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Discussion Groups / ESL Teaching / June 2004ESL Volunteer Survey Results
Back in March I posted a link to a survey of ESL volunteers as part of my Master's graduate project. Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey. The finished ESL Volunteer Guide can be viewed here: http://writing.colostate.edu/references/teaching/esl/ A cover report discussing the survey results can be viewed here: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~greentea/grad/Lim_Grad_Report.doc -Kristina Lim, MA TESL/TEFL > Back in March I posted a link to a survey of ESL volunteers as part of my > Master's graduate project. Thank you to everyone who participated in the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > -Kristina Lim, MA TESL/TEFL Kristina, I'm astonished volunteers are used to teach ESL in the USA. Surely this is local government getting work done on the cheap? And don't professional and qualified teachers get upset about their professionalism being undermined? I'm all for people volunteering, contributing to their community and broadening their own skill sets, but the already underpaid and overworked folk who teach community ESOL in the UK (I've worked in the sector, and my wife still does) would take a very old-fashioned view of being under-cut by under-qualified volunteers; and like the US, the UK has an overwhealming need for community ESOL teaching. I'm still reading your report, and it's really interesting - apologies if I'm jumping the gun here. DC > Kristina, I'm astonished volunteers are used to teach ESL in the USA. Volunteers are cheaper than paid teachers, although ESL teaching pay is so low in many areas that the difference may not be significant. > Surely this is local government getting work done on the cheap? Local government and other organizations. > And don't professional and qualified teachers get upset about > their professionalism being undermined? Probably, but since they aren't being used in this case, anyway, who cares? Teaching English isn't rocket science. While excellent teachers are rare, almost anyone who is a native or fluent speaker of English can teach the language in a pinch, often well enough to get the job done. > I'm all for people volunteering, contributing to their > community and broadening their own skill sets, but the already underpaid > and overworked folk who teach community ESOL in the UK (I've worked in the > sector, and my wife still does) would take a very old-fashioned view of > being under-cut by under-qualified volunteers ... Maybe they need to face the modern reality that ESL teaching just isn't worth that much money. There are plenty of people who can do it well enough to get the job done. That's why pay is so low or nonexistent. > ... and like the US, the UK has an overwhealming need for > community ESOL teaching. If demand exceeds supplie, wages will rise. The fact that they are so low in most areas implies that supply exceeds demand. Of course, in some countries, ESL teachers are in strong demand, but in the UK or the US, just about everyone is a potential ESL teacher.  SignatureTranspose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. >>Kristina, I'm astonished volunteers are used to teach ESL in the USA. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > rare, almost anyone who is a native or fluent speaker of English can > teach the language in a pinch, often well enough to get the job done. I'm sure the English teachers reading this newsgroup will be thrilled to bit by your contempt for our profession. It only goes to confirm my opinion of the value of your contributions here. Einde O'Callaghan >>I'm all for people volunteering, contributing to their >>community and broadening their own skill sets, but the already underpaid [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > some countries, ESL teachers are in strong demand, but in the UK or the > US, just about everyone is a potential ESL teacher. > I'm sure the English teachers reading this newsgroup will be thrilled to > bit by your contempt for our profession. I didn't know that expression. Does it mean "very excited"? (in an ironic sense, in this case) Signature"if the speed of light were sixty miles per hour, life would be youthful, fast, and dark." http://www.cyberslayer.co.uk/jokes/joke0587.html >> I'm sure the English teachers reading this newsgroup will be >> thrilled to bit by your contempt for our profession. > > I didn't know that expression. Does it mean "very excited"? > (in an ironic sense, in this case) It does, except that it should be "thrilled to bits". I think Einde made a typo, but it may be his dialect. He'll tell us, I'm sure. SignatureRay. >>>I'm sure the English teachers reading this newsgroup will be >>>thrilled to bit by your contempt for our profession. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > I think Einde made a typo, but it may be his dialect. > He'll tell us, I'm sure. A typo - I was just on my way out to work - to teach English - when I read Manicmix's contribution and nearly choked on my cornflakes. Hence my rather rapid (and incomplete) reply. I suspect that Manicmix has a similar contemptuous attitude to the poor students entrusted to his care - I seem to recall that he claims to be an English teacher. Regrds, Einde O'Callaghan >>>>I'm sure the English teachers reading this newsgroup will be >>>>thrilled to bit by your contempt for our profession. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >> > A typo - That's why I couldn't find that expression in a dictionary. I should have thought of it, anyway. I didn't mean to point the finger at your typo! So, let me correct the Subject of this thread :) > I was just on my way out to work - to teach English - when I > read Manicmix's contribution and nearly choked on my cornflakes. Hence [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > students entrusted to his care - I seem to recall that he claims to be > an English teacher. Signature"if the speed of light were sixty miles per hour, life would be youthful, fast, and dark." http://www.cyberslayer.co.uk/jokes/joke0587.html >>I'm sure the English teachers reading this newsgroup will be thrilled to >>bit by your contempt for our profession. > > I didn't know that expression. Does it mean "very excited"? > (in an ironic sense, in this case) It should be "thrilled to bits" and your interpretation is correct. Regards, Einde O'Callaghan > I'm sure the English teachers reading this newsgroup will be thrilled to > bit by your contempt for our profession. How they feel about it is irrelevant to me. I'm just pointing out the reality. It's not hard to teach English. If it were, wages would be much higher, and the pool of available and adequate teachers would be much smaller. I'm sorry if it pains English teachers to hear this, but it's true. It's just not a profession that requires a high level of skill. Sure, there are a handful of teachers who stand head and shoulders above the rest, but one need not be such a teacher in order to get the job done--any college student can do the work. I see it every day. > It only goes to confirm my opinion of the value of your > contributions here. The truth hurts, I know. Why do you think English teachers are not making $150,000 a year? SignatureTranspose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. >>> Kristina, I'm astonished volunteers are used to teach ESL in the USA. >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Einde O'Callaghan No, he's right you know. Teaching a class of 20 - 30 asylum-seekers who don't want to be there, don't speak a single word of English and aren't literate in their own languages is the easiest thing on Earth. People are queuing up to do it. DC > > Kristina, I'm astonished volunteers are used to teach ESL in the USA. > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > rare, almost anyone who is a native or fluent speaker of English can > teach the language in a pinch, often well enough to get the job done. I don't think so. I am Mexican, my Spanish is fluet and educated, if I may say so, and sometimes I've been unable to explain Spanish grammar structures to beginner Spanish students. Mind you, I have studied English and German as foreign languages, so I know what to study a foreign language is. IMO, "to get the job done" as a language teacher implies profesional knowledge/work. Irma. > I don't think so. I am Mexican, my Spanish is fluet and educated, if I may > say so, and sometimes I've been unable to explain Spanish grammar structures > to beginner Spanish students. Just pick up a book and learn them. It doesn't take long. If language were that difficult to acquire, its use would not be universal. > Mind you, I have studied English and German as > foreign languages, so I know what to study a foreign language is. So? > IMO, "to get the job done" as a language teacher implies profesional > knowledge/work. It implies a high level of fluency, and the patience and ability to explain what one knows. Lots and lots of people have both. That's why English teachers are a dime a dozen in so many areas. The only places where they are hard to find are in countries with a poor standard of living and languages other than English as their national language (parts of the Third World, for example). SignatureTranspose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly. > > I don't think so. I am Mexican, my Spanish is fluet and educated, if I may > > say so, and sometimes I've been unable to explain Spanish grammar structures [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > If language were that difficult to acquire, its use would not be > universal. Actually, that's what I did. People think that just because you speak the language you can explain it as they learn it, as a foreign language. > > Mind you, I have studied English and German as > > foreign languages, so I know what to study a foreign language is. > > So? Even though I have the knowledge how to study a foreign language, I was unable to explain my native tongue as a foreign language. > > IMO, "to get the job done" as a language teacher implies profesional > > knowledge/work. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > living and languages other than English as their national language > (parts of the Third World, for example). Yes, in countries like Mexico, specially in southern states, it's really difficult to find good English teachers working in schools, where English is another subject. However, if you study in a language institute you might find good ones. Those have been trained in Cambridge or universities in US to become English teachers. English speakers without teaching degree are not to work there. Irma. >>> Mind you, I have studied English and German as >>> foreign languages, so I know what to study a foreign language is. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Even though I have the knowledge how to study a foreign language, I was > unable to explain my native tongue as a foreign language. Yes, I experienced that, sometimes, when I tried to explain some hard bits of the Italian language to English speaking people. For instance, "imperfetto", a verbal tense that has no equivalent in English. I am fluent in Italian and I know perfectly well how to use it, but when it comes to explain the rules I had to think at it! A textbook may help in such cases, natch :-) Signature"if the speed of light were sixty miles per hour, life would be youthful, fast, and dark." http://www.cyberslayer.co.uk/jokes/joke0587.html >>> Mind you, I have studied English and German as >>> foreign languages, so I know what to study a foreign language is. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Even though I have the knowledge how to study a foreign language, I was > unable to explain my native tongue as a foreign language. Yes, I experienced that, sometimes, when I tried to explain some hard bits of the Italian language to English speaking people. For instance, "imperfetto", a verbal tense that has no equivalent in English. I am fluent in Italian and I know perfectly well how to use it, but when it comes to explain the rules I had to think about it! A textbook may help in such cases, natch :-) Signature"if the speed of light were sixty miles per hour, life would be youthful, fast, and dark." http://www.cyberslayer.co.uk/jokes/joke0587.html |
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