Is teaching English a professional career?

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bradwelljackson
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Is teaching English a professional career?

Post by bradwelljackson » Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:25 am

I've heard one person on this site say that "teaching English isn't brain surgery". I heard a professor tell me that I have no business going to another country to teach English unless I have a master's degree in the field. She emphasized that language is such a personal and intimate part of a person's schema that to teach a language is something that must be done by a complete professional.
Which side of the spectrum do you fall on?

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Fri Jun 06, 2008 1:23 pm

The tension between the "easy" and "hard" poles basically arises from the fact that native teachers (yes, even they) need to develop some degree of explicit/declarative knowledge about the language, need some way of marshalling, organizing and describing it to themselves at least (otherwise the learner might as well just as well take their "chances" with whatever exposure (random?) or immersion (ultimately limited in light of it being an L2 rather than L1, even if it is much less random or "particular")); but a lot of education can be(come) a bit too academic (as John Sinclair says, some linguists seem in quite the rush to 'kick aside the concrete linguistic object in favour of some idealised abstraction'), sidetrack one from the central "issues" (i.e. the cold facts of usage). The compromize of course is to try to strive for consistency but to not expect perfection when assigning grammatical lables to what should be stuff you actually do or intend to teach (and if you are serious about "teaching" speech especially, then a lot of concepts obtained from the analysis of writing will cease to hold, or at least to hold such sway).

So I guess I am a bit sceptical of the degree to which formal education does or indeed really can tell you exactly what to teach, but teaching that remains totally uniformed by theoretical considerations and developments is bound to be rather unsopshisticated. Ultimately the best a true TEFL professional can do (if they want to eat from their interim efforts) is satisfy those in need of a quick brain transplant or lobotomy, but all the while researching and noting the materials and methods that will eventually allow surgery that doesn't leave any obvious Frankenstein-like stitch-marks and neck bolts.

http://www.englishdroid.com/node/371 (englishdroid.com's 'Osmoglot' (TM))

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Post by iain » Fri Jun 06, 2008 2:48 pm

It'd be interesting to find out what your former professor intended by 'complete professional': possibly a clone of herself?
To a certain extent teaching can be as complex as you like to make it, and language can be as 'intimate' as the learner wants it to be or needs it to be. The kind of approach advocated by the professor will suit students who share it but is likely to seriously frustrate someone with more down-to-earth and well-defined goals.
I don't really know when teaching changes from being a 'job' to being a 'profession'. All of us know there are plenty of unprofessional teachers around: some, despite their good intentions, through their lack of understanding of the subject, and others for whom teaching is a handy earning option while they enjoy the pleasures of living abroad and whose commitment and sense of responsibility to their students (and possibly employers) is meagre at best. (It's equally true that too many schools are unprofessional.)
As fluffyhamster writes, you can't really 'teach' without the guidance of a vision of what second-language learning entails, and what going about achieving that can involve. No exclusive rights to either of these exist, which is why these forums bother being here for us.
You don't need a Masters to teach: you are probably seldom going to be invited into the deep and intimate regions of students' minds (although if you're doing a good job, things will end up slneaking through there anyway). Neither do you need to be a brain surgeon in a profession where there is still a greater demand for qualified and enthusiastic nurses.

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Post by fluffyhamster » Sat Jun 07, 2008 12:40 am

Coming back to this topic, I've thought of few connected threads:
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=25783
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 452#561452
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic ... 361#615361
http://forums.eslcafe.com/teacher/viewtopic.php?t=2796

I suspect that the reason phrases like 'not rocket science' or 'not brain surgery' get introduced is that the person asking the "question(s?)" isn't appearing to give anything much thought (i.e. they are demanding simple, straightforward answers and therefore get the "pragmatic/realist" rather than "idealist" response). It isn't hard to find such instances on the Teacher or Job Discussion forums (indeed, there was one quite recently here on the AL forum, perhaps it's the very one that Brad is referring to!).

Good keyword there, Iain - enthusiasm. Another that I'd add is curiosity. And humour. And patience. And...oh, of course, 'Approach' (thanks for teasing out what I wasn't making explicit).

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Lorikeet
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Post by Lorikeet » Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:47 am

I think teaching is an art and a science, if you will, and I have seen my share of teachers in forty years of teaching. You have to have a Masters degree in teaching English as a Second Language to teach in my school now (or an equivalent in education and experience). Despite the efforts of some Masters degree recipients, I have seen some bad teaching. I think teachers need some kind of a foundation, which could include tips on how to explain things, how to make exercises, how to get students enthusiastic and involved, how to find material, how to use books, etc. However, some things can't be taught. Some people have an ability to think fast on their feet, to engage others, and to find ways to make things fun, useful and interesting.

I visited a class once long ago, in which a veteran teacher was using flashcards to help her class practice. Her technique was perfect. The class was falling asleep and deadly dull. Her problem was that she had a plan in her mind of what she was going to do, and no way to realize that her timing was off for that class, and that she should switch to another activity.

I think one of the best things I learned was how to junk an inappropriate lesson that wasn't working without feeling like a failure. In the beginning of my career I had a lot of great classes, and some real ungodly failures. Now my "failures" are adequate classes that don't have a spark to them. I try to capture that spark whenever I can, but I know I may not be able to do it five days a week. (Our classes meet every day.) I've also seen some "natural teachers" who have worked in the Peace Corps and JET program, who have written engaging and useful materials and have done an excellent job without much formal training.

On the other hand, when I first got into this district, there was no requirement for any educational background in teaching English as a Second Language at all. They put the sewing teachers in ESL classes when they lost their sewing class because "after all, they can speak English." So you may be seeing the flip side of that attitude, which wasn't so good either.

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Post by lolwhites » Sun Jun 08, 2008 10:47 am

Is cooking food a professional career? That depends on whether you are a highly qualified chef preparing meals in five-star restaurants, flipping burgers in McDonalds, or somewhere in between.

Likewise for teaching English. There are highly qualified and experienced people working in reputable institutions, there are backpackers earning a few bob in some cowboy outfit, and there's everything in between. Teaching English can certainly be a professional career if you want it to be.

bradwelljackson
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Post by bradwelljackson » Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:11 am

Thank you lolwhite for a very pithy answer. If I were on Yahoo Answers, I would have to choose yours as the best for that reason. Fluffyhamster, if you have a sense of humour about yourself, I can't help but notice an analogy twixt your answer vs. lowwhite's and Faulkner vs. Hemingway :wink: Just a joke now, don't get stuffy (and fluffy).
Now, on to a different point, and I am not making a dig at anyone on this thread, but do you all think that some teachers wish to justify their career by seeking to prove that teaching English simply must be a profession that requires advanced training? Perhaps they are upset if they see someone who is just a "natural" at teaching. Have you known anyone that spent lots of money on their master's degree and gets very annoyed if they find out that they didn't need to spend all that money after all?

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Post by fluffyhamster » Sun Jun 08, 2008 12:28 pm

I haven't actually read much of either author, but I can understand where you're coming from, Brad.8)

I myself have no objection to grammar, syntax etc - all attempts to be(come) more systematic about forms (and what may underlie them) - but I too sometimes wonder (like I said above) if some teachers ("lecturers"?) ever fully come back to basic practicalities (probably a lot of them are teaching quite advanced students and can therefore get away with quite randomly-selected texts and input, with pondering whatever linguistic problems come their way or indeed are of their own devising and making); but like I also said, charm and improvisation will only get a teacher so far. I think if one makes no attempt to improve one's knowledge-ability, one will soon "burn out" (not so much from working hard(er), but from inwardly worrying about one's competence, having limited options and answers etc)...but it is also possible to burn out chasing academic knowledge too. A balance has to be achieved, and relating theory to practice and back again is one of the main attractions of being a teacher (you can be an 'applied linguist' par excellence).

I don't know if those with MAs are annoyed about more than just competition/lower wages (that is, are they committed to only the best educational practices, to improving beyond even the MA, themselves), because they are often pretty tight-lipped about what it was exactly they gained which was so worth it (other than the certificate), let alone whether teachers without could possibly be as good if not better than them, but until each individual actually posts about something that specifically relates to matters linguistic (grammar, syntax, phonetics etc) I for one can only remain a bit dubious about whatever claims some of them may make to any "superiority" (talking more about the Job Discussion than Teacher forums here); then there is the matter of the consistent interest that people appear to continue to take in AL. It's a shame when someone makes one wonderful post on something technical of practical interest but then disappears forevermore (was the effort involved too much for them?!).

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Post by lolwhites » Sun Jun 08, 2008 8:48 pm

There may well be some "naturals" who can teach well without any qualifications or experience, but I've never met one. And while it may not take an MA or Diploma to get by with the "Headway plus games" method still popular in many cowboy schools, or the home grown methods of Wall Street, it does take a certain amount of experience and theoretical knowledge to design a specific course for a particular company that is paying for you to train their staff in something more specific than finding someone else in the room who's flown in a jumbo jet or whatever.

It's should also go without saying that however many letters you have after your name, you can still be an awful teacher if you have no personality, ability to put yourself in the place of others or ability to think on your feet. IIRC the last person on this board to pull the "I'm highly qualified and experienced so you should all listen to me" was someone a few years back who had only joined in order to "prove" that Grammar-Translation was the best way and we'd all agree with him when his book came out.

woodcutter
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Post by woodcutter » Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:49 pm

Was Londo well qualified? I just remember he thought he was a great learner, which at least made a nice change.

I notice Lorikeet seems to be of the zappy class=success school of teacher observation. I wonder how lolwhites is so up on the greatness or otherwise of colleagues? (and why would a normal teacher design a course, in general, since Headway has done it for you - you just have to apply it well) If we are talking receiving boss+student love then I have known plenty of very successful under-qualified types. And let's remember, most classes are run-of-the-mill low level affairs.

I wouldn't mind always hearing these "I'm great and a great judge of others to boot" attitudes so much if they weren't coupled with the eternal acquiesence to the attitude that "you just have to get them talking!". In the end, any fool can do that, or in fact the less of a bone-dry aging MA holding grammar-spouting type you are, the better you may be at making a connection. That is how many an employer sees it, and I don't remember many people here saying anything that would change their minds.

And speaking of posters past, I remember a few well qualified ones who didn't like teaching any grammar at all, as well as other ones who would presumably go on at their classes for half an hour if the students said the words "past tense". Takes all sorts, and who's to judge?

I reckon most of us get a bit better as we go, because we expand our range of techniques a little bit each year, and learn a few things to avoid, and get to know our context (unless we change contexts). The qualifications don't help us that much with practical stuff like that. However, some people never stretch themselves, and our basic personal aptitude for friendly teaching never changes much.

Anyway, absolutely anyone can walk in and give a good class, at least once. That's a fact, and TEFL will never be regarded as a skill in the same way as rocket science, brain surgery etc

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Post by lolwhites » Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:40 pm

I wonder how lolwhites is so up on the greatness or otherwise of colleagues?
Well one reason is that I used to run a languages department and got to observe quite a few lessons and my (limited) experience suggests that people with bubbly personalities and lots of enthusiasm but little experience need a lot of guidance. It's possible to get so hung up on whether or not the students are enjoying themselves that one forgets to actually check to see if they're learning anything. That may be less important in the get-the-punters-through-the-door kind of school, less so in, say, a Further Education College where funding depends partly on results.

As for Headway doing it for you, that depends entirely on the context you teach in. Fine for General English but you won't get far in France if you can't do ESP. Here, you won't be considered a professional unless you can go beyond Headway and teach courses tailored to specific clients.

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Post by woodcutter » Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:44 pm

There is no knowing whether the person who observes you is going to be hung up on class mood or education (or even especially sane), in my experience, but then the best of the 11 schools/universities or so I have been in is probably worse than the worst lolwhites has been in.......

Anyway, if you want to think of yourself as professional you certainly need to get one of the rare positions that truly value experience. As to designing courses, I think that there would nearly always be a published work you could use as a beginning, and if not, then I'm not sure that most experienced ESLers could be trusted to do a good job with such obscure material.

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Post by lolwhites » Tue Jun 10, 2008 2:50 pm

the best of the 11 schools/universities or so I have been in is probably worse than the worst lolwhites has been in.......
Ooooh, I wouldn't wish that on anyone :wink:

woodcutter
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Post by woodcutter » Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:07 am

I dunno. At a good school you get teachers more often on time, teachers less drunk, teachers who tend to work a bit harder and spell a bit better, nice chairs, clean rooms, usually better planned courses, ties, clipboards, plenty of photocopies and better classmates.

I'm not convinced you get much better basic teaching though (and with all the above, you don't really need to). When the ideology that underlies teaching swings with the pendulum of fashion - and that is what they tell you on App.Ling courses - and you have dogme people, no grammar people, free conversation people etc, strict-with-the-grammar people all thinking they are god's gift together, who can guarantee that?

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Post by Lorikeet » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:54 am

woodcutter wrote:
I notice Lorikeet seems to be of the zappy class=success school of teacher observation.
Not sure what you mean by this, but if you mean a class where students are bored and falling asleep isn't successful, I'd agree. I don't need a teacher to put on a show and be constantly running around, however, if that's what you mean by zappy. There are plenty of examples of things in between.

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