Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mankind]

Some interesting articles about ESL in Toronto and its failures.

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1095966349805&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968705899037

HAND

[Alias]

The hagwon system in Korea has certainly been a failure in this department.

[inkoreaforgood]

The article refers to ESL in Toronto, and public schools/gov't schools in particular. Over ten years ago, immigrants to Toronto could expect excellent ESL learning chances, as the gov't made more of an effort for them, but after Mike Harris and the Tories (not a rock group), many social programs were cut, including ESL. It sucks too, because Toronto gets about half (I think, maybe more) of all immigrants to Canada.

[some waygug-in]

Before I started my illustrious career as an EFL teacher I was a volunteer tutor for the local immigrant training centre. I was apalled at the way things were done there, but that was before I ever worked in a hagwan.

It was interesting meeting and teaching people from everywhere, but it was also a lot of trouble.

We had students from both sides of the Serbo-Croatian conflict and they would just as soon kill each other as learn English.

We also had some young Cuban guys who seemed more interested in chasing the local prostitutes than learning English. I'm quite sure that the Canadian taxpayer sponsored them, as they had no money to speak of on their own.


The classes were 10 - 15 adult students from various countries, (Somalia, Croatia, El salvador, Ukraine, China, Guatemala, Israel, Cuba)

They used "Side by Side" for everyone, no matter what their level.

The saddest part was that we didn't even have a white/blackboard for the one classroom.

Then the government, in it's infinite wisdom sent about 15 more new arrivals to the center. We barely had room and resources for the ones we had.

Amazingly, some of these people did learn English, but it was a frustrating, long road.

[tommynomad]

I had students on either side of the Ethiopian conflict. Some were great, others seemed set on bringing the conflict with them. (Also lots of Chinese and Africans who liked to ridicule each other.) I told them, as I tell all my students, that a lot of what they held as true in their home countries isn't in Canada. I tell them that one of the tenets of immigration is that you leave your conflicts behind figuratively as well as literally.

It can be really tough, I agree. But once faced with the choice of getting along & being respectful vs. no more ESL classes, even the worst offenders shaped up (though admittedly, not outside my classroom *sigh*)