|
|
 #2 (permalink) Fri Jun 09, 2006 13:12 pm Teaching ESL/EFL in the USA (online) |
|
|
Nice to meet you,Steve!As for me,I have a right for teaching as well and did it,but then after the certain period of time I changed my job to office job.Now I'm trying not to forget English and take practice on this forum.  I consider English language as the second one,but I'm willing to speak ENGLISH as a native speaker!It's my cherished dream! |
|
 Pamela
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 1239
Location: Rf
|
|
|
Steve
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
|
 |
| #4 (permalink) Fri Jun 09, 2006 13:36 pm Teaching ESL/EFL in the USA (online) |
|
|
| Thanks a lot! |
|
Pamela
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 1239
Location: Rf
|
|
| #5 (permalink) Fri Jun 09, 2006 14:09 pm Teaching ESL/EFL in the USA (online) |
|
|
Hi Steve
Welcome and nice to meet you!
Whereabouts do you live in the US?
I'm curious, do your students all have the same native language? Or is it varied?
I know what you mean about the word "training" (and "trainer"). But what I've found is that companies, for example, seem to place more value on "trainers" than they do on "teachers". 
Amy |
|
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA
|
|
| #6 (permalink) Fri Jun 09, 2006 15:07 pm Teaching ESL/EFL in the USA (online) |
|
|
| Yankee wrote: |
Hi Steve
Welcome and nice to meet you!
Whereabouts do you live in the US?
I'm curious, do your students all have the same native language? Or is it varied?
I know what you mean about the word "training" (and "trainer"). But what I've found is that companies, for example, seem to place more value on "trainers" than they do on "teachers".
Amy |
Hi Amy,
- pleased to meet you.
I'm in Massachusetts, though I think I prefer to say the New England states, as I'm willing to travel if the price is right.  
Yes, companies and corporations like "trainers" and "training". However, if we place these terms in the hands of course administrators and so-called curriculum writers, the results can be disastrous. The lower the level, the more difficult it is to cover the full range of grammar forms and absolutely essential vocabulary that students need in order to use the language in the first place. Even as we get to more advanced levels, the "one-context" approach, or English for a specific purpose, does not do nearly enough justice to the idea that we are teaching people how to use the language. Workplace English and English for a specific purpose or function is okay as long as the lessons and materials take into account the level of the students and "the rest of language". We can't teach people to be parrots, which is what I've discovered some administrators and so-called curriculum writers think is possible and even okay.
Now, in certain situations, I've focused on very specific language functions for certain jobs, but the circumstances were appropriate, and all those involved knew what to expect. The levels were appropriate to learn specific language functions for particular jobs. If you start teaching hotel workers, for example, how to give instructions and they are beginner level one students, or pre-beginners, it won't work. And the students will know it doesn't work. Of course we know what a beginner level one student, or pre-beginner, needs and has to learn first. I've taught a couple courses where curriculum writers - who don't know what curriculum is by the way - and administrators can't seem to wrap their heads around this idea: Beginners have to start at the beginning. They're in such a rush for the contract that they just tell their client "yes, of course, not a problem", which is a laugh seeing as one such place I've been involved with calls itself a "nonprofit". It's hard to believe that such incompetence gets funding and private donations.   
Also, I don't even like the words curriculum and syllabus. In ESL, I think these are just words that glorify the idea of knowing what you are going to do. If you know what to do, you're all set. And most of the time, it's tough to know that until you've met the students and gotten to know them a little, which brings to mind something else. There's so much time and money spent on pre-testing that, to me, is pointless. That time and money should be spent on the teacher so that he or she can prepare for the course. Here's something I think is a fact: A teacher cannot effectively teach if he or she has not had the chance to first learn something about the students. Admistrators sometimes hire "part-timers" who really aren't ESL teachers. I'm not one of those. And it's my aim now, having become more experienced, to kindly and politely inform admistrators of this before agreeing to teach any course. I'm about to start a course this month. I pick the book, or books, when I find out their level, and then I can choose supplementary materials and plan after having met the students. |
|
Steve
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
|
|
| #7 (permalink) Fri Jun 09, 2006 15:10 pm Teaching ESL/EFL in the USA (online) |
|
|
| Yankee wrote: |
Hi Steve
Welcome and nice to meet you!
Whereabouts do you live in the US?
I'm curious, do your students all have the same native language? Or is it varied?
I know what you mean about the word "training" (and "trainer"). But what I've found is that companies, for example, seem to place more value on "trainers" than they do on "teachers".
Amy |
Hi again, Amy,
I teach and have taught in different situations. My students come from different countries. So, it's varied in terms of first language, educational background, reason for being in class (or taking lessons), level, learning style, and aptitude. |
|
Steve
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
|
|
|
Steve
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
|
|
| #9 (permalink) Sat Jun 10, 2006 16:48 pm Sorry for the Inconvenience |
|
|
Dear Steve,
Sorry for the Inconvenience.
Your topic title is restored.
Best wishes.
Team English-test.net |
|
English-test.net
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 40
Location: Internet
|
|
| #10 (permalink) Sat Jun 10, 2006 19:02 pm Sorry for the Inconvenience |
|
|
| english-test.net wrote: |
Dear Steve,
Sorry for the Inconvenience.
Your topic title is restored.
Best wishes.
Team English-test.net |
Thanks, I appreciate that.
But what about the title "I'm Steve". That was the original one.
Was it somehow deemed inappropriate? Was it too short? Did it have a certain kind of brevity and directness that might have been thought out of line or even monstrous? Was my title monstrous? Did it come swimming up from the depths of the dark and unknown? Was it horrible?  |
|
Steve
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
|
|
|
Steve
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
|
|
| #12 (permalink) Sun Jun 11, 2006 18:53 pm Teaching ESL and EFL online? |
|
|
Hi Steve,
Many thanks for joining our community and sharing your experiences with us. As for the title of your first post, we have changed that again -- please let us know if that's OK with you. You see, we want to add some information that summarizes the contents of a thread if the discussion gets interesting and contains lots of messages.
Speak to you soon,
Torsten
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
|
Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 10051
Location: EU
|
|
|
Steve
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 09 Jun 2006
Posts: 14
|
|
| #14 (permalink) Wed Jul 19, 2006 11:13 am Teaching ESL and EFL online? |
|
|
Hi Steve !
| Steve wrote: |
As for sharing my experiences, I don't know what happened. I guess I just started going on and on - typing and typing. I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself.
|
From your posting, it is clear that you've just having conversations with forum's moderators. I suggest, is may be better if you have more times for us, learners English, by giving your expreriences and correcting our errors in our postings. Please walk around the forum, visit our postings and you will see that there a many people who need your help. (I'm one from them  ). Thank you in anvance ! |
|
Gianglt
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 55
Location: Vietnam
|
|
| #15 (permalink) Thu Jul 20, 2006 19:20 pm I'm Steve and I teach ESL/EFL in the U.S.A |
|
|
| Steve wrote: |
| I prefer to say I teach ESL and EFL. I don't believe that we should always have to distinguish between the two. Even though I teach in the U.S., English is certainly a foreign language as well as a second language for the students I teach. |
I agree. I think the most significant difference between ESL students and EFL students is supposed to be that ESL students get to "aquire" (instead of conciously learning) more English than EFL students. But then again, if an EFL student is going to an English-speaking school even though he lives in a non-English-speaking country, the amount of English he is exposed to is about the same as an ESL student who lives in a community where his first language is spoken as the primary language. |
|
Cooliegirly
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 24 Jul 2005
Posts: 260
|
|
|
| Hi, I'm Chinese. I'm Timothy Tu | Howdy! I'm Amy and I'm a yankee |
