Job Discussion Forums

[Timer]

I'm interested in a job that will involve teaching Maths English and Business English to High School students who want to enter a university overseas.

Now I've been told I'm not actually teaching maths; the students know it they just don't know it in English (if that makes sense). I am terrible at maths but I'm willing to give it a shot. I know very little about business as well but English is English, right? I'll be following a set curriculum but I want to get an idea of what to expect.

Has anyone taught Maths English (again, not actual maths!) and/or Business English to high schoolers? What is it like? How much depth did you go into on each subject? What were your lesson plans like? Am I going to be sent to jail because I don't know my times tables?

I appreciate any feedback.

[wangdaning]

You will need to teach the basic vocab for maths. Starting with +-x/. Going from there you will want to go into basic algebra. There is so much vocab involved that it is hard to really push the students.

Business English, well you really want to get them familiar with business structure and some basic laws (Keyes was an idiot but he is what is taught in Western business) and concepts. Structure of a company, economic policy...but this all requires again so much vocab that it gets insane.

I have not ever taught either (besides teaching a few weeks of students that failed business), but I have reviewed the material of both. It is rather vocab intensive because they have either learned or you cannot go into the grounds.

[Timer]

MOD EDIT

The guy who interviewed me said the students know the maths, they just don't know the English vocab that goes with it. The job was advertised as an ESL position and my resume clearly states I have no qualifications to teach maths. They seem to think I can do the job, so I am willing to try.

Also I never said anything about the students having little knowledge of English. Apparently their English is adequate.

[TexasHighway]

I don't know why you would consider teaching subjects which you admitedly know little or nothing about. It doesn't seem quite fair to your students or yourself. They must be paying you really well as to me, it sounds like the teaching job from hell. Otherwise, there are a lot of decent esl jobs in China you should feel more comfortable and qualified teaching.

[Timer]

[Insubordination]

I've done both, but I taught Chinese Pre-Foundation year students in Australia. I found that I wound up enjoying both subjects.

I'm also bad at maths and had forgotten a lot of the concepts. Fortunately, I didn't have to select the materials. The course had already been designed. I just taught them the terminology and pronunciation, and they did the exercises in groups. Answers were provided. I made a weekly vocab/spelling test.

I made sure I was thoroughly familiar with everything beforehand (square roots and so on), so I knew what I was talking about. This required a bit of thinking and I had to call my Dad, who is a maths teacher, to remind me of a few concepts. However, I was perfectly frank with them that I was not a maths teacher.

Business English is easy. I recommend the 'Intelligent Business' series at every level. The 'activities' book is great too and makes classes quite interactive. Business Vocab in use (also at several levels) is a nice back up.

[waxwing]

[wangdaning]

I think the point is teaching the vocab, not the actual maths. Ask a Chinese person with good English and maths skills what the square root of 16 is. Sure they would know if you said it in Chinese, but that isn't the point. I would really enjoy having a teacher to teach me maths and business terminology in Chinese (even if they weren't great in either subject).

[kev7161]

What is "Maths"?

[nickpellatt]

You mention you will be teaching to a schedule or curriculum. I think you need to get more details on that, what materials are used etc etc. If everything is all there for you to teach from, it could be OK...if it isnt, doesnt look like it would be much fun to me!

And no, when it comes to China, the employer isnt likely to check the employee has all the skills and experience needed to complete the job at hand. That ball is going to fall firmly into your court.

Math English sounds like it will be a nightmare actually...the more I think about it, hmmmm. Imagine you have to teach 2 x 90 min Math English classes a week for a full term ... how many lesson ideas could you come up with? It wouldnt be many IMO. I think the only way this lesson will work is to teach math, with English being the language of instruction. Language acquisition will come from immersion then...I cant see you can just issue lists of math words week after week. Id be wary of this, real wary.

Business English is different. There are lots of coursebooks and other resources for business English, so you can always find something to use in class. And lets face it, it is likely that your employer may not actually provide materials you need...hence needing to know exactly what 'the curriculum' is that you say they will provide.

Ill disagree with the earlier post(s) suggesting teaching business laws and the like. To me, business English is pretty much just general English with a business twist. Teaching long lists of words connected to business, laws etc is not what I would want to do, or would accept doing. I see that as a waste of my time and theirs.

Specialist vocabulary, relevant laws and other detailed topics can be taught by the employer in each field IMO, just as it is for native speakers. Business English students need to use and practice English both fluently and competently first, and doing such things in class should be somehow related to a general business situation.

For example - General English class may role play phone calls to a friend to arrange a party, Bus English students can role play phone calls to arrange a meeting. General English students may write a favourite recipe using adverbs of frequency, Bus English students write instructions for a new launched product using adverbs of frequency. Same language, grammar, function, but with a business orientated twist.

Im in the UK now, and I am friends with, and do language exchange with two Chinese girls who are studying MA degrees here. One of them also completed her BA here in the UK, and they both have huge problems with using English for many simple tasks, especially when writing essays. They both would have benefited from lessons allowing them to practise using English time and time again before coming here to study, rather than learning long lists of legal terms related to owning property and business laws in the USA.

[xiaolongbaolaoxi]

... will carry the day.

Seriously. As a recovering math teacher, I can tell you that word problems will blow Chinese students away. It is not so much language as it is independent learning skills. unless they can figure out the appropriate equation in femtoseconds, they will be lost. It's not arithmetic or not knowing formulas, it's not knowing which formulas to apply.

If you have the option... ask students to write the formulas they need to build a bridge on the board as a kind of small groups activity. Beware of people writing F=UK and A=I(DS) and such. After that, ask each group to tell you briefly how the formula applies to the real world in real English (F=MA means how fat are you, E=MCsquared means that mass and energy can move back and forth, D=VT means how fast and far someone moved, etc.)

Percentages are great for this... 3/5 means 60% means more than half means less than two thirds means more than one third means guaranteed to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame means more chances means more scores means they couldn't get a good score on gaokao... Chinese students find it very hard to interpret, select, and present data to support their positions.

Of course, the first thing you have to teach is the difference between maths and math

Aloha,

XLB (recovering math teacher and "maths" refusnik)

PS: make them do proofs (good luck explaining why it is proofs versus proves) in English... the numbers won't bother them, but explaining it will be very valuable... start with the Pythagorean theorem... if they know way more math(S) than you, ti can always turn into a pronunciation/body language lesson.

[Karl Sal]

Business English is a cakewalk. I remember I got assigned that as one of my first two classes when I came over to China and was worried, not having a ton of business experience. Turned out being easier than the more general classes, because you have stuff to focus on, but it's just simple vocabulary, documents, concepts. I'm sure there are some more in-depth or rigorous ones out there, but in general, it's nowhere as difficult or intimidating as it may sounds at first.

[MisterButtkins]

Is "maths" one of those quirky British things that sounds awful to an American? Like "At the weekend"? I think I corrected about 20 students about "At the weekend" before I was told British people actually say that.

[wangdaning]

Maths comes from the word mathematics. Math is what Americans say, whereas British English keeps the final s.

I am American, I just use British forms at times due to exposure and not wanting to confuse my students (they are studying for a British degree).

[igorG]

Maths English or Business English as academic subjects is an interesting concept. Teaching such subjects without having the Maths or Business qualification may be pretty tough. Admitting that you're not qood at it is honest although it opens the door to troubles.