Guest Posted October 16, 2001 Report Share Posted October 16, 2001 Yeah, great stuff Phil, I'm lapping it up here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 16, 2001 Report Share Posted October 16, 2001 quote: Posted by Mushroom What pisses me off is when I must wait around for an hour and a half for a student that wants a 2 or a 3 hour lesson, then she answers her phone every 2 minutes. I don't bother saying anything as "she did infact turn up". If I did say something, then she might not turn up at all. grung tep.. city of angels. Hi Mushroom, I was in exactly the same situation with a 25 year old girl that I taught at my home. I simply did this. When her phone rang for the 6th time in 10 minutes, I got up, went downstairs and had a fag and a glass of Coke. I must have been away for a good 10 minutes. When I returned it was obvious that her call had finished quite a long time ago but she got the message - every time her phone rang she would run risk of me disappearing for 10 mins. It never rang again and I taught her for many weeks after that without a single disturbance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2001 Report Share Posted October 17, 2001 Shotover, In Canada, Broadly speaking, if there is a UK and an American term for something, we will use the American term (eg. 'elevator', not 'lift'). However, we use UK spellings (eg. 'honour', not 'honor'). IMHO, we talk almost exactly the same as Americans, as a result of watching their TV programming and movies all our lives. I tell my friends in Asia that I have an 'American' accent for the sake of simplicity. The surest way to ID us by our speech is by the way we pronounce the last letter of the Roman alphabet - we pronounce it 'zed', Americans say it as 'zee'. If an American is living here among us and does not have distictive regional accent, often the first time I realise they are a Yank if when they say 'zee'. JG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit_of_town_hall Posted November 5, 2001 Report Share Posted November 5, 2001 quote: Originally posted by joegumby: Shotover, In Canada, Broadly speaking, if there is a UK and an American term for something, we will use the American term (eg. 'elevator', not 'lift'). However, we use UK spellings (eg. 'honour', not 'honor'). IMHO, we talk almost exactly the same as Americans, as a result of watching their TV programming and movies all our lives. I tell my friends in Asia that I have an 'American' accent for the sake of simplicity. The surest way to ID us by our speech is by the way we pronounce the last letter of the Roman alphabet - we pronounce it 'zed', Americans say it as 'zee'. If an American is living here among us and does not have distictive regional accent, often the first time I realise they are a Yank if when they say 'zee'. JG Don't Canadians say "eh" at the start or end of every sentence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2001 Report Share Posted November 7, 2001 Don't Canadians say "eh" at the start or end of every sentence? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nah, that's the kiwis mate, especially those from Auckland, eh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 11, 2001 Report Share Posted November 11, 2001 Hi Folks, Here's November's load of old waffle. The worst time of year to look for teaching work in Thailand is undoubtedly from mid-December to mid-January or possibly even the end of January, depending on what date Chinese New Year falls. Students are far too pre-occupied with parties, holidays and celebrations to think about studying English and it’s the time of year when schools generally struggle to keep their teachers happy with full schedules. What has been very disturbing of late is the number of teachers I’ve spoken to who are struggling to find work even at this time of year. Usually, October and November are easy months to get work but one gentleman I spoke to flew in from Japan, spent a week or two looking for a job in Bangkok and then left for Italy. “There’s just nothing decent on offer” he told me. And this guy was a very experienced and qualified teacher. Thailand is already making itself less and less attractive for the foreign English teacher with the introduction of tighter visa regulations, expensive work permits, etc. The last thing we need is to have a ‘quiet’ period that extends from November through to January when employment is hard to find. If that becomes the case, Thailand will continue to struggle against the more profitable alternatives of Korea, Taiwan and Japan. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You hear many conflicting opinions about life in Japan and working there as a teacher. “Japanese people just don’t talk to you” “You end up teaching far too many children” “The schools are located miles away from where you live because you can’t afford an apartment in the city” “The schools only care about making money and they work you to death” “I can barely afford to eat in McDonalds” I’ve listened to many of these comments down the years and have to admit they’ve done very little to make me ever want to consider working in Japan. That said, I was in conversation with an American fifty-something last week that raved about the place and had one piece of advice – learn Japanese because it opens up a whole new world. I suppose the advice to learn the language in your adopted country seems obvious but as the American went on to say “we criticize the Thais for their shyness in speaking English but they have nothing on the Japanese. Once I had become fairly proficient in Japanese, all sorts of doors opened. I was invited to parties and gatherings, I made good contacts and they were falling over themselves to employ me. I made a lot of money in eight years and lived very well” Some years ago I worked in Bangkok with a teacher from England who had no real qualifications and no special ability but he had one motto “ You can make a fortune in Bangkok but you have to get out there and kick arse” I remember him making 80,000 baht (a fortune for a teacher) in one month back in 1995. He also spoke excellent Thai. It has always amazed me how certain folks have a gift for arriving in a strange city and within a few months they’ve taken it by the scruff of the neck – they know all the right people and find themselves in the position of turning down well-paid work because they can’t cope with the workload. And there are the other kind of teacher – often very qualified and very talented – who seem to drift from one crappy language school to another and never really gain a foothold. They seem to spend lonely nights in their boxy apartments waiting for the dream teaching job to fall from the sky. It never does. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Get yourself a job with a work permit because – and this will come as a surprise to many – you have considerable rights as a tax-paying teacher. I’ve been doing a little research on this topic with the help of a few wonderful people at the Thai labor department. If your employer decides to get rid of you for no reason whatsoever and fails to give you any notice, they owe you one month’s salary. If you’ve worked in the position for less than one year, they owe you another month = 2 months. If you’ve worked at the school for between 1 year and 3 years, they owe you a total of 4 months. And the employer has to pay! It came as some surprise to me but the Thai labor department is very pro-worker indeed. You don’t have to fight with your employer for your severance pay – just let the labor department know and they will go down on your behalf. In addition, the employer can scream ‘I’m bankrupt’ for all they’re worth – they have to pay! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ These are very worrying times for teachers who are working on tourist visas and doing the quarterly border run to Malaysia or Laos or Cambodia. Apparently under new government legislation, rumors abound that you are allowed to stay in Thailand for only six months as a tourist after which you must spend six months out of the country. Let me add at this point that I have not seen this law in black and white. I can’t believe the amount of misinformation and hearsay that is being banded around where visa regulations are concerned. I’m not saying that the six-month tourist rule isn’t fact but it’s getting to the stage where I’m taking everything I hear with an enormous pinch of salt. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Let me dwell a while on the subject of lesson preparation and leave all this legal stuff behind. What is a reasonable amount of time to spend preparing a lesson because lets face it – preparing lessons is done in your own time and by and large unpaid. Is there anything positive to be said about spending an hour to prep a one-hour lesson? Apart from the fact that you’re quite possibly just a diligent teacher. I’ve always refused to spend what I consider to be ‘too much time’ on lesson preparation. As you become more experienced as a teacher, your prep time does go down considerably. At one point in the 90’s I was teaching six hours a day back to back including academic writing classes, advanced conversation and reading skills, not to mention TOEFL prep courses. The preparation of the lessons killed me when I started the job. At one stage I was lying awake in bed at 3am waiting for ideas to come to me. Most newbie teachers go through this stage – take it from me, it does get a lot easier. Six months later, I was preparing the whole day’s lessons in 20 minutes and still delivering a quality lesson (but you’ll have to ask the students about that one) The use of teacher’s manuals is a rather funny gray area. Teacher’s manuals are those wonderful thick books that are supposed to take all the pressure off preparing a lesson. They should be full of ideas and activities to make your lessons go with a swing and yet they are all too often useless. I almost never look at a teacher’s manual because they only offer ideas that will work with a class of motivated and lively students and that’s often not what you’re faced with on a Monday morning. Then again I well remember one American female colleague bursting into tears because she couldn’t find her teacher’s manual and it was as though the end of civilization had come early. There are still many schools who won’t go to the often considerable expense of providing a teacher’s manual for a course and instead rely on the teacher’s own initiative. I personally think that not having the crutch of the teacher’s manual encourages a lot more creativity in the lesson. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I’m a smoker. I remember walking into a class of 10 students once and they all held their noses and whatever the Thai is for “you bloody stink!!” – well I learned it there and then. I’ve never felt so embarrassed in all my life. It was only when another smoking colleague got very close to me later that day I realized just how offensive the smell of cigarette smoke is. Thais are mad for personal hygiene and I believe nothing makes you as unpopular with students as having a disagreeable lingering smell be it cigarette smoke or sweaty armpits. Nowadays, before I go into a lesson I go through a bathroom ritual of soap, water, cologne and deodorant and enter the classroom smelling like a tart’s window box. But the students love it…..and very often voice their appreciation. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ One thing that I do need to teach a successful class is a cold classroom. If the air-conditioning is not at an arctic setting then I’m rarely happy. I’ve got nothing but admiration for those teachers who ply their trade in antiquated government schools and are entertaining groups of 40-50 students with little more than a wonky ceiling fan. The school that I work at now is undoubtedly the coldest I’ve ever experienced…..and I love it. Even I sometimes have to go outside in the street just to get the blood flowing again. The school stays at a certain temperature because being located in an office building; the temperature is regulated by a central unit. The regulator is obviously a person of a like mind. When I worked for Berlitz in the early 90’s, the temperature was controlled from a wall unit in the actual school and caused all sorts of problems. The Thai staff wanted the environment warm, firstly because they didn’t move about much and secondly because they just wanted to cause trouble, while the farang teachers wanted it cold because they were trying to teach lively lessons. Not a day went by when some argument didn’t develop over the temperature of the air-conditioning and it was the cause of considerable stress. It also resulted in that ridiculous situation where the farangs don’t talk to the Thais and vice versa. When you consider how important communication between Thai staff and teaching staff is, it made for a ridiculous situation not to mention a rather hostile atmosphere. Oh the joys of teaching in Thailand. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ One of the reasons that many private Thai language schools do poor business is because their reception staff can’t ‘sell over the phone’. It’s just not the Thai way to badger the customer into coming to the school and paying a deposit and really trying to ‘sell’ the course to the caller. If the caller asks for the price of a course – that’s what information they get and nothing more. I take my hat off to Berlitz when it comes to selling over the phone because although they might not enjoy the greatest reputation as an employer, their student advisors have always impressed me with their no-nonsense, aggressive approach. I’ve spent many hours with reception staff trying to encourage and teach them to use telephone sales techniques – sometimes with great success and sometimes not. Actually, there are many foreign teachers here who have backgrounds in sales and marketing. I think it’s a crying shame that schools ignore that expertise and don’t use it to try and increase revenue. Oh no, this wouldn’t by any chance be the famous ‘I’m paid to do a job and I will lose face if I ask someone how to do it’…….is it? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I met a teacher recently who has earned 60,000 baht a month for the past 5 years. He admits that he spends money fairly frugally. Home is a modest town house on the outskirts of Bangkok which runs him in the region of 7,000 baht a month including bills. He doesn’t go out all that often but enjoys cooking at home – in fact food and wine are his biggest expense. His wife brings home about 20,000 baht a month from her office job so that adds a fair bit extra to the coffers. Between them they manage to save a tidy sum each month. Now this teacher has admittedly worked 6-7 days a week for the 5-year period but he enjoys his work and doesn’t find it tiring or stressful. I’ll get to the point – he’s saved just short of 3 million baht in 5 years. That’s just incredible by teacher standards. I had to congratulate him on his efforts and ask him the secret. He simply felt that the majority of teachers just don’t know how to manage their time wisely. His master plan is to do this for another 5 years and then retire. He will be 52 years old. Now who says you can’t make money as an English teacher in Bangkok? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ One thing that most teachers dread is lesson observations – when an experienced head teacher or director of studies comes into your classroom and observes your lesson. Teaching is a very personalized trade – we all have our own individual styles and we all like to think that we’re great teachers. Lesson observations are only appealing to us if the observer is going to be full of praise and give us lengthy pats on the back. In my opinion lesson observations are a necessity because they form such an important part of a new teacher’s professional growth and development. But they need to be done in the right way. Lesson observations are not a means by which the head teacher can ‘pull the lesson apart’ and destroy a teacher’s confidence (as some often do) Lesson observations are made in order to discuss the teacher’s weaker areas but also to tell them about the positive aspects of the lesson. I attended a very interesting workshop last week on the subject of ‘lesson observations’ with many private school head teachers in attendance. For me the most interesting argument was how much notice should be given to a teacher that their lesson will be observed? I’ve always felt that one or two hours is acceptable but the general consensus was that teachers should know at least two days in advance. As someone who has done many lesson observations, I have to say that you never see the real teacher anyway. The observed teacher will always ‘put on a show’. I would be exactly the same; it’s human nature. By giving the teacher too much notice, you are giving them too much time to worry about it and lessons are often ‘over-prepared’. The teacher will prepare a wonderful lesson with lots of pair-work activity only to find that an odd number of students turn up – end result teacher panics and looks more nervous than if they’d under-prepared. I won’t bore you with all the topics that were debated in the workshop but I was disappointed that I never got a chance to ask one burning question, and I’ll throw it over to you – what do you do about the teacher whose standard of teaching quite frankly leaves a little to be desired and yet is adored by students and gets more student requests than any other teacher? At the end of the day, business is business. Changing that teacher’s style just may lose you a whole bunch of students. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And finally, I spent a few hours at the offices of the Cambridge press and Oxford press – both aggressive marketers of English language textbooks. The number of textbooks coming onto the market is just mind-boggling and at the Cambridge Press office I was fortunate to meet with the very knowledgeable Gareth Knight. Gareth has spent the last five years producing his own range of textbooks for beginners and intermediate students, and while the name of the series escapes me, they really do look the part with a special emphasis on Asian learners rather than European EFL students. Best of luck with that Gareth and who knows, we may still see the day when we can say goodbye to the dreadful Interchange series. Take care chalkies ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 12, 2001 Report Share Posted November 12, 2001 quote: Don't Canadians say "eh" at the start or end of every sentence? Town Hall, Sorry I didn't reply earlier - I had trouble finding this thread again after I last posted into it. We don't use it at the start of sentences, but some of us do say it a lot at the end, especially Canadians from small towns up north. I use it a lot myself, even though I am am strictly a big-city boy. It seems like a natural and comfortable way to turn a statement into a question. BKK Phil, sorry to deviate from the topic of this thread. I read your November edition of the Teacher's monthly. Great writing, as always. JG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 15, 2001 Report Share Posted November 15, 2001 Yo Coquetislander - My Dear Sir... You appear to have a sizable chip on your shoulder as well as quite the hard on about us Americans, seems like. 'Tis truly well that you hold visions of England's past glories close to your heart, however, NEWS FLASH bud, the sun's been setting right off the coast of ol' Blighty for many a decade now, with virtually all your colonies and possessions telling your government to piss off 'cuz they don't need ya anymore. English world domination is the stuff of dusty, 19th century history books. There's a new sheriff in town, bubba, who goes by the name of the US of A. So stop whining and deal with it! When the fit hits the shan, everyone looks to us, 'cause we're bad. No one else has our resources or power. You need to stop cryin' in your cornflakes and recognize! I'm not really tryin' to diss ya', but as far as the reference to Mickey D's, puh-leeze. By the way, my journalism teacher in high school would also get a hair up his ass if any of us used "got" in any form on our papers. WTF? Maybe you and he are part of the international word police, I guess? Lighten up, fer crissake! There's far more important things in the world to worry about. Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 16, 2001 Report Share Posted November 16, 2001 Pjacktpa, I think you are missing the point of Coquetislander's post. The Roman Empire rose and fell, the British Empire rose and fell. the American Empire is ascendant, but one day it too will fall. Sic Transit Gloria. Coquetislander was referring more to the legacies of these empires, such as the English language, and its use around the world. What will America's legacy be, I wonder? JG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 17, 2001 Report Share Posted November 17, 2001 Yo Joegumby - True that, and good post, but the baseball hats and Mickey D references pissed me off, that's all. The guy's jealous of America, most likely, and clinging to a past that can never be brought back. What will America's legacy be? Well, judging by the lines of people waiting to get in, or those wishing to attend our universities or be cared for at our facilities, or those wishing to purchase our products, there's an awful lot of good to it. A truly scarier question is, what will the world be like AFTER America's downfall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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