Guest Posted December 9, 2001 Report Share Posted December 9, 2001 Let’s begin the teacher’s monthly with a story from a few years back and concerns a very close teaching colleague of mine who has now moved to live and work in Australia. Thankfully he’ll probably never get to read it. John was an excellent teacher and used to specialize in teaching business English to the higher end of the corporate market – executives and personnel managers. One week he was dispatched to teach a group of 4 executives in a multi-national company on Petchburi Rd. When I asked him how the first lesson had gone he told me that it couldn’t have been any worse. The group seemed to take an instant dislike to him and every question he posed to them was met a monastic silence. I was taken aback because John was the most easygoing guy I’d ever worked with and had always scored well in student surveys. I told him that Thais are very often like this when they first meet a teacher and it takes them a little time to get used to you. This advice didn’t really seem to comfort him and he wore the expression of a man who was dreading the second lesson. Fortunately things went a little better second time around and after cracking a few jokes and telling the odd story, he was on the way to winning them over. By the end of the course, John was like the big brother they never had and the students were sorry to see the course coming to an end. They wanted to repay him for all the help he’d given them over the 40 lessons so the students offered to take him to a karaoke lounge in deepest Thonburi after the final lesson. Now John is similar to me in that he hates karaoke with an unbridled passion but this was an invitation he couldn’t refuse. Cometh the hour, the four executives with John the teacher in tow, made their way to some non-descript cocktail lounge-cum-karaoke bar, where they had booked a private lounge. As I guess happens in these places, a trolley-full of alcoholic drinks arrived and a friendly manageress to help the party go with a swing. John sipped quietly on his watered down scotch and soda and noticed one of the executives having a whispered conversation with the lady in charge. After the manageress left the room, the executives loosened their ties and relaxed in their armchair in readiness for what was yet to come. John just smiled and made polite conversation. At that moment, the door opened and in walked five of the most gorgeous Thai female hostesses you could ever wish to see. And shall we just say that they were in a state of undress or shall we say they were stark bollock naked. Whichever way you look at it, John’s jaw dropped to the carpet. I won’t go into the gory details, but for the next four or five hours, many a glass of beer was consumed and many an ear was lovingly fondled. John, being a man of statistics and finance, politely enquired who was footing the bill for all this and was shocked (and a little relieved) to hear that it was all coming out of the company budget. At about 1.00 in the morning, John thought it was about time he got back home to his wife and daughter. Standing up to announce his gratitude and impending departure brought incredulous looks from his by now, very pissed students. “Oh no” they all cried “we’ve paid for your girl for the night and we’ve booked you a room at the hotel next door. Tell you what, we’ll all go together. We’ve got five rooms on the same floor” I know John as well as anyone. While he’s certainly no prude, he would never cheat on his wife – I’ll certainly give him that. However, John is a man’s man and this was certainly no time to wimp out. He dutifully went along with the plan and proceeded, or rather wobbled to the nearby hotel. The story really ends there to all sense and purposes. What happened that night is between John and the gorgeous hostess. He told me that they talked until the sun came up and yes, I do believe him. Now, I tell this story for two reasons. One because it’s worth a giggle and never fails to make me laugh every time I remember it, but secondly because it hi-lights the perils and pitfalls of socializing with students. John was in no real danger because the course of lessons had finished and he would probably never set eyes on them again, but there have been many instances of teachers going out with students for a ‘mid-term’ drink and coming a cropper. After all, the girl who can be a little flirtatious in the classroom is hardly likely to become Miss prim and proper with a couple of Babychams inside her. Taking the teacher out for dinner is something of a tradition for corporate groups. It gives them tremendous face and is also a way for them to show their thanks. It also gives them further chance to practice their English but only an old cynic like me would raise that objection. I’m all in favor of going out together as a group, early evening, perhaps to an open-air seafood restaurant where the students can over-order and get merry on half a cider. But I leave it at that. I refuse any invitations to nightclubs, RCA, casinos, go-go bars, karaoke lounges, etc, etc. These people may well be in their twenties but they are still very impressionable. That coupled with the fact that I don’t hold my beer very well. ******************************************* I get many emails from would-be teachers and they all contain questions such as “will I find work easily?” or “do I need to have experience?” or “How much money did you take with you when you first went to Thailand?” They are all good questions, but there is an underlying theme to all of them – a person who is frightened about taking the plunge. And that is totally understandable. People thought I was mad when I told them I was leaving my family, my job and the British social security system in order to go and live in a third world country where I didn’t have any friends or anywhere to live. I don’t like to give a plug to Tony Wheeler of the Lonely Planet company but his advice of “don’t think about it, just do it” is still wonderful advice. Here’s something you might like to think about. Finding the job is really the easiest part (finding a job you are happy with may take a little more time) but the hardest tasks are finding somewhere nice to live and getting your Bangkok legs as you struggle to pick up even the basics of the Thai language. I don’t want to sound like a miserable old git but it took me four long years before I lived in an apartment I was happy with. However in those days you didn’t have the internet or the myriad of pubs and bars where farangs meet for a social evening such as at the infamous Wednesday teachers nights at the Londoner. Ten years ago there was much more of an ‘every man for himself’ attitude, which I’m glad to say has all but disappeared. ****************************************** Much of my own teaching career has been involved with teaching writing classes (hard to believe I know). If you end up as a writing teacher, there are basically two kinds of class – business writing and academic writing. Thankfully, I’ve been mostly responsible for teaching the latter because business writing bores the pants off me. For one reason, I think it was in a Woody Allen movie where someone said ‘you can’t actually teach writing, but you can expose students to examples of good writing and hope some of it rubs off’. I totally agree with that. Secondly, I’ve never subscribed to the school of thought that every business letter has to contain time-honored and frankly dull sentences such as ‘if you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me’. I prefer ‘need any help then give me a call’. That makes me rather unfashionable with Thai business students because they’ve been brought up in an environment where business letters MUST contain ‘I am enclosing the remittance herewith’ and they shudder at the thought of writing ‘I’ve put the money with this letter’. To make my task even harder, the same business writing textbooks have been on the market for donkey’s years. Times have changed. The textbooks haven’t. In academic writing, you’re teaching students how to put their thoughts clearly on paper in the form of a multi-paragraph essay. This is no easy task – most students have very little idea of how to write a clear, concise paragraph that actually makes sense. I have heard many horror stories of how Thai teachers ask writing students to write down the first thing that comes into their head and not to worry about the organization of ideas. Therefore when the farang teacher gets into the classroom and starts talking about the need to write essay outlines, and spend time organizing the composition, it all comes as a bit of a shock. This is not to say that academic writing classes are not enjoyable. I’ve had great fun getting students to write their thoughts on pieces of instrumental music, and had great delight in watching the class go out on the streets of Bangkok to interview passers-by about a topical issue (to be written up as a survey report). It’s well documented that Thais will only perform a task if they consider it fun and writing classes are no exception. I remember needing to teach a group how to write a descriptive essay based on a picture in a book. The picture was the usual 1970’s crap, which depicted a bunch of long-haired layabouts enjoying a day in the park – in black and white as well. Deciding that the picture in question was hardly going to inspire any budding William Shakespeares, I took the group to the top of the Baiyoke tower where we could see the whole of Bangkok before us (fortunately it was a clear day). The writing they produced in class later that day was inspired. ****************************************** I said this before in a teacher’s monthly some time ago, but I’ll repeat it again. If you are applying for jobs at language schools, try to avoid sending emails. It’s not that email is inefficient, it’s a wonderful way to communicate with friends, but as far as language schools go, they very often have no system of dealing with incoming email. Email sometimes gets ignored and goes unanswered. If you’re looking for a job, pick up the phone and ask to speak to the head teacher or academic director. ***************************************** A few years ago, a school director and I came up with the idea of a course that totally revolved around watching and analyzing movies. The course would be aimed at advanced English speakers and in each lesson, the teacher would play a little of the film and then there would be all sorts of activities linked to it. Students might have to give summaries of the movie so far, or act out certain scenes, or just discuss the usage of slang, etc. With this in mind I sat down for 3 days solid and wrote out the script to ‘Stepmom’ starring Susan Sarendon and Julia Roberts (I wanted to do ‘Pulp Fiction’ but the boss wouldn’t have it) I didn’t realize just how difficult the job of writing down the script would be…..or how long. The constant pausing and rewinding of the video became tiresome to say the least. The idea failed and we had no takers for the course. In a way I was relieved because teaching with video is something I’ve never mastered. Is it just me but do you find remote control pads unnecessarily complex? I always develop chronic techno-fear when I use video as a teaching aid and the class end up getting bored and fidgety as I mistakenly hit the rewind button for the tenth time. Although video lessons are hardly hi-tech these days, we are in an age when some schools are getting away from the textbook and teacher formula and using videos, CD-Rom and all manner of stuff they didn’t have when I was a lad. The human teacher is still very much part of the equation but now he or she has to plan lessons based on students looking at a CD Rom or checking into an internet website. I taught a lesson once using a computer game but the students still got bored of it after half an hour. All of these things are ‘gimmicky’ in my opinion, and have a limited appeal. You will never replace the combination of a good textbook in the hands of a qualified, energetic teacher. ******************************************* I worked recently with a very talented teacher who had a solid background in graphic design and magazine layout. Among the many things I learned from him was how to write a winning resume. His resume really is a work of art, not because it contains fancy graphics or is printed on pretty paper, but because it’s simple and effective. I’d never seen a resume quite like it and have to admit that I copied the format for my own c.v. (with his permission of course). I was talking to a group of academic directors this week and they all remarked how there seems to be a lot of teachers looking for work at the moment. We went on to the subject of interviews and resumes, etc and all the directors felt that most applicants could do with cutting their resumes by half and leaving out all the stuff that is simply irrelevant to teaching. No one is really interested that you helped repair fences on your dad’s farm while you were at university but you’d be amazed how many people include that sort of information. Is it little wonder that some resumes can be a tedious 3-4 pages long. Cut your resume down to the basics because it won’t do you any harm at all in the job hunt. That’s all for this month. Thanks for all the people who have emailed me over the past month. I’d like to think that I’m doing my little bit to help because I know how difficult is to face a life teaching on the other side of the world. Have a great Christmas everyone and may 2002 be the year when a lot of this visa nonsense, and general uncertainty about whether we, as teachers, are actually welcome in Thailand or not, become things of the past. Take care chalkies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CosmicSurfer Posted December 9, 2001 Report Share Posted December 9, 2001 Another very informative post... Please keep them coming. CS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted December 11, 2001 Report Share Posted December 11, 2001 Hi, Agree with CosmicSurfer, very informative. Even though I am not an English teacher, and have no desire to become one, I still enjoy reading your monthlies. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 12, 2001 Report Share Posted December 12, 2001 Yep, good stuff as always Phil. Thanks for putting it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 13, 2001 Report Share Posted December 13, 2001 Thanks for another informative post, Phil. I especially like your advice on being careful of fraternization with students and the bit about briefing up your cv. Using technology in the classroom is also one of my weaker areas, its nice to know I am not alone. I am beyond willing to move to thailand, just got to sell the house and I am there. Thanks though, for the support and encouragement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 13, 2001 Report Share Posted December 13, 2001 quote: It’s well documented that Thais will only perform a task if they consider it fun and writing classes are no exception. I've heard this many times before, in context of making English language classes for the Thais entertaining. On the other hand, I've heard bits and pieces about the Thai education system, and myself I have taken Thai language classes from Thai teachers here in the US. I've encountered two outstanding teachers, both of whom where volunteers; the other three, including a retired Chulalongkorn professor, were professional teachers, and were absolutely dismal. Their idea of instruction was to pontificate about irrelevent aspects of Thai language and or Thai culture. For example, teaching the tone rules for dead syllables to students who can't even write all of the consonants is a bit of a stretch. Or teaching 12 Thai words to describe shapes of leaves of some friggin' trees that grow somewhere in the remote jungles. Moreover, most of this useless stuff was presented in (broken) English and often I walked away from the class wondering why the hell I'm wasting my time. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make, some of the Thai teachers I've had not only can't make the class fun, but they can't teach, period. I guess I'm not surprised that the Thai educational system is a complete failure... [ December 13, 2001: Message edited by: Mad Max ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2001 Report Share Posted December 14, 2001 Couldn't agree more Max. I'm currently interviewing potential Thai teachers. Today I interviewed no fewer than 59 people from all walks of life. Without exception, the ones that are the least employable have 'experienced teacher' printed on their resumes. With Thai teachers, all too often 10 years experience is 10 years of the 'wrong' experience. What you want are teachers with flair, with style, with imagination, and who are comfortable facing a group of foreigners. One group of people come out on top every time - air stewardesses! they're unbeatable. They make wonderful, wonderful teachers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 14, 2001 Report Share Posted December 14, 2001 quote: What you want are teachers with flair, with style, with imagination, and who are comfortable facing a group of foreigners. One group of people come out on top every time - air stewardesses! they're unbeatable. Phil, have you thought about bar-girls? When I barfine a BG, my main objective is not sex, it is to improve my Thai. Well, if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you... OK, let me start again. When I want to barfine a BG, I look for a girl with appealing personality who doesn't speak any English. There are two major categories in this group: the shy ones who will not say much, or even try to comprehend my butchered Thai, and the bubbly ones who will yak all the time. Among the latter I have found several excellent natural teachers. They slow down and simplify as needed, and repeat a word or a phrase as needed. They probably wouldn't be comfortable in a formal setting but I've learned a heck of a lot more from them than from my official teachers. Hey Phil, I've got a question for you. Some time ago you posted something about starting Thai instruction for farang. I probably wouldn't be interested in that but something else occured to me. I was thinking about getting one of those 'natural teacher' bar-girls to take a 1-day or 2-day short course from you on how to teach Thai to a farang. Nothing fancy, just to help her understand what the issues are (pronunciation, grammar, sentence structure, idioms) and basic teaching techniques. If I paid her 100 Baht an hour, 5 days a week, it would be win-win for both her and me. I know several BGs who even after 6 months to a year in the trade still don't care for the lifestyle (and yes, I know, they are a miniscule minority) and who might be interested in such arrangement. Do you think it's viable? Do you think a 1- or 2-day short course would do the trick? And, finally, is that something you would be interested in doing, and if so, what's your ballpark? I know this sounds strange, but I'm very serious about this. And if you think it's a stupid idea please don't hesitate to say so. Oh, and I don't live in Thailand. Not yet anyway. But there's a good chance I will move there within a few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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