Korean Job Discussion Forums

[highdials5]

Hi,

I teach TOEFL to advanced students at my hagwon, along with two other foreign teachers. We concentrate on the SPEAKING and WRITING sections, whereas the Korean teachers focus on the READING and LISTENING.

The students underperformed on their last level test, especially in the speaking and writing sections, so I sense there is something of a blame game going on at work. Yesterday the foreign teachers were given a sheet with the lowest scorers on, and we had to write our name next to the students that we taught.

This may seem fair enough, but I teach C CLASS for writing and so obviously my name appeared a lot. Likewise, one of the other foreign teachers is in charge of C CLASS for speaking and so his name also appeared a lot. Unsurprisingly, the teacher who teaches B CLASS for both writing and speaking escaped the radar - because the middle group did OK in both sections, as their mid-level suggests.

Later today, we are going to have a meeting to discuss the low scoring students, and I'm wondering how to play it. When I think I am unfairly being blamed for something, I find it difficult to hide my emotions which of course is dangerous in the land of face saving. The other teacher who appears on the list is similar...

Our main issue is this 'looking for a scapegoat' thing.

In TOEFL integrated speaking/writing questions, students are required to listen to a lecture and/or read a passage, then give a response that discusses the relationship between the two. Clearly it involves READING and LISTENING - the very two aspects that the Koreans teach. Therefore if a student underperforms, the foreign teachers are not necessarily wholly responsible in my opinion...

Should I argue my case this afternoon, or just let them blame whoever they want?

A word of advice...avoid teaching TOEFL if you can possibly help it!

[ulsanchris]

have the students improved their ability under you? IF yes, then argue that. If no, then you are up the creek.

[greedy_bones]

How old are your students? I remember teaching toefl and being shocked at the material the students were expected to write/speak about. If you have 12 year olds who are expected to compare two articles about game theory, big bang theory, revisionist history etc, that's an easy target to focus your blame. I've never understood why the tests are the same for college students as they are for elementary and middle school students. If a student their age level who speaks English natively can't perform well, I find it hard to expect someone who speaks English as a second language to do so.

I'd also recommend looking over their tests. Did they get low scores because their writing or speaking was poor, or did they get low scores because they gave wrong answers or misunderstood the questions?

[highdials5]

[robot]

That's a tough position. It's extremely unfair to judge a teacher from students' performance on just one test. And it's insulting to have to write your name on the sheet like that. Sounds like a clueless sketchy hagwon grasping desperately for answers.

First of all, speaking and writing are hardest for the kids, so would be no surprise if they did better on the other two sections. Don't let them compare the two halves as if they should be equal.

There are a bunch of other factors to consider -- how long were the kids studying with you? Was the test accurately reflective of the real TOEFL? Are the kids motivated to study and completing their work? (although that last point is partially the responsibility of the test prep teacher)

It sometimes takes a bit of time for kids to feel out the nature of the test before they make significant progress. Then marks go up and down as they continue to study. Sometimes whole classes bomb out because they've been lazy or the test is too hard or off-format when compared to the real TOEFL. Sometimes parents (and bosses, it seems) freak out because they compare one test score to another without considering the differences between them (aside from varying levels of difficulty and structure, there's also the fact that kids have lately been burning the midnight oil studying for exams, so they're stressed out.

There would be a problem with the teacher only if students consistenly fail to improve over many months. Then it's likely that the teacher doesn't know the test well enough to teach the tricks of how to beat it, and can't inspire the students to study hard enough for it. But that doesn't sound like that's the case here.

[highdials5]

[the foystein]

I agree it is about improvement.

[highdials5]

[Rusty Shackleford]

I would simply say, "If you have a problem either tell me how to improve or fire me." I doubt they are willing or able to do either.

[highdials5]

[ChinaBoy]

You will be punished for doing a poor job.

No, this is not fair. This is hagwon life.

[meangradin]

The best student at my school - who I have been teaching privately for a few years - just wrote the TOEIC and scored in the mid 600's. I thought this was quite good for a student who just started middle school, but her mom was not impressed. Her mom expected her to score in the 900's as this student has always won her school english awards. My point is that sometimes parents have unreasonable expectations and when these colide with reality, there is nothing you as a teacher can do except eat a sh*t sandwich.

bon appetite!

Do I taste mustard?

BTW, OP have you ever sat the tests you teach? What are your qualifications for teching test prep classes?

[highdials5]

[John_ESL_White]

[meangradin]