Are book publishers killing teacher creativity and student learning potential?

Okay, so how many of you teaching English are using a text from a major publisher? And how many of you seriously think that you, let alone your students are particularly enjoying the topics under the microscope? I mean, how does someone sitting in a dusty office in the middle of no-where decide what our students are going to learn and talk about. A few years back, I was teaching the topic of spanking to a group of Saudi students. Of course, this had nothing to do with their life experience, and the topic went down like a lead balloon! It didn’t make for much interesting conversation.

The other day, I started a discussion with my students about the latest smart phones. I mentioned the iphone, Samsung Galaxy, the HTC desire, the latest Blackberry Bold and a few other ‘in-phones’.

The students ‘pounced’ on the chance to talk about their phones memory size, whether Android beat IOS, and the various functionalities of the phones concerned. It goes without saying, that many of us are also ‘into’ these kinds of ‘in-things’. It was an opportunity to justify positions for choosing particular phones, and of course the resulting argumentation resulted in a lot of ‘talk’ – which of course was the desired outcome.

I find without reservation that most book publishers are way behind on interesting content. At times it feels like we’re stuck within a straight jacket that just does not give us the freedom to be creative. You have to focus on the content so that students perform well on the ‘achievement exam’.

The discussion on smart phones, fitted into the broad categories of technology, communication, computers etc. etc. Themes which are sometimes separated or combined as main topics within books.

My proposal is that within a teaching context, a collection of main ideas or topics should be decided by the teachers, and then teachers left to build whatever content they want around it – subject to the proficiency level of their students. Yes, build the content ourselves. We’re teachers, we’re meant to be creative!

Collect the content that’s interesting to both sides (teacher and student) and start learning using more interesting content.

Okay, now I can hear many of you saying that if you have ten teachers, producing or acquiring their own content, doing their own thing, in their own class we’re going to end up with a bit of a ‘biryani’ or should I say ‘mix-up’.

If we take the example of travelling, whether you discuss the Bahamas, having a good time at a beach front, a trip to Tokyo or even Dhaka in Bangladesh, the vocabulary used is going to be quite similar. The lexis students use will be very close.

All content areas have similar core vocabulary. No matter what you talk, read, write or listen about, the same words will be repeated across the classes, again and again.

The main topic or area acts as the starting point for creating content. The specifics of the content are in the teachers and students hands.

To summarise, teachers should have the freedom to choose whatever content they deem appropriate, look for content that is relevant and useful for students, taking into account student experience in their lives, and importantly items which are interesting and current.

The dreaded grammar based interview

Okay so you have around twenty years teaching English experience, you are confident in your skills. You make sure that you are well-prepared for your class. You have some excellent recommendation letters, and your students love you.

Problem: when being interviewed for a new job, you come unstuck when it comes to explaining some rules of grammar. "Sorry", says the person interviewing you, who probably does not even have half of your experience! "I'm afraid your grammar knowledge was not what we were expecting it to be."

Native speakers generally are not so 'keyed-in' on matters pertaining to grammar. They speak the language perfectly most of the time, and 'may' be the ideal model for students to follow, but this 'little thing' kind of gets in the way.

Hold on!! I thought we were into communicative teaching nowadays? Even though teaching is not exactly black-and-white, how many of us will prepare a grammar exercise before going into class.Most teachers are creative. With regards to grammar, I for one will read-up and 'brush-up' on my knowledge; take a look at the examples in the book, and see if I can come up with some supplementary material too.

If you are not sure what an auxiliary is, you can always quickly look it up! How many of us have that feeling of "Oh yes, now I remember!"

As a recruitment filtering process, and in the early part of the 21st century, should grammar really be the cause for rejecting applicants? May be we should be focussing on their passion and professionalism instead?

ESL/EFL Recruitment in Saudi Arabia - Part 3 - Directs vs Sub-contractors

Saudi Arabia needs a lot of English Language Teachers.

More university faculties require their potential students to go through the Preparatory Year. With so many universities now offering a Preparatory year, the number of students in some universities exceeds 5,000!

With the need to provide teachers, sub-contracting companies are filling the vacuum.

There are potential pitfalls though. As it becomes harder to reruit 'qualified' staff, and with a shortage of visas for direct staff, the number of sub-contractors are now outnumbering direct hire staff.

For some, sub-contracting companies take the 'hassle' out of recruitment. No need to deal with the 'headache' of direct hires. Just let the 'contracting companies' deal with 'problem'.

Whereas the solution may appear simple, is this really the right step forward?

Direct hire staff, are obligated to their employer ( the university) and contract renewal usually reflects performance on the job. Further, direct hires will go through a much more rigorous recruitment process.

Sub-contracting forms on the other hand, need to provide the numbers to fulfil the demand for teachers by their clients (the universities). How does this impact on quality? And, sub-contracting firms are probably concerned about the bottom line. Profit and Return on Investment matters.

Further, when one thinks of sub-contracting firms, one thinks of 'mercenaries'. Are their interests the client, or making a hefty buck! Sub-contracted teachers are also open to exploitation. Sub-contracting requires heavy capital investment. A shortage of liquidity could sometimes mean delay in salary payments.

This blog suggests that the way forward in the short-term may be sub-contracting firms, but for the medium and long-term, there needs to be a strategy for ensuring that properly qualified and direct hire staff are employed.

The danger however, is that with so much money being banded around by the sub-contracting firms the future of our students may not be the priority.

ESL/EFL Recruitment in Saudi Arabia – Part 2 - Qualifications

It seems that TESOL type people are in demand, especially at university level. There are quite a few Preparatory Year/Foundation courses around the country, looking for enthusiastic teachers to face their young 18-21 year olds in class.

In terms of qualifications, a BA in English, a CELTA or a TEFL qualification, even an MA is valued.

Based purely on observation, if you are a so-called non-native speaker, a BA in English (Language or literature) is a must. All of my colleagues, who are non-native English speakers, from Egypt, Jordan, Syria and other gulf countries, have one, plus a CELTA/TEFL qualification.
However, virtually every ‘so-called’ native speaker does not have a BA in English. More often than not, a graduate degree of some kind is combined with a CELTA or TEFL qualification.

If you are a native or non-native, an MA in TESL/TESOL/ELT/Applied Linguistics definitely makes a difference.

However, the qualifications on their own are not a guarantee. Experience is essential. If you are still in your home country, then my advice would be to get some solid TESOL experience. Work part-time or evenings at a local college, or adult education centre. You could even try something voluntary. Whatever, experience really counts. It will really count at interview stage, when you are able to draw from your experience in trying to answer difficult and practical questions.

Lastly, although qualifications and experience do count, if you are especially a native speaker, you could try and get a position without any of these, but be prepared for rejection at university level. Further, subcontracting companies that currently provide staff to universities and colleges may agree to take you, but they may pay you peanuts and take advantage of your situation.

The chances of getting into the ‘profession’ especially at a university level are getting harder. If you are looking for some kind of mid to long-term career stability, then get the qualifications. At the very minimum, get a credible TEFL qualification. The CELTA is considered the best.

Qualifications really do count. All the best.

ESL/ EFL Recruitment in Saudi Arabia – Part 1

There is so much to write here, that I have to break this into parts. Will try and write something up regularly.

Not wanting to sound too much like an expert, I outline observations and some experiences of being involved in the recruitment process in the KS of A. The points below relate to public and private institutions. The more unconventional requirements could be said to apply to the private sector, but may have some applicability to the public sector too, although this may be changing as the demand for teachers reaches peak levels.

Question 1: What is the one single quality or characteristic that can at least guarantee an interview?

Answer 1 : Being white and male. Sad but true. When one thinks of English speakers what immediately comes to the fore is images of a white man, with blue eyes, blond hair, and an extremely aristocratic British accent – “I say old boy, how ghastly, don’t they know any better!!”

Whereas in the West people are brought up to be more open minded in their thinking, the culture here is a little different. In that same spirit of open-mindedness, one can only deduce that the educational opportunities afforded in the West are not available here. Although even “Western open-mindedness” is open to question; especially when it comes to economics and power. At that point, open-mindedness goes out of the window. Instead, words such as suppress, conquer and 'civilise' come to mind. Of course what may count as being civilised in the West, may have no relationship to what counts as being civilised in the East. Local knowledge vs. Globalisation? A topic for another day.

There’s no point blaming the KSA or in fact other parts of the Gulf or the wider world – maybe it’s just human nature – and the probability is that this is the real issue. Islam is colour blind, so we can't place the blame there.

So the question becomes how do we change it?

Answer: We can’t ( not in the short-term ) and so we need to work out ways in which the problem can be resolved.

Possible resolutions: Qualifications, experience, enthusiasm, a can-do attitude, devotion to the cause.

So for budding recruits out there, don't let this 'skin deep problem' put you off. Its performance on the job that counts ( I say this with a certain amount of hope and cynicism at the same time)

To be continued

You could become a star!!

Believe it or not, ESL/EFL teachers could be stars!! Imagine 1000's of fans, screaming at you!! Just because you teach them English!! Here's an article I downloaded on the 31st of August 2009: This guy literally has millions of fans. Who knows - YOU COULD BE NEXT!!

Source: Independent Newspaper: UK http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/crazy-english-how-chinas-language-teachers-became-big-celebrities-1777545.html

Crazy English: How China's language teachers became big celebrities

This year it will be announced that China now has more English speakers than any other country in the world. And such is the demand for their services that top teachers have become big stars
Saturday, 29 August 2009


SEAN GALLAGHER
Preaching to the converted: Li Yang, founder of the Crazy English movement, lectures a crowd of students

"Where are you from? Do you speak English?" It's a familiar phrase near the Forbidden City in Beijing, or along the capital's Nanjing Road, as Chinese people try a standard opening gambit to spark up a conversation with a foreigner. Many visitors baulk at being approached so baldly, and are worried that it could be a scam. Very occasionally it is a con – and tourists should be wary when some nice young people offer to bring them to a tea house – but mostly the youngsters are desperate for access to real live Anglophones who can help them improve their conversational English.

Chinese people are becoming more and more obsessed with speaking English, and efforts to improve their proficiency mean that at some stage this year, the world's most populous nation will become the world's largest English-speaking country. Two billion people are learning English worldwide, and a huge proportion of them are in China.

And sometimes it seems like most of these eager students are learning from Li Yang, who is the true folk hero of the English-language-training business. Li founded the "Crazy English" movement, which now involves him visiting a dozen cities a month and lecturing in English to crowds of up to 30,000 people. His books sell in the millions.
The principle is that "you can't learn to swim in a classroom" – so "Crazy English" teaches language learning as a form of mass activity. At a recent tutorial in Beijing, students passed large banners saying, "I can realize all my dreams" before entering the classroom to sample Li's inimitable mixture of English-language teaching and motivational speaking. There is even a touch of the evangelist about him – though he is preaching to the converted – and the enthusiasm of the response is amazing, with plenty of arm-waving, fist-raising and punching the air.

The desire to learn the world's language of commerce is reflected in the way that English is everywhere these days. It's deeply fashionable but also part of a broader goal to encourage greater use of English to help boost China internationally. So the people turn to Li, who started doing this 20 years ago and whose Guangzhou-based business is now vast. "I talk to 10 million people a year, face to face," he says proudly. "Back in 1988, China was in the process of opening up to the outside world but the whole Chinese educational system was based on tests. There were so many people learning English to pass the tests but they couldn't communicate."
There are currently 200 million Chinese at secondary school who are bored with tests, and Li is still trying to change the way people learn to speak English. "This is a new method for Asian people, who are shy and introverted," he explains. "My method can give people confidence very quickly. I try to simplify English for common people. I became an idol and a celebrity for Chinese young people because of this content. People get excited and I also tell them how to face difficulties and obstacles; I combine a lot of things into teaching."

Most of his students are aged between 10 and 40, and they include professionals and students, lawyers and bus drivers. "The older generation is interested, but English is not that useful for them. They have more important things to learn. But basically everyone in China is interested in learning some English," says Li. "It is growing with the openness of China – English is now a required subject. Good English will help you get a better job. There are many different situations that determine Chinese people's craziness for learning English. We waste a lot of time analysing and memorising – it's time- consuming and stupid. My mission is to direct people into learning English."

Most people in China still don't have the opportunity to travel abroad, so they are eager for ways to practise spoken English and correct their mistakes. Li's reading materials contain inspirational – and patriotic – phrases, such as "Help 300 million Chinese people speak English fluently" and "Make the voice of China be widely heard throughout the world". "This is still a poor country, a developing country, and we lag behind in technology," explains this father of four daughters. "I promote hard work and the work ethic. I am described as a patriotic teacher – and I am patriotic because I want to get young people into school and away from video games. I want to kill all video games."

A big factor in the craze for learning English was the pre-Olympic drive to make China more international, when even taxi drivers learned a couple of words of English. In the bookshops, you can still learn English the traditional way, reading texts such as Wuthering Heights, but you can also use books featuring scenes from Friends. China's most famous actress, Zhang Ziyi, has spent a long time learning English, though she claims she picked up most her best phrases listening to rappers such as Eminem. English is now used, at times with hilarious results, on signs and posters around Beijing – real-estate developers believe it gives great cachet to a development to have English billboards, even if the language used is often absurd: anyone fancy a "National Cream" apartment or a "Boning" flat? And the signs saying "Careful landslip attention security" or "The slippery are very crafty" demand attention. Watch your step.
English-language training in China is an industry worth around 15 billion yuan a year, or about £1.3bn, and there are more than 50,000 English-training organisations in China. In Beijing alone, some 200,000 people took English classes last year. Some of these help Chinese students study for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the GRE (Graduate Record Examination) needed to study abroad, while others help white-collar workers improve their oral English or their business and financial English.

In China, English allows you to travel, to gain social advancement, and English-language teachers have become minor celebrities. Another giant of English-language learning is Dashan, a Canadian whose English name is Mark Rowswell and whose fluent Chinese has transformed him into the most famous Westerner in China – taxi drivers and passers-by point at him. His language-teaching shows, including programmes such as Dashan's Adventures in Canada, have made him a television legend. He also hosts shows teaching Chinese to foreigners – though his amazing Chinese skill annoys some incomers, who have been satirical of his ability to blend in at Chinese gatherings. But he is adored by the Chinese, especially for his mastering of the wildly popular xiangsheng (crosstalk) comedy style.

"You will often hear Chinese say things like, 'Dashan is more Chinese than the Chinese'," says the man himself. "But I think, first of all, that's a huge exaggeration. Secondly, it largely reflects the breaking down of barriers that I've worked on throughout my career. Chinese tend to pigeonhole people into clear categories: either you're Chinese or you are a foreigner. Dashan, at least to a certain extent, defies that sort of oversimplification." Dashan's status in China is such that he has been appointed as Canada's commissioner general for next year's Expo in Shanghai, heading up the whole pavilion team there. He's also the face of a Ford marketing campaign aimed at Chinese Canadian consumers.

For Dashan, teaching English to the Chinese has transformed him into a senior diplomat. Indeed, he's not the only one. During a recent reporting trip to Kashgar, in the restive western province of Xinjiang – where foreigners, especially journalists, are not especially welcome – I was approached by a plainclothes policeman in the lobby of my hotel, who identified himself, sat down, and asked me, in English: "Do you feel safe here?" My heart sank. This was a few days before the riots in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, in which scores of Han Chinese were killed by rampaging Muslim Uighurs, angry at Han China's growing domination in the region. "Do you feel safe here?" is a standard opening line when officialdom comes knocking in China, although it is usually delivered in Chinese, and I readied myself for a trip down the station, or at least a lengthy interrogation about what I was doing in this hotbed of separatism at China's westernmost extreme. Instead, the man produced an English-language textbook, helped himself to a glass of my beer, and began to ask me questions. "Are you loaded? Do you change diapers? I can count in English. Listen..." he said, before doing just that, counting to 10,000 in English. Thankfully, once he got past 29, he started using every 10th number, but it was still a lengthy process. The policeman followed this with a strange moral tale about why bats only come out at night, which he had clearly learnt off by heart.

He was definitely checking me out, and he knew I was a foreign reporter, as all hotels are required to register foreigners with journalist visas in their passports with the local Public Security Bureau. He took my mobile phone number. But what was significant was that he used the opportunity to sharpen up his English.

During the conversation, or interrogation, or tutorial, whatever it was, with the police officer in Kashgar, a couple of young students approached the table, and asked: "How are you? Where are you from? Do you speak English?" They too were eager to open a conversation in which they could practice their English, before my policeman friend intervened, barking at them to get home and not to be interfering in police business, taking their mobile phone numbers too. They left; red-faced, apologetic, and a bit scared.

On the flight back from Xinjiang, a young high school student also kept trying to interrupt my efforts to write on my laptop with various opening lines, such as, "The weather today is very beautiful" – despite the fact our flight had been delayed by several hours because of a minor hurricane hitting our airport. The opportunity of practising her English was too great to pass up, and I was happy to oblige.

Even monks are now getting into learning English. Last year, the China Religious Culture Communication Association and the Buddhist Association of China opened an English-language training course for Buddhists so they would be better prepared for working in foreign countries. Elder Master Yicheng, president of the Buddhist Association, said it was "imperative for China to train people who could spread Buddhist teachings in other languages". More than 20 Buddhist monks were chosen from monasteries around the country and put through their English-language paces at the Shanghai International Studies University.

All this does not mean, however, that English is yet spoken as widely, or as well, as it is in European countries such as Sweden, Germany or even France – and you still have a hard time getting around the place without being able to speak Chinese, even in big cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.

But English proficiency has improved markedly in recent years – and there are a lot more Chinese people learning and speaking English than there are English native-speakers learning Chinese. We should perhaps remember that – despite China's rapid rise to economic dominance – Britain is a long way off the time when an average local copper could spark up a conversation with a visiting Chinese journalist in Mandarin Chinese. Not until our own answer to Li Yang arrives, exhorting the nation to learn Chinese.

How reliable is Daves ESL Cafe?

I was recently reading up on a few institutions on the web. As I guess all of us are aware, the internet is a great resource, almost like a library. There is a wealth of information, some referenced, and some not. There is one problem though, that there is no real guarantee that all of the information is reliable. There are even questions about popular sites such as wikipedia.

In an effort to find out about other institutes and how its like to work in other ESL/EFL contexts, I thought I'd do a search on google.

Typically, Daves ESL Cafe would come up, and I'd end up reading the forums and a lot of interesting conversations about where to work, and where to stay clear of. In a way, its like reading a tabloid newspaper. A lot of the contributors on these forums have used aliases to represent themselves - there are hardly any 'real' names. Instead you get 'Zog', 'Darthvader' or the 'Ninja'. All very intriguing!

Having read a few of the forums though, I came away with feelings of frustration. The majority of the comments about places of work are negative. There is not too much positiveness. Although these might be my feelings on the matter, others may have a totally different take on the matter.

On reflection I wonder whether sites like Daves ESL cafe are doing a service, or is it the other way around?

Are we all at the behest of making career decisions based on web sites that carry the views of a few 'hurt' individuals? Or someone with an axe to grind?

Websites like Daves ESL certainly do offer other more positive services though. You can search for jobs, and there does seem to be an exchange of useful 'teaching tips'.

Coming back to the forums, I wonder whether its a good idea for people to anonymize themselves and then provide their input on an organisation they may have worked in, or heard a rumour about.