Job Discussion Forums

[foodie555]

I have been looking into jobs in the SUNEO university system in Oaxaca, and I have read that the students are required to pass an intermediate-level English class before graduation.

I have been in contact with some schools and was given one scenario in which only 4 out of 20 students were attending the class and few of them had bought the textbook. Granted, this was a hypothetical scenario, but I wonder how hypothetical it really is. For those of you who have worked in the SUNEO system, and in other universities in Mexico, how common is this scenario? How do the administration and the teachers deal with it?

My other question is, for those of you who teach students that are only taking English classes in order to meet a requirement, how do you structure your class in order to keep your students motivated? What are some tricks and tips that you can provide? I imagine that an interactive classroom with a knowledgeable teacher who uses the textbook and multi-media effectively would help keep at least some of the students interested.

[MotherF]

It's a challange--but the true problem is not that the students don't want to learn English or aren't interested in it--they are. The problem is they have a lot of constraints on their time and English is low on their list of things they must do right now. They tend to think they will have more time to learn English later in life. Something we know is not true. But it's very hard to convience them it is not true.

At the campus where I work, we've had a pretty good responce by working with the administration to require the students to buy the books. Last semester 100% of the students in my first semester classes had the book.

[foodie555]

That's good that your administration has helped you with the textbook issue. Since the students are so busy, do you tend to assign less homework and try to get more done in class? Also, have you ever had such low attendance as 4 out of 20?

[MotherF]

I've found the best approach is frequent small homework assignments. For the past two semesters I've been using www.edmodo.com to help manage homework. I believe 5 hours a week is not enough for the students to see any meaningful progress so I'm always trying to find ways to get them to give more time outside of class to English. (Which is a struggle!) Edmodo is working pretty well for me on that front.

It's really hard to sum up about attendance--because there is the "on the books" class roll and then the real one. I have a class right now with sixteen students on my roll. But there are some names on that list of people I've never seen in my classroom. A few others who came in the first midterm period but dropped out around the first exam. Basically, I think of it as a class of 7. I make copies and plan the lesson as if it were a class of 7.
That is my most extreme class right now. I also have a class that officially has 23 students, but 18 come. And another that is very similar to that one.

The different campuses are at different stages in their evolution and their relationship with the administration, which is what helps them put teeth into their policies.