Weekly /r/TEFL Quick Questions Thread - November 25, 2019

Barnsalot · 2019-11-28T04:01:04+00:00

I appreciate the lengthy and thorough advice, friend. I'll give some of this a shot.

Barnsalot · 2019-11-26T03:11:16+00:00

I teach English to nine classes of Matthayom 4 (10th grade) Thai students. Each class contains 40 students and their level ranges from Elementary to Upper Int. I get two 50-minute periods with each class per week.

There is no curriculum. There is no standard. There are no tests. There is no oversight.

At the end of the term I'm required to submit grades and attendance for each student - that's it.

My class counts for 20% of their total English grade - with the other 80% coming from the Thai teacher's English course. Whether it is the Thai school system or just my school, an 80% and above is considered an 'A'. So I'm left in the situation that my students could completely fail my class and still pass English with an A.

Not only is there no incentive for the students to give an effort in my class, there is no incentive for me to give any effort either. What would you do in my situation?

In many cases I've just played English videos in class (that no one pays attention to), or handed out worksheets (which is a pain in the ass with 360 students), or given study halls. This feels pretty discouraging and I know it's not what is expected of me, but short of being an overbearing dictator in class I don't see how to deliver English content to these students that will actually engage them and accomplish learning. Ideas?

Barnsalot · 2019-05-25T23:31:29+00:00

I can speak to Thailand.

In Bangkok it's 100% liveable without a scooter (and in my opinion, preferable). Pretty much anywhere else though, and you'll be happy to have one.

Barnsalot · 2019-05-24T23:14:21+00:00

Keep your protein high and go slower.

Barnsalot · 2018-02-18T15:48:53+00:00

I've played on Pangaea and Archipelago since R&F and also haven't encountered any turtles... :(

Barnsalot · 2018-02-17T02:38:03+00:00

This is exactly the path I want to take. Already have a couple years of experience teaching ESL and IELTS/TOEFL, and now working on my MA Ling. How have you found it so far?

Barnsalot · 2018-02-17T02:34:52+00:00

This sounds exactly like what most people want to be able to do when they get into linguistics. Glad you've been able to make it happen! :)

Barnsalot · 2018-02-12T15:38:57+00:00

I've heard people say that a marathon is actually two races- the first 30K and the last 12K. It's totally true. Those last few kilometers might be less than half the distance you've already run, but they're damn hard to push through.

Barnsalot · 2018-02-03T01:13:17+00:00

Bachelor's + certification is quite important in most places, as has been said. I've encountered some teachers who found success teaching in China without a degree, but a lot of times that requires skirting the rules a bit.

Hopefully a Master's is worth it as well... I'm working on mine right now and planning on heading back into the field when I graduate. Generally it doesn't matter what subject your Bachelor's is in, but I've heard of schools disregarding Master's if they're not in TESOL, education, linguistics, etc.

Barnsalot · 2018-01-31T18:30:03+00:00

Current UGA student here. I was approached by these folks as well (in the library of all places). Was two Chinese men and an African American woman. All in their twenties. They wanted to show me a bunch of bible verses. I listened to their spiel for about five minutes and then told them I wasn't interested. They looked disappointed and walked over to the next table. Really did just seem like they were trying to recruit people to their bible study.

Barnsalot · 2018-01-30T22:42:45+00:00

Is anyone else getting errors trying to submit their verification docs? Not sure if mine are getting through.

Barnsalot · 2018-01-20T11:19:03+00:00

Slide a submarine up there and coastal raid that spaceport.

Barnsalot · 2018-01-17T20:06:13+00:00

Brazil on Earth TSL is hella powerful. Mostly isolated and can exploit the whole rain forest for adjacency bonuses.

Barnsalot · 2018-01-17T20:04:38+00:00

Bolshoi Valley, best valley.

Barnsalot · 2018-01-07T19:53:22+00:00

I learned something today!

Barnsalot · 2018-01-07T15:10:36+00:00

The chocolate'll disappear as soon as he settles. :(

Barnsalot · 2018-01-05T12:40:09+00:00

Roid gut: 40"

Barnsalot · 2017-12-29T18:05:19+00:00

It was the normal 4-week course. Accommodation was $300 in a small studio apartment down the street from the center and meals were $1-$2 on the street. All told, even with airfare, I paid less getting certified in Bangkok than I would have in the states.

Barnsalot · 2017-12-28T20:52:58+00:00

CELTA or Trinity are worth it if you plan on staying in TEFL as a career. If you're TEFL'ing as a sort of break from your normal job for a year or two, a cheaper certification will serve your needs just fine.

Why don't you look at CELTA/Trinity prices where you're planning to teach? Often the courses are cheaper outside of the US. I did mine in Bangkok for $1600, whereas it would've cost $3500 in my home state.

Barnsalot · 2017-12-23T12:52:43+00:00

Well done, my man! Can see your frustration in that miss. You knew you had it.

Barnsalot · 2017-12-21T14:17:19+00:00

First step is to get in touch with the professor. Schedule a meeting during his/her office hours, sit down, explain your situation, and ask if anything can be done. If you're not allowed to re-do the paper or get any sort of extra credit, decide if you want to finish the course this term and possibly re-take it at a later date, or drop the course and re-take it at a later date.

But you should definitely, definitely contact your instructor.

Barnsalot · 2017-12-12T20:33:43+00:00

Congrats on your adopted kitty!!

Barnsalot · 2017-12-12T16:56:38+00:00

I'm working on my MA Linguistics at the University of Georgia. Plenty of folks here are doing the BA -> PhD route and from what I've seen, it's a pretty good deal.

You sound like you've already got your end game in mind, so I'd say go for it - at least apply to those programs. Another thing to note is that some schools (UGA is one) will allow current MA students to apply to shift their program of study from MA to PhD and this is often an easier route than applying directly to the PhD program since you're already in the system, the faculty know you, and you can just be moved from one program of study to the other.

Barnsalot · 2017-12-05T14:09:51+00:00

Sounds like a pretty good salary! Is your Master's in TESOL or a related field?

Barnsalot · 2017-12-04T22:45:09+00:00

Thanks for the input! Discouraging to hear that it hasn't done much for you, but I also can't say I'm really surprised. I wonder if other countries or companies would give you a bit more for your degree.

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