How to teach English

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:01 am

If you could answer the following questions I would be eternally grateful

1. How does an TEFL/EFL/ESL teacher teach English in a foreign language school?

2. What methods and strategies do TEFL/EFL/ESL teachers use to teach English in a foreign language school?

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 1:35 am

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 8:16 am

1 Hung-over

2 Aspirins

You won't get a straight answer on this forum to any question that sounds remotely like a poster trying to get homework done the easy way.

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:21 am

Mesomorph posted a bit more (well, actually an ever-growing list of questions LOL) on the International forums:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=57773

Answer them at your leisure, if you have any.

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:02 pm

JuanTwoThree wrote:1 Hung-over

2 Aspirins

You won't get a straight answer on this forum to any question that sounds remotely like a poster trying to get homework done the easy way.

I have had many straight answers in these forums and I suspect I will continue to get them.

Thanks for your help.

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:09 pm

fluffyhamster wrote:Mesomorph posted a bit more (well, actually an ever-growing list of questions LOL) on the International forums:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=57773

Answer them at your leisure, if you have any.

Please don't answer these questions.

The 'Compilation of possible interview questions for the post of teacher of conversational language' is intended to be an aid to anyone preparing for an interview.

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:10 pm

Perhaps I should have given some more background as to what this thread is about in my original post.

The above questions are part of a research project I am carrying out.

See below:

_____________________________________________________________

Research Project: How to become a TEFL/EFL/ESL teacher

Research Questions

1. How does an TEFL/EFL/ESL teacher teach English in a foreign language school?
2. What methods and strategies do TEFL/EFL/ESL teachers use to teach English in a foreign language school?
3. What will I have to tell the interviewer to get the job?

Methodology

Teaching staff questionairres based on research questions 1, 2, 3
_____________________________________________________________

Anyone that has done academic research before will understand that the process/findings/outcome can be quite rewarding so please take part!

Once the process is finished I will answer the research questions comprehensively (incorporating all relevant contributions) and will post them up in a new thread.

I will call this new thread something like,

'How to become an English Language Teacher',

I will then kick myself later for being so generous as to publish it freely on the web.

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 7:40 pm

The questions are too broad. As a rule we are usually quick to answer more specific questions but, as you can gather from the deafening silence between your Wednesday morning post and the first facetious answer on Friday morning, there is a general reluctance to deal with any questions that smack of somebody wanting their hard work done for them.

Now if there was some kind of question or questions about teacher as Motivator, Controller, Evaluator, Resource, Coach, Tutor, Organiser, Facilitator or Counsellor or about needs analysis, syllabus design, rough tuning, L1 errors, the efficacy of drills or something else then you'd get a real debate going.

I am far from representing the disaffected minority on this board. The stroppy majority more like. So rubbing up the wrong way two of the regular posters here won't help you too much. Besides, compared with some of the other curmudgeons I am a virtual Florence Nightingale but, from my experience here, even the sarkiest old gits will be only too pleased to contribute if they know where to start.

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 9:02 pm

JuanTwoThree wrote:The questions are too broad. As a rule we are usually quick to answer more specific questions but, as you can gather from the deafening silence between your Wednesday morning post and the first facetious answer on Friday morning, there is a general reluctance to deal with any questions that smack of somebody wanting their hard work done for them.

Now if there was some kind of question or questions about teacher as Motivator, Controller, Evaluator, Resource, Coach, Tutor, Organiser, Facilitator or Counsellor or about needs analysis, syllabus design, rough tuning, L1 errors, the efficacy of drills or something else then you'd get a real debate going.

I am far from representing the disaffected minority on this board. The stroppy majority more like. So rubbing up the wrong way two of the regular posters here won't help you too much. Besides, compared with some of the other curmudgeons I am a virtual Florence Nightingale but, from my experience here, even the sarkiest old gits will be only too pleased to contribute if they know where to start.

Thank you for your reply.

I have gleaned the following from your post -

In answer to question 1:

An English Language teacher teaches English in a foreign language school by acting in a number of professional capacities and by employing a number of professional skills and abilities

The professional capacities an effective English Language Teacher has to employ in his/her daily practice include Motivator, Controller, Evaluator, Resource, Coach, Tutor, Organiser, Facilitator and Counsellor

The English Language Teacher has to be effectively engaged in needs analysis, syllabus design, rough tuning, L1 errors and drills

In answer to question 2:

The English Language teacher uses many different methodologies and strategies to teach English in a foreign language school for example needs analysis, syllabus design, rough tuning, L1 errors, drills

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 9:29 pm

Do you think you'll be involved in syllabus design? Or needs analysis?

I wouldn't make finding out about either a priority, especially if you start in January.

You might ask why there is a vacancy in January unless that's the start of the year. What happened to the last teacher?

If you get time, you should read Jeremy Harmer. The easy one (How to teach English) is ok but "The Practice of English Language Teaching" is meatier.

How up are you on the terminology?

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 10:57 pm

Mesomorph, on the International forums wrote:An update -

A questionnaire has been posted in the Applied Linguistics forum to answer research questions 1 and 2, here,

http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewtopic.php?t=8550

Anyone that has done academic research before will understand that the process/findings/outcome can be quite rewarding so please take part!

(NB - There has been a small pocket of resistance so far, however I imagine this is representative of the dissaffected minority that populates any intellectual community and will have no real bearing on progress).

I have now read 'How to teach English' by J. Harmer, and have found many answers to questions 1, 2 and 3.

Once the process is finished I will answer the research questions comprehensively (incorporating all relevant contributions) and will post them up in a new thread.

I will call this new thread something like,

'How to become an English Language Teacher',

I will then kick myself later for being so generous as to publish it freely on the web.

It's interesting how having both the International/Job and the Teacher forums allows people to be or at least appear a bit two-faced (and this is something that I for one have been guilty of on several occassions, but with greater reason for doing so than here).

It is easy to ask questions. There have been many times when I've been tempted to post away here on the AL forum. But then I give it a bit more thought and realize that either I've come up with the answer myself (which generally means the question wasn't really worth seriously asking LOL), or that it will take more time and effort than most people have to come up with an answer that satisfies me personally and that I myself can make further use of.

SJ's and JTT's replies might not appear that helpful, but the fact remains that you are not putting much into these threads that you start, Meso (that being said, maybe there ultimately is not that much to be said about teachers as coaches, cheerleaders, bores etc). You just seem to be incorporating keywords and what strikes you as relevant questions into larger "replies" without really answering anything in your own words. You seem to think it will make interesting reading for future readers or "researchers", but I don't think many will get much from the "discussion" you're "encouraging". Try to engage with what people are implying or trying to tell you and stop corralling them back to the questions that you seem to think haven't been "properly" answered or won't ever be (yet you wonder why not), and a discussion might just develop.

Now I realize that it's hard to BS people when you don't know enough yet yourself, but teaching can be and is full of BS. What matters is knowing your grammar (especially that of speech) and finding ways to translate that often abstract stuff into expressions and phrases that people (particularly foreign students, or native speakers talking to them, rather than the NS-NS idiom at full blast from the very start) might actually want and need to say within the "confines" of whatever activity or task (or simply just context, provided that doesn't just mean lashings of ill-prepared TTT - see esp. demos of 'How to teach Present Perfect', or rather, How NOT to, that abound) that you've designed. Written texts (or spoken texts as printed) can be approached and analyzed like, well, the texts they are (no need for tree diagrams, TG, UG etc etc). Reading about methodology will only get you so far. What you need to do, even though you are a native speaker, is sift and marshall good examples until they are making consistent sense to you; then perhaps you will be seeing the language as a sometimes struggling learner does. But that is just IMHO.

So put the Harmer aside and get on with a slightly more challenging book now (perhaps one from that list I linked to over on the International forums).

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:47 pm

In reply to Juan

Yes I will be involved in syllabus design and needs analysis.

Why do you think they are not priorities?

I would see them to be major priorities.

Syllabus Design

I have two years experience of syllabus design teaching English in the Scottish Education system i.e. designing syllabi for the curricula: 5-14, Standard Grade and Higher.

I have been working on designing syllabi for beginner and intermediate level EFL courses.

I can let you see them if you want. Maybe I will post them up in another thread for discussion.

I have found much of what I have learnt about syllabus design in my PGDE transferrable i.e. regarding aims, objectives, assessment etc. The real challenge (down to my inexperience) comes with forming and arranging the actual content.

Any comments on this?

Needs Analysis

As far as needs analysis is concerned I would hand out a self-assessment questionnaire covering Present Situation Analysis and Target Situation Analysis in my first classes. I would continue to assess needs formatively throughout the year.

I can let you see what I have got. Maybe I will post them up in another thread for discussion.

_____________________________________________________________

Why might I ask, 'why there is a vacancy in January... What happened to the last teacher?'.

Thanks for the suggestions the Harmer book. 'The Practice of English Language Teaching', may well turn out to be my next purchase!

What does it cover that 'How to teach English' doesn't?

I'm not sure how much terminology I don't know. However I do know everything my MA English and PGDE in English taught me and everything in the glossary of 'How to teach English'.

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:15 am

Thank you for your contribution Mr(s) Hamster

This what I have taken from it

In answer to question 1

An English Language teacher teaches English in a foreign language school by knowing his/her grammar - especially that of speech. An effective teacher find ways to translate often abstract terminology into expressions and phrases that students might actually want and need to say. This takes place within the parameters of whatever activity, task, or context, the teacher designs for them.

In answer to question 2

English Language teachers use a number of methodologies to teach English in a foreign language school.

Teachers use the deductive method.

Teachers use Task Based Learning.

Teachers use TTT (sometimes 'lashings of ill-prepared TTT')

Teachers use and analyse written texts (or spoken texts as printed).

A teacher need not use tree diagrams, TG, UG.

_____________________________________________________________

Thank you for your link to the book list

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:54 am

It's flattering to have one's words quoted back (parroted) pretty much verbatim, but the problem then is that you are simply saying what you think that person wants to hear (and rather leaving them with the impression that their respondent is a computer rather than a person, a la a rumbled Turing test). Now I know it must seem wierd that I am taking issue with you not taking issue with what I am saying, but then it would help if both of us (but especially you) were arguing with some passion and even conviction about something (preferably something that the other had not themselves written).

How about this for a start: the chapter on teaching the present perfect in Jack Richards' The Context of Language Teaching (on my list - I can scan and send you it if you want, just send me a PM including your email); that is, I love it when so-called qualified teachers (and I am pretty sure that it was a model demo of an "approved" way of teaching in some quack school chain that Richards was quoting, rather than a trainee caught on a candid camera, if only because "contextualized" rot of the type he describes can be so prevalent) make a complete t*t of themselves - you can learn a lot about how you "ought" to be teaching (but really shouldn't be, if you have any sense at all). "Of course", nowadays there is surely no worthwhile CELTA center that would tolerate or peddle crap like that, but some teachers who "qualify" nevertheless somehow still do tread a fine line sometimes between teaching better and falling into BS routines simply for want of preparing and/or thinking things through better, often due to the inadequacies of their initial training (esp. the lack of time to really increase language knowledge as opposed to just "awareness"). It is amazing how little attention is sometimes paid to connected discourse as opposed to decontextualized (or painfully contextualized (pairs of)) sentences.

Some discussion of the Richards in this post:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewt ... 2637#12637

And here:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewt ... 1215#11215

Sorry if present perfect seems a bit boring or chosen at random (there are so many other things we could discuss for sure), but it is quite the chesnut, at least according to received "wisdom".

So it would be great if you didn't take anyone's word for what constitutes good teaching but came to such realizations yourself (assuming you'd be upset if you were paying a lot to receive potentially as shoddy e.g. French lessons as there is shoddy training for teachers). But you would still be welcome to advocate dodgy methodology if it generated discussion here (see for example some of woodcutter's past contributions LOL. BTW I think he can take a joke and enjoyed those discussions

).

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 1:34 am

Some more "questions for trainees" sort of things, besides the guff in my 'Back to Basics' (like vs want) thread:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=40449
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=55362
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=37596
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 922#392922