the co. I applied for hired me one year in advance so I needed something to do. I have 3 years volunteering as a teacher but again, very basic stuff.

I suppose this isn't the correct forum to have my questions answered, but thanks again and if there are any real suggestions, I'd appreciate those also!

[George Muresan]

[Geronimo]

Hello George Muresan,

Having taught in Jubail myself, I feel the need to endorse
the points made by spiral78 and VS. A few of my students there
were officially the worst in the world, as they were the first ever to score
MINUS 1.0 in their IELTS test....(before I arrived on the scene, obviously ).
A minus score hadn�t even existed before they took the test.

I urge you to look elsewhere - even though
that may mean losing out financially in the short term.
The Jubail experience could prove to be too prejudicial
in the longer term.

Finally, have you come across the texts by Jeremy Harmer yet?
His "The Practice of English Language Teaching" should be on your list.

Geronimo

[George Muresan]

Thanks for your input. I've considered the implications and it's well worth the risk. There's no fun without risk for me, some might state that I have an optimistic bias. I won't be mountain climbing anytime soon but there is a steep hill to climb. Going to get on those textbooks and hopefully have an impact on the kids as you have had. It probably helps that I spent some time in Africa to learn Arabic, innit?

[Geronimo]

Don�t allow your experience in Jubail to become your TEFL benchmark.

[It's Scary!]

[George Muresan]

[George Muresan]

[It's Scary!]

[Middle East Beast]